She laughs and drops her robe, climbing into the tub with an exaggerated sigh of pleasure. “Oh, that’s the stuff. I needed this.”
The conversation shifts to lighter things: treatments we’re excited about, whether anyone’s had a hot stone massage, Sarah’s pregnancy cravings. I laugh in all the right places and make jokes about becoming a mud creature, but my brain is somewhere far away.
It doesn’t matter. I’m not backing out. I’m going to marry Matteo Rossi tomorrow, and whatever comes after that, I’ll handle it.
I just hope I’m not the only one who wants this to be real.
37
MATTEO
The bassfrom the club speakers thrums through my chest as I settle into a booth at Alessio’s strip club. I didn’t want a bachelor party. Didn’t ask for one. But Dario practically dragged me here. He pulled rank when I tried to refuse.
“You need to take a night off from hunting Viktor,” he’d said. “That’s an order.”
He’s not wrong. I’ve been pushing hard, barely sleeping, chasing every lead I can find before tomorrow. Before the wedding.
Tomorrow. Fuck.
I wanted to find Viktor first. Wanted him handled before Sierra walked down the aisle. Not because of the original plan. Now I just don’t want him anywhere near her on what should be a perfect day.
Every lead has been a dead end. I’ve roughed up half a dozen Bratva foot soldiers, hoping someone would crack and give me a location. All I got was confirmation that Viktor runs Lightningproduction and brings in serious money for Kozlov. That’s why he’s been so well protected.
Alessio settles beside me and sets a Coke down with exaggerated ceremony. “Don’t say I never spoil you.”
Two dancers work the poles on the main stage. Topless. Years ago, when I first started pulling security shifts here, I would’ve watched. Would’ve let myself get distracted. Now, my eyes slide right past them.
Now, all I see is Sierra.
Sierra in red lace. Sierra’s lush hips rolling. Sierra’s fingers gripping a pole while she looks at me with that soft challenge in her eyes, daring me to stay in my seat.
My cock stirs, and I shift, irritated at myself. The image isn’t for anyone else. It’s mine. I’d put a bullet in every fucker in this room before I’d let another man see her like that.
“Where’s Sierra tonight?” Dario asks, settling across from us.
Just the three of us. If Luca were here, he’d already be in the back room with one of the dancers. He’s still on his mysterious mission, so he’ll miss the wedding.
“Spa earlier. She’s staying with her family tonight.” I hate her being somewhere I can’t watch over her. I’ve got two guys stationed outside her parents’ house, but I don’t have to like it. Her family insisted on the tradition. The night before the wedding, bride and groom sleep apart.
Sierra wanted to make them happy. I wasn’t going to tell her no.
Alessio gestures toward a redhead working the floor in a see-through bodysuit. “Crystal’s new andverypopular with the regulars. Want a dance?”
The suggestion barely registers. My mind is already back on Sierra. The way she’d feel in my lap instead, warm and soft, eyes locked on mine as she moved. Her heavy tits in my face while she grinds down slow. Her breath hot against my ear.
“No.”
“Come on.” Alessio’s grin is easy. “You don’t have to feel guilty about it. It’s a fake marriage, right? I doubt your bride will care if you?—”
I set the can down hard.
“It’s real.”
Alessio blinks. Dario just takes a long sip of his drink, eying me over the rim.
Fuck.
I stare at the can in my hands. My knuckles have gone white around the aluminum. The club noise feels distant suddenly, muffled by the blood pounding in my ears.
