by Nina Levine
Because tonight, everything has changed.
Because tonight, I touched her.
My fingers tighten in the girl’s hair and she gags as the swollen head hits the back of her throat. I take a sip of scotch from the tumbler in my other hand and close my eyes, allowing my mind to drift over the night’s events.
I had told myself to stay away. But she is my obsession and I have very little self-control when it comes to her. I’m addicted to her just as I am addicted to ruling my kingdom, and I need her as much as I need the oxygen in my lungs. I always have and I always will. I know that now.
I went to the gala because I knew she would be there. I hadn’t planned to get too close. I was only there to do what had become my one and only pastime since coming to New York eighteen months ago. To watch her. Then fantasize about her later when I was alone in my bed with my hand on my cock.
But tonight, the temptation was too much to bear. I am a strong man. I have the discipline few men can fathom. But she is my weakness and I couldn’t resist letting her see me.
Fuck, I had wanted her to see me.
And when I’d touched her, I knew I had to make her mine.
I groan. I’m close to coming. The girl whimpers eagerly and sucks harder, her tongue and lips massaging my cock. I grab the back of her head and start to fuck her mouth harder, thrusting, groaning, straining, my head swirling with images of Bella. With a growl, I rip my cock from her swollen lips and fist my release over her eager tongue, pumping and pumping until there is nothing left to give.
Bella.
My mind whispers her name, over and over, and for a moment time has stopped and I am back home in Italy, sharing my first and only kiss with the girl who had stolen my heart from the moment she’d taken her first breath.
I squeeze my eyes closed, and with another breath, I am back at the gala with Bella up against the wall, intoxicated by the sweet scent of her skin and the heat of her body wrapped around me like sunshine. My body pulses with pleasure as I float on the sweet, sweet memory of my only true love.
But as the veil of ecstasy slowly lifts, I crash back to reality with a stark coldness. Because Bella isn’t here, and it isn’t her kneeling in front of me with my cum on her tongue.
I shove my cock back into my boxer shorts and rezip my black pants.
Draining my glass, I feel the darkness crawl along my spine and worm its way into my brain.
A darkness I have lived with for ten years.
The girl rises to her feet and looks at me with a wicked gleam in her eyes as she licks her lips.
“You have a beautiful cock.” Her voice is velvety smooth. “I love fucking it with my mouth.”
A smile twitches in the corner of my lips. But it is all I can offer her. I want her gone.
She tries to kiss me, but I turn away. I don’t kiss. I haven’t kissed anybody in more than a decade.
And I’m not going to start now.
Not until my wife gives me her lips freely.
Because like I said, tonight has changed everything.
I am no longer satisfied with watching from afar.
I am going to make Bella my wife.
And the plan to make that happen is beginning to unfurl in my dark mind.
5
Bella
“You’re both insane if you think I’ll agree to this.”
I look at my father and then to my godfather, Alberto, disgusted by the suggestion. We’re sitting at my father’s popular cocktail den on West 44th Street, well after closing time.
I should’ve known something wasn’t right the moment I’d received my father’s message to meet him after work.
Anything that can’t wait until morning is usually something bad.
And this is beyond bad.
“We’re backed into a corner, cara mia. Alessandro is insisting this is the only way. He wants a truce. Our families have been at war for too long. Both houses have lost so much. There has been too much bloodshed. Too much sacrifice. He’s right. It’s time to stop.” He reaches across the table and takes my hands in his. “We need you to do this. Alessandro is giving us a chance for peace. But he also has us at a disadvantage. He is much smarter than his father. Far more ruthless in business. He’s in a position to take everything we’ve worked so hard for.”
At the mention of Alessandro’s name, my heart sinks.
My one true love.
My life’s only hate.
“What do you mean? How could he possibly do that?”
My father’s dark lashes lower with shame. “A while back I ran into some trouble. I borrowed some money—”
I pull my hands free. “What do you mean, borrowed some money?”
My father is successful.
The Isle Ciccula name is famous.
We’re rich.
This makes no sense.
“I made some risky investments and lost a lot of money. To save what we had, I took out a loan from an associate. Unfortunately, Alessandro bought the debt and now he is foreclosing.” My father’s face is grim. “He can take everything, Bella, but he won’t if you’ll do this for the family.”
My head spins, and the heartache and anger I already feel for the boy who broke my heart all those years ago has just morphed into a dark hatred in a matter of minutes.
He is going to take everything from my father—from my family—unless I marry him.
I should’ve known the moment I saw him that he was going to unleash havoc on my life.
“You marrying him will settle the debt and end more than a decade of rivalry.” My father’s jaw is set, his thickly lashed eyes hard. “He’s a calculated and ruthless businessman.”
Alberto leans forward. “He is ruthless in business, yes, but there is no indication that he would lay a finger on a woman. I have looked into his life. There has been no abuse toward women. Toward lovers. In fact, I couldn’t find any evidence of him being seriously involved with any woman. No girlfriends. No long-term lovers. Only the occasional visit to an exclusive gentlemen’s club.”
“Oh, that makes me feel so much better,” I say. “A brothel-visiting monster who clearly has commitment issues. Quick, get me to the altar.”
Hatred for this situation—and for Alessandro—runs hot in my veins.
An arranged marriage to a man who is the enemy, all for the sake of peace and to save my father’s empire, is a ridiculous idea.
Almost as ridiculous as my father thinking I would agree to something so preposterous.
Besides, the family rivalry is supposedly in the past, and my father isn’t involved in the old ways anymore, right? So why the hell is he so…
The knowledge hits me like a bolt out of the blue.
Rocked by the sudden realization, I sit back in my chair.
Well, fuck.
“It’s all been a lie, hasn’t it? You never severed ties with your old life. You just got good at lying to me.”
“Bella—”
It’s all so suddenly clear I feel foolish for not seeing it sooner.
“This whole time you’ve been doing the exact opposite of what you’ve been saying. You never gave it up after Gio’s death.”
“You don’t leave the business, Bella,” my father says. “Unless it’s in a body bag.”
“Even Alessandro couldn’t leave it if he wanted to,” Alberto adds. “The choice leaves us the moment we commit to the life.”
I just stare at them.
Blindsided.
Betrayed.
But despite how I feel, it doesn’t stop the fact that my family is still at war with the Lastrantonios, and I am the key to ending the bloodshed.
The bloodshed that took my brother from me.
I’m also the only thing standing between my father and bankruptcy.
No pressure here. None at all.
“He’s really going to take everything?” I ask.
“He can,” my father says remorsefully. He pauses, searching for the right words. “I want you t
o know that I would not ask this of my beautiful daughter if it wasn’t vital to keep a roof over our heads and bring an end to this bloodletting. I would never put you in harm’s way.”
I give him a dark look. “It sounds like you’ve been doing that my entire life.”
His eyes drop as he plays with the heavy ring on his pinky finger. “You loved him once.”
“When we were children. And if I remember correctly, you destroyed that friendship. You broke my heart and then told me I had to get the fuck over it.”
His eyes flick up. My father loathes me cussing.
“You will control your tongue, Bella,” he warns.
I fold my arms and raise my chin defiantly. “You’re telling me I have to marry the very man you raised me to hate. Sorry if that makes me a little pissy.”
Not to mention, lied to me my entire life.
My father’s stern face softens. “For the sake of peace.”
Who would’ve thought my father would be asking me to marry the very boy he asked me to forget?
“It’s a business transaction. You’ll be married in name only.”
“Fantastic,” I reply unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice.
I feel too ambushed by my father to question what Alessandro stands to get out of this ridiculous arrangement. I assume it’s to gloat in the delirious power he has over my family.
“The marriage will last for twelve months. You will appear on his arm as his wife in public. It’s a role, Bella. Nothing more.”
“And such a small price to pay for peace,” Alberto adds.
“Says the man whose entire existence hasn’t just been reduced to arm candy in the last five minutes.”
“Cara mia—”
“Fine,” I snap. “I’ll do this. But I want an air-tight agreement that this is nothing more than a business deal. And I will be filing for an annulment twelve months and one day after the wedding.”
I think about the boy I had loved with all my heart.
How I thought I would die when we moved from Italy to America.
Back then I was so in love with him.
But now I hate him.
Just as my father raised me to.
6
Bella
“So, what do you know about him?” Imogen asks, taking a sip of her wine. We’re sitting in a booth at our favorite bar in the Lower East Side called Humpty’s. It’s a dark and moody cocktail den with masculine leather booths, terrazzo floors, and cute lanterns on the tables.
“He’s an asshole who is forcing me to marry him,” I reply.
“What else?”
“Do I need to know anything else?”
“Have you googled him?”
For ten years I’ve resisted googling him.
“No.” I almost drain my glass with the huge mouthful of wine I take. “My first instinct since my father and godfather told me I was to marry a monster was to call you.”
“So let me get this straight, he says if you marry him, he’ll wipe your dad’s debt clean and end ten years of bloodshed.”
“Yes.”
Her eyes gleam. “I knew your daddy was still in the business.”
“You’re not helping.”
Imogen whips out her phone and starts looking, while I finish my wine in another mouthful.
“Oh my God, Bella…” She looks at me, her face drained of all expression. “He’s the most beautiful human being in the world.”
I squeeze my eyes closed. “Don’t say that.”
“Oh, wow! He’s the guy they’re calling the King of the Boroughs. He owns a gazillion businesses around town.” She keeps reading from the screen. “It says he’s taken New York by storm since arriving in town eighteen months ago. They say he has the Midas touch because everything he touches turns to gold. I knew his face looked familiar, he’s been all over the papers and magazines.”
A strange tingle takes up in my stomach.
“Look!” she insists.
When I open my eyes, she holds up her phone so I can see a photo. And there he is, looking back at me from the screen in all his custom-suit glory.
“You don’t remember, but you will.”
My jaw tightens.
Blackmailing sonofabitch.
I signal the waitress for another drink while Imogen keeps cyberstalking my future “in name only” husband.
Just as my drink arrives, a stunning blonde appears at our booth. She is clutching a massive planner.
“Bella?”
“Yes.”
She thrusts an elegant hand at me. “My name is Anastacia. I’m Alessandro’s assistant.”
Cautiously, I accept her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
She smiles but it’s aloof. “Alessandro suggested I introduce myself since we’ll be spending some time together in the future.”
“Alessandro knows I’m here?” I glance around the room but can’t see him. “How?”
Her smile doesn’t waver, but it doesn’t reach her eyes either. “He owns this place.”
Of course, he does.
She glances at one of the CCTV cameras in the corner of the room. Cameras I’ve never noticed before.
“You mean he’s watching us?” I ask.
She looks amused as if my question was ridiculously silly. “No, he’s not here. He simply left instructions for me to introduce myself when you next came in. Our security team noticed you. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
I glance at Imogen who is watching this encounter unfold with rampant fascination.
“No, not at all.” I indicate for her to sit down.
“It’s lovely to finally meet you. I have heard a lot about you.” She sits down but keeps the distance. “I was hoping we could schedule a time for your wedding dress fitting.”
“Sure,” I say. Although, there is a part of me still praying for a stay of execution.
“What about the other wedding arrangements?” Imogen asks her. “Can I help?”
“Oh, they’ve already been taken care of,” Anastacia replies, then turns to me. “When you’ve got time, I can go over them with you.”
“They’re already organized?”
Things are moving fast.
Too fast.
“Of course. I started organizing things the moment Alessandro told me about the…” She looks for the right word. “…arrangement.”
There is something decisively cool about her.
“Getting the botanical gardens wasn’t easy on such short notice, but when it’s for one of the most important men in the city, let’s just say the Lastrantonio name can make magic happen.” She opens her planner and removes a glossy pamphlet, then slides it across the table to me. “I was able to get you a fitting with Julianna Le Bon for next week—”
“Julianna Le Bon!” Imogen gasps. Her eyes flick to mine, excited because Julianna Le Bon is the fashion world’s current it girl when it comes to wedding couture, and if you want to get your hands on one of her gowns, then booking at least a year in advance is a necessity.
“When I mentioned it was for Alessandro Lastrantonio’s future wife, of course, Julianna was only too happy to squeeze you into her busy schedule.” She flicks her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “Oh, and I’ve arranged for Ken Winchester to design and arrange your hair on the day.”
Ken Winchester is the it boy of hair.
Julianna and Ken.
I have a feeling Anastacia could run the entire planet with her planner.
“Have you given any thought to when you’ll resign from your job?” she asks.
Her question catches me off guard. “Excuse me?”
She glances up at the CCTV cameras nervously, then her eyes dart back to me. “It was one of the conditions in the agreement.”
Beside me, Imogen’s mouth drops open.
While I can’t keep the edge out of my voice. “I’m not resigning.”
Before she can stop herself, Anastacia laughs. “But of course, you are. Alessandro is a
very important man—”
“I don’t care if he’s Christ reborn, I’m not giving up my job.”
I love my job as a precious gem buyer for Ulvaeus Diamond Company.
I’m good at it.
And hell will freeze over before I give it up.
Anastacia’s cool eyes remain on mine. “Well, that is something you will have to take up with him.”
“Great. Let’s get onto that.”
“Now?” she asks.
“No time like the present.”
“That’s impossible, I’m afraid. Alessandro is in very important meetings all afternoon.”
She’s lying.
In fact, the way she keeps glancing at the CCTV cameras tells me that there’s a good chance he’s watching.
I stand up. “Where is he?”
“Excuse me?”
“Alessandro. I know he’s here.”
Her expression falters briefly, but long enough for me to know that I’m right.
Catching one of the CCTV cameras in my peripheral, I lift a middle finger to it and mouth the word asshole.
I look back to Anastacia.
“Take me to him,” I demand.
“I assure you, he isn’t here.”
“My ass, he isn’t.”
“He’s not—"
“Fine, if you won’t help me, then I’ll find him myself.”
I scoot out of the booth and storm through the cocktail den looking for anything that resembles an exit, running my hand along the walnut paneling for concealed doors, and banging on the stamped tin walls, much to the confusion of the small lunch crowd. I don’t care that I look like a crazy woman.
Because I am crazy.
Crazy angry.
“Bella, please—” Anastacia calls behind me.
In my determination to confront him, I somehow manage to find the concealed doorway near the bar before security can stop me and push it open. It leads to a flight of stairs barely visible in the dim light, and with Anastacia and Imogen close behind me, I run up the stairs, taking two at a time like I’m a freaking Olympic sprinter.
If Alessandro bloody Lastrantonio thinks he can tell me what to do, then he’s about to learn a very valuable lesson.