Seven

We're even. Last night, Valeria kissed me without warning. Now, it's my turn.

I've never kissed someone this way in front of an audience. Even those chaotic nights in college when Dalton, Everett, and I were hammered and rolling on ecstasy, screwing girls in the same dorm room, I was never bold enough to kiss like this. Something about Valeria makes me uninhibited though. The kiss is open-mouthed and fast. Obscene amounts of tongue. Hungry. Lewd. Nasty in all the right ways—and fuck me if the audience doesn't make it hotter. I could get used to this.

Valeria sucks on my bottom lip and groans, spurring my hands to start roaming. I find the skin below the hem of her shorts and press it, dragging the pads of my fingers over her softness. I wonder if she's sensitive from last night. The temptation to look is nearly overpowering. I flex my hands, massaging her thighs, imagining the tinge of pink on her skin from the rough fucking I gave her. It's a mind-blowing thought—but I'm getting carried away. We have to stop.

She's kiss-dazed when I reluctantly pull my lips from hers, and the dickwad at her door is glaring at us with beady, jealous eyes. A job well done, if I do say so myself: I got to kiss Valeria and I won a figurative dick-measuring contest against someone who pissed off my girl.

Yes—my fucking girl.

"I didn't catch your name," I mention, shifting my attention to the shitbag watching us. I give him my best fake manners honed through years of prep school, Ivy League undergrad and law school, and now the firm. It's more of a smirk. Bet he wants to punch me. "Are you Matt?"

To be clear, there is no Matt; I pulled the name out of thin air. I figured it would rock his shit if he thought there were more guys in Valeria's life, and I'm always down for mindfuckery. Judging by his scowling face, it's yet another job well done.

God, I'm on my A-game today.

"I'm Sebastian," he replies, his voice slow and acidic. "I work for Valeria's father, but I've known her for all our lives."

Her father. Interesting. I make a mental note to figure out what her father does and how this guy fits into it. If I'm going to get Valeria, I need to know all the important people in her life—including this fuckface.

Valeria shifts in my arms but she doesn't pull away. "Sebastian, Lander is—"

"Valeria's boyfriend," I supply, holding out my hand to Sebastian like we're not well into a heated standoff. "It's good to meet you."

"Boyfriend?" is his curt response. He ignores my hand.

"Sebastian was leaving," Valeria continues, glancing up at me. "Why don't you wait at your place? I'll walk him out."

"No, I'll stay here," I decline, staring right at Sebastian. He's decent looking: put together and well-dressed, so he's not obviously threatening. Then again, on a daily basis, I ruin careers and make grown men cry while wearing custom suits, so I know better than to trust appearances.

Valeria raises an eyebrow, but she doesn't fight me: a sign she doesn't actually want to be alone with him.

I raise my chin at Sebastian. "Elevator's that way. I'm sure you can figure it out yourself."

Sebastian's eyes bore into me. "Fine. Unblock me, Valeria," he grits before he heads down the hallway.

I watch him go. He's dressed in a navy-blue suit and his gel game is solid, so I figure he's in one of the big DC industries—law, consulting, or politics—but I'm not sure which one. He's waiting by the elevator at the other end of the hall and my curiosity wins out, as usual. If Valeria blocked this guy, he's a problem—which makes him my problem too.

"I'll be back," I say before I kiss the side of Valeria's head. I know I shouldn't—that she only went along with my boyfriend ruse to get rid of Sebastian—but kissing her feels right. I've wanted to do it all damn day. If this is my only shot, I'm going to take it.

"Wait—" she objects, reaching for my arm as I go.

"Just a second," I swear, glancing back at her. "I'll be right back. Promise."

I catch Sebastian at the elevator. He's typing on his phone but stops when he notices me standing next to him.

"The fuck do you want?" he questions, his face contorted into the most severe scowl I've seen all day—which is saying a lot because I made a first-year associate circle every instance where he missed an oxford comma with a red Crayola marker in a forty-six-page draft of a contract.

I lean against the wall by the elevator and look him over. His suit is nice, but mine is nicer. "Look," I begin, "I don't know what your deal is, but I know Valeria wanted you gone. So, if you ever show up here again without her permission, I'll make you sorely regret it."

Sebastian's scowl mutates into a snarl, yet he looks inexplicably meek, like a puggle, frankly. "Are you threatening me?" He slides his phone into his pocket and faces me just as Valeria appears next to us. "You have no clue who you're dealing with, but if you had any idea what's going on, you'd bite your tongue."

"Doubtful. My tongue is busy these days," I counter. When I wink, I can practically see him envisioning my slow death in the teeny right side of his brain. He takes a step closer to me.

"Lander, let it go," Valeria interjects, grabbing me by the shoulder and pulling me back.

Before I can respond, Sebastian lets out a chuckle. His eyes linger on Valeria's hand, which is digging painfully into my arm, before he swings his gaze to my face. Then he asks Valeria something in Spanish.

At least, I think he asked her something. Like every rich bastard on the East Coast, I took French in high school, not Spanish, which was a huge mistake. Not only am I incapable of tracking this conversation, but I also didn't even learn enough French to say I regret learning French in French.

"Sebastian," she warns, shaking her head. Her eyes have narrowed and a hint of panic lives in the knot between her eyebrows.

It's his turn to smirk now. Glaring, his eyes drift back to my face. "Listen, I don't know how you got involved with her." He raises his chin at Valeria. "But trust me: You're making a mistake."

"Sebastian, stop it," she hisses, pulling harder. "Please let it go. I'll unblock you. I'll—"

"You know, that's a good suit," Sebastian continues, ignoring Valeria and canting his head while he looks me up and down. "An impressive watch. How much did that all cost you?"

"A fuck-ton," I answer, staying where I am even though Valeria is practically yanking on me at this point. I don't want to disregard her, but her track record with confronting problems head-on isn't exactly sterling. If I want to know what's going on, I'll have to find out myself. "But I can afford it."

Sebastian snickers, clearly rattled, but undeterred. "You said you got held up with a partner, so I'll assume you're a lawyer. Corporate. Partner track."

"Sebastian," Valeria hisses, finally abandoning her attempt to move me. She stands between us. "Stop it."

I tug her back towards me, wrapping my arms around her waist and pressing my hand against her stomach in case Sebastian gets any ideas.

But Sebastian is too focused on me to notice Valeria anymore. "I'm a lawyer too," he goes on. "Well, I used to be. Now, I'm a policy advisor at the Mexican Embassy. Much more prestigious than law, but ambition looks different for everyone." His eyes flicker to Valeria and then land back on my face. "Are you ambitious, Lander?"

"What are you getting at?" I snap, willing him to get it over with. He's been drawing out the prologue for nearly two minutes now.

"Do you know how she makes her money?" Sebastian inquires. "Because I doubt the other lawyers at the firm are going to like or respect it."

Valeria's entire body goes rigid in my grasp. "Sebastian—"

"She's a whore," Sebastian finishes, delivering the words triumphantly. "Google Aurora Amada, pretty boy." He winks when the elevator arrives. "Oh, and Valeria, I'll see you soon for family dinner."

Sebastian disappears behind the doors before my body can catch up with my anger. I should wreck him…or something along those lines. I've never hit another person, but I would eagerly try to reduce his skull to a fine powder for what he said—or at least make him believe I'm going to.

Valeria weaves out of my hold and steps back, a look of horror passing over her face.

No, not horror…devastation.

Hedid this to her.

"Motherfucker," I hiss before I slam my hand on the button panel, calling the elevator back. "Valeria, I'll—"

But when I face her to say I'll need a few minutes to set this guy straight, she's already gone, running towards her condo and away from me for the second time in a day.

Damn. If I had known getting this girl would require Spanish fluency and regular cardio, I would have started training months ago.