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“I know how to make him believe it.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Jacopo asks, looking between Julian and me.
“He’ll believe it,” I snap. “And he’ll tell Julian what he knows. After that...” I can’t help glancing at Sandro.
“Get through step one,” Sandro says. “Persuade him Roxy is dead.”
It might be tougher than I think. And Gino doesn’t have much of a poker face, Vegas trips notwithstanding. But I hope the fear of what will happen if hedoesn’tconvince Dad will play enough like grief.
On the way back to Redwood—in one of those expensive town cars the Castellanis seem to have a fleet of, and driven by one of the Redwood guards—Julian wrinkles his nose. “You’ve been smoking cigars.”
“One cigar. And blame your brother.”
Julian presses the button to put the divider up between us and the driver and turns to me with a smile. “One more for the road?” he asks, a hand sliding over my thigh.
I grab his wrist. “I’ve had enough excitement for one evening.” The problem is, my body always reacts to him, to the slightest touch. And he knows it, giving me a sultry look.
“Sure?”
He leans in, his breath warm on my lips, and I imagine just how good it would feel to have my dick in his mouth again. Getting sucked off by the Castellani golden boy in one of their own cars, on the way back to their fortress…
Me, Leo Bernardi.
But Julian’s words from the other night come back to me.It feels good to be in control of such a powerful beast, to know I can make you do whatever I want.He uses sex to control me—or tries to. I don’t mind, exactly, but I don’t want him to think I’m already on the leash, either. So I turn away, ignoring the heat in his eyes, and say, “We should cool it. Been a big day.”
His hand disappears from my thigh. He says nothing, but when I glance over, he’s looking out the window, and I can’t see his face.
I think again about that straight-down view from Sandro’s balcony.
* * *
I want to hit the sack when we get back to Redwood, but Julian just won’t let me out of his sight. He hasn’t mentioned blowjobs again, so at his suggestion, I agree to sit on the couch with him in his living area, and watch television. His hand sneaks its way onto my thigh, but he doesn’t go any further.
I think…I think he’s a little hurt. And I feel bad about that, but the dinner tonight knocked me around some. I actuallylikethese fucking Castellanis. I thought they’d be assholes, but they weren’t. Even Sandro’s casual threat to launch me off his balcony came with an admission that I seemed to be a decent guy.
And although there’s some tension there, a little underlying drama going on, they still have each other’s backs.
I can’t say the same for my Family. When Dad sent for Roxy’s head, AJ sat there like a fucking bump on a log. Didn’t make a peep.
Looked almost excited at the idea.
Julian flicks through choices on one of the streaming platforms, and pushes play on Roxy’s old show. “What the fuck is this?” I snap then, trying to grab the remote from him.
“So Roxanne Rochford’s teen-mystery-drama is the thing that gets a reaction out of you?” he asks, arching an eyebrow.
I stop fighting him for the remote and sit back, putting a few inches between us. “I should check in with her,” I realize. “See how she’s doing.”
“She’s alive,” Julian says in a bored tone. “So she should be grateful and happy.”
I’m about to tell him to go fuck himself when I remind myself of what Sandro said. Julian gets unpredictable when he’s bored. And I don’t want him getting unpredictable while Roxy’s still in Redwood Manor.
Maybe I should take a leaf out of Julian Castellani’s own book.
“Hey,” I say, but he still glares at the television. I reach out, grab a handful of his hair, and yank his head back.
His eyes go wide, then slide to me.
“You listening now?” I ask.
