Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Suddenly, it all makes fucking sense.
Stella
The rough-looking man who just entered the room makes my heart pitter-patter immediately.
Oh my God, it’s him.
The guy from the balcony.
His darkened eyes settle on me, and I feel very small in the moment, like I just want to hide away in the corner and pretend I’m not here. But his chiseled jaw and those thin lips as he gently licks them into a smirk make it so hard to look away. He must be at least five years older than me, if not more, yet out of all the people in this club, he has to be the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. Even now, I can’t take my eyes off him, no matter how hard I try.
I shouldn’t be looking. Lucio will kill him. Look away, Stella, goddammit.
I avert my eyes swiftly, praying he doesn’t recognize me. I shift in my seat, hoping I can hide myself in the darkness. After all, this is Lucio’s deal, not mine. I have nothing to do with any of this, but he involves me anyway because he won’t allow me to leave his side.
But who is that man?
I don’t dare to look, but my heart is still chasing the beat, remembering his words about Lucio and me being worth more than the hell he put me through.
I sigh and take a quick peek. He wears an expensive-looking suit, complete with hand-tailored cuff links with the letters “DS” engraved on them. The man runs his fingers through his luscious brown hair and tilts his head, but then his eyes suddenly connect with mine. I hold my breath and squeeze my legs together, trying not to react. His gaze is so intense, it’s almost as if I can feel it in my entire body, and I don’t want him to notice.
Too late.
A hint of a smirk forms on his face, and I swiftly look away.
“Matteo, I’m glad you could finally join us,” Lucio says, the sarcasm dripping off his words.
I roll my eyes. I can’t believe the only interesting person in this club is here for Lucio. I should have known. This club is riddled with Mafia men, even if the regulars don’t notice. This is a favorite hub they frequent to make grimy deals and sell their drugs and weapons. Ugh, I can’t wait to get out of here.
Bartolo, one of Lucio’s guards, stares at me from the door, narrowing his eyes as if he wants to warn me not to say a single word, or I’ll face the punishment. Again. Which means getting locked up in my room for three days, again, until the next time I mess up and break one of Lucio’s invisible rules.
Matteo sits down opposite Lucio with a gentle but dominant swagger, a don’t-give-a-fuck attitude plastered all over his face as he leans back and stares at him with disdain. “You have a lot of balls showing up late,” Matteo responds, narrowing his eyes. “Maybe I should cut them off.”
Jesus.
Lucio’s men immediately tighten their muscles, ready for the attack, but Matteo doesn’t even flinch, and I’m left scrambling for a breath that feels like it never comes.
“I get that you’re pissed off,” Lucio begins.
“Pissed off?” Matteo interjects. “That doesn’t even begin to describe the amount of violence I wish to inflict on you, but go ahead, explain to me why you kept me waiting, with your filthy little henchmen over here.” He eyes all of the men at the table. “Couldn’t even be man enough to show up on your own,” Matteo huffs.
Lucio draws in a breath. “A certain someone decided to throw a fit in the car on our way here.”
He turns his head and looks right at me, and a lump immediately forms in my throat.
Is he going to throw me under the bus now?
His eyes quickly flit to my neck and the missing jewelry he tried to bribe me with so I’d behave after he just gave me the worst news a girl could ever hear. He turns his head again and says, “My fiancée likes to get under my skin, but I won’t let her.”
Matteo’s brow rises. “Fiancée?”
I gulp when he glances at me, cold beads of sweat rolling down my back when his gaze flitters across my body and back to my face again, as if he’s searching for the reason a girl like me would ever choose to marry a guy like Lucio. But the answer is simple: I didn’t choose.
“You shouldn’t have brought her here,” Matteo says coldly.
“Is she a distraction to you?” Lucio asks, gripping his gun hidden beneath his jacket. I know it’s there. I saw him hide it after he put on his shirt.
My heart picks up speed, throbbing in my chest.
Matteo smirks. “When your blood splatters the wall, it’ll be a distraction for her.”