Because I had.
I was starting to get an idea of what Emberline DiRavello was capable of, and instead of making me cautious, I was curious.
Curious enough to dream about her every fucking night, with my cock in my hand and her name on my lips.
“Then…” I scrubbed my face. “This marriage could be a way for Giovanni to plant her inside our empire. Or… she could be our way inside theirs.”
“How so?” Nico tipped his head.
“Marcello has never trusted Giovanni, but their family controls the purse strings of the Dynasty, and with Enzogone, Giovanni is effectively in control. We could use this marriage to our advantage, Nico.”
That was Marcello’s strategy, and after my anger cooled down, I found I shared his logic.
Use them while they are using ussort of logic.
We’d been at odds with the DiRavellos for so long, nobody knew how corrupted they really were, and this girl was our window into their world. While I was mourning the loss of my freedom, my sire only saw this as a multi-pronged incursion on a rival family. A family with secrets as old as our own.
Secrets that intrigued me as much as Emberline did.
Of course, if Nico had the slightest idea I thought of her as anything but a mark, I would never hear the fucking end of it.
“Of course, she’s a DiRavello,” Nico mused, ignoring the fact we were surrounded by four corpses and most of the blood that used to be inside them.
“Spoiled and rich and pampered. How much of a threat can she be, really? Too bad she’s nothing but a pawn in her uncle’s games. My guess is, she never saw the double-cross coming.”
“As it turns out, neither did I.” That truth stung more than it should have. I rubbed a hand over my face again, managing to smear blood all over my face.
“Stop being so gloomy.” Nico studied me. “You could do far worse than Emberline DiRavello.”
“You’re not the onesigning your life away, Nico,” I snapped, then forced myself to soften my tone. “This whole thing is archaic. A marriage between old foes to settle a feud.”
“What feud?” His ears pricked up, and my heart sank. Now, I’d never hear the fucking end of this. If nothing else,my oldest friend was hopelessly addicted to drama. “There’s a feud between your families? How did I not know of this? Tell meeverything.”
“Because it’s a bullshit reason to shove the two of us together into a union neither of us wants. This is her uncle, grasping for power. Didn’t you hear him plant doubt in Marcello’s mind? Talking about whispers and gossip? The fucker is a master manipulator, and he manufactured this entire situation… I just don’t know why.”
Or rather, I had my suspicions, which I very much hoped were not correct.
Because if Giovanni had the slightest idea of what I was planning, I was fucked.
“Star-crossed lovers, pushed together by family.” Nico’s mouth twitched. “Sounds romantic. Almost like a play someone famous might have written five hundred years ago.”
“They were divided by family, you idiot. And I’ll remind you, they both died in the end, and this is a fucking disaster.”
“I know.” The humor faded from his eyes. “I know, Gabi, but look at it this way—you’ll give her your name and your protection, and that will be the end of it. Maybe you’ll never have to see her again after tomorrow. There are worse fates.”
“There are better ones.” I glanced around, wondering why we were still here, discussing my upcoming nuptials, as though any of this was normal.
“For the Don’s heir?” He shrugged. “Chances are, you would have ended up in a political marriage, one way or another. At least she seems tractable enough.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t fucking bet on that,” I muttered, remembering those glimpses of sheer savagery that fascinated me more than they should. Overhead, I caught awhisper of sound, like fabric dragging across stone, but when I lifted my gaze… nothing. I was letting my nerves get the better of me.
“You still have me.” He pushed off the wall and clapped a hand on my shoulder, fingers squeezing hard enough to bruise if I’d been human. “You’ll go into this marriage the same way you go into a fight. Eyes open. Mind sharp. And if anyone tries to use the girl against you or hurt her to get to you?” His voice went soft and dangerous. “They’ll find out exactly how protective the Dominico heir and his terrifying best friend can be.”
I huffed out a laugh despite myself. “Terrifying, huh?”
He flashed his fangs. “Admit it. You’re a little afraid of me.”
“I’ll admit you’re irritating.” I rolled my shoulders. “Pretty much all the time, especially right now.”
