Betting on Julia (A Melville Sisters Novel) (Entangled Covet) by Nina Croft Page A

company. A very successful one.”
    …
    Bastian cast her a sideways glance. She appeared a little preoccupied. She’d said her sister-in-law had come with good news, but it obviously wasn’t entirely welcome if Julia’s expression was anything to go by. She was chewing on her lip, her brows drawn together.
    He knew how she felt. Tonight, he was struggling with his own internal issues. Dante was awake and trying to barge in on his consciousness. In the past, it had taken little effort to lock him away when he wasn’t wanted. They’d sort of come to an unspoken agreement: Dante stayed out of the way the majority of the time and in return, Bastian wouldn’t try and block him out when anything he might be interested in was happening. And only two things interested Dante: sex and violence. The sex usually involved the likes of Melanie, a few chains, and the odd whip or two. He was also quite fond of illegal cage fighting and was happiest when Bastian was doing the fighting. Bastian was happy to oblige and often took part in underground fights. He found the release of violence almost relaxing, satisfying a craving deep inside him, and he had quite a reputation in certain circles.
    Maybe that’s what he needed. Sex was out; somehow, he couldn’t face the idea of Melanie or her like while he was in this thing with Julia. But perhaps a good fight, some blood and sweat. Maybe that would pacify the demon, and he would leave him alone for a while.
    He’d phone when he got home tonight. Set something up.
    They arrived at the restaurant, and he held the door while Julia passed through. She smelled sharp and sweet, and he breathed in deeply, then walked behind her between the tables. Tonight, she was dressed in a black leather miniskirt, black tights, and her knee-length boots. The high heels made her hips sway. He had a mental picture of her bent over, the skirt rucked up to her waist. She’d be all pink and white with dimples at the bottom of her spine and…
    I like it. Dante murmured in his head. But maybe it needs something a little more… Suddenly his vision changed, and he held a multi stranded flogger in his hand; it was raised above his head and…
    “Piss off,” he muttered.
    A soft laughter echoed in his head and was gone.
    Up ahead, Julia stopped at what was obviously their table and glanced over her shoulder. “Did you say something?”
    “Nothing.”
    He sat down opposite her, ordered a bottle of red wine from the waiter, and sat back to examine her. When he’d first seen her picture, he’d considered her pretty. Now, with the real thing before him, he could see she was seriously beautiful, sort of angelic with her big blue eyes and golden curls. He felt an internal snort from Dante at the thought.
    She still appeared a little distracted, her blue eyes clouded with some internal thoughts that weren’t making her happy. Maybe he should ask what was wrong. Isn’t that what friends did? “What’s the matter?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Your friend said she had good news, but you look sad.”
    “Not really.” Then she gave a shrug. “Maybe a little.” She took a deep breath. “Lissa came to tell me she’s having a baby. Two babies actually. And I’m really happy for her—it’s what they want. But…”
    “But?”
    Another deep breath. “I found out recently that I can’t have children. And it’s strange, because I never thought about them before and now…”
    He reached out and took her hand. “And now?”
    “Now I can’t seem to stop thinking about them and that’s so stupid. I’m not even in a relationship. Underneath, I’d always presumed I’d eventually meet someone and have a bunch. I loved growing up with a big family.”
    “Are you sure there’s nothing you can do?”
    She bit her lip. “Pretty sure. Anyway, enough of that—it’s history. I’ve come to terms with it. But Lissa’s news brought everything back. Now let’s have a nice time. You can take my mind off it with funny