Page 41 of When She Unravels
I’m taken aback. Is he offering me drugs?
He laughs slightly at my expression. “You haven’t been here long, I gather. I apologize. I shouldn’t have assumed.”
“Assumed what?”
He lifts one shoulder. “That you’re running on chemicals like the rest of us.”
I look down at the revelry happening in the salon. Of course, I’m aware people get high here. I just didn’t expect him to be so blunt. Back in New York, no one would have dared to offer drugs to the don’s daughter. In Ibiza, I’m a nobody, though. I could do whatever I want, and no one would try to stop me.
No one would care.
I have so many things I want to forget. Maybe getting high would help me smudge those memories until I can no longer make out the details.
I chew on the inside of my cheeks. “Well—”
“Adrian.” A severe voice slices through the air between us.
The hairs on the nape of my neck stand straight. I don’t need to look at De Rossi to know what he looks like right now—gorgeous and powerful and mad.
Adrian’s playful expression melts away as soon as he sees who it is. “Señor De Rossi. How are you?”
“Leave us,” he orders.
“We’re in the middle of a conversation,” I say.
Adrian speaks over me, “Of course. I was just saying goodbye.”
I whirl around. “Adrian, you don’t need to leave. De Rossi, if you want to talk to me, you’ll need to wait for your turn.”
There’s a stunned silence. Adrian is looking at me with wide, bewildered eyes that glint with a hint of fear, and the sight of it annoys me. Is this what I looked like when I meekly obeyed Papà’s and Lazaro’s orders? Saying no to them always felt impossible. But my life isn’t on the line when it comes to De Rossi, and neither is Adrian’s. Why does everyone treat him like he’s a god? Seriously, is it just the money? If that’s all it takes to command this kind of deference, why did Papà even need his enforcers?
Adrian says a rushedlo sientoand runs off without another glance at me.
“One day, I pray I’ll understand why everyone listens to you,” I say.
He starts to advance. “He listens to me because he works for me.”
“Of course he does,” I say, throwing up my hands. “I think next time I talk to someone, I’ll need to do a background check first.”
“Big words for a woman without a passport.”
I frown. Is he just teasing me, or is that a hint that he’s been digging?
He halts a few inches away, close enough to blanket me with his heat. Inside his dark eyes, something dangerous is brewing. “You came.”
The way he says it makes it clear he thinks I’m here for him. I better set him straight. “We both know what this party is for, De Rossi. You decided you could go, but I couldn’t? That’s not how it works.” I place my hands on his hard chest and try to press him away.
He doesn’t budge a single inch. His chin tips downward, his gaze glued to my lips. “I warned you.”
“So what? Maybe no one’s ever told you this before, but you’re not God. Just because you say something, doesn’t mean everyone has to listen.” I press harder against his chest.
His palms wrap around my wrists. “Why did you come?”
“Because I felt like it.”
“Why?” He drags one calloused thumb down the inside of my wrist. I feel that small caress all the way down to my belly. I shouldn’t have touched him. When I try to ease myself out of his grip there’s zero give. He’s not hurting me, but his hold is firm.
I huff a breath. “For the same reason you did. To have fun.”
