Page 43 of Savage Promises

“Even for a Donnelly?”

I draw a breath. “Your name is irrelevant.”

“Don’t I know that,” she mutters and gets to her feet.

My hand lingers on her arm as I steady her. “We’ll get you settled into the villa, but first, you’re going to have dinner with me.”

She blinks up at me, surprised. “Dinner?”

“You have to eat.” I lean in and smell her hair. “I’ve got you, Lenny. I won’t let you fall.”

She looks ready to collapse and not open to being playful, so I say, “You look like you could use a drink, too.”

For the first time since I arrived, she smiles. “Yeah. I probably could.”

I lead her out of the VIP area and down the steps to the main lobby. Past the revolving door, I steer Lennox outside and hook us left to an excellent Italian restaurant a few doors down. The Sterling doesn’t have a restaurant, just a ballroom for grand events.

Both Sabine and Griffin were married here. There’s no fucking way I’m following suit. Not when I’m being forced to marry a young woman not even old enough to drink at her own damn wedding. She’s the exact bride Idon’twant.

At the restaurant, the smell of basil and garlic warms my soul. I hand over a C-note to the hostess who guides Lennox and me to my favorite corner booth. A few moments later, a server I remember approaches.

I greet her kindly. “Hey, Dina.”

“Hi, Shane. Good to see you back here. What can I get you?” She places two cocktail napkins on the table.

“A whiskey neat for me. Lennox? What’s your poison?” I sit back and fold my arms, dying to know what a lady owner of a nightclub fancies in her glass.

“Tequila and grapefruit,” she says.

Tequila...

“We have Patron, we have—” Dina begins.

“Patron,” I order with a wink. “Top shelf for my guest.”

“Coming right up.”

“I’m thinking I might need something strong so I can pass right out and forget this day.” Lennox strokes her temples.

My throat tightens. Hating her asshole boyfriend who shattered her. Feeding Lennox earlier, I felt like I made some kind of connection with her and I want more.

More of her.

The drinks come, and I don’t toast because this isn’t a day to celebrate. As we sip our cocktails, the tension between us slowly eases. But the undercurrent of so much unsaid hovers in the air.

I can’t stop looking at her, can’t stop thinking about how much I want to hide her in that villa and take away all the pain she’s endured the last couple of hours. But I can’t have her. Not the way I want.

Garrett’s fuck-up and his father’s thirst for power have slapped chains around my wrists, binding me to a future I don’t want. Yet, sitting here with Lennox, I feel a flicker of something I haven’t felt in years.

Hope.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Shane

Iwatch Lennox swirl her tequila cocktail, her cheeks flushed from the alcohol. The sexiness in her eyes is something I can’t look away from.

“So, Shane,” she says, propping her chin on her hand as she studies me. “How many women have you rescued and tucked away in your villa?”