by Lucy Leroux
The Roman’s Woman
A Singular Obsession Book Four
PUBLISHED BY: Lucy Leroux
Copyright © 2016, Lucy Leroux
http://www.authorlucyleroux.com
ISBN: 978-1-942336-12-9
First Edition.
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, and events portrayed in this novel are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Titles by Lucy Leroux
Making Her His, A Singular Obsession, Book One
Available Now
Confiscating Charlie, A Singular Obsession Novelette
Book 1.5
Available Now
Calen’s Captive, A Singular Obsession, Book Two
Available Now
Stolen Angel, A Singular Obsession, Book Three
Available Now
The Roman’s Woman, A Singular Obsession, Book Four
Coming Spring 2016
Cursed, A Spellbound Regency Novel
Available Now
Writing As L.B. Gilbert
Fire: The Elementals Book One
Available Now
Air: The Elementals Book Two
Coming Soon
Credits
Cover Design: Robin Harper, http://www.wickedbydesigncovers.com
Editor: Rainy Kaye, http://www.rainyofthedark.com/
Thank you to all of my readers especially Karen Shoridge. Special thanks to Jennifer Bergans and Cynthia Shepp for their editorial suggestions. Extra special thanks to Alexandre Albore for his advice on life in Italy and help with translations. And finally thanks to my husband for all of his support even though he won’t read my sex scenes!
Prologue
Gio Morgese was so eager to leave that he didn’t see the toy lying forgotten on the leather seat in his private jet. When he sat down, he winced when the thick, plastic square dug into his back.
Fishing the cube out from behind him, he stopped and stared at it for a moment. Shoulders tight, he set it down on the table next to him, determinedly pretending it wasn’t there.
The toy was one of those interactive things with dials and buttons everywhere. It was designed to stimulate and help develop cognitive skills. Gio had done a lot of research before buying it. It had been meant for his friend’s daughter, but Calen and his family hadn’t been able to attend the impromptu reunion of his university friends.
They had gathered at his best friend Alex’s Greek island retreat for well over a week, but Calen missed it because his little girl had fallen ill. The illness was nothing serious, but because she wasn’t there, Gio left it behind on the plane. He had plenty of other gifts for his other friend’s children. Taking his duties as an honorary uncle seriously, he never arrived empty-handed when he saw them.
Without thinking about what he was doing, Gio stood and shoved the toy out of sight in one of the storage bins. Slamming the door closed with a little too much force, he grabbed his laptop. He started going over the latest reports from work, but his mind refused to focus. Giving up, he set his computer aside and poured himself a large glass of bitter Amaro before settling heavily back in the chair.
Gio hated to admit it, but it was getting harder to spend time with his best friends. And the reason why made him feel like shit. They were all so happy now. All three of his old university mates had found love with fantastic women.
After his divorce, Gio had started to doubt good women existed, but his friends had proved him wrong. Each of those former playboys had found someone to love, wasting no time to snap up their chance at happiness. They were even starting families—leaving him behind.
Gio rocked back further in his seat, ignoring the pang in his chest. He’d always wanted children. A lot of them. When he was younger, he believed he would have at least two or three by now. But his dream image of a big family had been shattered along with his marriage.
Everything he’d planned for had slipped away from him. In a giant, ironic twist, his friends now had the lives he wanted for himself. He’d never expected to see the day any of them would give up their hard-partying and womanizing ways for relationships. Or that they would stay monogamous after marriage.
Stop that. They were his best friends, and he loved them. He was the problem. I’m turning into a cynical sonofabitch.
Gio took a bracing sip of his drink and squeezed his eyes shut. But the image that had just popped into his head was burned into his brain. He hadn’t meant to spy. Calen and his little fairy Maia had taken a break during their Italian honeymoon to stop at Gio’s Tuscan villa to visit. He had put them clear across the house to give them privacy. It was too bad that Calen hadn’t availed himself of it.
He’d gone to call his guests into lunch only to find them making love in the garden. Calen had pinned his new wife against an ivy-covered wall, her lithe legs wrapped around his waist. He had been whispering something in her ear as he took her, each forceful thrust punctuated by Maia’s feminine moan.
Gio had walked away quickly, hurrying back inside the villa. He did his best to forget what he’d seen, but the intimate scene stayed with him, replaying in his mind on a loop.
It was unsettling. He wasn’t jealous exactly. Well, yes, he was. But not over Maia—although she was a doll. But it wasn’t her he wanted. It was the feeling he coveted.
Passion.
That was what he’d seen in the garden, what he saw when visiting his friends. Though he’d had his share of lovers, he realized now he’d never experienced true passion. Lust, yes, but passion was different, wasn’t it? With passion came love. Or at least, it was supposed to.
Once upon a time, he thought he’d found both. He’d been dead wrong. Now he knew what the real thing looked like. However, the knowledge came only from observation. He hadn’t been fortunate enough to learn the lesson first-hand.
Enough of this. Dwelling on the past would only make things worse. He was done regretting his ill-fated marriage. His tendency for introspection was bad for his soul. It was holding him back and making him bitter.
He downed the rest of his drink and straightened in his chair. A renewed sense of purpose flooded through him. From now on, he would keep an open mind. If his friends had found genuine and loving partners, there was a chance for him to do the same.
One thing was clear—something had to change, and it was probably him.
Chapter 1
Two Months Later
Gio threw the tabloid rag on the seat next to him and swore. “Puttana d'Eva maiala troia!”
He wished he was home so he could burn the damn thing in the fireplace. A little dramatic, but fire seemed like a good way to destroy the filth.
Was his marriage going to haunt him forever? Even now, after his divorce had been final for years, it was coming back to bite him in the ass.
It had started a few weeks ago. His ex-wife, Maria Gianna, had gotten involved in yet another car accident. She was cited for reckless driving. A few days after the drug tests came back, she was charged with guida in stato d’ebrezza, or driving under the influence. Despite being known as a party girl, the fact she had mul
tiple drugs in her system had been a surprise to him. She’d never been associated with drugs, at least not publicly. And he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t known.
The press was having a field day with the new revelation. Which was typical. As much as the gossip rags liked to build someone up, they loved tearing them down even more, as Maria Gianna was learning the hard way.
It was a lesson long in the making, one she deserved as far as he was concerned. When he’d first heard the news, he thought it would be a good thing for her in the long run—until she did her first “interview” afterward.
Maria’s response to the negative attention was to shift the blame elsewhere. And she’d chosen him as her scapegoat.
It had been subtle at first. The interview had been full of half-truths and barely recognizable innuendo about the role of a “significant ex” in her current predicament. She didn’t name him, but Gio had read between the lines, as had many others. She twisted things around, making her drug use his fault. She didn’t come right out and say it, but the implication had been clear. He’d been not only the catalyst for her current drug use but the enabler—the one who’d introduced her to that merda in the first place.
He’d been so caught off guard by the ridiculous accusation, he’d said nothing. Not that he’d been asked to comment by the press. His name was nowhere in the article. In fact, there were no solid details in the story to identify him, thwarting his ability to bring a libel suit, which he hadn’t even considered at first.
He was definitely considering it now.
In the last few weeks, the whispers had continued. And they were becoming more pernicious. The words “physical and emotional abuse” had made their way into the rag. Not from Maria Gianna herself, but a supposedly trusted friend, who also went unnamed. Not that he needed the culprit's name spelled out in black and white. Vincenzo’s father owned the damn paper.
Gio had done his best to ignore the gossip before, but this new smear campaign was something else entirely. Even his father knew that. His retired parent had dropped in unexpectedly this morning, coming to Rome from their Venetian villa where he spent most of his time. Tobias, Maria Gianna’s father, had sent him. They were both worried about what Gio would do.
He was still deciding what that should be. His grounds for a libel suit were getting clearer, although the gossip rags still hadn’t printed his name. But Salvatore and Tobias were frantic to avoid an escalation of hostility between their children. His father had even gone so far to suggest that Maria Gianna was simply trying to get his attention, and if they sat down to dinner together, they could work everything out.
Gio’s blood was still running hot from his father’s rosy colored view of his goddaughter.
I should have told him the truth.
Maybe if he’d been honest, his father and Tobias would stop their foolish fantasies. But Gio hadn’t been able to do it. He couldn’t bring himself to destroy his ex in their eyes. It would have broken both their hearts. Of course, now he had to. He couldn’t allow Maria Gianna’s lies to harm his position as head of the Morgese Bank.
Gio stared at his hands, wondering how he’d gotten to this place. A libel lawsuit was sordid. He had always prided himself on his integrity, in his business and personal life. He had never stolen, lied, or cheated anyone in his life.
Which may have been why he’d taken his divorce so hard. When it was finally over, he no longer loved his wife. In fact, he hadn’t ever really known her. But it was as if Maria Gianna’s actions had tainted him somehow. Betrayal wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how he’d felt. He was affronted. His personal sense of honor had been tainted by proxy.
Well, honor would only get him so far. He grabbed the news sheet and tossed it to the floor with enough force to make him glad the privacy partition was up.
His phone buzzed, signaling a text. It was from Charles, his VP of public relations.
Where are you??? -C
Three question marks meant Charles was crawling up the walls right now. Gio was supposed to meet him before the event to strategize about the latest tabloid rumors.
Stuck in traffic, he typed back.
The ceremony is about to start. Do you want me to delay? -C
Gio glanced at his watch. Damn. It was already past eight. The annual Morgese Foundation Charity dinner had already begun.
The bank’s charity arm was very active. It was a point of pride with Gio. Since he’d taken over, he’d expanded their directive, trying to make it an efficient and lean organization that still managed to fund more programs than in years past. In addition to the usual social improvement endeavors, the foundation now backed ecological and biomedical research. He was eager to meet the two scientists awarded major research grants this year.
Lifting his head, he scanned the traffic. The car hadn’t budged in the last five minutes. He was going to have to catch up with Kamal Patel and Sophia Márquez after the ceremony.
He texted back. No. You’re going to have to give out the awards. There must be an accident up ahead.
Gio put down his phone, simultaneously guilty and relieved that he wouldn’t be the focus of all those eyes turned to the stage this evening. Instead, he could slip in afterward, meet with key people, and then duck out after an hour or so.
How convenient for me, he mocked himself. Even though the traffic was out of his control, not showing up in time felt like a cop out. He had been looking forward to this event all week. But now he was letting Maria Gianna’s drama get to him.
It was almost nine by the time Gio ran up the steps to the hotel ballroom where the foundation dinner was taking place. He stopped in the lobby restroom to straighten his tie unnecessarily, still reluctant to be the cynosure of so much attention. Taking a deep breath, he left the bathroom and headed for the double doors leading to the ballroom. Briefly, he paused and braced himself before running the gauntlet.
Okay, enough procrastination. He opened the doors and walked inside.
Despite the unsavory rumors swirling around him, he was surrounded almost immediately. Hands were shaken, polite small talk was made. People determined to speak to him came and went steadily for the next hour. One or two women even hit on him, which was strange under the circumstances—unless they hadn't heard the rumors. This was an international crowd, and his name had been carefully left out of today’s latest gutter story.
Smiling politely, he extricated himself from a conversation with one of the foundation’s smaller grant winners from the previous year. They had been lobbying steadily for more funds, but as far as Gio was concerned they hadn’t produced sufficient results to justify an increase yet. After making that clear as politely as he could, he escaped to find Charles.
Luck was with him. Charles was with the Kamal Patel. Patel was a water ecologist, specializing in risk resource management. His work assessed drought patterns and made recommendations about the most efficient water conservation methods tailored to local conditions. It was research that areas like California sorely needed, although it was doubtful Patel’s recommendations would make much headway in the bureaucracy of local government. Despite that, Gio believed the effort had to be made. Perhaps there was more he could do to get Patel heard.
He’d gotten so caught up in the conversation, that he hadn’t looked for the other principal grant winner, Sophia Márquez. Dr. Márquez was a neurologist specializing in Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative disorders. The project the Morgese foundation had funded was for exploratory research on the tie between pathogens and the diseases she studied. One of the pathogens, Toxoplasma gondii, was a compelling suspect.
Dr. Márquez’s research proposal described how mice infected with the parasite would become reckless. They exposed themselves to cats, effectively courting death so the parasite could pass to a feline host. Pregnant women were already rigorously tested for exposure to the parasite, but it was only in the last few years that a tie had been made between the parasit
e and altered behavior in humans. Men, in particular, became more careless with exposure, almost as if they too were courting death so the parasite could be passed on. Gio found the idea chilling.
Sophia Márquez’s suggestion that parasites like T. gondii could be tied to diseases like Alzheimer’s or schizophrenia was enough to make Gio sit up and take notice. After confirming the stellar quality of Dr. Márquez’s credentials, he put her name at the top of his funding list.
Gio was eager to meet her for another reason, as well. He’d asked all the applicants for a personal anecdote—a reason why they pursued the projects they did. He knew it was uncommon in grant applications to request any personal information, but he wanted a deeper understanding of the people asking him for money.
Dr. Márquez’s reason for pursuing her line of research had been the only one that truly moved him. The doctor’s mother had died of a fast progressing case of dementia, one that had been tentatively diagnosed as Alzheimer’s. Based on her knowledge of her mother’s lifestyle, Dr. Márquez suspected a link between a parasite like T. gondii and her mother’s disease.
Part of the research involved examining brain tissue from hundreds of patients to find such parasites. One of those samples came from her own mother. Since her study had been a double-blind, Sophia had no idea which sample had belonged to her mother, so she treated them as though they all were: with respect and reverence.
The application didn’t say whether or not her mother’s brain tissue had tested positive for a parasite. It was one of the things Gio wanted to ask her. Hopefully she wouldn’t be offended by his curiosity.
“Did you meet Dr. Márquez yet?” he asked Charles once Dr. Patel had wandered off for more refreshments.
Charles scanned the crowded ballroom. “I don’t see her. Should I go find her?”