“That’s what Adriano expects of me,” I whispered.
Neither of them had a readable expression when I looked at them. They looked like they didn’t know what to say and weren’t sure if they should even try to comfort me.
“How do you know?” Gabe asked, his voice low as if he was speaking to a child.
“He told me. He said he heard I was ‘submissive,’ whatever that means.” I looked over at Rocco, whose jaw twitched. “And he said he heard I’d make the perfect wife. He also said he wouldn’t allow me to take Aanya to live with us.” My voice broke on that last part.
“Oh, Norie.” Gabe sighed, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around me. I let myself be cocooned by him. He wasn’t a wall of muscle like Rocco or Dominic, but he was still much larger than me and made me feel safe. “I hate that you have to do this.”
“Yeah.” I sighed, pulling away. I needed to get out of this kitchen before I started crying over Aanya again. “I’m going to go change for the party.”
I didn’t say anything more after that. What could I say — that I may or may not have a way of getting out of this marriage by resorting to blackmail? God. I wished I could tell him. Gabe was less judgemental than Dom, though I knew if I told Dom, he’d have a fleet ready in an hour to protect me. I couldn’t rely on either of them, though, because it would make them complicit, and while I was pretty sure Dad wouldn’t hurt me, I couldn’t say the same about them. They had rules to adhere to. Even Gabe, who worked in finance, had somehow involved himself with organized crime. Dominic refused to talk about it.
Whenever Dominic talked about it, he got upset. It was understandable since he sacrificed a lot for Gabriel to attend college. Gabe was the type of guy parents wanted their daughter to bring home. Meanwhile, Dominic was the broody, tattooed bad boy. Well, former bad boy. A perpetual smile had replaced his permanent grouch since he'd gotten with Rosie.
When I arrived at the room I'd been assigned to, I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. I usually didn't stay the night since my parent's estate, where Aanya lived, was only a fifteen-minute drive from here. Despite theirs being a magazine-worthy estate, I preferred this house. It was still a mansion, but somehow Rosie and Dominic had made it feel warm and cozy, like a home. Loud laughter woke me. My eyes popped open as I sat on my elbows and looked around. It was dark out now. I must have overslept. I reached for my phone and noticed two missed calls and a text. The text was from Emma, Cat’s sister, who I hadn’t seen yet. She lived in Florida now but flew up pretty often — the perk of having a boyfriend who could fly planes.
Emmaline: I’m here and want to see you! Rosie said you were taking a nap. COME PARTY WITH US. when you’re ready!
Me: be there soon
I tossed my phone down and stood up, following the sound of the voice I thought I heard earlier. It was coming from the balcony. Unsure of who or what to expect, I held my breath as I walked closer to the french doors.
“Nah, I’ll be there,” he said.
Rocco. The voice on the balcony was Rocco. I moved the curtain aside. He was standing on the right side of the large balcony connecting these two rooms. I vaguely remembered coming out here last time and saying it reminded me of Romeo and Juliet. My pulse raced. Was he staying next door? I wondered if he’d be alone or have a roommate. The house was huge, but they had more friends than rooms, so a roommate was possible. I pressed myself against the glass to get a better look at him. He had something in his hand. A cigarette, maybe? I didn’t even know he smoked.
He laughed again, and I wondered who he was talking to. A woman? I pushed the thought away immediately, but that thought made me unlock the door. At the sound of it, he stood up straight, told the person he’d call them back later, and dropped the phone on the cushioned chair next to him. When I opened the door fully, his stance was wide, as if he was ready for a fight. He was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. I assumed his hair was wet and slicked back from a shower, and those piercing blue eyes were burning into me. The balcony smelled like weed.
“You’re looking at me like that again, Principessa.” He brought the joint back to his lips and took another puff. He exhaled slowly as his eyes raked over me. I walked closer to him. His mouth pulled up slightly when I stood in front of him with my arms crossed, hoping he couldn’t hear how fast my heart was beating.
“I already told you I’ve always looked at you like this,” I said.
He nodded, his gaze running down my neck and exploring my body before his eyes met mine. The fire in them was palpable. He took another puff and offered it to me, a challenge in his eyes that made my mouth pull up slightly. He thought I wassoinnocent, and maybe I was in many ways, but not with this. After all, I’d been at boarding school my entire life. What did he think we did for fun? I took the joint from his hand and inhaled. I tilted my head up to exhale the smoke, and he made a sound that rumbled through me. When I looked at him again, his eyes were on fire.
“You’re staying in there?” He jutted his chin toward my bedroom. I nodded. He chuckled, shaking his head. “Of course you are.”
“Will that be a problem for you?” I took another puff, tilted again, exhaled, and looked at him with a coy smile. “Will you not be able to contain yourself?”
His eyes darkened. “Do you want me to?”
“You know I don’t.”
“How can someone be so innocent and so fucking sexy at the same time?” he asked so quietly that I wasn’t sure he was even talking to me.
The next time I inhaled and looked up to exhale, his mouth was on my neck. It was so unexpected I almost choked. He kissed and sucked his way up to my ear, and my legs turned to jelly. I held his thick forearms to steady myself as he explored my neck, the sensitive spot behind my ear, and dragged his mouth down to my clavicle, licking the dip between. I held on tighter and inhaled sharply when one of his hands palmed my breast. I was wearing a silk purple wrap blouse. He tugged the knot I’d made to close the blouse with his other hand. His touch made me feel like I was on fire. He was tugging on the knot when his phone buzzed. Just like that, he was off of me. The joint fell out of my shaky hand as I tried to catch my breath. I pressed a hand to my chest, willing my heart to chill out. He looked perfectly composed. He was completely unaffected by what had just happened as he answered the call.
“Yeah, I think she’s still here,” he said. “I’ll knock on her door and walk her over now.”
He disconnected the call and took a huge breath as he pocketed his phone. “Let’s go, Principessa.”
I could only nod and follow him. We met Nico in the kitchen, and he decided to walk with us, which meant we couldn’t discuss what had just happened. In my head, I chanted that it was fine. It was. I’d been mentally and emotionally preparing myself for failure on the Rocco front, which was not very De Luca of me, but the way he kissed me and the heat in his eyes when he looked at me. . .he wanted me.
11
ROCCO
“There weretwo cases of Havana Club missing,” I said, checking my phone to see if there was an update on this mess.
