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But the joke's on her because that one taste she allowed was all it takes to get addicted to someone like her.
Maybe I do enjoy torture, after all. Either way, I'm left breathless and pining in this damn hall for several more minutes as I try to get myself and my cock under control. Once I'm not raging hard, I go to pay my bill and leave, still shaking my head and chuckling over all of it.
We didn't exchange information directly, but she knows that the Five Families have set up encrypted ways of communicating over the last week or so and is probably expecting that I'll get her the contacts she demanded that way. Maybe I'll ignore her command to irritate my sexy, controlling little spitfire.
I like getting reactions out of her. Before, I was interested in breaking down Giulia's walls. Now? I'm determined to win her over completely.
I'm still grinning as I park in front of the hotel several minutes later, whistling as I scope my surroundings before slipping into the high-end stay. I was the one who picked where my chosen companions and I would stay in California for this little meet-and-greet, just like I was the one who picked where the Giovanni and Russo representatives would chat.
When I unlock the door to the suite, I barely glance up at where Bruno waits beside the entry with his gun drawn on instinct. I bat away the barrel like it's a butterfly and raise my eyebrows at him.
"You know this is a classy place, right? Marcus vetted their security himself. You know he's anal about that stuff, so relax."
"'That sort of stuff?'" Bruno scoffs and tucks away the Colt, following me into the central area of the spacious suite. "Our safety here isn't something to relax about, Roberto. We're in Russo territory, and it wouldn't be the first time Giovanni's blood was spilled here despite their clear authorization to pursue business in this state."
"It'd be the first time it happened while we're all onboard theVitalenexpress."
I toss my keys to Marcus, who catches them easily where he reclines on the couch despite never moving his eyes from some nature documentary on the flatscreen.
"You didn't bring back takeout," he grunts, still not looking up.
"Order room service. I'll cover it."
"Who cares about food?" Bruno scowls at both of us, folding his arms and leaning back against the wall by the window so he can keep an eye on the streets below. "Tell us how the meeting went. Did you get the Russo contacts? Set up the next meeting? Will it be soon, or are we headed back to Chicago? How are we going to proceed with this?"
I settle beside Marcus on the couch, making a face at the tiger devouring a baby antelope on the screen. "Yes, it is bigger than a breadbox."
"What?"
"Thought we were playing Twenty Questions. You blew five of them at once, by the way."
Bruno gives me a long-suffering look that I know too well. He might not be related to me by blood, but he might as well be with his dark hair and eyes and a nose that's been broken too many times tonotbe a little crooked. My enforcer friend is a little preachy, but he reads me better than most of my family does.
"Just tell us what went wrong. And please, don’t say you started another fight."
“FightGiulia Russo?” I snort, highly amused by the visual of that. And again, slightly turned on because she shoved me against the wall like that was just plain arousing. "Get your panties out of a twist, bud. We mostly just talked."
"Mostly?" Marcus notes, eyes sliding to me.
I shrug, finally reaching for the remote because I have a strong stomach, but I'm tired of listening to the documentary tiger devour its prey. I change it to some house renovation show with whiney buyers.
Bruno tenses at my moment of prolonged silence. "Shit. Please tell me you didn't fuck with her."
"I got her a little riled up if that's what you mean. Just for fun. Unfortunately, there was no actual fucking," I add.
"Unfortunately?"Marcus has finally fully tuned in, and he adjusts on the couch to squint at me like I've gone crazy. "Meaning you did hit on her?"
Bruno huffs at me, too. "Did your father not clear enough how important it was to get off on the right foot with the Russos for this assignment? Are you insane? No, I take it back. You are insane—someone must be to purposefully ruffle Giulia Russo's feathers."
Immediately, I perk up at that, raising my brows at him. "Yeah? What've you heard about her that makes you say that?"
"Come on, Roberto. Didn't you at least research the Russo representative before meeting with her?"
Truthfully, I hadn't much, not because of a lack of trying or interest. Rather, the Russos and Giovannis made it a point to keep information about members unobtainable to the other. Trying to track down anything about Giulia was nearly impossible, given herveryprotected online presence and the Russos' iron-fisted control over any information regarding them.
"Tell me everything you know, and we'll compare notes," I tell Bruno.
He sighs heavily. "It's not much, and mostly it reeks of the Russos flashing their money and connections. From what I've gathered, she graduated early from her private high school with honors and then finished her degree at Princeton at just twenty. That was two years ago, and I'm sure she's been doing something career-wise for the Russo family since then, but it's damn hard to figure out exactly what."
