I slide into a pair of lounge pants and pad barefooted to the armoire, pulling open the top drawer of the tall chest, taking out the small box that’s been there since the day after I made the bet.A bet that probably never should have been made, that was not thought out well at all, simply a means to an end to get what I want.Never did I think it would take weeks for Sophia to spill my name from her lips.The sound of my name still so fresh in my mind that it makes my dick ache after waiting to hear the sweet sound for what seems like forever.
I finger the diamond ring and the small gold band.Two carats of the most brilliant princess diamond the jeweler could find, set in a delicate balance of complimenting diamonds with a beautifully ornate wrap created with smaller diamonds.And the diamond and gold band that simply saysmineengraved on its underside.We may not have an engagement period, but the branding on her fingers will tell a different story.No matter the tradition.And when the priest marries us tomorrow and those rings are placed on her fingers, then and only then will I believe that it’s true.
A Roselli and a Cassone, who would ever have thought we would be here.She stirs, and I place the jewelry back in the dresser, turn down the light, and leave her to sleep.There is much to do in preparation for tomorrow, and to ensure that our families are safe and protected tomorrow and beyond.Because no matter that the fuckers who tried to take us out are dead, they have family, they have people on their payroll and even in the police ranks who will do whatever it takes to uncover the truth.And the storm may not have reached us yet, but it is building in intensity ready to strike when everything aligns.The Rosellis need to be prepared for anything right now.
Once downstairs in the great room of my estate, I pour a glass of scotch, steadying myself for the call to come, knowing father is still awake, even at this hour.Probably still sipping his way to a half-downed bottle of scotch or Jack.Nothing like putting the conversation off until there’s no time left for him to do anything about it.A quick glance at the grandfather clock in the corner, a piece my mother insisted should have its place in my home when I built the place, causes me to smile.Even he can’t change the course of my decision now.My father, the head of the Roselli family, answers quickly, most certainly thinking that something is wrong.“Everything’s fine,” I assure.“But we do need to talk.”
“At two o'clock in the fucking morning,” he growls.
This should be fun and if it were anyone else but a Cassone, it would be.I almost wish I were in his den, having this conversation face to face, but then trying to avoid the shards of glass as his crystal tumbler shatters against the brick stone of the fireplace is never really fun.“I’ve made a decision about Sophia.She’s going to be my wife.At noon, today, she’s no longer a Cassone.She’ll wear my ring and take my name.Sophia Maria Cassone will become a Roselli.”
My eyes close momentarily as the sound of glass hitting the fireplace reverberates through the phone.“Damn you, Massimo,” he screams.I can only imagine his mottled red face and the purple veins of his nose straining with his rage.“We’re already in a war over that female.What don’t you fucking understand about that?She is a Cassone.Once a fucking Cassone, always a fucking Cassone!”
I try to say something, but he cuts me off with his rants.“She’s caused enough trouble!Nothing but misery and bloodshed can come from a coupling between the Rosellis and Cassones.”
My growl is loud and fierce enough to stop his next words.“Enough!Sophia has not done anything, at all.She was used to settle a debt that wasn’t hers to settle.Picked up from her home, and willing to pay for the sins of her father which weren’t even his.The fucking Gallinis that you think are so trustworthy have been orchestrating a fucking takeover and you’re too busy trying to marry me off to fucking Amorte’s daughter to keep your eyes focused where they need to be.”
“How dare you,” he roars.“If you don’t marry Desiree, you will marry someone in a family of reputation, someone with something to contribute, and not our fucking enemies.”
“Do you not hear yourself?It’s like saying if you don’t marry Desiree, at least find a match that will add more money to the fucking coffers that are already overfilling with generational wealth we’ll never be able to spend.How many billions do we need?But yet, still, you would sell your eldest son off for more money, more power?”
My father doesn’t even fucking listen.He just continues his tirade in a fashion that we’ve all become used to over the years.“The family in Italy will be livid, they will not allow it, Massimo!It will be Desiree; it has always been the plan for the two of you.Since you were little, it was the strategy to bring the two families together and align.It is the perfect match.I will not allow you to ruin well-laid plans for this family’s future and beyond.”
My blood pumps with rage even knowing I was going to meet a wall of resistance before making the damn call.“We have more money than we need, more power than anyone around.How quickly you forget that this woman you treat so disrespectfully and who has done nothing to you except have a last name you’ve been raised to hate, saved your son’s fucking life.If it weren’t for her, if I had been out of bullets, it’s my ashes that would be laying at the bottom of the fucking sea and not the Amorte’s!”
He doesn’t say a fucking word, but I hope he’s letting the reality of my words, my wrath and my unwavering intent sink in because I’m not going to be talked out of making Sophia my wife.Two more minutes and he’s still silent.I decide to play the card that is sure to light his fire.
“I sent Momma a text earlier, letting her know my plans.I’d very much like you both present along with the rest of my family.At least pretend to show some support for your eldest.”
His exhale of breath is audible.I know he wasn’t expecting me to tell her first or for me to throw it in his face.Now he’ll have to deal with her between now and noon too, and that woman can be pretty persuasive.No matter the conflict, or his insistence, his wife has him wrapped around his finger.“You and Mom talk it over, decide if you want to come to the wedding at my estate, but like it or not, at noon today, Sophia will become a Roselli, will wear my ring and proudly bear my name.I’d like you there.”
I disconnect the call.There’s no use trying to make him see something he’s not willing to see.Let him think about it tonight.Talk to his fucking cousins in Italy for all I care.Too many things are happening, little pieces falling in line, at the most inopportune of times for it to be anything of a coincidence yet he either doesn’t see that our family is getting squashed or doesn’t fucking care, which I know isn’t the case.But I’m fucking missing something and plan to get to the bottom of it if I have to hunt down every one of our enemies’ soldiers and make them talk myself.
Dad’s phone number lights up my cell.I send it to voicemail.Not listening to any more of his ranting tonight.I’ve said what needed to be said.Fucking hothead!I swear he gets worse the older he gets.Even our soldiers on the ground are feeling something is off, the polizia we have on the payroll, all sharing bits and pieces of rumors about the Gallinis making a play.
We will do everything in our power to prevent it from happening, and they will all help, because we pay them to do just that, but even the police we don’t have on the payroll don’t believe that yacht went up in flames with no one on it.And when they keep asking questions about something that could have been legitimately laid to rest with no evidence, it generally means someone is forcing them to get more information, or worse.
And somehow, I need to prevent them from prying too deeply if I’m going to protect my kitten and keep her safe from the fuckers who will do anything to prove she had something to do with the death of their family members.Safe from anyone but me.
Because in less than five hours, I will be married to the dark-haired angel with light in her eyes who I was raised to hate no matter what he says.And she knows what I plan to do, she came apart as I whispered what I intend to do after she says I do.I will mark her, take her, and make her my own, in the dirtiest of ways.
2
Sophia
Istretch, deliciously satisfied but sore, reaching for Massimo only to find his side of the bed empty where his warm body lay just hours ago.Still, as I draw his pillow to me the smell of him puts me at ease.Raw, masculine and powerful just like the dark-eyed devil himself.
My devil for a year.I should regret saying his name, and for losing the bet, but nothing could be farther from the truth.Maybe I was lying to myself all the days I held out, or maybe trust was a bridge that was simply too hard to cross after the centuries-long feud between the Rosellis and Cassones, but Massimo proved I can trust him.What is it they say?The things people do and say when they think people aren’t listening are more important than anything.He made his family swear to protect not only me but my entire family too, their sworn enemies.Having no idea that I could hear him, and Massimo did it for me.
And that trust is what allowed me to give in, give over, and let his name spill from my lips in the throes of passion when so many times before the words simply would not come.Just the thought of spilling his name from my lips and the look in his eyes causes my lower belly to fill with that delicious tingle.I roll over, snuggling into his pillow, inhaling his scent and try to go back to sleep, happy with things between us, knowing that he’ll come to bed when his work is through and that I need my beauty sleep if I am going to say I do.
The sun spillingover the colorful red, orange, and yellow treetops signals a beautiful fall day for our wedding.Maybe I should be afraid, or doubtful, or any number of other emotions, but they simply don’t exist.As though my life has never been my own since the dark-haired devil saved me from sure ruin that night at the club.
I only wish Anna could be here on my wedding day, no matter how we got here or why.It’s for her safety, far better that she stays where she is, under the protection of my father, and the Roselli’s soldiers who Massimo has guarding my dad’s estate.At least until Desiree’s father, old man Amorte, and his crew have been dealt with.Old man Amorte should have just left Massimo and Desiree alone, let them go their separate ways, like they wanted.But that wasn’t in the cards.
No, instead he wanted to force Massimo’s hand, the same as Massimo’s own father.I’ve already learned that no one forces this alpha male’s hand unless he plans to let them force it and that doesn’t look like it’s in the cards.He’s calling the shots, and he’s going to see this wedding through and make the Roselli soldiers protect everyone important to me, consequences be damned.
But still, just because Massimo put me and my family under Roselli protection, doesn’t mean old man Amorte won’t keep trying to find out what happened to his sons and nephews.The problem is he already knows why, when he sent them to Massimo’s yacht to kill Massimo for not marrying his daughter, they didn’t return.The problem is proving it.And he can’t.At least not right now.And it should be the farthest thing from my mind right now, but it’s a nagging worry that weaves it’s way in and around my nerve endings, refusing to let go.What if one day they keep digging and find out what really happened, can prove who pulled the trigger, then what?No, there’s no way they can ever do that.I take a breath, inhaling deeply.
