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Unsure of how to handle their silence, Domenica shifted her nervously from one foot to the other. “What do you think of this dress? It’s more traditional, not as form-fitting as the last one.”
Arlo finished his drink, then rested the snifter on his thigh, scanning my body as if he had X-ray vision. The Basile men appraised my body as if they considered adding me to one of their auctions.
“Bellissima,” Antonio said after a long pause.
His sons echoed his sentiment.
Luca stared at me with pure lust. “Perfect.”
“We’re done here,” Arlo told Domenica.
Resting his arm on the couch, Luca gave me one final look and nodded in agreement.
As I turned to leave, Arlo said, “Alexandria, you will join us for dinner.”
Frozen in place, I opened my mouth, and nothing came out. With the Basile men watching me, a shiver rolled down my arms when their dark, cold eyes met mine. The dinner was not a request.
“Sure,” I said with a forced smile. “I’d love to join you.”
Arlo nodded. “That’s all.”
74
ALEX
Luca was an animal last night.Seeing me in the wedding gown must have provoked something inside him. After meeting the Basiles, he visited me in his mother’s studio. He excused Marcello for the night, then fucked me on the floor on top of a drop cloth. Luca claimed me for several hours before I passed out from pleasure.
The following day, I awoke in my bed beside Marcello. He told me we were having breakfast downstairs for once. My handsome protector usually insisted he wait for me in the hallway, but I assured him I wouldn’t take long.
As I walked down the main corridor, loud voices traveled, forcing me to stop dead in my tracks. I pressed my back against the wall outside the formal dining room and listened to Luca speak Italian.
“You’re an idiot,” Luca boomed.
“She’s part of the deal,” Marcello said in Italian. “They will sell her.”
Was he talking about me?
Adrenaline shot through my body, forcing my heart to pump harder. The blood rushed through my veins, spinning my head.My heel slipped on the tiled floor, and I pushed my palm to the wall for support. All life inside the dining room ceased.
Shit. They heard me.
I stepped into the dining room, forcing down the bile choking me. Luca sat at the head of the table with Bastian and Damian at his sides. They were so beautiful, you wanted to touch them. Marcello sat at the other end of the table. He stared at the newspaper on the table with a coffee in hand.
“Look who’s joining us,” Luca taunted. “Did I wear you out, baby girl?”
“Luca,” I warned. “Don’t start with me before I’ve had my coffee.”
With his cup raised midair, he scanned every inch of me, his eyes traveling up and down my body. I wore a simple black skirt that stopped a few inches above my knees, though, with the way he looked at me, it was as if I was naked.
“Where’s Kali?” I said to no one in particular.
I had expected to see her in the morning. I’d heard her screaming from Damian’s room last night. Luca’s brothers had the same stamina, though I wasn’t sure how Kali could handle them. Two of Luca would have killed me.
“Photo op with our future governor,” Bastian muttered.
“She’ll be back later,” Damian confirmed. “You’re having lunch with her on the back patio.”
“Glad to know she’s still alive,” I deadpanned. “After what I heard last night, I was afraid I would have to attend her funeral.”