Raw (RAW Family #1)(35)

Holding his hand out, palm up, I don’t even think as I let go of Dave and move over to stand with him. Tucking my hand into the crook of his elbow, he holds out his free hand to Dave and introduces himself. “You’re David Allen.” Dave nods, dumbstruck. Letting go of Dave’s hand, he takes Nikki’s small hand in his and kisses the top of it. “And you must be the lovely Nicole Palmer.”

Oh my God. The nerve! Acting all fakely suave around my friends. Gah!

Gritting my teeth and gripping his shirt tightly, I watch my friends go gaga over Twitch and fight the urge to yell, “It’s a trap! Don’t fall for it!” and continue to hold onto him. He chats with Nikki and Dave a while, and Nikki shoots me a look that says she approves. As in, a lot. I can see Dave has his doubts, eyeing Twitch’s tattooed neck and hands. I want to flick his nose, telling him not to stereotype people, but in this instance, I’d be wrong.

Twitch is exactly as his stereotype predicts. And that sucks.

I wish he was different. He’s not exactly boyfriend material. That, and he has a girlfriend.

At least, I think he does. Ling’s a bitch. She’d suit him to a T.

Suddenly, we’re walking in the opposite direction from my friends. Brows bunched, I ask, “Where are we going?”

He says with no feeling, “I told them I’d claimed you as my date tonight.” Face scrunching further, he eyes me and his lip twitches. “Nicole seems to like me. David not so much.”

I scoff, “That’s because you’re full of shit! Nikki is a hopeless romantic, whereas Dave can smell bullshit a mile away.” He doesn’t respond, just walks me along nodding his head. We stop at a deserted corner of the room and Twitch takes his time looking over my costume.

The more he looks, the more irritated he seems to become. And suddenly, I’m petrified that I made the wrong choice. Trying to take attention off of me, I ask, “What are you meant to be?”

His gaze roams my body once more. His hooded eyes finally reach mine. Searching my face a long time, he finally turns away, looking into the crowd. “Love.”

My entire body breaks out in goosebumps and I visibly shudder.

Love? He’s love? What the heck? He and I have very different views of love. That’s sad. Just…sad.

Catching my eyes, he scowls, “Don’t do that.” My face falls, and as I go to ask him what he means, he adds, “Don’t feel sorry for me. And don’t assume you know me. You don’t know shit about me.”

Face flaming, wanting to avoid an argument, I let go of his sleeve and start to walk away. He catches my hand and holds it tight, leading me in the opposite direction. Confused, I ask quietly, “Where are we going?”

He walks me a long while before he answers, “Taking you on a tour of my home.”





Did he just say his home? This is his home?

Mouth gaping in disbelief, he leads me out of the ballroom, down a short hall, and up a flight of narrow stairs. As we reach the top of the stairs, he turns to glance at me and does a double-take at my extremely obvious expression. “Don’t look so shocked, Lexi. You know what I do for a living. Money comes easy. Spending it comes easier. And I don’t have many outlets.” The bored tone of his voice is starting to become irritating.

As he pulls me closer to him, I blurt out, “Is Ling your girlfriend?”

Sneakily side-eyeing him, I watch his lips tilt in the corners. “Does it matter?”

Yes!

Adapting his bored tone, I lie through my teeth, “Not really. As long as it doesn’t affect me or the men I…” Ahem, “…see.”

His grip tightens on my hand, and suddenly I’m pushed into the hall wall. Breathing heavily, I watch him transform from a dark prince to something demonic. His eyes flash and his face contorts in rage; reaching down, he paws my mound through my dress and says through gritted teeth, “No one touches you. You got that? As long as I want you, no one else gets you, and after I’m done with you…” He licks my jawline. My eyes flutter. He presses his erection into my thigh. “…you’ll be forever unsatisfied. No one will ever take care of you the way I can. The way I know you want it. I know what you need, Lexi, even if you don’t know it yourself. But I’ll teach you.”

My heart practically beats out of my chest. I’m a little frightened and not sure what to do with what he just said to me. Apart from the fact that he said he will leave me. Not a maybe. A fact. This is why I should just walk away. And I need to voice this. So I do.

I whisper shakily, “I need to walk away from you.”

His nose runs up the length of mine and my eyes flutter closed. His bottom lip barely touches my top one as he whispers back, “What makes you think I’ll let you, Alexa?”

My stomach dips. Opening my eyes, I ask seriously, "Why do you watch me? I need to know.”

My stomach dips a second time when he inhales, looks over my face as if it were a work of art, then leans forward and kisses the tip of my nose. And he does this so gently, so sweetly, that my heart aches. “All in good time. You don’t know me. Yet.”

That almost sounds like a promise. My heart kick-starts again. I can live with that. A small promise is good for now. I wasn’t expecting much, so I guess I’m getting exactly what I expected.

Taking in a deep breath, I look at his soot-stained face and change the subject. “You’re going to get me dirty.”