Bound By Temptation, page 8
Romero
Luca, Matteo and I played cards when Aria’s cellphone rang. She sat on the sofa with Gianna, drinking wine and laughing.
The moment Aria started talking I knew something was wrong. Luca put his cards down as well.
“Why didn’t you call before? You should have send her with us right away!”
Luca got up.
“You can talk to me, too,” Aria said, then she glanced toward Luca. “My Father wants to talk to you.” She held out the phone for him and Luca took it with a worried glance at his wife.
Gianna crossed the room toward her sister. “What’s going on?”
I had a bad feeling.
“Lily’s passed out today. Apparently she hasn’t been eating much since the funeral.”
I rose from my chair. “Is she alright?”
Aria nodded. “Physically, yes. Father called a doctor and he said she needs to eat and drink more. But it’s more than that. From what Father said Lily’s been alone almost the entire time since we left. Nobody took care of her. I can’t believe I let Father talk me into leaving her there. I should have taken her to New York with me right away.”
“By my honor, no harm will come to Liliana when she’s here. She’ll be well protected. I will make sure of that,” Luca said. Then he listened to whatever Scuderi had to say on the other end. “I’m aware of that. Believe me, Liliana will be just as safe as she’s in Chicago.” He listened again and then he hung up.
Aria rushed toward him. “And? Will he allow her to come here?”
Luca smiled tightly. “He agreed to let her spend the entire summer here, maybe even beyond that. He seemed really worried about her.”
“Really? That’s great!” Aria said, beaming.
“I doubt he’s doing it because he’s worried but who cares as long as he allows her to stay with us,” Gianna said.
“When will she arrive?” I asked, trying to sound casual, as if I was merely a concerned soldier making sure he could fulfill his bodyguard duties.
Luca’s expression made it clear he didn’t buy it for one second but Aria was too wrapped up in her euphoria to pay attention. “Tomorrow afternoon.”
“She’ll be staying in our apartment, right?” Aria asked.
Luca nodded. “I told your father I’d personally make sure that she’d be safe.”
“You mean that she doesn’t go around having fun or god forbid sully her purity,” Gianna muttered.
“Yes, that,” Luca said matter-of-factly. “And since war with the Outfit might be the outcome if I don’t keep my promise I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she has only very limited fun.” Again his eyes found me and I had to suppress a curse. He didn’t even know about the kiss Lily and I had shared in the graveyard. I wondered how much worse it would be if he actually knew.
“We could spend the summer in the Hamptons. It’s too hot and stuffy in the city and we’re using the mansion not often enough anyway.” Aria touched Luca’s forearm and fixed him with one of her looks that always got him. “Please, Luca? I don’t want Lily to be stuck in the apartment. In the Hamptons we can lie at the pool and swim in the ocean and take trips with our boat.”
“Okay, okay,” Luca said with a resigned look. “But Matteo and I can’t stay with you the entire time. We have a lot to deal with at the moment. Romero and Sandro will have to keep you safe while we’re gone.”
Aria chanced a glance in my direction. She probably wondered if it was a good idea to have me around her sister, and to be honest I wondered the same thing.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Liliana
I hadn’t even realized how much I’d neglected myself in the last two weeks since Mother’s funeral. I hadn’t been hungry and rarely thirsty, so I hadn’t eaten much.
Of course, I was happy that my fainting had changed Father’s mind. Sending me to New York was the greatest gift he could have given me. In the last two weeks I’d wanted nothing more than to be finally out of this house.
When I landed in New York, Aria and Luca were waiting for me. After a brief moment of disappointment that Romero wasn’t there, I allowed myself to be happy that I was here at all. Aria hugged me tightly. When she pulled back, her eyes wandered over my body. “How could Father not have noticed something before. God, you’ve lost so much weight, Lily.”
“It’s only a few pounds and I’ll gain it back in no time,” I said with a smile.
“You better,” Luca said, giving me a one-arm hug. “I will have you force-fed if necessary. I promised your father to take good care of you.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t even understand why Father cares. He hardly paid attention to me and now he’s suddenly worried sick over me? What is that all about?”
A look of worry passed Aria’s face and I was about to ask her about it, when Luca nudged me and her toward the exit. “Let’s get going. I hate this place.”
“So what are we going to do today?” I asked as we headed toward the car. After weeks of doing nothing, of feeling nothing, I needed to get out, needed to feel alive again.
“Nothing,” Aria said apologetically.
My face fell and Aria hurried to add, “But only because we’re leaving for the Hamptons early in the morning. We’ll be spending the summer at the beach.”
“Really?” I asked.
Aria smiled brightly, and suddenly the dark cloud over my head burst open.
Romero
I was good at keeping a straight face even in difficult situations, but when I first saw Lily as she walked into the penthouse, I wasn’t sure I could hide my fury. Fury toward her Father for letting his own daughter drown in her sadness while he was busy furthering his position in the Outfit by inducting his too young son.
Lily had lost weight, enough that her collarbones and shoulder blades stood out. She looked breakable, but still so goddamn beautiful. I wanted to protect her from everything.
Her eyes met mine, and the longing in them almost compelled me to cross the room, to wrap her in my arms, but I stayed where I was, not only because of the look Aria sent me. Luca had given his promise to Scuderi. We, the Famiglia, would keep Liliana safe, and that included her honor. Considering that most of my dreams included Lily in some state of undress I definitely needed to keep my distance, and I would.
In the last few weeks, I’d fucked several girls in the hopes that they’d dispel Lily from my mind, but seeing her now, I realized that it had been completely in vain. Of course, it hadn’t really helped that I’d imagined it was Lily every time I’d been with a woman.
I was completely screwed.
Luca came up to me as I leaned against the kitchen counter and watched the reunion of the three sisters. “Is this going to be a problem, you being in a mansion with Liliana?”
“No,” I said firmly.
“You sure, because that look on your face a moment ago told me a different story.”
“I’m sure. Liliana is a pretty girl like you said, but I’ve been with pretty girls. I’ve been with prettier girls even. I won’t risk Scuderi’s wrath.”
It was a fucking lie. None of the girls I’d been with could compete with Lily’s beauty, but thankfully Luca couldn’t read minds even though he tried to make the stupider soldiers believe he had some sort of sixth sense like that just to keep them in line.
“Not just Scuderi’s wrath,” Luca said. “This is fucking serious. I mean it, Romero.”
Was that a warning?
I had to bite back a comment and nodded. Luca was a good Capo and I’d never had a problem following his rules but for some reason this didn’t sit well with me. Lily tried to catch my eye during dinner but I made sure to keep my attention on Matteo and Luca. I didn’t want Lily to get her hopes up.
And what was more important, I needed to get my own fucking urges in check.
Liliana
Romero was still ignoring me. Though ignoring wasn’t quite the right word. He treated me with polite detachment, always friendly, but never too warm. If I hadn’t known what Aria had told him, I’d have taken it harder but as it was I was fairly sure that he was interested in me.
The first day at the mansion, the sun was shining brightly and we decided to have dinner outside on the beach. I decided to wear my pink beach dress. It was low-cut, backless and hugged my curves. Well, at least it usually did, now it was slightly loose in certain places but it looked still very nice. When my sisters and I headed for the table that the men had set up, Romero looked up from the barbecue that he was manning and the look in his eyes when he spotted me was all the encouragement I needed. That was far from the polite detachment of the last twenty-four hours.
He tore his gaze away from me and returned to his task of turning the steaks. He looked amazing too, the way the sinking sun caught on his brown hair, the way his forearms flexed when he moved. I loved the way he’d rolled up the white sleeves and had opened the upper two buttons of his shirt, revealing a sliver of tanned chest.
“You’re drooling,” Gianna whispered in my ear.
I flushed and jerked my gaze away from Romero, then glared at my sister who sank down at the table with a sneaky grin on her face.
I took the chair beside her. “Did you tell Romero to stay away from me as well?”
Gianna took the bottle of white wine out of the cooler and filled our glasses. “Me? No. You know me. I’m all for the naughty and forbidden. If you want to have a piece of Romero, then do it. Life is too short.”
I paused with the wine glass against my lips. Mother’s words crashed into my mind, almost the same words. “Aria disagrees,” I said, then I downed half of the wine.
“Aria’s trying to act like a mother hen, but you have to decide what you want.”
“Are you trying to get me in trouble?” I asked, feeling my stomach warm from the wine. I finished my glass in another long gulp.
“I don’t think you need me for that, to be honest,” Gianna said with raised her red eyebrows. “But do me a favor and slow down with the wine.”
“I thought you wanted me to have fun.”
“Yeah, but I want you to be sober enough to realize what you want. And I don’t think Romero will take you seriously if you’re shitfaced.”
“You’re right. He’s too much of a gentleman to take advantage of a drunk girl.”
Gianna snorted. “Wow, now I know why Aria’s worried.” She watched Romero for a while. He was laughing about something Matteo had said. “I wouldn’t put too much trust in his gentlemanliness, if I were you. Stay in control when you’re with him. He’s still a Made Man. Don’t make me have to kill him, okay?”
“I thought you weren’t a mother hen?”
“I’m not. I’m the angry mother bear who’s going to tear his dick off if he hurts you.”
I burst into laughter. Aria joined us at the table in that moment and mustered us with suspicion. “I don’t know if I like you two alone together. It smells like trouble if you ask me.”
“You don’t want me alone with anyone it seems,” I said, only half teasing.
Aria groaned and took a glass of wine for herself. “Are you still mad at me?”
“I’m not mad at you.” I was only going to ignore Aria’s orders, and I’d do my best to convince Romero to ignore them as well.
Aria glanced at Gianna who made an innocent face, then at me. “I don’t like this. Promise me you two aren’t getting into trouble.”
“I’ve had enough trouble, thank you very much,” Gianna said with a grin.
Aria fixed me with her older sister look.
“I’ll behave, I promise,” I said eventually. Then I poured myself more wine, trying to come up with a plan to get some alone time with Romero. I knew Aria would do her best to be my constant shadow.
***
During the day it was pretty much impossible to shake Aria off. She watched me, and particularly Romero like a hawk. When had she turned into such a killjoy? The nights and the early mornings were the only options I had. Since I barely slept anyway, that wouldn’t prove too much of a problem. For some reason the darkness made me afraid of falling asleep, so I spent the nights fantasizing about Romero and making plans on how to seduce him while I caught the occasional hour of sleep when my sisters and I were sunbathing in the afternoon.
It had taken me a few days to gather my courage for my next move. I knew how to put on a brave face but this wasn’t something I’d ever done before. I had no experience with men, except for the harmless flirting I’d done with Father’s soldiers over the years.
I wasn’t as worried about Romero’s rejection as I used to be. I’d caught him watching me too often in the last few days when he thought nobody was paying attention. When the sun came up, the first hesitant rays brushing my face, I slipped out of bed and crept toward my window facing the beach. Like every other morning in the last few days, I spotted a lonely figure jogging along the beach in shorts and without a shirt. This was the highlight of my day. I wasn’t sure where Romero took the discipline to get up before sunrise every morning to work out, and I really hoped he wouldn’t show that much self-control when it came to me. I watched him jog uphill toward the mansion and pressed myself closer to the wall so he wouldn’t find me spying on him. After he’d disappeared from view, I waited another five minutes before I headed out of my room. It was deadly silent at this hour, barely six o’clock. My sisters were still asleep; they never got up this early, and Matteo and Luca had left for New York yesterday and wouldn’t be back until tonight, so the only person who could have crossed my path was the other guard Sandro. When I passed Sandro’s door I made sure to be extra quiet, but there was no sound coming from his room. I picked up my pace the closer I got to Romero’s room.
I knew it was wrong. If someone found out, if my Father found out, he’d never let me leave Chicago again. He wouldn’t even let me leave the house anymore. It was vastly inappropriate, and unladylike. People were still bad-mouthing Gianna after all that time. They’d jump at the chance to find a new victim, and what could be better than another Scuderi sister getting caught in the act and with a soldier no less?
And deep down I knew that I was exactly like Gianna when it came to resisting temptation. I simply couldn’t. Romero’s door wasn’t locked. I slipped into his bedroom on tiptoes, holding my breath. He wasn’t there but I could hear water running in the adjoining bathroom. I crept in that direction. The door was ajar. I peered through the gap.
In the last few days I’d learned that Romero was a creature of habit, so I found him under the shower as expected. But from my vantage point I couldn’t see much. I edged the door open and slipped in.
My breath caught at the sight of him. He had his back turned to me and it was a glorious view. The muscles in his shoulders and back flexed as he washed his brown hair. There was a cross wrapped in barb-wire inked into the skin over his spine. Naturally, my eyes dipped lower to his perfectly shaped backside. I’d never seen a man like this, but I couldn’t imagine that anyone could compare to Romero. Even the fantasy-Romero from my dreams couldn’t compare.
He began to turn. I should have left then. But I stared in wonder at his body. Was he aroused? He tensed when he spotted me. There was another tattoo over his heart, the motto of the Famiglia.
His eyes captured my gaze before they slid over my nightgown and naked legs. And then I found an answer to my question. He hadn’t really been aroused before. Oh hell.
My cheeks heated as I watched him grow harder. It was all I could do not to cross the distance between us and touch him. I’d never understood the concept of wanting something so badly, it hurt; I did now.
Romero slid the shower open with unhurried movements and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he stepped out. The scent of his spicy shower gel wafted into my nose. Slowly he advanced on me. “You know,” he said in a strange voice. “If someone found us like this, they might get the wrong idea. An idea that could cost me my life, and you your reputation.”
I still couldn’t move. I was stone, but my insides seemed to burn, to liquefy into red-hot lava. I couldn’t look away. I’d spent hours going over the things I wanted to say once I had him cornered, but now I was speechless.
My eyes lingered on the edge of the towel, on the fine line of dark hairs disappearing beneath it, on the delicious V of his hips. Without my volition, my hand moved, reaching for Romero’s chest, needing to feel his skin beneath my fingertips. I had no impulse control when it came to him. Maybe it should have terrified me. Girls weren’t supposed to be like that.
Romero caught my wrist before I could touch him, his grip almost painful. My gaze shot up, half embarrassed and half surprised. What I saw on Romero’s face made me shiver.
He leaned forward, coming closer and closer. My eyes fluttered shut, but the kiss I wanted never came. Instead I heard the creak of the door. I peered up at Romero. He’d opened the bathroom door wide. That’s why he’d moved closer, not to kiss me. Embarrassment washed over me. How could I have thought he was interested in me?
“You need to leave,” he murmured as he straightened. His fingers were still curled around my wrist.
“Then let me go.”
He did instantly and took a step back. I stayed where I was. I wanted to touch him, wanted him to touch me in turn. He cursed and then he was upon me, one hand cradling the back of my head, the other on my hip. I could almost taste his lips they were so close. His touch made me feel more alive than anything ever had, and I wanted more of this feeling, wanted to drown in it.
“Leave,” he rasped. “Leave before I break my oath.” It was half plea, half order.
