Antihero (Indefinite Hiatus D: )

Chapter Thirty-Two

I hadn't ever seen Christopher so uncomfortable, not even the first time he met DeMarlo.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow at him as he sniffed the foie gras on his small plate.

"What is this?" he asked, pointing at it. "It looks gross."

"Yeah, don't eat it," I replied smoothly. "It's foie gras." He looked even more confused.

"I won't like it?" he inquired, looking at it closely.

"It's the liver of a force-fed duck or goose," I commented, eating a cracker with some type of fancy French cheese on it. "You might like it, but I don't think you'll want to eat it."

"That's horrible," he gaped, placing his plate down and opting to eat crackers from my own. "Thanks." I had learnt over the last few months that Christopher was an exceptionally empathetic soul to those who he deemed as 'good', including animals.

I took a sip from my champagne as I looked around the room, trying to avoid the eyes of those watching me, looking for a way to catch my attention and in turn my recognition. It was a vast ballroom at some large opera house I forgot the name of, filled with gorgeous wooden floors and antique chandeliers. I felt oddly at home. DeMarlo would have loved to hold the engagement party at his own property to show off his lavish wealth but doing so would risk bringing enemies into our own home.

Even though we worked with the government, there were still people, government officials even, who didn't approve of the DeMarlo family. Our strong security was one of the reasons we could relax at home – inviting hundreds of people inside was simply asking for trouble.

Mira was making her way around the room, taking everyone's breath away as she did so, accompanied by Paulo, who looked like a drowned rat next to her gorgeousness. As though he felt my gaze on him, Paulo turned, and his eyes met mine. I sneered at him and he smiled back, sparkles lighting his eyes so bright I felt bad and offered a small nod of acceptance back. It was obvious he was enraptured by Mira, as most people were. He was so in love with her he was losing her mind. What more could a brother ask for, really?

"He looks happy," Christopher remarked, taking another cracker from my plate as I looked at him slightly irritated, taking a large gulp from my champagne and nodding in agreement.

"Michaelson," a familiar voice said softly.

I turned around, handing the plate to Christopher since he was the one eating it anyway, and smiled sultrily at Noah. Noah looked divine in a cream suit that made his dark skin even more recognizable, the material stretched tight against his muscular form.

"Noah! What are you doing here?" I purred happily, sliding an arm around him as he brought me in for a hug, placing a kiss on my cheek.

"I really want to kiss you," he whispered in my ear, before leaning back, looking slightly sad. "Unfortunately, I can't." He nodded his head toward an older lady who was eyeing us not-so-discreetly. "I am accompanying Mrs Braithe tonight."

"Ah, I see," I replied smoothly. "That's too bad, I could have done with some company."

"Uh, what am I?" Christopher commented sarcastically, looking at Noah oddly. "Hey, Noah."

"Christopher! How are you?" Noah said, moving away from me and standing at a more respectable distance, both of us acutely aware of the woman's beady eyes on his back.

"Same as usual." Christopher shrugged and smiled at him.

"Training hard then?" Noah asked him, nudging him slightly.