“An update. She said you haven’t responded to her messages for the last few days. Where have you been?”
“Busy. Working.” Having my fingers inside the most forbidden pussy in the city.
I could still feel it. Warm, wet, inviting. It was as fucking perfect as the rest of her—including her lips that did in fact taste like fucking berries—and it made me irate knowing those five stunning minutes were all I’d ever get.
The second she said she’d lied to her friends for me, it was game over. Shock hit first—she’d kept her word when I’d donenothingto deserve it. And then came something else.
A weird warmth inside my chest. A tightening in my throat. And a heavy sense of certainty sinking into the pit of my belly.
I'd known exactly what I had to do.
It was something I’d never done before. Something I’d never even considered doing.
I'd given away the only leverage I had.
Mia Morales had infected my black heart with a virus that compelled me to do right by her.
Fuck knows if I’d ever recover.
“I stopped by your club last night,” Cosimo said. “You weren’t there.”
“Since when do I have to report my movements to you?” I moved toward the living room, the hardwood shifting to carpet beneath my feet. “Have a seat. Want coffee?”
“Already had three cups,” Cosimo said, following after me.
“Who’d you go to the club with?”
“It was Nate’s birthday.”
I sank onto the sofa and nodded at his bruise. “That looks fresh. What happened?”
He sat across from me. “Nothing.”
I just looked at him.
He swiped a hand over his jaw. “I said it was nothing.”
“Since when do you get into fights at my fucking club?”
He frowned. “You know?”
I cocked my head. “You didn't think Alexis would message me the second my own fucking brother decked some finance bro on the dance floor?” I leaned forward. “What’s going on with you, Cos? Have you forgotten you’re the eldest? The don-in-waiting? You’ve spent a decade building a reputation as someone reasonable. Steady. Someone the family could count on. And now you’re losing your mind over a piece of ass?”
His nostrils flared. “Watch how you speak about my future wife.”
I laughed. He really thought I was clueless. Had he forgotten who I was? What I did for this family?
“You son of a bitch, I’m not talking about that poor girl. I saw Fabi last night. She was in the Hamptons with her friends, medicating the depression you’re inducing in her by getting sloshed.” I sank back into the sofa. “I’m talking about Rosa.”
Irritation flashed across his face. “How about you stay out of my business?”
“Trust me, I’ve been staying out of it, but this has gone on for too long. She’s got you wrapped around her little finger. It’s fucking ridiculous, Cos.”
His voice dropped. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know she likes power and money. You happen to have both. If you think there’s another reason why she’s sleeping with you, you’re deluding yourself.”
He flicked his eyes to the window. “You have no idea what she wants or what she’s like.”
