I need to get her out of my head because spanking her ass and rubbing her to a mind shattering release did nothing but make me want her more.Impossible fucking situation.Even if I weren’t supposed to be proposing to a woman who wants no part of an arranged marriage any more than I do.Fucking impossible situations.
Besides, Sophia is the enemy.And I’m supposed to be marrying Desiree, the ice queen who doesn’t want a thing to do with me and my money and I haven’t bothered to touch.Still, my father does not need to tell me what the marriage means to uniting the families and consolidating the territory and power under one person, namely me, when he hands me the throne.And his plans sure as fuck do not include a Cassone.
I would do well to keep that in mind while trying to extricate myself from the situation with Desiree while finding a way to keep Sophia safe.
Perhaps letting my dick make decisions was a minor lapse of judgment, but still, the outcome is the same.One Cassone is as good as the other.Besides, I did my father a favor.We don’t need the wrath of the Gallini family breathing down our neck, which would surely be the case if we had taken Anna.It would have just started another conflict with her fiancée’s family and my father knows it.At least that’s the way I see it, no matter that the old man does not agree.“Sophia will work just fine.A daughter is a daughter in old man Cassone’s eyes.She will pay his debt.”
My father grabs a cigar and lights it.“The youngest daughter has her head in the sky, thinks she’s going to finish school and leave this world.Anna has trading power and Cassone needs her to survive in our world, to maintain his power and remain armed with the Gallinis.Taking Anna would have made him pay his debt back faster, Massimo.What is wrong with you?”
I pour myself a drink of whiskey from the crystal decanter and swallow a sip of the Delmar before placing the fine Italian glass on the black marble bar.“Think about it.The older daughter is betrothed to Barcelo Gallini.Starting a war with them at the same time we’re going up against the Cassones?It would be foolhardy.To what end?Besides we have business dealings with the Gallinis that we don’t want to fuck up.”
My father probably sees the reasoning, but still he fumes, intentionally blowing each suffocating puff of smoke into the air as he sinks into his favorite chair like a sullen child.“It’s always the oldest daughter, it’s tradition.It’s what we do!”he roars.
One day, he’s just going to have to let go, and today may as well be that day.“The older daughter is sick and would cause us complications.We have Sophia, she’ll pay off the debt that is owed, and we will return her when it’s paid and save face without a war or tons of casualties that we can ill afford right now.All is well in the world as we fucking know it.We can’t afford to be in a war with the Cassones and the Gallinis at the same time.It’s better to leave Anna out of it altogether, and hopefully that will be enough to keep the Gallinis from interfering.”
His eyes narrow.“I have it on very good authority that Anna was home and that you simply didn’t check.”
I huff out an exasperated breath.All his fucking spying.And he just will not leave this bone alone.No doubt he has infiltrated soldiers into the Cassone family that me and my brothers do not know about.Eyes and ears fucking everywhere.I make a mental note to let Leandro, Angelo, Renato and Tristano know to keep their eyes and ears open.
Our father is a non-trusting bastard, but the fact that Anna was there and I chose Sophia should be no concern of his.Someday soon, all the decisions will be mine to make, but with his rashness as of late, respecting his decisions is becoming harder and harder to do.
And my decision should have nothing to do with the way Sophia looked at me last week when I saved her from the fuck who tried to drug her in the bar, or again today as those eyes connected with mine from the top of the stairs and she realized who I was but didn’t know why I was there.
A Cassone and Roselli together would ignite a war the likes that no one has ever seen, battles and territorial skirmishesishes throughout the centuries in the old country and still today as our ancestors continue to fight for territory lines and land here and abroad.
No matter what happened after she turned those dark eyes with flecks of gold on me, that fire raging so hot it felt like I could see into the mirror of her soul.Sophia was coming with me, but that’s the last thing I’ll tell the old man.No need to cause my father a fucking heart attack.“It wasn’t a good idea to take Anna knowing she was sick.”
He scoffs, still unwilling to leave it alone.“Who says she is sick?Where did you get that information?”
Distrust flickers in those dark orbs and my jaw tightens at the accusation guised within the context of his question.I don’t fucking care if he trusts me at this point or not.He should know that I have eyes and ears too, on all of our family’s enemies.“The tail we’ve had on the Cassones said Anna’s made two trips to the doctor in the last couple weeks alone.
Her sister, Sophia, confirmed what our soldiers learned.”My jaw locks tight at his constant interference and need for control.“If I thought we should take Anna I would have checked to see if she was home, which I didn’t, because I already knew she was there.I just didn’t care.I don’t appreciate being put in charge and then questioned at every turn.If I’m going to run the business one day, you need to start letting me handle things.”
He blows out another ring of smoke, watching it float through the air of his study, the only room in the house Mamma will allow him his guilty pleasure.“Where is she?”he growls.
My father acts as though he doesn’t know exactly what happened or where she is.“I took Sophia to my villa.I have plenty of space and didn’t think you’d want to worry Mamma by bringing her here.”
His eyes narrow and his face turns even redder.“The warehouse, that’s where we keep her, capische?This is not a holiday!You want me to let you be in charge then remember how we do things in the family or I’ll get one of your brothers to do it for you!”
One more threat like that and he can shove the damn job right up his ass, the cranky old bastard.My eyebrow lifts.“Do not tempt me, Father.Not today.She’s being heavily guarded and there is no threat of the Cassone’s taking her back.Besides, this way, we’re utilizing the men I already have in employ without any need to put others at the warehouse and spread our soldiers any thinner.A win, win if you ask me, but of course you did not.Good night, Father.”
His eyes narrow.“Fine, but when I give the family update, I’m going to tell everyone that I changed the order at the last minute.To have you take her to your home instead of the warehouse.It will protect you from your own folly and teach you a valuable lesson at the same time.”
I inhale a deep breath.“No, father, it will save you the embarrassment of your soldiers learning that I disobeyed a direct order.Ones you would not give if you trusted my judgement.”I spin on the heel of my shoe to head toward the door.
His voice carries as it raises with ire.“You just don’t understand the ramifications of what you’ve done.Once word gets out that you’ve brought the Cassone daughter to your own private estate, what do you think Desiree’s father is going to say?The head of the Amorte family will see it as a public insult to his daughter, as would I if the situation were reversed.We’ve committed to this marriage between the two of you whether you want Desiree or not.”
I swipe a hand through my hair.“Fucking arranged marriages in the twenty-first century.”
“And when are you planning to officially propose?I’ve been holding the man at bay for almost a year and now this.Just because we have more power right now, do not underestimate the wrath of a man who believes his daughter to be compromised.”
My jaw locks tight.“Arranged marriages should have been abolished years ago.Oh, wait, they were, right, except for the privileged few, like me and Desiree?”
His eyes bulge before his arm lifts, throwing his crystal tumbler with enough force to shatter it against the brick fireplace, sending glass shards shooting through the air in a hundred directions.I’m far enough away, but not as far from him as I would like when he starts pushing me about proposing to Desiree.“You will abide by our culture.It is not up for discussion,” he yells.
Same conversation different fucking day.Tomorrow he’ll be calmer, and I’ll find a way to smooth the waters.“She and I have not set a date yet, when we’re ready we will.
His dark eyes, so much like my own when he looks at me this way, leave no room for negotiation.“You’ll be the next head of both our family and the Amorte’s.They are getting weak, they’ll not survive and the son that marries her will control their territory.It will be you, Massimo.There will be no more discussion about this.We’ve been patient with you two long enough!And now you’ve added a complication that did not need to be by bringing that Cassone girl to your estate instead of the warehouse.Old man Amorte will be livid when he finds out.”
