Page 174 of Powerhouse: Boxed Set
I didn’t smile back. I didn’t blink. I could feel it. Her curiosity.
There were five hundred people at this masquerade ball, and she knew every single one of them. Except for me. My gaze was cold; hers, wondering.
There was chatter all around us, neither of us were listening.
She should have learned her lesson as a baby girl long ago, that curiosity killed the cat. Clearly, she hadn’t. She kept advancing, trying her best to keep her cool, but failing.
Mine was, too.
I didn’t let it show.
TheHappy Birthdaysong blared out as the charade of a celebration reached its peak. The whole gang of Constantine siblings assembled around the birthday girl as a massive cake appeared in a procession, all proud of the little princess as she jumped up and down.
Elaine joined her siblings with a forced smile, mouthing the words with no heart.
When the candles were blown out and the cake whisked away to be cut in the kitchen, she made her retreat toward the rear exit. No one looked at her. Not as closely as I did. But every move she made was coated in sadness.
It may’ve been a happy birthday for Tinsley, but in reality, the Constantine kids weren’t a happy, well-adjusted bunch. Neither were the Morellis, come to think of it.
We had that in common, despite being enemies.
My cock made me follow her far more than my brain did. I was snaking in her wake as people cheered for Tinsley. I really was a monster for chasing the forbidden.
Elaine’s deft fingers already tapped away on her phone when I reached the hallway to join her. I caught a glimpse of the rideshare app and knew she was only minutes away from escaping. “Going somewhere?” I ask.
Her eyes went wide as she faced me. “Who are you?”
“Lucian Morelli, at your service.”
Shock turned her face white. “A Morelli? Here? You have to go. You have to leave. Mom will freak the fuck out if she finds out you’re here. Even I won’t be able to save you.”
Amusement rose in my throat. “Would you save me, Elaine?”
She frowned. “I’m being serious. You can’t be here.”
“Who’s going to stop me?”
“Security, for one thing.”
“I paid them far too much to let me in for them to kick me back out. Enough talking about me, sweetheart. I want to know where you were going. Home? Or somewhere more interesting? A club? Are you going to dance the night away?”
Her eyes narrowed. “It’s really none of your business.”
“I’m making it my business.” I leaned into her, a hard press against the wall that had her gasping. It wasn’t polite. It was rude and brutish and everything the Morellis were rumored to be. She had probably been told stories about how terrible we were, like cautionary tales. Well, the Morellis were told the same stories about the glittering, golden Constantines.
She tried to push me away, but I wouldn’t budge. Her blue eyes were saucers through her mask. “Don’t you know who I am?” She gave a quick glance down the hall and lowered her voice. “Don’t you know what they’ll do to you if they see you with me?”
The hallway was empty around us, everyone firmly consumed by Tinsley Constantine’s birthday celebration. Cake. There would be cake. And endless fountains of champagne.
“I know exactly who you are,Elaine.” I pushed my thigh between hers.
Her eyes widened even more through the glitter of her mask. I wasn’t afraid of her family, but her words confirmed how isolated they kept her. She could mingle in public, but they would cut the dick off any man who dared touch their little princess.
She was well-bred. That was why I wanted a woman like her.
Of course, that was before I saw her. Then I wanted her for an entirely different reason.
“Then you really are crazy,” she said, her head shaking, her voice wavering. Is it fear? Arousal? That’s the problem with a twisted sadist like me. I don’t care much about the distinction. They’re both fucking hot. “My mother wouldn’t have you thrown out. She’d have you…”
