Page 46 of Torch

She bit her bottom lip, slightly smirking. Brit touched my chest, slowly rubbing me. “You did, but you look so damn hot in this tux. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep my hands off you.”

A growl rumbled in my chest. Talking like that would lead to her getting thoroughly fucked in the backseat of this SUV. Brittney giggled because she knew exactly what she was doing.

“Careful, love. I’ll find a spare room somewhere in this building and fuck you until you can’t walk anymore.”

She gasped as her eyes glazed over with lust. I couldn’t take it so I gripped her chin and slipped my tongue into her mouth. Brit greedily sucked it, throwing her arms around my neck. I reached out to fondle her tits but was interrupted as the driver opened my door. We broke the kiss, staring into each other’s eyes.

“I’m going to put that fire out later, beautiful. I promise you that,” I declared as I got out of the truck.

I made my way around her side and opened her door. I had already instructed the driver that I would be the only one opening doors for my woman. As Brit stepped out of the vehicle, two ushers approached us. One grabbed the end of Brit’s gown so it wouldn’t drag while the other led us inside to the ballroom.

When we stepped inside, I saw my mother had gone all-out, per usual. The room was beautifully decorated. The atmosphere was a blend of luxury, celebration, emotion, and purpose. The dance floor was in the middle of the room, surrounded by countless tables. Each table was covered with white linen, and glass centerpieces were filled with white hydrangeas. Those were my nana’s favorites.

Along the walls were pictures of her taken over the years of her life. They were placed in order, showcasing the duration of her life. Brit stopped in her tracks when we got to the picture of Blade and me asleep in bed with my nana. We were four years old.

“Aww, you look so cute,” she cooed.

I raised a brow at her because most people couldn’t tell us apart back then. The only reason people could tell us apart these days was that we had different tattoos, and I had longer hair than Blade.

“How do you even know which one is me?”

Brit grinned, stepping toward the photo. “Because of this right here. You still do it to this day,” she said, pointing to the crease line in my forehead. I smiled wide, realizing that at some point she had definitely watched me in my sleep. That’s the only time that line was there.

I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her in. “You watch me sleep, beautiful?”

She gazed into my eyes, making my heart race. “Sometimes,” she replied with no shame.

I got ready to kiss her lips but heard a throat being cleared behind us. I turned around and saw my siblings approaching us with their significant others. Bianca coming to a black-tie event like this wasn’t a shocker. However, Viper, Bear, and Armor coming was. Don’t get me wrong, from the moment they claimed my sisters, it was the only event they ever showed up to. They knew what this night meant to my sisters, so they sucked it up and came every year. I knew then they loved my sisters to death because, to this day, I had never seen Bear in a tux other than this night. He didn’t even wear one when he married Sara.

“Hey, Brittney. You look stunning.” Sara smiled, pulling her into a one-arm hug. All my sisters followed suit.

“How has it been so far?” I asked them.

Cara rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her champagne. “Same as usual. Every local CEO in here has approached us trying to network. They're either hoping to have some kind of business dealings with us or Dad.”

Sara shrugged her shoulders. “I haven’t had that problem.”

Sofia snapped her head toward Sara with a small frown. “That’s because Bear gives anyone who tries to come toward you a menacing stare. Even I wouldn’t be dumb enough to approach you.”

The group burst into laughter while Bear looked on unashamed. He might be here for support, but he wasn’t going to fake it for anyone.

“How many fresh faces are here tonight?” I questioned.

“A lot,” Blade spoke, looking around. “Mama sent invitations to all the local companies in town and the ones in the surrounding cities.”

For the first time ever, we weren’t hosting the event in California like we usually did. There were way more kids now. My mom and sisters didn’t want to be that far away. It made sense that my mother would extend the invitation to the surrounding businesses. Not to sound cocky, but if the Romano name was attached to it, people would show up. Especially to get a chance to network with my father.

“Oh, God. Please not right now,” Cara mumbled.

I turned to her and saw her lips pursed. “What is it?”

She shook her head. “Ho-bag incoming.”

I followed her gaze and saw Mariana strutting over to us. I sighed with annoyance. She attended this event every year, trying to seduce her way into my life. No matter how many times I shot her down, she wouldn’t give up.

She stepped a little too close to me, so I pulled back. I wrapped an arm around Brittney’s waist, placing her body right in front of mine. Without words, I made myself clear. I was a taken man.

Mariana's face went from surprised to a scowl. “Well, hello, Christian.”