Page 209 of Powerhouse: Boxed Set
Holy fuck, Lucian Morelli was a demon.
A demon I wanted to possess me and my worthless soul.
Thirty! Thirty thousand dollars!
Somehow, I had to stop thinking about Lucian Morelli.
It knocked me back when Zelda’s hand dropped at the other table. She clapped her hands and let out a cheer for me across the room, and it was on me. Every iota of attention in that whole ballroom was all on me. I’d done it. I’d won some random penguin when I didn’t have enough cash to buy my soul an escape from hell.
My eyes felt glassy. The applause meant nothing when it came. Mom’s disgust still rang loud through my veins, even though she wore a fake smile along with the rest of the crowd.
But then a voice sounded out. A voice that made no sense to me.
“Fifty-thousand dollars,” the man said.
No.
It couldn’t be.
I saw his darkness. I saw the solidity of his stance. I saw the broadness of his shoulders as he held his hand up to the auctioneer like he was the calmest guy on the planet.
Lucian Morelli. My own personal demon.
Unlike Tinsley’s birthday party, he would have been invited to this charity auction. The Morelli family was much like the Constantines, though my mother would throw a fit if I ever said that out loud. We were both rich and amoral. They were as powerful as we were.
That was what made the feud last forever.
My mother’s face had gone stone hard. Lionel was muttering something in her ear. They didn’t like me bidding on the penguin, but they hate even more that a Constantine was bested by a Morelli. It will feel like losing a battle for them.
I couldn’t stop staring.
My hand was trembling as I dropped it back to the table top, because I had to be wrong. I had to be losing my mind.
“And the penguin goes to the gentleman at table five!” the guy on stage called out, and the applause struck up even louder, all for the monster in our midst. “Your name?”
“Lucian Morelli.”
A soft gasp runs through the room. People who couldn’t see him now know exactly who’s in their midst. The Morellis may be a lot like the Constantines, but they’re different in one way. They’re known to be more dangerous.
The applause starts again, louder this time.
It was Harriet who leaned in to my side when the applause started up again, her giggle a surprise enough to jar my senses.
“Is that him?” Harriet whispers into my ear. “He looksintense.”
Yes. Intense is a good word to describe him. His dark gaze met mine, and all that intensity was directed at me.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Lucian
So many people,cheering and clapping.
I raised my glass to the stage and made a small bow.
Fuck knows how my insanity had sunk low enough that I’d paid fifty thousand dollars just to enjoy the look on that little girl’s face when she saw me stealing her applause.
That’s what it was, of course. It was stealing her applause and seeing the shock and fear on her face when she realized it was me.
