Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 125243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
He’s spared from being slaughtered for the amusement in his eyes when Giovanni joins us in the hallway. The moment I saw Valentina in my room, I knew he’d be close by. Ever since Dante arrived on the scene, only ten short months after him, he’s had abandonment issues.
Vanni barely glances at me before he shifts on his feet to face Nico. “You owe me twenty.”
With a pfft, Nico hands over a bundle of hundreds, announcing their bet was in the thousands.
Giovanni pockets the money before aligning our eyes. “You wear lovesick idiot as well as the rest of us.”
Spit flies in the air when I brush off his commentary without words.
He acts as if I didn’t react. “If you want any chance of keeping her once your agreement is over, don’t take her back to the dumping grounds to get your dick sucked.”
“How the fuck does everyone know that’s where she sucked my dick?”
We’re joined by a third brother. “The stains on her knees were too dark for a standard Sicilian landscape. During decomposition, black fluids drain from the body, leading to heavily stained dark soil.”
Dante doesn’t bother hiding his hungry stalk of my room. His relationship with Lucia is brand new. He hates someone else hogging even a second of her time. He has the same issues with his daughter, but instead of a hungry gawk, it’s protective.
Needing a semblance of control, I add to Dante’s little tidbit of information. “If you’re ever searching for a mass grave, dig up a moss-covered field of black soil.”
After telling Lucia and Camille that dinner is almost ready, Dante turns to face us, his nose scrunched in confusion. “What’s with the family meeting?” Recalling the outcome of our last few meetings, he frowns, lines creasing his forehead. “Thought your arrangement with Azra was fake?”
“It is.”
I slant my head back and peer at the ceiling when Elio forms the fifth point in our crooked star formation. I don’t give a shit if they swear until they’re blue in the face that this intervention wasn’t staged—I’ll never believe them.
“Then why is she sucking your dick? Vanni said she was adamant that those benefits were off the table during negotiations.”
I melt under the glares of my four brothers but play the game like a pro. “Because the dumping grounds are the only place around here a man can get his dick sucked without his brothers categorizing every expression that crosses his face and misreading it as something else. You’re a bunch of fucking freaks.”
Nico doesn’t give my taunt even a second to settle. Party pooper. “He thought Antonio recognized Azra’s moans, so he took her out there to… discuss how that made him feel.” Could he make me sound any more like a dweeb? “Now that he understands the error of his ways, he regrets his decision.”
“The only thing I regret is that she didn’t bite my cock off. You know me. I love a bit of pain during sexual activities.”
My tease has the exact effect I’m aiming for. All my brothers look disgusted. Good. I’d rather they look at me like I’m a pig than like a loser drowning in feelings he doesn’t understand.
Azra and I only met thirty-six hours ago. That’s still stranger territory. So why the fuck does it feel like she imprinted herself on my soul the moment she entered Don Adami’s office?
“If that’s true, if everything about this…”—Vanni drags his hand down my ready-for-war stance—“is part of the ploy to get Azra back with Antonio, why aren’t you doing everything in your power to lessen the time you have to spend together?”
My mouth opens, but not a single sound comes out. How am I supposed to clear up their confusion while I’m drowning in it?
Giovanni pushes my head further underwater. “It’s because you like her. You’re reacting this way because you like her. It’s why you bartered for her and why you tried to send her home. You want what’s best for her, even if that means you can’t have her.”
His words are gospel, but I refuse to be seen as a chump. “Just because you were pussy-whipped in under a minute, Vanni, doesn’t mean the rest of us will follow suit. This is unrelated to keeping her after our ruse goes off without a hitch.” There’s too much possessiveness in the way I said our, so I continue with an arrogant edge. “I took her to the dumping grounds for exactly this. Have you seen the heat on her cheeks? Her cracked lips? A blind man couldn’t mistake them. They’re clear signs of a woman moving on.”
“Maybe if he’s a selfish prick, but to anyone else, it looks like a ploy and smells like a ploy.”
I glare at Dante as if he has two heads. What the fuck does he mean?