Think… Act like Chiara would.
"I can be human too," I trail off, "sometimes," I add for good measure. "He's still my blood, isn't he? And the future of this family."
Yes, that's it. Mercenary… My sister is completely mercenary.
"Is that so?" He's still unconvinced as he stares at me, his eyes hard and unyielding.
"What do I stand to gain if something happens to him?" Iquip, hoping I'm right and that Chiara would never do anything to Luca.
"Indeed." His hand relaxes a little on his gun, but his eyes are still skeptical.
Putting on yet another show, I lift my hands, reaching for his belt.
"I can suck you off if you let me go," I drawl in a seductive tone. His features draw up in disgust, and he quickly puts distance between us.
"Fuck off," he curses. "Don't tell me you've run out of dick."
I breathe out, relieved the gun is no longer in my face. The fact that he's so clearly repulsed by my sister somehow makes my stomach do a somersault, an unwelcome pleasure filling me.
No! I can't let myself warm up to him!
"If that's all," I shrug, righting my shirt over my jeans and making to leave.
"No," he calls out, already settled in his study. "One more thing," he starts, his eyes scanning me from top to bottom. "Make sure your parents are coming to the ball. Our family needs to be united in times like these, no?" he asks sardonically, and I just raise an eyebrow at him.
"Whatever you desire, your highness," I automatically respond, feigning a curtsy. Exiting the room, I all but run outside, the need to be as far away from him as possible burning inside me.
Why?
Why am I still so weak when it comes to him? You'd think that with all the evidence I have of his betrayal—photographic evidence at that—I'd be a little more steady in my disdain for him.
There's a fine line between love and hate.
And I'm still teetering on that razor-thin boundary between them, unable to firmly commit to either side.
Am I really bound to be a pathetic bitch my entire life? Justbecause he was the first hand to feed me, do I have to keep running back for more even when he hits where it hurts the most?
I wish there were an answer to this. A way to simply turn off the love so I could focus only on the hate.
"Hurry,"I say as I pry the jeans off my legs to put on my pajamas. Lia is holding the blouse over my head, and I quickly slide my hands through it as she pulls it down.
"He didn't tell me he was going to come today." A frown of consternation appears on her face as she helps me into bed, hooking my finger to the machine and arranging things around me so that everything is flawless.
Enzo usually calls ahead to inform Lia when to expect him, but this time we had to hear it from Fred, one of Lia's friends from security, who just gave her a heads-up.
"Doesn't matter, we're fine," I say quickly, knowing he's going to come any second. "Just calm down, Lia," I say, and a moment later the door opens.
I promptly squeeze my eyes shut, willing my body to relax. The beeping from my pulse monitor isn't helping as I hear Enzo step inside.
"You didn't call, signore," Lia starts, sounding a little agitated.
Damn it, Lia! Act natural!
"I have a flight tomorrow, and I wanted to see her before I left." His deep voice resounds in the room. Deprived of my sight, I can only rely on my hearing, and I hone in on the cadence of his tone. "Any change?" he asks as he pulls a chair next to me, his hand brushing mine.
"Same as always," Lia says.
"Leave us," he decrees, leaving no room for discussion. There's some shifting in the room before I hear the door close.
