Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 102566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Soon enough, the crowd begins mingling again. I soon notice a guard trailing Marzia - it seems as if he's in charge, so I'll have to get rid of him first if I want a taste of Vitto's sweet virginal bride. She's like a magnet, pulling me in close with each second that passes, enticing me to come closer and closer. She won't recognize me, not with my mask in place. But I like to think her eyes are searching for me in the crowd, desperately seeking the man she should not want.
I know just how to get Marzia's attention, but first I need to create a distraction to make her guard take his eyes off my prize for the few seconds I need. I motion to one of my guys in the crowd and he gives a curt nod, sending a girl forward.
She's stunning - blonde, tall and willowy, and not my type at all. The girl approaches the guard who does his best to avoid her sensual words and the way she trails her fingers down his lapels, but he fails fucking miserably. Just like I knew he would.
It doesn't take long for the blonde to seduce the guard. It's all I need to slip closer. Meanwhile, Vitto is embroiled in a conversation with some business partner or other, and Marzia is standing to the side, looking abandoned. This is my cue.
I walk over to her, seeing her shoulders hunch as I get closer. She can't see me yet, but she can feel me. Her body is painfully aware of my presence and that fucking excites me. I'm looking forward to ripping away everything she holds sacred. Sometimes, I find myself wondering whether she'll like me as much as she seemed to at the docks, or whether she's turned into the shy, submissive mafia princess she didn't want to be when she was just a little girl.
The thing about Marzia De Luca is, she's a fucking liar. Because that day on the docks, we both felt something. She should've fought harder to be with me. She should've gone up against her parents, begging them to reconsider her marriage to Vitto, begging to be engaged to me instead. In that way, Marzia has let me down. But I'll give her a chance to prove herself to me again, once she's my captive - willing or unwilling, it doesn't fucking make a difference to me.
I stand behind her, leaning just close enough to see the hairs standing up on the nape of her neck. She feels me here, close by. She knows I'm coming to collect my debt. To come through on my promise. I owe her, after all. I owe her a happier ending than the one she'd have with that Donati bastard.
Fingering the golden chain in my pocket, I allow it to slip between my fingers, landing on the floor. Marzia's eyes go to it, widening in disbelief. We lean down at the same time to pick it up, and reach for it, our fingertips meeting in the middle.
She lets out the faintest of gasps when we touch, and that's when I know she feels it too. This current, this electric energy running between the two of us, reminding her whom she belongs to. Her eyes fly up, meeting mine, not quite recognizing me because of the black mask I'm wearing.
"You d-dropped this," she whispers, finally looking down to pick up the chain. And when she sees it, her eyes widen even more. She's filled with disbelief, turning the chain around in her hands, eyes locking with the engraving on that ring - her nonna and nonno's names.
"A-Adrian?" she whispers, the chain glittering on her outstretched hand. "Is it really you?"
I ignore her, pulling the chain back and pocketing it. I walk away in a hurry, knowing full well she will follow in my footsteps, like a lamb to the slaughter. The corners of my lips tug upward as I hear the tell-tale click-clack of her heels behind me. I walk briskly past the people in the room, down the hallway and downstairs into what used to be the dungeons of the De Luca mansions. Now, they're mainly used to store the grappa their family is famous for making.
My steps echo out in the empty hallway. I'm faster than Marzia tottering behind me in her high heels. I hear her cry out for me to stop, my name a dying whisper on her lips as she follows me deeper and deeper into the trap I've set for her. I open a door to one of the storage rooms and enter, leaving the door open for her to follow. It's cold down here, has to be for the grappa to stay intact.
Marzia stumbles into the room a moment later, out of breath with her cheeks flushed a pretty shade of dark pink. She tries to find me in her room, not realizing I'm standing behind the door. The moment she's safely inside, I slam the door shut, turning the lock in the key and making her my prisoner, completely at my mercy.