Page 25 of Brutal Heir

“One.”

His body shifted as he lowered his torso, preparing to haul me over his shoulder.

I pressed my hands against him. “On your arm! On your arm! I choose on your arm.”

He straightened. “Brava ragazza. Good girl.”

My cheeks burned at the humiliating rush of pleasure through my core at his seductive approval.

The staff froze when we passed, their eyes tracking us with a mix of curiosity, envy, and thinly veiled fear.

I tugged on Sebastian’s arm as we neared Édouard.

The feathers framing his head trembled.

His lips had gone bloodless, and he cradled his injured arm.

He didn’t speak. Didn’t blink.

Just stared at Sebastian.

I opened my mouth to explain, but Sebastian’s voice cut clean through the tension.

“Édouard, I’m certain you approve of my decision to showcase the Yellow Persian diamond with one of your designs…on the stunning Mademoiselle Badalamenti.”

How does he know my last name?

Édouard’s eyes dropped to the diamond then shot back to Sebastian. He gave a jerky nod and spun toward the staff.

“Vite! Vite!” he snapped in rapid French, waving frantically with his good hand. “Fix the hem! Re-pin the feathers! Lipstick, now!”

In a blur, I was swarmed.

Two women dropped to their knees to pin the hem. Another adjusted the train.

A makeup artist appeared, tilting my chin and sweeping color across my lips in quick, trembly motions.

Édouard stepped back, breathing hard, his eyes bright and twitchy. “There. Now she is perfect.”

Sebastian’s gaze never left me. “She was already perfect.”

Something about this whole thing just didn't sit right.

The moment the seamstresses finished, Sebastian swept me past the heavy curtains that separated the backstage area from the guests.

My vision immediately blurred from multiple camera flashes as the various photographers called out Sebastian’s name.

I tightened my hand on his arm and stepped closer to the protection of his body.

He slipped his arm from my grasp and placed it protectively around my middle to pull me close.

He spoke to the crowd in French, then Italian, and finally English. “The lovely Sabrina Dolce Badalamenti has graciously agreed to showcase the House of Diamanti’s latest acquisition, the Yellow Persian. It is a pear-cut, one-hundred-carat diamond. For those interested, it will be up for auction next month, with bids starting at ten million euros.”

Ten million euros?

I reached up to caress the diamond, which rested just below my collarbone.

I had ten million euros around my neck? Oh God.