Neither Rose nor Niamh know I’d followed them there, watching as they explored the most romantic city in the world, and making sure that every man who even looked in Niamh’s direction understood fully that she was not his for the taking. The one guy who ignored me, got as far as sending drinks to them in a pavement café. Sadly, he hadn’t survived his trip to the bathroom, and neither of them even realised that they’d walked over his unmarked grave when they explored Père Lachaise cemetery the following morning.
Vittoria’s fridge is magnet-free, clean and clinical, and she smiles seductively up at me as I press my body into hers, pinning her in place against the surface.
‘Don’t you care that an innocent young woman is dead?’
Vittoria laughs. ‘You really believe she’s innocent? She killed Kin, Cillian. And after all these years, undoubtedly Rose has led her astray?—’
My hand shoots up around her throat and squeezes, cutting off the cruel words. She might not be wrong. Rose was always wild, but when she lost Matt, her behaviour grew even wilder, and now she moves easily from one guy to the next, leaving a trail of broken hearts and empty balls behind her. Do I like it? No? Is she any worse than me? Also no.
‘She’s not like Rose,’ I say.
‘They must have had something in common. Why else would they be friends? Unless she was just interested in your family’s money.’
‘She’s not interested in our money.’
‘Everyone is interested in your money, Cillian.’ Vittoria slides a hand up the side of my body, hooking it around the back of my neck and pulling my face down to hers. ‘She’s been happy to live rent-free with your sister for the past four years, after all. Accepted gifts from her, worn clothes that she can’t afford, partied in venues that wouldn’t even look twice at her if she tried to get in. She’s been using your name, your influence, for years.’
Worry nags at me again. Vittoria has been paying a hell of a lot more attention to Niamh than I realised. Her lips whisper over mine, her fingers tighten in my hair, her other hand slips between our bodies to palm my cock. And despite it all, I feel… nothing.
‘Rose is better off without her. We’re better off without her. She was so desperate for you to notice her, to fuck her. It was embarrassing.’ And the way Vittoria looks at me right that second– I know I’ve been an utter fool.
‘She’s gone now,’ I say, a chill creeping through me. Vittoria knew. For four years, I’ve thought she didn’t suspect anything, but right now I suspect she knew everything.
‘Good.’ As her lips touch mine, a red veil descends over me, and my fingers grip more tightly around her throat. Vittoria gasps, but she’s thrumming with excitement beneath my fingers. Her pulse racing, her breathing shallow. I close my eyes and kiss her. Her lips are cold and taste like poison, inspiring a single tremor of lust within me. When she reaches for my belt and yanks it open, expertly popping open the button fly and covering me with her hand, I close my eyes, breathing in through my nose as my body reacts. She rubs along my length, knowing me too well not to be able to provoke a reaction, and I groan.
‘Come to bed. You promised to make up for last night’s rude interruption. I was just thinking about how we could put some candles to good use…’ she says, taking my hand and pulling me towards her bedroom just as my phone rings.
I’m so full of frustration, at Vittoria, at Niamh, at the failed hunt. I could fuck her to relieve some of my stress, but it won’t solve my problems. In fact, it would just cause more.
‘Don’t answer,’ she insists. But I ignore her, stepping back and checking my watch.
‘It’s Rose, I have to. She’ll have questions that I need to answer so that there’s no confusion.’
‘But I want you,’ Vittoria pouts, her red nails tracing down the front of my shirt, her hand searching beneath my waistband as she palms my cock, stroking it steadily, causing my mind to reconsider, just for a moment. ‘You’ve already made me wait once.’
I place a hand over hers before I move her sharp nails away from my tender flesh and answer the call. ‘I’ll be right over, okay?’ I tell Rose, and end the call.
Not wanting to arouse her suspicions, I pull Vittoria into my arms and kiss her hard.
‘You’re just going to leave me, again?’
‘My sister is my priority. Family comes first.’
Vittoria laughs, then stops, clearly realising I’m serious. Her lips twist into a snarl. ‘How is she?’
‘Other than the fact I’m about to tell her that she got her best friend killed and I’m not sure she’s ever going to forgive me, I’m sure she’s just fine.’ I sigh, knowing that the pain I’m going to cause will help keep my deception running.
‘Forgive you?’ Vittoria leans back as I rebutton my jeans, a tiny frown forming between her eyes. ‘But Cillian, darling, surely she knows it was her fault in the first place? You have to make sure that she starts to accept responsibility for her actions.’
‘For her actions?’ I stare at Vittoria, trying to work out just how her mind works. How exactly does she figure that any of this was Rose’s fault?
‘Your sister has always been difficult. If she had been where she was supposed to be last night, then none of this would have happened.’
The callous disregard for Rose’s safety sparks something inside me that it’s been years since I listened to. How can Vittoria think of becoming a part of our family when she cares so little about my sister?
I shake my head. In my world, the game is played for family and family alone. And you don’t just let them get hurt because they make a stupid mistake or an even stupider decision. I stare at my bride-to-be, realising that Rose’s little acting-out episode was exactly the right thing to do. This marriage will be a disaster.
‘I’m sure Rose had a very good reason for choosing not to attend last night. And we both have to respect that,’ I state.
