Page 78 of Wicked Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 1)

Idiots.

Dragging Calli with me, I step up to her big brother and don’t stop until I’m right in his personal space. The height of my heels means I don’t have to crane my neck to hold his eyes, which are fucking deadly as they bore into mine. But I refuse to cower down to these idiots.

Reaching forward with my free hand, I grab him between the legs and squeeze, just enough to warn him.

His eyes widen, but his mask doesn’t slip an inch.

“You fucking ruin this for her and I’ll rip them clean off. You got me, Cirillo?” I hiss loud enough for only him to hear me.

“Do you have any fucking clue who you’re dealing with?”

I take a step back, releasing him—much to his relief, if his long exhale is anything to go by.

Looking him up and down, I find his eyes once more.

“Do you?” A smirk curls at one side of my mouth.

I hold his deadly stare for another three seconds before I shoot each of them a ‘fucking try me’ glare.

Not one of them says a word. They just watch me with a mix of confusion, pride and utter disbelief.

“Come on, girl. We need drinks and then some hot guys to dance with. There’s got to be plenty around here somewhere.”

When I turn back to Calli, I find the exact same look on her face as was on the guys’, although her pride wins out when she smiles at me like I’m literally the best person in the world.

She steps right up beside me, and together we turn our backs on them and make our way to the kitchen.

“Oh my God, that was fucking insane. Did you see Nico’s face?” she screeches excitedly as we leave them behind.

“Told you he’d damn near shit his pants.”

“Yeah, I just wasn’t expecting it to be because you were going to squeeze the life out of his junk.”

“That wasn’t planned. I just didn’t get the impression that my words would have been enough. And I think it’s probably a little early in the night to pull my knife out.”

“You’re something else,” she says, walking straight over to where there are bottles and Solo cups lining the counter and making us both a drink. A really fucking strong drink I realize the second I take a sip.

“Down the hatch. Let’s dance,” Calli instructs, having clearly found some inner confidence now we’ve dealt with her overbearing big brother.

She leads me through the mass of people toward what I assume is the living room. All the furniture has been cleared out and there’s a crowd grinding it up in time with the music in the middle.

I smile as we get closer, my hips moving to the beat long before we join the edge of the bodies.

“Who are all these people?” I shout at Calli.

“Some are from school. No idea about the rest.”

We dance together like we’ve got no cares in the world. The heat from the people around me means my skin is soon flushed as we move, bumping against each other and laughing as if half the room isn’t watching us.

I know they are. I can feel them.

Calli might not know who these people are, but I’d put money on almost everyone knowing exactly who she is.

Maybe they even know me, who the hell knows. But I don’t let it faze me as I let go of everything and finally enjoy myself.

I have no idea how many songs pass us by or how late it is. I’ve even stopped noticing the watchful eye someone always seems to have on us by the time two guys appear out of nowhere and step up behind both of us.

“You two look lonely,” one of them drawls in my ear. His deep voice and British accent hit exactly where I need them to, and I immediately lean back into him, continuing to dance.