She was on the other side of the doors, bathing and getting ready for our first non-date date. I stood by the large windows with a football game playing softly in the background, but I couldn’t watch it. It was just white noise to all the turmoil and rage I felt inside me. That rage only seemed to calm when Bianca was within reach. She was the reason I was able to keep my cool after Kozlov implied that Luca Morelli killed my father.
I tried to push that out of my mind for now. The only thing that mattered right now was to keep Bianca safe, and I was doing that. She would carry my name, and in doing so, she would be safe from getting married off. Once I was assured she was in the clear, then I could delve into the death of my father and find out what truly happened.
Time seemed to stop moving while I watched the waves beating against the shoreline. I felt so much like those waves, banked with chaos and fury, but when the right storm hit, I could be wield my destructive power and let loose on those around me.
“You’re thinking awfully hard over there.” I smirked as her voice brought me out of my musings. When I turned, she was there, standing just outside the double doors that led to the bedroom behind her. The dark green dress fit like a glove on top. It was a halter and hinted at her small, but womanly curves. The top of the dress was skin tight, and I almost swallowed my tongue when I realized I could see the faint ridge of what I assumed was a pasty to keep her nipples from poking through the fabric.
The skirt of the dress hit below her knees, but the gauzy dark layers reminded me of her dance costumes. There were several shades of green, and a hint of gold beneath it all. The color set off her eyes and made the tones of her skin seem to glow with warmth. She was stunning, but then she always had been.
My mind went back to the earlier question I’d asked myself: what would I have done if her dad were trying to marry her off to anyone else besides Arias? I would have done the exact same thing because Bianca didn’t belong to or with anyone else. She was mine.
“You look beautiful.” My voice was gruff, and I had to will my cock to behave.
“Thank you.” She smiled and ran her eyes over me as I started to straighten my clothes back out. “You okay, Lorenzo?”
“Yes,” I answered her question, but it was a lie. I wasn’t fine. I wouldn’t be fine until I knew what happened between my dad and Luca Morelli, and until Bianca was tied to me forever. Once she was mine, I would be able to breathe.
“I wouldn’t blame you if you weren’t. We can order room service instead of going down to the restaurant if you’d like?”
I gave her a small smile and shook my head as I shrugged back into the jacket. “No. It’s the night before our wedding. It may not be conventional, but I’m going to take you on a date before we get married, even if it’s not real.”
Her smile seemed a little forced, but she nodded and checked the small gold clutch she held. “I’m ready.” She wasn’t, I could tell by the tremor in her voice as she said the words, but she would be.
She took my hand when I reached out for hers. She trembled, but allowed me to walk with her hand in mine as I led her toward the elevators again to the first of many dates I silently vowed to take her on.
***
The Blue Vein was the type of restaurant that had a dress code. You couldn’t come to this place without being dressed up, and the food came with Michelin star approval. The hostess seated us in a booth toward the back of the restaurant.
“This is Mr. Kozlov’s booth. He insisted we seat you here for your dinner. He also advised us to serve you both champagne in honor of your wedding. Congratulations.” She beamed at us and reached for the bottle, quickly pouring the chilled, bubbly liquid into the slender flutes.
“Thank you,” Bianca sent the woman a sweet smile.
When the waitress walked away, I took Bianca’s flute and set it with mine to the side. “You need to eat before you put any more alcohol into your system, and you only get one glass of champagne.”
I could see Bianca stiffen and her hackles raise from across the table. She was going on the defensive, and her need forindependence was pricked. I could all but see the anger rising in her face. “Relax, Bianca. I’m telling you this so you keep a clear head. If anything is going to happen tonight, you need to be clear-headed. If you don’t want anything to happen and want to drink, that’s fine too. But...” I paused and looked deep into her eyes, letting her see my hunger for her, naked and raw. I held nothing back like I normally did, and I could all but see her shiver in response. “But if you have more than one glass, that means you go to bed alone, and I’m on the couch.”
She bit her lip and nodded. “One glass with food,” she said quietly, looking slightly embarrassed that she’d agreed because sex was on the line.
“Your audition?” I cleared my throat, ignoring my hardening cock. “If you land it, what will that mean for your dancing career?”
The smile she sent me hit me straight in the chest. This was the first time we’d been around each other, talking and not actively trying to piss each other off. Granted, she didn’t have to try very hard to get me irritated. Anytime she called me her brother, like Giana and Nicoletta did, I balked and groused that I wasn’t her brother. It pissed me off for her to think of me like that because sisterly was the last thing I felt for her.
“It would mean being part of a company and going on tour across the country. I’d see some of America beyond New York and New Jersey, and I’d be free to be myself.”
“But you’d have to leave your sisters and Romeo?”And me, I silently added, not sure if that would make a difference or if I would factor in as much for her as she did for me.
“I know, but Romeo has you, his club–I mean clubs,” she corrected with a small shake of her head and a self-deprecating smirk on her face. “Still can’t believe he owns a sex club and nobody knew, except you and Mossimo.”
“There are a few others who know, but not many. He has it purchased under an LLC.”
“Who all knows?”
“Outside of the three of us, the only other people who know are the ones that your brother trusted to guard you. If anything ever went south, and he needed to keep his sisters safe, the guards were instructed to bring you to the club.”
There was so much more I could tell her, but I knew she was already struggling with the knowledge that her dad may have killed mine. Telling her what I knew about her dad’s other businesses outside of arms dealing would gut her.
The Morelli family had never been in the business of flesh until recently, when Luca Morelli decided he needed more power than what he already had. He did it on the side and without mine or Romeo’s knowledge. We found out by accident, so not only was he entering a business Romeo and I couldn’t stomach being a part of, but he was being stupid about it if we found out without even looking for it.
