BAD ROMANCE_The Leader

by Shanna Bell

  Gio made a mental note about that. They were perfect on the outside. Willing, obedient, pretty. Still… His thoughts trailed back to the mouthy PA in the library. Mary’s cheeks had turned pink when she’d called her Antonio’s PA, and Gio had a feeling she knew exactly what kind of personal assistant the hellcat was to her grandfather. Apparently, Antonio’s much younger mistress was living right under their noses. Damn, he envied the sly fox. Which brought him back to the case at hand, and more particularly, to the reason why he wasn’t enthused by the thought of marrying either of the present Rossi girls. He didn’t want to fuck them. Which made him reconsider looking at what was behind door number three: Jocelyn. He never made a choice in business without having considered all his options, and he wouldn’t start now.

  “She ran,” Gio spat. “Your granddaughter ran and broke our deal.”

  “Did she now?” Antonio said, a smile curling his lips. “Oh, youth. See, she knew who was coming and why, but apparently didn’t consider you a catch. She even managed to lose her bodyguard. Jocelyn can be really inventive when she has set her mind on something. The way I see it, you didn’t manage to keep her here. Forget about her. I have two other granddaughters who are more... docile.”

  Gio barely contained a snarl. The old man had to know he was throwing down a gauntlet, making this Jocelyn a challenge to him. He could, of course, ignore it. No one outside the family knew about what happened, so there was no face to be saved. Still, the predator in him couldn’t just let go. He was going to give the girl a chance. No one could renege out of a deal with him without paying a price.

  “Call her, and give me your phone.” Antonio did as he requested and stepped out of the room, a faint smile on his face.

  The phone’s screen lit up, showing that “Jazzy” was being called. The old man had registered her number under her nickname. Yet another clue that she was probably his favorite.

  “Nonno, I know what you’re going to say,” a sweet voice in his ear sounded. A voice he fucking recognized. “But the guy’s a dominant asshole. I could tell by just one look at his face. Gina eats that shit up, not having a backbone and all. Also, Gio and Gina sounds adorable, don’t you think? He wouldn’t have chosen me anyway, so why bother parading in front of him and waste my time? I’ll send you a postcard from Rome or Paris, whichever place the plane leaves to first.” He could hear flights being announced in the background. “Nonno, are you still there? Are you mad at me?”

  She actually sounded sad at the thought. He’d been right: she was the closest to the old man. “I don’t get mad. I get even, in spades.”

  A silence fell, before she regrouped. “If you’ve hurt a single hair on his—”

  “He’s not the one I’m going to hurt. Listen to me carefully, because I don’t repeat myself. Ever. Get your ass back here before midnight, or I’m coming for you.”

  What followed was a string of curses that would have had a sailor blushing. The woman had a foul mouth on her. Which wasn’t the best use for her mouth.

  “Fuck you. You’re not the boss of me.”

  “Don’t ever tell a man to fuck him. He might take you up on your offer,” he bit out.

  “Yeah well, to do that, you’d have to find me first. If you can find me, you can fuck me,” she taunted him.

  Click.

  She hung up on him. He couldn’t remember anybody ever hanging up on him. A deep rumble started from his chest, and he saw Vince looking at him, concern shining in his eyes.

  “Ah shit.” His brother shook his head. “You laughing is never a good sign.”

  He was right, of course. Gauntlet thrown, challenge accepted. Jocelyn Rossi had just sealed her fate.

  CHAPTER 5

  JAZZY

  Jazzy showed the flight attendant her ticket as she boarded the plane to Paris.

  So, okay, she ran like a thief in the night. Big deal. Didn’t mean she was afraid of Giovanni Detta. Except, after their unfortunate encounter in the library, she’d somehow known she couldn’t be around him again. Giovanni Detta was hot. The combination of those baby blues and his rock-hard body; even the scar on his upper left eyebrow was panty-melting hot. She’d wanted to run her fingers through his jet-black hair, pictured herself pulling it while kissing him. Most of all, she wanted to banish the coldness from his voice, the chill from his eyes. However, falling for a tortured soul in the disillusioned hope of healing him could only end in disappointment. Life was not a romance novel, with the big, bad, dominant asshole turning into a decent human being in the end. He was going to marry one of her poor cousins. It would not do to lust over him during their annual Christmas dinner.

  So, fleeing it was. She wasn’t as pretty as Gina or as sweet and angelic as Mary, but she was smart; enough to be able to disappear without leaving a trace. She had also been smart enough to call in a favor with her friend Tess, just in case.

  The flight attendant showed her to her seat in first class. It would be the last time for a while she could indulge in the luxury of a first-class anything since; come tomorrow, she wouldn’t be using her credit cards anymore. She couldn’t take the risk—small as it may be—that Detta would actually follow through on his threat to come after her. It was far too easy to track her down if she left a paper trail. So, no more fancy hotel suites during her Euro trip. According to the arrangement between her grandfather and Detta, he had to marry a Rossi girl within a month. All she had to do was disappear from the face of the earth during that time, or until she discovered he had married one of her cousins.

  Once again, her thoughts trailed back to Detta. The heat she’d felt when going toe-to-toe with him had been crazy, utter madness. This was what had been missing between her and Mike: the only man she had ever been comfortable enough with to let her guard down around. The only one she had ever told about...

  Don’t go there. Not. Going. There.

  Mike had been more than just her childhood friend. He had been her first crush, first kiss, and first and only lover. Their friendship had evolved in something more, until they had gradually discovered they were better off as friends than lovers.

  But still, it had never been like the raw need, that magnetic pull, she had felt when she’d been pinned down by Giovanni Detta. It had both excited and terrified her at the same time. She somehow knew that Detta was the kind of man to be rough and dominate her in bed. The only place where she liked to submit.

  Something Mike had never really understood because he wasn’t wired like that. It had been one of the reasons they broke up. Sex with Mike had been enjoyable, but never really satisfying because he worried about hurting her, roughing her up. Jazzy liked a strong man in bed. At least, that’s what she always fantasized about. And a fantasy it had stayed since, after breaking up with Mike, she hadn’t found another man she had felt comfortable enough to expand her sexual experience with. Nor had she felt the desire to.

  Up until the second when Gio Detta’s body pressed against hers. That man had “dangerous” written all over him, and she’d do best to stay far away from him. She didn’t need that kind of a complication in her life. If she’d learned anything from Mike passing away, it was that Death did not discriminate the young or elderly. Sooner or later, it came for everyone and when it did, there was only one question to ask yourself: did I live a full life? Mike had told her he had, though he did have one regret. He didn’t get to finish his bucket list. Something she had promised him she’d do for him.

  So, no matter how her body burned for Giovanni Detta, her heart and mind had other plans. She was going to fulfill her promise to Mike, if it was the last thing she did.

  CHAPTER 6

  GIO

  After returning from his visit to the Rossis, Gio was all wound up. He couldn’t get Jocelyn out of his head, which was annoying. He kept feeling her curvy body underneath him. The things he wanted to do to her…

  Another thing was that he kept picturing her doing a fist pump for pulling one over on him by pretending to be Antonio’s
assistant. Yet another sign she was going to be trouble. The little charlatan had met her match though. Like any other problem he had faced so far, he would meet any challenge she decided to throw his way. After all, nothing worth anything ever came easy.

  Half an hour after he’d arrived at his city penthouse, the doorbell rang.

  When he let Vanessa in and looked into her pale blue eyes, he realized she wasn’t the one he wanted. As usual, Vanessa looked flawless: perfect makeup, not a hair out of place, and a tight dress, hugging the exquisite body of a lingerie model. She wouldn’t be caught dead in sweaty workout clothes, her hair all mussed up.

  She dropped her bag on the floor and took off her dress and bra, while she sauntered over to him.

  “I missed you,” she said with a purr.

  He wasn’t in the mood for any foreplay. He was about to tell her to bend over the arm of the couch, when Vanessa suddenly dropped to her knees. She quickly unzipped his pants, taking out his cock.

  That was a new one. Like any man, he appreciated a good blowjob. He also knew there were two types of women: the ones that liked giving head, and the ones that didn’t. Vanessa was the latter. It didn’t mean she never took him inside her mouth, it just wasn’t something she instigated on her own.

  After she gave him a few licks, he fisted her hair and fucked her mouth, hard and rough, pouring out all his frustration in his thrusts. He closed his eyes and imagined it was Jocelyn Rossi on her knees, curling her tongue over his dick.

  When he heard Vanessa gag, he pulled her off his dick, then grabbed a condom and put it on.

  “You don't need to use one. I’m on birth control.”

  Right. He wasn't falling for that one.

  He hauled her up and bent her over the couch, slamming into her, making her scream out his name until she came.

  Oh yeah, those were the moans he’d been wanting to hear. There was no sound more beautiful than a woman giving into her passion. Showing a man that she loved her body, and enjoying the pleasure it could give her.

  A few more pumps and he got off as well, dropping on the couch next to her.

  Vanessa stretched her body out next to him, putting it on full display. She knew she was beautiful—though a bit skinny for his taste—and she wasn’t ashamed of showing herself off.

  She stroked a nail over his pecs. “I was thinking maybe you could give me a key to the condo. After all, we’ve been dating for a while now.”

  They’d been fucking. He didn’t do dating. And since when did two months constitute “a while”?

  When she put a hand on his wrist, he had a feeling he knew where this was going. Some place he didn’t plan to visit.

  She stupidly ignored the chill in his eyes, so he asked, “Yeah, and?”

  “I think it’s time for the next step,” she claimed. “I want to get married. To become Mrs. Detta.”

  So that was what the blowjob had been about. She wanted a ring on her finger. Unlike Jocelyn Rossi, who had literally fled the country to avoid said ring. The irony wasn’t lost on him.

  He extracted her perfectly-manicured fingers from his chest and came off the couch. It was obviously time to let Vanessa go. “That’s not going to happen. Why don’t you pick up your stuff and leave?”

  “What?” She blinked as if he was speaking in a foreign language.

  “We’ve had a good time, but I’m done now. Raoul will drive you to wherever you want to go.”

  After she opened and closed her mouth a few times, her cheeks turned red with anger. “You can’t just kick me aside like this! I spoke to a lawyer and I know I have certain rights—”

  He spun around, and she hastily scooted back, her eyes filled with fear. He couldn’t help but compare her reaction to Jazzy’s. There was no way that hellcat would have backed down.

  “Don’t ever threaten me. I was clear about what I wanted to you upfront. So don’t pretend as if I promised you a white picket fence.”

  “But I love you.”

  She loved his money. She loved the gifts he had his assistant buy her, the clubs and fancy restaurants she got into by using his name. “No, you don’t.” She’d overplayed her hand by pretending to want to settle down. Even more stupid, she had gone to a fucking lawyer.

  “You coldhearted bastard! It is true what they say about you. You have nothing but a black chunk of ice surrounding your heart.”

  After her little rant, she started to sob. Vanessa was one of those women who could muster up tears whenever it suited her.

  He ignored the waterworks and went into his shower. When he returned to the living room a little later, Vanessa had left. He poured himself a glass of whiskey, and stared out at Union Square, which was buzzing with activity, when Jackson called.

  “I have an update on your fugitive.” There was a smile in his brother’s voice.

  “Fucking hilarious, Jax.”

  “I like this girl already.”

  Gio had slightly mixed feelings. “Where is she?”

  “On her way to Paris. As soon as we found out her destination, we called our contacts over there. They will notify us the second they spot her at Charles de Gaulle airport.”

  “Did she board the plane alone?” If she’d fled to France to be with a lover, that might change things. Though, he hadn’t missed the way her body had responded to him. She might not have liked it, hence the fleeing, but it was undeniable. It also was a testament that whoever she was sleeping with currently, was clearly doing a piss-poor job of it.

  “She did. Of course, this doesn’t mean she won’t meet someone over there, but according to her credit card records, she bought the plane ticket after you spoke to her on the phone. Also, she didn’t check in any luggage, so we can rule out that it was a planned trip.”

  “I’ll be at the airport within an hour.”

  “Yeah, about that… don’t. See, I thought you might say that, so I notified your pilot to get the jet ready. He just called me back and it seems that there is a problem with your passport. As in, you’re on the no-fly list.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You can’t get on a plane right now. Even with the contacts we have, it’s gonna take a while before I have you removed from that list.” Another laugh followed. “Guess we can add hacking to her skills.”

  Gio closed his eyes and counted to three. “You don’t have to sound so fucking amused by this. But fine, I’ll send Vince after her.” He didn’t like that he had to hand this over to his brother—surprisingly not liking the idea of him charming Jazzy—but he didn’t have much choice.

  “Actually, you can’t do that either,” Jackson said. “She put him on the list as well.”

  “Come again?”

  His brother chuckled. Actually chuckled, like this clusterfuck was something amusing.

  “We’re all on the list, brother. Any Detta name she could probably dig up. You know what this means.”

  Yes, he did. His wayward bride had fucked up, though. She forgot to put the honorary Detta in their midst on the list. Hector “The Wolf” Diaz. His blood brother and head of security. His firm supplied him with the best bodyguards, made up of former military and contract workers. Hector might not be a Detta in name or his brother by blood, but he sure was by heart.

  The former Marine scared the shit out of anyone, and Jazzy Rossi was past due some fear in her life.

  CHAPTER 7

  JAZZY

  Three weeks later…

  Rome was like a big open-air museum. Jazzy could spot remaining pieces of architecture or ruins from the Roman Empire on practically every corner of the city. It was truly amazing and after seeing a few art galleries, she totally understood why the city—and the Vatican Museums, specifically—had made it to Mike’s bucket list. It was the third city she visited in as many weeks. The great thing about Europe was that there were no borders. At least not in the parts she visited. No border control meant no paper trail for Detta to follow. She was as free as a bird. Which was funny, considering the good
man himself was grounded for the foreseeable future. Her friend Tess—one of the top hackers in the world—had seen to that.

  As she trailed along the cobblestone streets of Vatican City, she mused about her next move. Now that she had fulfilled her promise to Mike by looking up the masters in the Louvre, the Rijksmuseum, and the Vatican Museums, it felt as if a chapter of her life was closed for good. So now what? In the past weeks, she’d had a lot of time to think about her future. She had made a commitment to Tommie and the company they were building. It was important to both of them, and she had felt really bad sending him an e-mail explaining that she needed some time because of a “personal matter.” She had come to a few conclusions over the past few days, and one of them was that she could no longer live under her grandfather’s umbrella. It was time to spread her wings. It wouldn’t be easy to convince him that she wanted to stand on her own two feet, but she’d done it before, during college.

  When Jazzy passed a gelateria, she suddenly felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle. She spun around but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Just the usual group of tourists in a row, following an umbrella and a backpacker holding out a map. Still, she didn’t feel at ease and took up her pace. It was probably just the jitters and paranoia she lived with, expecting Detta’s men at every turn.

  The first week in Paris, it had been worse. Especially when she’d spotted a welcoming committee at the airport, which she had narrowly managed to escape. After visiting the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, she had quickly left Paris, taking a train to Lille. From there, she had left for her second destination, Amsterdam. As long as she didn’t use her credit card or phone, she was impossible to trace. That is, right up to the point when she would return to the States. But by then, the month would have passed, so Giovanni Detta would have no more reason to go after her. At least, that was what she’d told herself. When she’d texted her nonno to tell him she had landed safely, right before she had taken out her old SIM card, he had replied with an ominous “Good luck.”