Chapter 71

Eyes flashing with veiled rage, yet he’s laying down his sword and raising a white flag. He’s in Carrero domain and it’s not a place you want to pick a fight when you’re alone and unarmed. That stubborn set of his jaw relaxes, and he leans back slightly in a less dominating stance, while still trying to pull off confident.

‘‘Let’s not make a bit of skirt become a factor in a communication breakdown, there’s plenty of whores in here to satisfy my needs. Fancy a few in my room tonight and maybe vary the styles.’’ He’s receding with a smile but his face says everything; that anger is still there and Alexi is not relaxing either. I can almost feel ripples of high octane hostility coming off him in waves, it’s a little suffocating.

‘‘Sure, pick a few and it shall be arranged. I have more on standby if we don’t have what you like.’’ Alexi steps back, but there is still a tiny subtle edge to his tone. When Santagato moves away he lets go of my dress and glances back at me, his eyes skimming my face, and he drops his chin and tone for my ears only, brushing his mouth almost against my ear.

‘‘Go to my office, now.’’ He breathes it at me and I swiftly remove myself from the room and head straight for the lift, my heart in my throat, head swirling with dizziness and running like my arse is on fire.

* * *

‘‘I don’t trust that bastard!’’ Alexi makes me jump when he comes walking into the room, and I almost fall off the desk where I have been perched while waiting. I had been sitting picking my nails, lost in thought when he appeared and I jump to my feet as he closes the door.

Lucie has stopped bothering to show up half the time so mostly we are alone on this floor nowadays and it’s creepily quiet up here with all the new soundproofing downstairs. It feels like we are locked in solitude, a million miles away from the club.

‘’What do you think he will do?’’ I ask impulsively, knowing he means Santagato, standing beside the desk as I am too antsy to sit back down and my eyes are glued to him stalking around. He’s dressed formally tonight and just looks painfully groomed and sleek in all black despite his agitated manner.

‘‘I insulted him by saying no to his demands, he’s not the type to just bypass something he wants. Stay up here for the rest of the night and keep out of his way, let him leave and simmer. If you reappear he will just try and goad me into another war over you.’’

‘’If it’s that bad … why didn’t you just let him have me?’’ I bite out bitterly, hating that in this world women equal objects and it’s never going to change anytime soon. This is the reality of these men and their archaic system and is one of the reasons why I can never get free or ahead in this man’s fucking world.

Alexi throws me a dark look and I just shut my mouth, knowing I should still be wary of poking at him when he’s brewing in a mood that isn’t one you want to escalate. ‘’That’s not how it works. He wants what’s mine and I refused, it’s not about you, it’s about boundaries and power balance. The Santagato’s and the Carrero’s have equal footing, so he and I are on the same level in the hierarchy. It wasn’t about a woman; it’s about pushing dominance and standing. Why do you think he even comes here, when he owns a million clubs just like this?’’ Alexi seems more agitated at my comment and yanks off his tie and jacket and throws them on the desk carelessly, loosening his collar as he stalks to the bar to pour a drink.

He drinks too much, every time I see him he’s pouring himself booze, and he needs to cut that shit down before he puts himself in an early grave. If he drinks as much as he does here when he’s elsewhere, then maybe I should worry he has a problem, not that he often gets drunk at all. Apart from that night with Gino, Alexi never seems anything but sober. I just hate seeing him chucking it back anytime he is here, and he drinks more than I do.

‘‘Men are complete twats. I will never understand any of you. All this dominance bullshit just makes everything insane and dumbs you all down.’’ I blurt out in frustration and Alexi turns and smiles at me. It’s a weird reaction but he props his arse on the edge of the bar and just looks at me for a long moment. His face softening from that glacier frown to a softer, more relaxed look.

‘’I’m sorry.’’ He says it so matter of fact and emotionless that I just blanch at him.

‘‘For what? Santagato?’’ The great Carrero saying sorry! I should video this for the history books, and yet I actually have no clue why he is apologising for something that is out of his control. He was the one who stepped in to rescue me, once again. Seems to be becoming a habit with him.

‘’This morning.’’ He looks sombre when he says it and I instantly pause and just glance at him in surprise, not sure how to react to that. I wasn’t expecting this.

‘‘I’m not a guy who says it very often but … I am sorry, I overreacted.’’ I just regard him and don’t know what to say or feel.