the state. This wasn’t just any function. No. It was one full to the brim with people who liked to portray that they were upstanding members of society, but we all knew their shady dealings were how they made their money.
Corrupt blood ran through the veins of at least half of the people in this room. People who all needed each other. They swapped favors like they were candy. A million dollars meant nothing to these people. It was a drop in the ocean to them.
They were the super-rich, some of them famous, but not one of them had what we had.
Loyalty.
A deep seeded allegiance to the organization we were part of.
We halted toward the left of the room, creating our own group. Even Sofia had stayed put, and she loved to come to things like this and meet new people. Tonight wasn’t about socializing though. It was about showing a united front and telling all those around us that the Beretta Mafia was stronger than ever.
I maneuvered Luna in front of me, keeping my hand on her hip, and whispered in her ear, “Don’t go far from me tonight.”
She tilted her head up, her hand clasped around a glass that she’d picked up from one of the silver trays. “Okay.” She didn’t ask why. She didn’t want an explanation. She read the room, understanding the silent undertones around us.
The music started, a string quartet filling the room with notes. “Want to dance?” I asked Luna.
Her lips pulled up oh so slowly, her smile hitting me right in the gut. “I thought you’d never ask.”
I chuckled, taking her champagne flute and handing it to the nearest person—Rafael. I wrapped my hand around hers, leading her toward an area that had been marked off for dancing. I’d only ever witnessed people on the dance floor at these things, but this time I would be the one being observed.
Her body slid against mine, her chest to my chest, her curled hair flowing off her shoulder and baring her neck. My hand twitched as I placed it on the bottom of her back, bringing her body completely flush with mine as I swayed us side-to-side. We weren’t really dancing, but that didn’t matter.
All that mattered was that she was in my arms, and that everyone saw it.
I was making a statement, not just to the men in my own organization, but to the men in The Enterprise that I knew were here somewhere. I was laying my claim officially, putting the rumors to rest with one simple move.
The touch of my lips to hers. The smile I flashed her way. And the closeness I held her with.
It said only one thing:
She was mine.
CHAPTER 16
LUNA
My cheeks hurt from grinning so much, but I couldn’t get the memory of Saturday night out of my head as I walked across campus for my second class of the day. Monday was always longer with four classes in one day, but I didn’t mind it so much because it meant I had an extra day off during the week.
I clenched my thighs together as the memory of Mateo drifted through my mind, reminding me of all the things he’d done and said to me when we’d gotten home from the party. My dress still laid in frayed pieces on the bedroom floor when I left this morning. I couldn’t bear to move it, wanting to hold on to the memory for as long as I could.
My heart hammered in my chest, my body reacting as if I was still laying on the bed with Mateo’s head between my legs and then his cock inside me. I bit down on my bottom lip, trying not to show how hot and bothered I was. Mateo never failed to make me feel like I was the only woman in the world who mattered to him.
I halted at the bottom of the stairs that led up to one of the buildings, trying to collect myself before I was stuck in a room full of people. The last thing I needed was for one of them to look at me like they knew what I was thinking.
“Luna.” I turned, frowning at the voice. I recognized it, but there was no way— “Luna.”
My heart hammered in my chest for a different reason now, and as I turned around in a half circle, I wasn’t sure what to think. What was she doing here?
“Mom?”
She smiled, the same smile she’d given me every time she’d gotten