She shakes her head. “You misunderstand me, Romeo. That’s not what I’m suggesting. But surely a man of your power and conviction understands enough to know that you have some say in this?”

  Tavi watches us both curiously.

  I don’t want anybody to hint around anymore. I want her to tell me exactly what she’s talking about. I want to know exactly what she has in mind.

  “Say it, Rosa. What are you telling me?”

  “I did my duty as the oldest in this family, Romeo.” She holds my gaze. “You are the oldest son. It’s your turn.

  She knows well enough by now that I’m not going to shirk my duties. “You know that I would do anything for this family.”

  “Anything?”

  “Anything. For fuck’s sake, I just served time for a man I hate.”

  “I know.“ She sighs. “I’m sorry, Romeo. I shouldn’t put pressure on you. You’ve done more than your fair share around here.”

  Tavi rolls his eyes. “Ok, ok. I’ve had enough of this mutual pity party. What the fuck do you want, Rosa?”

  Someone who doesn’t know him would think that he’s angry, impatient. He’s neither. He’s concerned. He knows the stakes as well as we do. Rosa is now single, and any day will have to brace for blowback from the death of her husband. Whether or not it goes to actual war will be up to me. Whether or not we throw fuel on the fire is up to Papa. And we all know what’s more likely.

  “So what are you suggesting?” I say to Rosa. Goddamn if I just want a clear path sometimes.

  “Romeo,” she says, gentling her voice. “You have so much to offer a woman. Unlike some people we know, you would actually be faithful to your wife.” She gives me a look one might give someone slow on the uptake. “Think about it. You’re a billionaire. You live in one of the most beautiful places in the country, and you have your choice of where you would raise your family. You have an army of men that’s loyal to you.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You need to marry her, but I wouldn’t recommend by force. Your instincts and mine are right on this. Sometimes an arranged or forced marriage works out, but it’s too risky this time. She knows nothing of our life, and won’t forgive a thing. She’s innocent to who we are.” She looks at me keenly, her eyes bright. “For starters, you need to make sure it stays that way.”

  “Already done,” Tavi says to her.

  She swallows hard. “I hate that it’s come to that, I hate lying.” She was always the most honest out of all of us. “But I’ve come to realize that sometimes the best choice isn’t necessarily a lie, but to not share the truth until the time is right.”

  “I’ve already done everything I can to make sure that she doesn’t find out who we are until she knows a little bit more about what we can offer her.”

  “If she finds out too much too soon, she’ll run. Or worse.”

  I shake my head. “Might as well tell you.”

  They both look at me.

  I explain what happened last night. Fill them in. Rosa watches in silence. Tavi already knows.

  It wasn’t my first choice. I have plenty of people that will do it for me, and I hate taking the life of someone else.

  “Fuck,” Rosa says under her breath. “So she can literally blackmail you?”

  I blow out a breath and nod.

  “Does Papa know?” I shake my head.

  “Keep it that way, too,” Rosa says.

  “I plan on it. So tell me, Rosa, as a woman. What do you think I should do?”

  Any other person in my family might think that I’m giving her shit, but I respect her opinion.

  She smiles sadly. “It’s easy, Rome. I think you need to make her fall in love with you.”

  I snort out loud, the idea is so preposterous. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  She shakes her head. “Of course I’m not. It’s a lot simpler than you might think.”

  “If it were that easy, why doesn’t every man do it?”

  “Lots of reasons, Rome. Ego, ignorance, their egotistical dicks.”

  I can’t help but smile. Fuck I’ve missed her. “Good to have you back here, Rosa.”

  She sobers as she continues.

  “Wish I could say it was good to be home.” She looks at the walls with a frown as if they have ears, as if they’ll rat her out. None of us has had an easy life, but I sometimes worry that being the eldest has scarred her permanently.

  “Our needs are simpler than you might think, Rome. A woman wants to be valued, cherished even. She wants to be understood. Appreciated.”

  “Yeah? Thought they wanted more than that,” Tavi says with a frown.

  “Some, maybe, but if you make a woman feel cherished and valued, you can get away with a lot more bullshit than you think.”

  I look at her curiously. Her asshole husband didn’t give her this. She deserves someone who would. I finally nod.

  “How do I make a woman I don’t even know feel that way?”

  She stands, brushing crumbs and flecks of powdered sugar off her hands.

  “Tell you what, Romeo. You do your part and we’ll do ours.”

  I grunt. “Who’s this we?”

  She smiles. “Me and Marialena.”

  “Oh fucking great,” I mutter. “You two playing Cupid?” I stifle a groan. This is gonna go over well.

  Rosa rolls her eyes and walks to the door, but sobers as she leaves. “You’re a smart man, Romeo Rossi. Mama didn’t raise a fool.” She doesn’t say anything about Papa and sighs as she opens the door. “Think about it. You’ll figure it out. Oh, and Rome?”

  “Mmm?”

  “If she doesn’t come to dinner, you don’t have to go all Beauty and the Beast on her. Give her some space or she might hate you.” I suspect she’s talking from personal experience.

  “What the fuck is ‘all Beauty and the Beast?’”

  She rolls her eyes again and she’s gone.

  I look to Tavi who only shakes his head while he eyes the last chocolate cookie. “Uh. So there’s like this scene where Belle doesn’t want to come to dinner and the Beast practically breaks her door down demanding she come…”

  “So that makes me a beast?”

  “This surprises you?”

  I grunt.

  “And you know about the movie how?”

  “Watched it with Natalia,” he says, referring to Rosa’s little girl. He reaches his hand to the platter.

  “You eat the last chocolate one and I’ll break your fucking fingers,” I warn him.

  He only smiles. “Go ahead, brother. Eat it. Maybe it’ll sweeten your sour-ass disposition.” He shoves three more of the pink ones into his mouth before handing me the tray.

  I glance at the clock. Dinnertime’s coming. I eat the chocolate cookie in one bite.

  Chapter Nine

  “Under love’s heavy burden I sink.” Romeo and Juliet

  Vittoria

  I wake the next morning to the sound of birds twittering outside my window. I roll over, trying to remember where I am. I’m not on the back seat of my car but in a bed. A gorgeous bed with elegant bedding, and… I sit up and gasp while it all comes back to me with vivid clarity.

  I’m in the Rossi Castle.

  I don’t even know who they are, but one night here means I only have twenty-nine more to go.

  I can do this.

  “Oh, ew,” I mutter to myself when I realize I’m in bed still fully clothed. I cleaned up a bit before I laid down but never even brushed my teeth. Yuck.

  And I’m starving.

  I blink, suddenly remembering Romeo’s stern reminder to come down to dinner at six. Will he be angry? Why does the thought of his scowl set my heart to racing?

  Is it hot in here?

  I throw off the covers, then realize I didn’t put those on me. I look to the door. It’s unlocked.

  Someone came in here. Someone saw me asleep and covered me in a blanket. Huh.

  I push myself to my feet, and my stomach growls. I haven’t eaten in way too long. My mouth waters at the smell of bacon, coffee, and cinnamon. If yesterday was any indication of the way they feed people here, I’m in for a treat.

  I nearly trip over a large brown paper bag by the door, one of those fancy ones with a pink ribbon tied to the handle you might get at a boutique. I look inside and find a stack of clothes with a handwritten note.

  You can borrow these until we can get your clothes sorted. Hope you like them! I made Romeo leave you alone last night but it’s probably a good idea to come to breakfast. ~M

  She made Romeo… leave me alone last night.

  How does that work?

  I look in the bag to see a small but really nice stack of designer clothes. She’s a little thinner and taller than I am, but when I look closer I guess these aren’t just hers but maybe her sister’s as well. I pull out a pair of black leggings and pale green sweater and a pair of simple white underclothes still in the package.

  I feel badly for not going to dinner last night. I wonder if Romeo will be angry with me.

  Why do I care?

  All I have to do is live here for the next twenty-nine days and I’m free and clear. I’m not marrying the guy. I’m not marrying any of them. But twenty-nine more days with my housing paid for, my food cooked for me, some companionship with his sisters, and a massive paycheck at the end? I’d have to be a fool not to want that.

  I quickly change and feel faint with hunger at this point. I don’t hear any voices downstairs, but this castle is so solidly built, I don’t think that means no one’s downstairs.

  I find a pair of flats at the bottom of the bag and slide them on. They’re a tad too tight and pinch a little, but they’ll do.

  My head feels heavy, like I’m groggy from too much sleep, then I remember I haven’t had any coffee since yesterday morning. There’s coffee downstairs, and if yesterday’s food is any indication, it’ll be the good stuff.

  I have to make myself go. No one’s going to do this for me. It feels like I’m the new girl on the first day of school, only ten times worse.

  “I volunteer as tribute,” I mutter to myself.

  I check my phone, butterflies erupting in my belly at the knowledge that I have to go downstairs. It isn’t the brothers I fear, though, nor really any of them.

  Maybe he’s busy. Maybe he’s somewhere else…

  I open the door and almost walk straight into a hard wall of muscle otherwise known as Romeo’s chest.

  Maybe he’s standing right outside this door.

  “Hey, sorry about that,” Romeo says. My heartbeat spikes at the sound of his voice. There’s still a raspy edge that scrapes across my nerves, but there’s a thawing to his tone I haven’t heard before. When he runs his fingers through his dark, curly hair, he looks almost boyish. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  I’m suddenly very wide awake.

  “Oh, no, it’s fine. Just thought I’d go downstairs for some breakfast.” My cheeks heat when I remember that I didn’t do what he told me the night before. When I remember how he said he’d treat disobedience. “I… I fell asleep.”

  He doesn’t move to back up. He’s so close to me I could reach out and touch him. So close he could slide his hand along my lower back… So close, I note how he smells like spice and pine and all things masculine.

  His eyes are sharp and assessing, full of intelligence and something more, something I can’t quite figure out. “I know.” His jaw tightens, and he puts his hands in his pockets, like he’s holding himself back and trying to play nice. “I’ll let it go this once.”

  Or… what? I want to ask him. He’ll let it go? I bite down on my lip so I don’t snap out a sardonic reply, even as I combat undeniable excitement. He’s dangerous, so fucking dangerous, I feel just being in his presence is like toeing the edge of a cliff.

  Why do I feel this magnetic attraction to him? Why do I want to take the one step to him? Run my fingers through that silky, tousled hair? Trace the rough edge of his jaw?

  I nod. “Thanks.” My voice is almost a whisper. A part of me says this is wrong, that I shouldn’t have to thank him for letting me get away with not coming to dinner.

  But a part of me’s already accepted this. Already accepted him. Maybe the threat of being punished by him did that.

  “You look beautiful.” He speaks directly, without fanfare. I look down dumbly at the simple leggings and sweater, but before I can reply, he continues. “But I don’t like you wearing borrowed clothing. Since you’ll be here for the next month, I’ve had some things ordered for you.”

  “Thank you?”

  I don’t know what else to say. Before I can respond, he reaches for me. I stand, enraptured, watching his strong fingers and the palm of his hand as if in slow motion. He cradles the back of my head, and my eyelids flutter closed for a fraction of a second. It feels so good. It feels so right.

  “You shouldn’t think so little of yourself.”

  The gentle tone’s gone. His voice is back to gravel and concrete, his grip in my hair tightening.

  “What makes you think I think so little of myself?” It’s hard to stand with my knees wobbling so hard, but he instinctively seems to know this. His free hand finds the small of my back and holds me up.

  “I could see it. My compliment made you uncomfortable, didn’t it?”

  I nod. Whisper, “A little.”

  His mouth at my ear makes me shiver. “I could do lots of things that would make you squirm, bella.” I gasp when he nips my ear. “You’re a natural, you know that?”

  I shake my head. “Natural? Natural what?”

  “Submissive.”

  Submissive. Oh.

  Oh God. That makes him… the dominant one.

  “We’d do well together, you know.” He kneads the back of my head. “I’d make your body sing, sweetheart.” Then his grip tightens to painful, and he tugs my hair. I hold my breath when his lips touch my cheek. “Don’t do it again, Vittoria. When I give you a command, you obey.”

  There’s a latent threat in his tone that makes my sex pulse. That makes me want to push him, to defy him, to see what he’d do. My skin burns where he kissed, and I unconsciously lean closer to him.

  He releases me, and I nearly stumble, but he steadies me with his hand under my elbow. “You’ll come with me to breakfast.”

  What will his brothers think? I don’t answer, my mind buzzing with questions and possibilities.

  Voices come from downstairs amidst the clinking of glasses and dishes.

  “Rome. Torri.” Mario stands at the foot of the spiral staircase and grins.

  “Ah, yeah, don’t call me that, Mar, okay?”

  He winces, and Romeo chuckles. Oh God, it’s the first time I’ve heard him laugh, all manly and deep and throaty, and it makes me want to make him laugh again.

  Mario holds his hands up. “Oof. Mar. Yeah, I can remember that.” I don’t miss the way he looks from me to Romeo, then back again. “Papa’s in rare form, man,” he says under his breath.

  Shit.

  Romeo nods, then reaches for my hand and pulls me to his side.

  “Listen to me, Vittoria,” he says in a low voice as the front door opens and Tavi comes in with Orlando. They both jerk their chins at us in greeting but walk past us to the dining room. Orlando’s gaze lingers a fraction of a second longer than Tavi’s, but neither stay long. Neither tries to get my attention.

  They know Romeo wants me.

  Will any of them try to marry me, like he will? Do any of them want to ascend the throne as badly as Romeo?

  A glass crashes in the dining room, and Romeo says something under his breath in Italian.

  “Hundred bucks says that was another food fight.” He shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “I’ll beat the shit out of them.”

  Oookay.

  In the early morning light, the Great Hall’s lit up with brilliant beams of sun reflecting on the glass chandeliers, the flags hanging from the ceiling like a stately garland, but no one’s here. We head to the dining room instead.

  No one comes to greet us when we enter, but it’s as if the whole room pauses for a fraction of a second before they resume their chatter.

  Marialena and Rosa look my way.

  “Uncle Romeo!” I start when a little ball of pink comes hurtling toward us and tackles Romeo at the knees. He’s ready for it, though, bracing and gathering her up in his arms. “Mama said you were here.”

  Mama? She called him Uncle. Rosa’s daughter?

  A pretty little thing with the same vivid blue eyes as her mother peers over Romeo’s shoulder. The man already had sex appeal written in every cell of his body. Great. Now that he’s holding a child, those massive, muscled arms of his wrapped around the little girl as he smiles at her, my ovaries begin to play a violin.

  “Natalia,” he says warmly, clearly pleased at seeing her. “Your mama said you were here, but I haven’t seen you yet.”

  She looks over his shoulder at me, her eyes wide in surprise. “Probably because you’re dating a princess?”

  “A princess?” I say with a laugh. “You’re now officially my favorite person here, Natalia. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Vittoria.”

  Romeo sets her down on the floor. “She looks like a princess, doesn’t she?”

  Oh no he doesn’t.

  “There you are.” A young woman who looks like she’s fresh out of college, her hair in a messy ponytail and with glasses perched on her nose, reaches us. When she sees Romeo, she stops short. Her brows rise comically high, and she snatches Natalia’s hand.

  “So sorry, Mr. Rossi,” she stammers. “I—I turned my back for one minute, and she was gone.” She looks sternly at Natalia. “You were supposed to stay with me. She didn’t sleep a wink, sir, and the jet lag has her all hyped up.”

  “Natalia! Give Uncle Tavi a hug, baby.” Tavi grins at her, kneels on one knee, and she throws herself at him.

  He looks up at the nanny. “Thank you for watching her last night. I was whipped.”

  She flushes bright pink and stammers, “Oh, no problem at all, sir. Anything you want.”

 

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