Page 39 of Ruthless God

I couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. She was only a year older than me, but there was just something… happy and innocent about her that made me feel safe.

She had a towel slung over one arm, standing tall and proud. She was obviously comfortable in her own skin. I wondered what that would be like.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me back into the backyard.

We ran into Elena on the way, who was carrying a plate of cut-up fruit. Her eyes found me and hardened, and it took everything in me not to squirm under her gaze.

“You know Massimo said you can take charge of staffing in the household. Which gives you the power to hire and fire anyone you wish,” Giulia said, not missing the look.

Elena paled, and it was almost comical how quickly her expression changed from hard to shock, then demure.

She mumbled something, but I wasn’t paying her any attention. It didn’t matter because Giulia was already pulling me out of there, Elena following quietly behind us.

She placed the plate of fruits down on one of the side tables between the two lounge chairs where Giulia and I sat, said a gentle “Enjoy,” and walked away.

I turned to Giulia. “I don’t think Massimo said that.”

Giulia shook her head. “But it’s true. My brother has a lot on his plate. He expects his wife to run the household, which means staffing is your territory.”

I looked away from her and into the pool. I suppose that was true. Mom always took care of the household for Andre, and he rarely ever questioned her when she decided to fire or hire people. I still think I would be uncomfortable taking charge.

I nodded because that looked like what Giulia was expecting.

“I’m going to swim,” I said, unwrapping the towel from my body and resisting the urge to cover myself. It was only Giulia here.

She let out a small, happy sigh and lay back on the lounge chair. “You do that. I’ll join you soon. I just want to get in some sun.”

I stood and walked over to the pool, dipping my toes in the water. It was the perfect temperature—not too hot, not too cold. Perfect.

If I allowed myself to get caught up in the dream of thisidylliclife, I’d be lost once the rug gets pulled.

It was better to remind myself that while things were still peaceful, it wouldn’t always be the case. There was no waynotto think that Massimo was the biggest, scariest monster than anything or anyone I’d ever encountered. And that included Emilio Lombardi.

I closed my eyes and jumped into the pool.

Water engulfed my body, and I stayed there, swimming around a bit, pretending I wasn’t really in a stranger’s house, who just happened to be my husband.

When my lungs burned, I pushed myself to the surface, taking in a huge gulp of air.

I gasped in surprise when I saw a tall, imposing figure standing there, watching me with an unreadable expression.

How long had he been standing there?

I looked past him to Giulia, who was still in the lounge chair. She was staring at her brother with a shocked expression on her face, and I couldn’t give myself time to think about why that was, considering Massimo had edged closer to the pool and held out his hand for me.

Did he expect to pull me out of the pool like that?

The look on his face told me the answer. And how would I go about resisting him? I swallowed hard and swam over to him. I grabbed hold of his hand, ignoring the shock that seemed to run through me every time we touched as he effortlessly pulled meout of the pool. I stumbled on my feet and crashed right into his chest, getting his obviously expensive, tailored suit wet.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, trying to pull away. He wrapped his arm around me, holding me close to him. He didn’t seem to mind that I was getting him wet. I tilted my head back and took in his face until it got to be too much and directed my gaze down to his tie.

“You’re supposed to be napping,” he said, his voice low and soft.

My heart jumped at his words.

“Sorry,” I said again. I looked up just in time to catch his frown. I quickly looked back at his tie. I shifted on my feet when it didn’t seem like he was planning on letting me go anytime soon. Why was he holding me like this? I was surely getting his clothes wet—even more so than they had been.

“Is everything okay?” Giulia asked. I had forgotten she was there.