Page 9

CHAPTER 9

M assimo

Lea’s scent lingers on me after she’s gone. Sweet lavender perfume. I’ve never liked perfume before, but I love the way it reminds me of her. It’s not the only scent in the air. I can still smell her arousal. Still see the evidence smeared across my pants where she squirmed.

I pour more wine for myself and fill her glass. Once I’m settled in my seat, I reach into my pocket and pull out Lea’s phone. I want to know everything about her, but I won’t invade her privacy more than I have to. I just need to make sure Sarah is the only one she’s been talking to. As soon as I scroll to her text messages, her phone buzzes in my hand with a new message from Sarah.

Sarah: Hey, why did you send me an audio file? All I hear is humming that makes my ears feel funny.

I sigh and contemplate a response. I scroll through the messages they’ve exchanged tonight, feeling more anger, but I swallow it. I mimic Lea’s responses and try to make it sound like this one is coming from her.

Lea: Sorry! I was trying out something new on my phone! It’s nothing.

Sarah: Is the date over?

Lea: Yes.

Sarah: Details!

Lea: There are no details worth talking about. I didn’t get anything useful for your podcast. Sorry. I’m going to bed.

Sarah: Are you okay? Can you call me?

Lea: Not tonight. I’m okay. I just want to go to bed.

Sarah: Okay, will you call me tomorrow?

Lea: Maybe. Goodnight, Sarah.

There’s no response. It must have been good enough. I look through the rest of Lea’s texts, but don’t read them, once I confirm they are prior to her meeting me. She doesn’t seem to have many friends. No guy friends, unless she hasn’t texted them in a while. The last one is from over a year ago, and the guy has been renamed Never Again , so I guess that tells me how their date went.

“I wonder what my name would be after tonight,” I chuckle, sipping my wine.

The bedroom door opens and I look over as Lea walks back into the main part of the suite. She’s cleaned herself up and removed her makeup. She looks absolutely ravishing without it. So much natural beauty it takes my breath away.

I’m not going to fight what is simmering inside me anymore. It’s too raw and primal to dismiss, no matter how bad the timing is. I could have threatened her into silence. I saw the fear and regret in her eyes. She would take the first boat out of here tomorrow morning, if she could. But I’m not willing to let her go. She’s brought too much to the surface and I can’t ignore it.

“Welcome back, bambina ,” I greet her, staring into her gorgeous green eyes. “Are you ready to thank me properly for punishing you?”

“Yes, sir,” she whispers, looking down.

I nod and smile. “Good girls show genuine gratitude on their knees,” I say, gesturing to her.

Lea squeezes her eyes shut and walks closer. She takes a deep breath before submissively lowering herself to her knees. She looks like she was made to be in this position. Her head raises slightly and I see more fear in her eyes.

“A-are you wanting me to…” Her eyes nervously flick to my crotch and then she looks up at me.

“If I wanted you to suck my cock, I’d tell you open your mouth,” I growl. “All I want is to hear your gratitude. Your sincere gratitude. I want you to mean it.”

Another deep breath. I can already see it in her eyes. Whatever she says will be the truth. But I still want her to force the words out. It’ll make her feel a lot better, whether she realizes it or not.

“T-thank you for spanking me… sir,” she whispers. “I-I’m sorry for what I did. I know I deserved to be punished for it.”

“Good girl,” I praise, leaning forward and tracing her lips with my finger, imagining what they would feel like if I told her to open her mouth for me. “You’re forgiven. I’ll never bring it up again. It’s in the past now, where it belongs.”

“But I can’t leave?” she gasps, her lips pressing against my finger and parting. They brush against me as she continues. “I have to stay here for the rest of the week? L-like a prisoner?”

“It’ll only be a prison if you make it one, bambina ,” I say, pulling my hand away from her face. “You’re going to stay with me, that’s true, but I’m not your warden. At least I don’t want to be. I’d like to be able to trust you, and if I can, you’ll simply be my guest.”

“You can trust me,” she whispers, and I see the genuineness in her eyes.

“Then get up off your knees, sit down on the couch, and enjoy your wine,” I grumble, moving back to my end and motioning to her seat.

Lea swallows hard as she gets up. She sits down and grimaces when her ass makes contact, but she squirms until she finds a position that is comfortable. Her fingers find the glass of wine and it trembles in her hand.

“I never drink this much,” she mutters before downing a large swallow.

“A little poison while you’re on vacation won’t kill you,” I say. “And I won’t let anything happen to you. You can trust me, like I’m hoping I can trust you.”

“O-okay,” she whispers, taking another nervous sip of wine. “I-I’ll try.”

“Is there anything you would like to ask me? Any questions burning inside that pretty head of yours?” I tilt my head slightly. “If you ask me something I can’t talk about, I’ll tell you, but I’d rather you ask than let them fester.”

“I don’t know.” She looks down and shrugs. “I’m not a Mafia fangirl, or whatever. Sarah is the one obsessed with true crime. Not me. I wouldn’t even listen to her podcast if she wasn’t my best friend.”

“You didn’t really strike me as the fangirl type,” I admit, sipping my wine.

“There is one thing, though. If you don’t mind me asking.” She glances at me nervously, and I hold her gaze.

“Go ahead, ask it, bambina ,” I say, nodding to her.

“D-did I really hear you put a hit out on someone?” she whispers, her eyes flickering with unease.

“No, you heard me talking about a hit with someone,” I answer truthfully. “I’m more the hands-on type. Not to say I haven’t used a hitman before. I certainly have, but it’s never my first option. Do you want to know who the hit is on?”

I shouldn’t open up like this, but I just don’t give a fuck anymore. Everything I’ve worked so hard to build is coming down like a house of cards. All because my brother doesn’t like the fact I was born first. That I’m the rightful heir to the Morandi family throne. I didn’t choose my destiny. But apparently my brother thinks he can choose his. The only option is for Morandi blood to be spilled—but I’m not the one making that choice.

“I don’t think… I don’t know,” she says, shaking her head. “Do they deserve it?”

“A lot of people probably think so,” I say wryly. “I’m inclined to agree with them. The target is a miserable wretch with more poison in his body than blood. He hasn’t felt like he was alive in a really long time. Until recently.”

Lea’s eyes reflect a flicker of confusion. She tilts her head inquisitively, so I decide to continue.

“The hit is on me, bambina ,” I sigh. “ I’m the target.”

“W-wait, what?” Her eyes get wide. “You? But you were asking if he got the money! What? I don’t understand.”

I’ve come this far. Told her things that would get me a bullet in my head, if she talked to the wrong people. But there’s already one of those with my name on it. She won’t be foolish enough to talk about anything I share after I put the fear of God in her. She had that before I took her over my knee.

“My little brother put a hit out on me,” I explain, reaching for my wine and taking a sip. “At the end of the week, when I get in my car to leave the resort, a hitman is supposed to walk up to my window, and make sure the only thing that makes it home to Las Vegas is a corpse.”

“Oh, my god!” Lea’s hand flies to her mouth. “Your brother?”

“Emilio. The fucking asshole,” I growl. “My father has been talking about retirement for a long time. It might actually happen this time around. Who knows. I guess my brother thinks the old man is finally serious, and Emilio wants to make sure he’s the next in line. I’m just in the way of his ambition.”

“How did you find out?” she asks, her hand trembling when she picks up her wine for another drink.

“Hitmen aren’t the most loyal people to do business with. The one Emilio chose is one of the best, but he’s as greedy as my brother. He thought I’d pay more to stay alive than my brother would pay to kill me,” I chuckle, shrugging my shoulders. “He called me less than an hour after he got off the phone with Emilio.”

“So, you’re going to stop the hitman?” she asks, her words still uneasy. “You’re going to kill your brother, instead?”

“I thought about it,” I admit. “But in order to do it the right way, I’d have to bring this to my old man. I’d have to get his permission to kill Emilio. My father won’t give it. No fucking way. He’ll want to try and talk some sense into my brother. Try to salvage this. But we’re way past that. Once I started looking into things, I realized my brother has a lot of alliances. Guys who will side with him, if everything goes to shit. It’ll be a civil war. There won’t be anything left of my family worth saving by the time it’s over.”

“Then what are you doing to do?” There’s a hint of panic in her voice now.

“Nothing,” I sigh, downing what is left of my wine. “Absolutely nothing.”

Lea seems stunned to silence. Or maybe she’s just processing it. But it takes a different turn than I expect. The confused, apprehensive look gives way to one of despair.

“What? No! You can’t just let him kill you!” she protests.

“Why do you care?” I chuckle. “You didn’t even want to have dinner with me. Now I’m holding you in my penthouse against your will, and I’m sure your butt is still burning from the spanking I gave you.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I want you to die !” she says frantically, shaking her head. “Wait, this is just a ploy, right? It’s a plan? Make them think you’re dead, and then you’re going to run away to Italy or somewhere?”

“Nah, faking my death isn’t really my style,” I answer. “I will not tear my family apart, plain and simple. I have too much respect for what we’ve built. And admittedly, I haven’t been much of a leader in a while. Not since my wife died and I got my revenge. It just left a hole—a hole that got filled up with malice and poison. My brother is ambitious and greedy, but I’m sure he thinks that the Morandi family would be better off with him in charge after my father retires. Maybe he’s right. Either way, I won’t be around to see what happens after he takes over. If he fucks everything up, that’s on him. I’ve made my peace with it.”

“Massimo…” she whispers, blinking as more tears glisten in her eyes. I’ve seen her cry enough for one night, and I damn sure don’t want to watch her cry over me. I’m a miserable wretch who doesn’t deserve it.

“You’re not going to change my mind, bambina ,” I say, standing up and sighing. “No reason to waste your breath. I’m going to bed. I’ve got some business to take care of tomorrow morning. Resort business, nothing crazy. I’ll be back in time for breakfast.”

She tries to say something, but I don’t acknowledge it. I walk into my room and close the door. Lea’s phone, along with mine, and everything else in my pockets, goes into the safe. I strip to my boxers and get into bed. I wait until I see the lights go off in the main part of the penthouse before I lean over and turn off the lamp. Lea is the last thing on my mind when I close my eyes. I already know what I’m going to dream about.

No nightmares tonight.

It’s going to be the best dream I’ve had in years.