“I’ll do what I fucking well like, arsehole!” The whole room went dead, and even with the beating of music I could hear some gasps of shock.
Luca’s nostrils flared. “Don’t test me, Clara.”
“Or what, Mr. Belatoni? What could you possibly do to me in front of all these people?”
I was about to put the drink to my lips when Luca lunged and flung the thing from my hand. It went crashing to the floor, glass sprawling everywhere. “What did you go and do that for?”
“I told you not to drink it.”
I couldn’t believe he had just done that. “You’re not my father. You can’t tell me what to do! Barman, I’ll have another Cosmopolitan please.” I could feel a thousand set of eyes upon me, so I gazed around the room. Sure enough, just about the whole club was watching.
The barman looked over at Luca. The look was distinctly like a man seeking permission for his actions. I couldn’t believe it. The barman wasn’t going to serve me unless Luca specifically said he could. The power this man possessed was beyond ridiculous.
“Oh, I see. I can’t have a drink now unless the almighty Luca says so.” I glared at the barman, making him wince.
“Don’t look at him like that. He’s just doing his job.”
I laughed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought his job was to serve drinks. I want a Cosmopolitan, please.” Again, the barman looked across at Luca. Luca nodded his head and it was only then the barman made any kind of movement. Boy, what was wrong with people?
“What are you doing here?” Luca’s glare was meant to be intimidating, but Luca didn’t easily intimidate me. Half the time, I just wanted to smash his smug face in.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. High and Mighty. I didn’t realise I should be stuck at home waiting for you to turn up whenever you damn well pleased.”
A look of resignation crossed his face. “You’re angry with me.”
I straightened my posture. “Fucking too right I’m angry with you! Who do you think you are?”
Luca looked down for a moment. “Today was complicated.”
I laughed. “Okay—complicated. You know, there is a little contraption called a phone. You can call people on it and tell them how long you’re going to be, etcetera. Marvellous invention. A lot of people say it’s going to catch on one day.” I was rather shocked at myself to tell the truth. I had only known Luca for a couple of days, and there we were arguing like a married couple. It just got weirder and weirder.
“You’re being sarcastic with me now.” Luca’s look was unimpressed. “You don’t know what went on today.”
The barman placed my drink in front of me and I didn’t hesitate any longer. I picked the drink up and placed it to my lips. A part of me thought Luca might lunge at it again, so I was surprised when he just sat there and watched me. I took that opportunity and downed the lot.
“Very mature,” Luca grumbled.
I looked him up and down. He was wearing a three piece grey suit, and boy did he look sexy in it. “And I suppose locking me up until I’d had sex with you is really mature as well?” A couple of people giggled, and others had their eyes wide with shock.
“Talking of which, why did that snake have his hands all over you?” His normally caramel eyes grew a shade darker as the anger set in.
“I am my own person. I can do what I want. If I want to have another man’s hands all over me, then I will.”
Luca came closer until his face was inches away from mine. “No fucking man touches you. Do you get that?”
I could feel his anger was at the boiling point. “We’re so used to getting what we want, aren’t we, Mr. Belatoni? You’re not getting what you want this time. I’m not going to fall at your feet like others do. This is one person you can’t order around.”
“You want to test me?” His glaring eyes were hot with not only anger, but with lust as well. It seemed to be pouring itself from him straight into me. I could feel it radiating throughout my whole body. The feeling was just too intense for words.
Determined not to back down, I stood my ground. “You wouldn’t dare do anything here.”
Luca laughed. “You want to bet on that, amore mio? I could pull a random guy in the middle of the floor, cut him into little pieces, and there wouldn’t be a damn thing anyone here could or would do about it.”
“Is that a threat?” I still wasn’t backing down. Other people may be frightened of him, but I wasn’t. In fact, the whole thing was strangely turning me on.
“No. I’m just stating the obvious. I could haul you over my shoulder and drag you kicking and screaming. No one will care or notice—and even if they did, they would never do anything to stop me.”