Page 9 of Unrelenting (Ruthless Temptations #1)

EIGHT

Lorenzo

“Thank you for showing me around,” Giulia says as we enter the tasting room. It’s my favorite part of the winery, decorated in the style of an English gentleman’s club.

Some people might find it a little too traditional, forbidding, even, but for me it’s a space to relax and enjoy the fruits of my labor. Well, my worker’s labor, really, but I oversee production and that can be arduous.

Giulia has been the model guest, asking questions and appearing impressed at all the right moments. She seems like a sweet woman.

With her short purple hair, she’s cute but not what I’d call beautiful. Not that I’d tell Matteo that. He’s clearly besotted with her.

“It was my pleasure.” I always enjoy showing off my pet project to people. I can’t wait to bring Lucia out here. She’ll appreciate what I’m trying to achieve, especially in the coffee shop and restaurant. “Now, would you like to sample our new Chianti?”

Giulia hesitates, wrinkling up her nose. “A small taste, perhaps.”

I go to the bar at the side of the room, pour her a glass from the open bottle that’s sitting there and bring it to her.

“You’re not having some?” she asks as she takes the wine from me.

I glance at my brother, who returns my knowing grin. He noticed the suspicion in her voice too.

It’s good that Giulia is wary of us. In our world, it takes time to be sure who you can trust. We may be Matteo’s cousins, but we’re strangers to her.

“We know what it tastes like,” I tell her.

Giulia looks back over her shoulder, toward the door. She turns back to us and bites her lip. She doesn’t drink the wine.

“Is something wrong?” I ask.

Her face blanches as she tries to come up with a response. She clearly thinks we’re up to no good. She’s right, of course.

Damiano and I are toying with her, trying to get a sense of what she’s made of. We’ve turned a perfectly innocent situation into something fraught with anxiety for her simply because we’re curious about the sort of woman Matteo would fall for.

“We didn’t spike your drink,” Damiano says in a wry tone that I doubt is reassuring.

Giulia fixes him with a stern look. “Isn’t that what someone who had drugged my drink would say?”

Smart girl.

“I don’t know.” Damiano laughs. “I don’t go around drugging women.”

He’s more of a club them over the head and drag them back to his cave type, but there’s no sense telling Giulia that.

“You’d better not start with my woman,” Matteo says as he strolls into the room. Olivia follows close behind.

“What’s going on?” Olivia looks confused.

“Lorenzo wants Giulia to sample his new Chianti, but she seems to think we’ve poisoned it,” Damiano explains.

Scowling, Giulia raises the glass to her lips. I guess she wants to prove she’s not afraid we might have done something nefarious.

“You’re not meant to drink it straight away,” Olivia chides. I’ve noticed she projects a certain animosity toward Giulia. I guess it’s jealousy. Olivia and Matteo are close. She probably doesn’t like him giving so much attention to another woman. “You need to assess the color and clarity first.”

We coach Giulia through the process of tasting the wine, but it’s clear she’s unimpressed. I guess she’s not much of a wine drinker. I imagine a very different reaction from Lucia. She would savor the Chianti. She’d pick out the cherry flavor and the subtle note of tobacco.

Despite being a heathen when it comes to wine, Giulia seems to be a good fit for my cousin. Watching their interactions, I see how at ease they are with one another. Matteo shoots us a look over the top of Giulia’s head, an unsubtle hint for us to get lost.

“I like her.” I express my approval as I walk out of the room, patting Matteo’s shoulder on the way past. “Let me know what you think of the wine, Giulia. If you enjoy it, I’ll bring a case to your wedding.”

Damiano and Olivia follow me from the room, and Matteo closes the door behind us so he can enjoy some alone time with his woman.

“I need to speak to you,” I tell my brother as we head toward the stairs leading down into the main production area.

“Livvy,” Damiano says, “why don’t you go wait in the car.”

Olivia scowls. “Why don’t you kiss my ass?”

“Save the sweet talk for Reznov,” Damiano advises. “And do as you’re told or I’m grounding you.”

“I’m not a child.” Olivia’s tone directly contradicts her assertion. She performs her signature hair toss and flounces off downstairs.

“She’ll probably slash your tires,” I tell my brother as she leaves.

Damiano snorts derisively. “Probably. Fuck, I cannot wait until Reznov takes her off our hands.”

“You think he will?”

“I think he’s about done playing with her. Expect wedding bells imminently.”

“Yeah, can’t wait.”

Damiano leans against the railing at the top of the stairs. “You didn’t want to talk about our cousin’s love life.”

He’s right. As entertaining as Olivia’s dealings with Piotr are, I have more pressing matters to deal with.

“I spoke to Alberto Ricci this morning.”

“Did you get anywhere?”

“Maybe. It turns out he has a granddaughter.”

“You’re shitting me.” Damiano rubs the back of his head. “How come we didn’t know about this?”

I shrug. Someone on my team is going to answer for their failure to uncover something so important.

“She’s illegitimate. They’ve kept quiet about her existence.”

“But he you about her?”

“Yes.”

My brother’s eyebrows pull into a deep V. “Why now?”

“He wants to see her married. Once that happens, he’ll consider my offer for the land.”

Surprise crosses his face, and then he laughs. “Are you telling me he wants you to marry his granddaughter?”

“No, he doesn’t want me for her, and I have Lucia now.”

Damiano scowls at that. “You’d let her get in the way of a business deal?”

“In a heartbeat.” Though I haven’t declared my intentions yet, I intend to marry Lucia, to bind her to me forever. “Besides, I think you might be more interested than I am.”

“Why? I’m not going looking for a wife.”

“Maybe not, but his granddaughter works for you.”

“Who?”

“Violetta Caruso.”

For a moment, my brother is frozen in shock. “Violetta? Are you joking?”

I shake my head.

“Not over something like this. Ricci wants me to find a husband for his granddaughter before we can do a deal. Thought you’d want to know since she works for you.”

“Yeah. Let me think about this. There must be some way we can use the girl to get what you need.”

“Okay, now get out of here. I’ve a shitload of work to get through before I can go see Lucia.”

Damiano sighs. “You’ve got it bad for this girl.”

“Seems like it.”

“Bring her to the club tonight.” It sounds like an order, not an invitation. “You can help me keep an eye on Giulia.”

I nod, unable to believe Matteo is allowing his woman to go to Damiano’s nightclub alone. The place is crawling with guys looking for an easy lay.

I’m not saying Giulia would fall for their crap, but if she was mine, I wouldn’t be taking any chances.

But at lunch, my cousin said he was happy for her to go. I guess he’s trying not to look like a possessive asshole around her. It won’t work in the long term. Men like us are too protective of what’s ours.

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

I haven’t taken Lucia out on a date yet. It’s time to show the world she’s mine.

It’s almost midnight by the time I pull up at Gianetta’s. I park at the front door and get out of the car. I can’t help noticing the construction going on next door.

There’s a gigantic pile of timber lying on the sidewalk behind a wire fence. I’ll need to have someone come and speak to the construction crew about keeping things clean.

Lucia’s customers are discerning people. They won’t enjoy walking past this mess to get to the restaurant.

When I enter the restaurant, it’s quiet, with only two tables still occupied. Angelina and another server, whose name I think is Carina, hover at the back of the room, waiting to clear up after them when they leave.

Daniele, who’s Bruno’s replacement, is sitting at the bar. With his clean-cut, boy next door appearance, he’s a more presentable choice of bodyguard for Lucia. As soon as he sees me approaching, he jumps down off his seat.

“It’s just a soda water,” he says quickly, pointing to his glass. “And I paid for it, even though Ms. Lazaro said it was on the house.”

The other good thing about Daniele is that he’s terrified of me. He’s a decent fighter, brave when facing down our enemies, but he crumbles in my presence. That means the chances of him trying anything with Lucia are practically zero.

“You can leave. I’ll take care of Ms. Lazaro tonight.”

“Thank you, Lorenzo .”

He scurries out of the restaurant as if his tail is on fire while I settle myself at the bar.

“What can I get you?” Francesco asks. He’s young, probably no more than twenty-one, and I’ve heard the serving staff gushing over his handsome face more than once. If he wasn’t already married with two children and clearly devoted to his family, I might view him as a threat.

“Just your boss.” Although there’s nothing to stop me walking into the kitchen to see Lucia for myself, I don’t want to encroach on her sacred space.

She never told me straight that she doesn’t want me in there, but whenever I went in to compliment her on the food, I could tell she was irritated by my presence.

Francesco nods and disappears into the kitchen. A minute later, Lucia emerges, her white chef’s jacket stained with a mix of red wine and some sort of gravy.

“Lorenzo,” she acknowledges me with a smile. It’s a nice change to see her openly showing she’s pleased to see me. “I wondered if I’d see you tonight.”

So, she’s been thinking about me. I like that.

“Can you finish up now?” I ask. “I want to take you out.”

“Out?”

“I thought we could go to La Stanza Rosso.”

Lucia looks past me to where I know a clock sits on the wall. “It’s midnight.”

“The club is open until 5 am.” I grab her hand and stroke the back of it. “Unless you’re too tired?”

“No, not too tired, and I’ve never been to La Stanza Rosso.”

“Then grab your things and I’ll take you home to change.”

“Actually, I have clothes here.” She twists her mouth the way she does when she’s considering something. “It doesn’t have to be a dress, does it?”

As much as I’d love to see her beautiful curves hugged by a form-fitting dress, preferably in a vibrant shade of red, I’m not going to dictate to her what she wears. I leave that level of controlling shit to my older brother.

“No, but people usually dress up, especially in the VIP area.”

Lucia snorts, an adorably amused sound. “You’re not exactly dressed up.”

That’s true. I’m wearing jeans, a black t-shirt and my leather jacket. Any other club of La Stanza Rosso’s stature would refuse me entry. At least, it would try to.

“I don’t need to wear Armani to be the most important man in the room,” I tell her.

Lucia throws back her head and laughs. “Perhaps I’ll borrow some of your arrogance and no-one will care what I’m wearing.”

“Take whatever you need from me, gattina . Just go get changed.”

“Okay, on one condition,” Lucia says.

“What?”

“You put my staff on the list for next Saturday. We’ve got a busy week ahead. They deserve a treat.”

“Sure,” I say readily because it’s not a big ask. “I’ll get them access to the VIP lounge and arrange some complimentary champagne for them.”

“Can you do that? Isn’t it your brother’s club?”

I shrug. “What’s his is mine.”

“And does that work the other way around?”

“Hell, no,” I scoff. “I don’t share.”

“Pity. Your brother’s kind of cute.” Lucia’s eyes sparkle with mischief. “I wouldn’t mind being the filling in a Volante sandwich.”

“Go get ready.” I grab her shoulders and spin her around. Just for good measure, I slap her ass. “While I contemplate ways to kill my brother and make it look like an accident.”

Lucia walks off, shaking her head and laughing. I grin too, knowing she wasn’t serious about a threesome with my brother.

The very fact she called him cute is proof enough she hasn’t thought of him in that way because it’s the last word anyone would ever use to describe Damiano.

As she disappears into the kitchen, I feel lighter than I have in years. I like this woman. I like her a lot, and that thought scares me because there is nothing I won’t do to keep her.