Page 6 of Contract of a Billionaire

I blinked, returning to the present.

It was ridiculous that even after four years, thinking about him had my heart racing in my chest. Fifteen years my senior, Branka’s brother, was way out of my league. Not that I wanted him in my league. He was a gentleman on the outside, but dangerous and ruthless underneath that expensive suit he loved to wear.

And he had connections to the mafia, for Pete’s sake.

I didn’t need that kind of trouble in my life. But those steel-like eyes! That mouth! That body! The chemistry I felt in that very moment when I had met him has never been replicated. It was barely a fleeting moment in his book. In mine, it was a life changing event in a mere second.

I’d never forgotten him. It’d be impossible to forget that face, that gaze that held me captive, and that jaw with a mouth that I was certain knew how to bring pleasure. One look at him and shudders rolled down my spine. The ruthless man with a gorgeous face was exactly what I didn’t need but my body seemed to want him.

The music pumped remix after remix, my skin glistened with sweat, the crowd became rowdier and rowdier when I heard my name, loud and clear, over the pounding music. My eyes roamed the room, but I didn’t see a single familiar face.

“Branka. Autumn.” Again, our names were called out.

Branka and I shared a glance, then both of our eyes traveled over the faces in the crowd.

Two men walked confidently through the crowded room, their eyes zeroed in on us. Branka took a step closer to me at the same time, I stepped closer to her.

“Do you know them?”

Her eyebrows furrowed, recognition in her gaze. “They’re my brother’s friends.”

My eyes flickered back to the two men striding towards us like they owned this joint. Danger was part of these two men, and not because of the ink that marked their skin on their necks and hands, but it was the harshness in their gaze. Darkness in their eyes that resembled that of Alessio Russo.

“Are you sure?” I barely got the words out when the two men stopped in front of us.

“Ladies. I’m Cassio King and this is my brother, Luca. We’ve come to take you home.”

Branka and I shared a glance. We planned on hanging out here for another week before I headed out for my assignment. Asia. Kuala Lumpur. My finger itched to start snapping photographs.

Branka waved her hand as if that would send them away. “No, thank you.”

“I’m afraid, I’ll have to insist,” the other guy chimed in. Luca King. Cassio and Luca King. In the back of my mind, I searched for that name. It was familiar. I’ve heard it before. The alcohol I’d consumed wasn’t helping.

Cassio and Luca King.

Mafia. Their father, Benito King, was one of the most feared men on the East Coast of the United States. And his sons weren’t far behind them.

“Your mother is dead, Branka,” Cassio explained. “And your brother needs you back.” A soft gasp escaped my lips and I glanced at my best friend. She kept her expression masked, but I knew she cared. She wasn’t as close to her mother as I was to mine, but she loved her. The poor woman married a hard, cruel man and it broke her.

I felt the men’s eyes on me and I turned to look at them.

“Miss Corbin, you can come along. Alessio indicated you and Branka are close, and she’ll need all the support she can get.”

Hesitation slithered through me. I wanted to be there for Branka, but I wasn’t sure that I wanted to see her brother. Or her father.

Branka slid her hand into mine and our eyes locked. “Please come,” she choked out, her lower lip trembling and there was no way I could refuse her.

Chapter2

Alessio

Ifucking hated funerals.

The fact that it was my mother’s made it ten times worse. I hadn’t been close to my mother. It was impossible with my father - correction, bastard stepfather - around.

The fucker loved tormenting everyone around him. He hadn’t even given Branka a chance to say goodbye. He held our mother cut off from everyone until she was dead. For goddamn days.

Throwing an impatient look at my watch, I noted the time. I had another twenty minutes before I had to head out, or I wouldn’t make it to the cemetery on time. I poured myself another scotch and downed it in one gulp.