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I approached the table, and the rest of the diners fell silent. I’d considered booking out the entire place, but it would have defeated the purpose. I’d much rather have her wearing that dress eating together at home, but I needed people to see us. I needed to put the rumors to rest that the De Luca heiress had bested me. My reputation needed it, and everyone should see that I was taking personal care of Chiara De Luca.
By appearing here with me tonight, she became untouchable.Mine.
I pulled out a chair at the table and sat, finally meeting Chiara’s fuming eyes.“You weren’t waiting long?” I asked, my lazy tone insolent.
“No. Not too long. I’m sure the people who’ve been staring at me for me an hour enjoyed themselves,” she snapped at me.
I let my gaze drop over her. The dress was black and tight. A sheath that wrapped around her graceful curves like a second skin. There was only a hint of cleavage, nothing too scandalous, yet I had the sudden urge to rip the eyes out of every single patron in the restaurant who’d seen Chiara in all her glory. It seemed I was the only one who’d missed it.
Glancing over my shoulder, I confirmed that our table had become invisible now I had arrived. Mob families didn’t sit and stare at a Luciano eating if they wanted to have a peaceful dinner. My men were dispersed around us, a wall of black-suited backs ensuring our privacy.
“I’m sure they did. Anyone with eyes would appreciate the sight of you tonight.”And any night, I finished in my head. “So, you aren’t annoyed, tesora?”
Chiara forced a blithe smile, employing those acting skills that had so easily fooled me months ago. “Not at all. Nothing you do bothers me.”
Annoyance flashed in my gut at her glib tone. Did it bother me that she was unaffected by me while I was obsessed with her? Fucking right, it did.
I fought not to let it show. “Well, since we’re getting on so well, it’s my turn. Let me see what my dress looks like on you.”
Chiara flushed, and annoyance skittered across her expressive eyes before she hooded them, hiding her feelings from me. “Okay, fine.” She was so committed to acting unbothered, she even managed to smile as she pushed back from the table and stood up.
Yep, that dress was just as killer on her as I’d imagined. I watched her stalk a runway walk before me in a state of painful arousal, tossing her hair and swaying her hips.
Fuck, I wanted this woman. I wanted her like I’d never wanted anything, not even to be the eldest Luciano and have the empire my father had built at my feet.
But there was a serious catch in my want, which ruined everything.
I wanted her desperately, but she had to want me back… and she didn’t. She’d proven it to me the night we met and all the nights in between.
I widened my legs, making room for the hellishly tortured hard-on that had swelled at the sight of her confident, slightly mocking catwalk imitation. “You’ll do. Sit down, let’s eat. I’m hungry,” I said shortly, feeling like she’d played me at my own game. There was only one thing I was hungry for, and she was sitting right beside me.
“Yes, sir,” she quipped.
I caught her eye and grinned. “I like that. Let’s revisit it later.”
“It was a joke,” she muttered, her cheeks staining a pretty pink.
“Too late. Have you thought about what you want to eat?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“I won’t tolerate a hunger strike. I remember that you like your food,” I told her flatly.
Her eyes flashed dangerously at me. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Just what I said. I know you enjoy eating when you’re not trying to piss me off,” I told her. I tapped the menu. “Is there something you’d like? Or I’ll order for you.”
She shrugged. “I don’t care for contrived, fancy food if you cared to ask. Don’t pretend to care if I eat anything or not. Why have you even dragged me out here? I thought you were hell-bent on revenge and would keep me naked and shackled to your bed for two days.”
I merely raised a rakish eyebrow at her. “Disappointed?”
Her mouth dropped open in outrage, and she seemed lost for words, though it didn’t last long. “You’re insane. You think I could still want you after all this?”
I pounced on those careless, truthful words. “Still?”
She swallowed hard when she realized her mistake. “You think I could want you at all after you bartered for me, hunted me down, and forced me to stay with you?”
“Why not? If I can still want you after you drugged me, screwed me in the non-fun way, and ran off without a backward glance, then I guess it’s not so crazy.”
