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Nick
Ican still taste her. She’s sweeter than anything I’ve ever known, and now she’s mine.
I walk her into my home and call Carlotta over. “Take her up to my room. Get her measurements. Order whatever clothes she likes. She’ll also need a wedding dress—”
“Sir?” Carlotta’s dark eyes open wide, the wrinkles on her forehead turning into deep furrows.
“You heard me.” I don’t snap at her. Not Carlotta. She’s served the Davinci family her whole life.
“All right.” She swallows hard and turns her attention to my bride.
“Carlotta, this is …” I turn to my intended. “Your name?”
“You don’t know my name?” She gawks up at me. “B-but you came to my wedding.”
“My apologies, cara mia, but I simply arrived to witness the wedding between the Scalingi and Tuscani families. I did not particularly notice the first name of the bride.”
“Sir?” Carlotta wrings her hands. “You intend to marry a girl you met at a wedding … where she was the bride?”
“That’s it.” I pat her shoulder. “You’ve got it perfectly right. Now, please escort …” I look expectantly into my innocent lover’s caramel-brown eyes.
“Sophia,” she says, her perfectly-formed lips caressing the word. Oh, the things I will do with that mouth.
“Please escort Sophia to my room and make all the arrangements for a small ceremony to be held here this evening, say seven o’clock. The heads of all families are to be invited, with special attention paid to the Scalingis. Ensure they receive the invitation first.” I lean down and press a kiss to Sophia’s crown. “Go now. Prepare yourself.”
“I-I don’t know your name.” She clutches my jacket around her.
“Nick Davinci.”
Her eyes widen. “You’re the head of the Davinci family.”
“Correct, cara mia. Welcome to my kingdom.” I wave a hand at my grand estate, the chandelier overhead sparkling and the polished marble floor gleaming. “You will be a beautiful queen, but for now, I must work.” I lean closer, my lips pressing against her ear. “I am the only one who will ever rule your body, and I intend to stake my claim tonight. Ready yourself.”
A shiver runs through her, and I know—just like I know when a man wants to kill me—that she wants me between her thighs. Soon.
I snap my fingers, and Carlotta hurries over and takes Sophia’s elbow, then leads her up the curved staircase to the master bedroom.
Once she’s out of sight, I stride toward my office. Gio swings the door open for me and follows me inside, along with a handful of my most trusted men.
“Antonio’s body?” I open the crystal decanter and pour myself a drink.
“Taken care of.”
“His men?”
“Carmine and his enforcers are at the docks right now doing an inventory of people and goods. We’ll know who’s on our team before the day is out. The ones who aren’t will be taken care of.” Gio pours a drink as I taste mine. It’s good, but not as potent as Sophia, her sweetness the perfect complement to my bitter. Her skin is fair despite her lineage. Have the Scalingis kept her hidden away in their mansion on the river? Did she not see the sun in all these years? Her hair is soft, and I think—no, I know—her skin is soft, too. Like a rose petal. Did I just think of her skin like a rose petal? Fuck, that girl is messing with my mind. And maybe I like it. I take a big gulp of my liquor.
“Boss?” Gio hovers at my elbow. He’s been waiting this entire time while I’ve been lost in thoughts of the widow who will be my bride. No, not a widow. I hate the thought of her having belonged to another. It’s a stupid thing to care about, but I do. Even if she said the empty vows, she never belonged to him. She was waiting for me. All the same, I rather enjoy the fact that I killed her husband and took her for myself.
Gio clears his throat. “The girl?”
“Sophia Scalingi is mine.” I turn to the deadliest men in the city, all of them loyal to me. “The wedding is going to be a test. I’ve invited all the families. If they don’t come, we’ll know they stand against us. If they do, well, then we’ll see. But I want all of you in the room. If violence starts, we will end it. And if I have to cull the families from six to even less? So be it. But none of them will ever think to cross me in business again. The Tuscanis are no more. If anyone else steps out of line, they will meet the same end. One day, the men in this room will be the only ones that matter, the only families that have any say. But until then, we will maintain ties. And with Sophia as my wife, the Scalingis will be squeezed that much tighter in my grip.”
“Clever.” Dante taps the butt of his pistol, his impatience one of his most marked characteristics. “And lucky for you she’s got a hot little body to—”
I’m across the room, my glass broken on the floor, and my hands at his throat before the thought even enters my mind. “Don’t you fucking look at her!” I squeeze.
He holds his hands up, surprise telegraphing through his eyes. Dante is loyal. He’d let me end him right here and now if I wanted to. He won’t fight back, not against me. Which is why I release my hold and step back.
