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“I should be so lucky,” Rocco said, smirking.
I turned to him, staring at him. “Was that a joke?”
“I still have a sense of humor, Allegra.”
“Bizarre,” I mumbled, and headed to the pool, stripping my dress off and standing in a bra and a thong. I heard Rocco choke in a breath and smiled to myself. If I was going to be stuck here, at least I could torture him a little bit. He was clearly still attracted to me. I could tell by the way he looked at me.
I dove headfirst into the pool and did a couple laps before coming out, sticking out my chest, knowing my underwear was translucent from the water. Rocco was looking everywhere but at me, and I smirked, heading for the shower. I stayed in there a long time, letting the water beat down on my head and shoulders, trying to think. I had to get back to my father and Matteo, but I couldn’t tell Rocco why I was so desperate to get back. I’d just have to appeal to his better nature—maybe try to seduce him, get him to believe I trusted him.
By the time I got out of the shower, the water had gone cold. I dried my hair with a towel and put on a fluffy robe that was hanging on a hook near the toilet. I left it slightly open in the front and walked up to Rocco. “We could do something else to kill time,” I said smoothly, climbing into his lap.
Rocco stiffened, looking up at me as I threaded my fingers into his hair. My heart was beating too fast. This wouldn’t be the first time I had “seduced” someone to get something out of them, but it had never been Rocco. It had never been anyone I used to be in love with. I struggled with my decision, but it wasn’t like he was listening to reason. “I know what you’re doing,” he said gruffly, and I thought he was going to push me away. Instead, his hands went to my hips. “But I don’t care.”
Then he kissed me, hard and hungry, searching, his tongue slipping into my mouth. My skin heated up and my head went fuzzy. I blamed the drugs, but it was more the taste of him, like whiskey and mint rolled up into one. It was the familiar way his hands felt on my hips, how easy it was to melt against him. His hands rocked my hips forward and I gasped into his mouth, feeling how hard he was beneath me.
“It’s been a long time,stellina,” he murmured into my hair.
“So take me home,” I whispered. “Take me home and we’ll…we’ll talk.” My words sounded hollow to my own ears, and Rocco pulled away, picking me up physically and depositing me next to him on the couch. I groaned, huffing out a breath. “Should have known it wouldn’t work on you.”
“It almost did,” he said roughly, clearing his throat and shifting on the couch.
I looked at him, smirking slightly. I did have to admit to myself that I liked that I still affected him, that his body still responded to my touch. “Where were you?” I asked suddenly. “All those years?”
“Here,” Rocco responded, indicating the room we were sitting in, his ears slightly red. “I was here, hiding out.”
“Why?” I asked. “What did you do?”
He shrugged. “Wasn’t what I did. It was what Ricardo did. I took a fall.”
My eyes widened. “Prison?”
“Five years,” he admitted. “Assault and battery. I never even touched the guy.”
“You did five years in the joint for Ricardo Gallo?” I asked, shocked.
Rocco grunted. “For Enzo. Not Ricardo.”
“But Ricardo did it?” I asked, sitting forward, glaring at him. “You left me because of Ricardo fucking Gallo?”
His eyes roved over my face, as if committing it to memory, before turning away. “I did what I had to do. You’re not the type of girl to be tied down to someone inside.”
“Not if you took a fall, no,” I said harshly. “You idiot.”
Rocco snorted out a laugh. “Maybe.”
I just sat there, livid. He left me to do time for Ricardo Gallo? He had only been, what, sixteen at the time? He would have gone to juvie, big whoop. But Rocco took a fall all because Enzo asked him to. I was right to argue with him back then, tell him that he’d always chosen Enzo over me. I was right about everything. I stood up, pacing around the room. “You just disappeared,” I argued, unable to stop myself from talking about it. “You just left, without a word.” Rocco remained silent, looking down at his hands. “Talk to me!” I screeched, anger boiling up in me. I told myself I wasn’t this person anymore, wasn’t a hothead like I used to be, but I couldn’t help myself. I was just soangry.
“What do you want me to say, Allegra? That I’m an idiot for leaving you? That I was stupid to take the fall?”
“Yes!” I burst out. “Yes, I want you to tell me all of that!”
“Well, I was,” Rocco said quietly. “I was stupid for all of it, but it’s done now, isn’t it? It’s done and you hate me for it.”
“Damn right I hate you for it,” I seethed. “I hate you for that and for everything you’ve done since you’ve gotten back. All you’ve done is hinder me and now you’ve abducted me. You expect me not to hate you?”
“I don’t care if you hate me,” Rocco said. “As long as you’re safe.”
I scoffed, throwing up my hands. “And you get to decide what keeps me safe? You were gone forten years, Rocco! How do you think I’ve been keeping safe all this time?”
