What binds us will destroy us.
Alex
All night I tossed and turned. My mind drifted between sleep and consciousness, dreams and nightmares. Luca was in all of them, the man who wore many faces.
My Devil in Disguise.
The air had shifted between us. A few days had passed since the meeting with my grandfather. I knew he would fall back into his old habits. Instead of asserting his claim over me, he’d left me with Marcello. Again. It was like he wanted me to run into his brother’s arms. He was making it too easy for me to choose Marcello at the end of the month.
I saw Luca on Tuesday morning. Dressed in a navy suit and brown wingtips, he looked like my greatest sin. The Devil I Craved. Before he’d left the house that night, Luca promised to come home for dinner. Stupid liar never bothered to call and didn’t answer my text messages. Marcello covered for him, claiming he was working and couldn’t be disturbed.
The arrogant prince showed his face the following morning. He didn’t even bother to tell me he was home. I strolled into the kitchen. Luca stood in front of the refrigerator, a bottle of water in his hand. He eyed me from across the room, taking in my curves that hugged the tight cranberry colored maxi dress.
“Where were you last night?”
He shut the refrigerator and uncapped his water. “Out.”
I moved toward him, though careful to keep my distance. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days.
I shoved my hands to my hips. “Where were you?”
Luca glared at me from beneath his dark eyelashes. “I don’t answer to you.”
“Then don’t expect me to answer to you.”
He crossed the room, avoiding my gaze. “Where I was last night is none of your business.”
“Were you with another woman?”
No answer, only a nasty scowl.
Even though I wanted to look away from him, I held his gaze. “I hate you.”
His cell phone rang. The obnoxious sound blared throughout the room. Without a second glance at me, he raised it to his ear, muttered a few words in Italian. Then he left the room like I didn’t exist.
* * *
On Thursday night, Marcello ate dinner with me at the table on my balcony. We had steak and lobster, eating mostly in silence. I liked that about him. The silence was oddly comforting.
He could walk on his own now and was healing nicely. If I tried to baby him, he gave me a warning look. So I stopped pressing him to get rest and take care of himself. His number one priority lately seemed to be me.
After dinner, he cleaned up after us and left my bedroom with our trays. He usually handed them off to someone else, then sat in the chair beside the window, drinking while I sketched new designs for my next exhibition. We fell into a comfortable but strange pattern. But when he didn’t return, I slid off the bed, abandoning my latest sketch.
He’d been gone for a while, and after seeing his spy shed, I wondered if there were other secrets hidden in the house. I cracked open the door and poked my head into the hallway lit by sconces. Dom wasn’t on duty tonight. It was just Marcello and me on this floor. So I stepped into the hall and headed left, checking for cameras as I tip-toed toward the back stairwell.
I turned doorknobs as I crept down the corridor, most of which were locked. The last door on my left opened without issue. My heart pounded as I pushed on the wood and heard loud moaning.
Not what I had expected.
I leaned against the frame, peeking into the dark room. Skin slapped together. A woman cried out in pain. Someone grunted. Then a groan ripped from a man’s mouth.
“Harder,” the woman moaned.
Another slap.
Then another.
Was it Luca?
Anger surged through me, sending a ripple of heat down my arms. We’d never committed to each other. He was free to do as he pleased, but I fucking hated him and his double standards.
As I stood in the doorway, my nipples pebbled. Liquid heat pooled between my legs with each moan and scream. Even though I couldn’t see them clearly, the sounds alone were enough to spark something inside me.
What the hell was wrong with me?
A hand snaked around my middle, then another covered my mouth. “Shh,” he whispered against the shell of my ear.
I leaned back against his muscular chest and felt his hard cock digging into my ass. His hand slid up my stomach and over my breasts. Slow and steady, he took his sweet ass time exploring my body. My skin heated from his touch, like it was about to set on fire.
His hand dipped beneath my silky pajama top. More moans filled the quiet air. My own slipped from my throat as he rolled his thumb over the aching bud. The woman inside the room screamed, snapping my attention back to her. She whined, her words muffled as she attempted to speak.