Daniella raced to the door and once opened, Belinda and Mia walked in. They stopped dead still—eyes wide open—as they stared at me. Both girls gasped, and both ran over to feel the fabric.
“Oh, my God! This is beautiful,” Belinda cooed.
“Simply stunning,” Mia agreed.
Another few minutes of this went on until we knew it was time to venture downstairs and join the party. The girls all left, so I could change, and I very quickly and carefully placed the dress back on its hanger before putting my normal dress back on. I admired it a little more before reluctantly pulling my gaze towards the door. I quietly took my journey down the stairs where voices could be heard nearby. As I got to the bottom of the stairs, I noticed a door had been left ajar, and when I peaked in, I could see Tony and Giuseppe whispering something in Italian. All I heard were the names “Sophia” and “Luca,” so I knew who they were talking about, but not in what context. It frustrated me that I didn’t know the language, so I could at least be privy to their conversation.
Annoyed, but resigned, I went to walk away, but then I heard Tony say, “She can’t keep this from Luca. He has a right to know.”
I stopped dead still, wondering if Giuseppe would reply in English. Unfortunately, he didn’t, leaving me frustrated and angry for Luca. What on earth was it that Sophia knew that Luca didn’t? They rattled on some more in Italian, but it was nothing that I could decipher. It made me grit my teeth in anger. What in the hell was going on?!
“Is everything okay, amore mio?”
I jumped out of my skin when I saw Luca walking towards me. I smiled. “Everything is fine.” I turned my head towards the door and saw Tony and Giuseppe staring at me with open mouths. I glared back at them to let them know I knew something. Once I knew my message went across to them, I turned my attention back to Luca. “I missed you,” I offered, so as not to get him suspicious. I placed my arms around him and seductively kissed him on the lips.
“I think we both need a little reacquainting.” I laughed, but right then, that was the last thing on my mind. It was stupid because I was always ready for Luca, but my fierce loyalty towards my man was winning out. I hated that people knew something that could possibly affect him in some way. What were they hiding? “My family is going to keep me away from you, and I hate that.”
I laughed again. “It won’t be for long. You can have me all to yourself tomorrow night—the night I will be Mrs. Belatoni.”
Luca growled, pulling me closer. “I can’t wait for that.”
I smiled and trailed a finger down his face. “Neither can I.” As I said this, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was Sophia in the kitchen, giving me the evil eye. Something really needed to be done about her.
“Will you be okay for a few minutes? I just need to speak with my uncle.”
I smiled sweetly, knowing exactly what I was going to do. “Take as much time as you need. I’ll go back out and sit with my girls for a bit.”
Luca smiled, pulled me in for a kiss, and disappeared into the study. I made my way to the kitchen, and the whole time, Sophia pretended I wasn’t even there. “I know you know I’m here, so there’s no need to ignore me.” She didn’t say anything at first—just cleaned and mumbled something under her breath. “What was that? I didn’t quite catch it?” She looked up at me then with fire in her eyes. She spouted something off in Italian. Lord knows what it was, but I knew it wasn’t pleasant. “Listen, I know you don’t understand what the hell I’m saying, so I guess this will be a little easier for me to say. I’m getting married to your son. Deal with it. He loves me, and I love him, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it!”
Sophia threw her cloth down on the table and huffed. More Italian words spouted from her mouth. “You know, you’re a very shouty person. Don’t you ever have a normal conversation without all the shouting and the arm throwing? It’s very distracting.” Sophia didn’t say anything further. She just thumped her hand down on the cloth a little too forcefully and carried on cleaning the already spotlessly clean table. “Nothing to say? Oh. That’s a first.” I sighed. “Okay. I’m going to go be with my friends now, and tomorrow, I will be married to your son,” I leaned in to whisper, “who—by the way—has the biggest cock I have ever seen in my life.” I smiled even though she was still ignoring me. “I must say, Sophia, you should be very proud of him. He’s the best goddamned sex I’ve ever had. Oh, the orgasms that man can give me. Phew.” I waved my hand in front of my face. “Rest assured that once we marry tomorrow, your son will have me in every which way, and I’m going to love every single second of it. I especially love it when he licks me a certain way…” I shuddered in delight at the thought. “Oh, the things your son can do with his tongue. He’s like the master of sex… A beast in fact.” I breathed in deeply, smiling to myself. “See you around.”
I walked out of the kitchen towards my girls, feeling somewhat pleased with myself. I was wicked—I knew that—but she deserved it with the way she had been treating me since I arrived. Everyone else was welcoming and friendly, but Sophia had that death stare plastered on her face from the moment I set foot on her property. Sometimes, the little imp in me just couldn’t help herself.
“Are you ready for a party later, ladies?”
Belinda and Mia got up from their seats and hugged me tightly. I may not have had Luca’s mum on my side, but I sure as hell knew I had Mia and Belinda.
And that was all that mattered to me.
The music was loud, but the crowd was buzzing. The atmosphere in the club was electric as I danced with my girls beside me. The boys had ventured off to another club, and reluctantly, Luca let me go to be with my girls. Daniella and Chiara came with us as well, and we were all well on our way to being merry. The only dampener on the whole night was my sombre mood over what I had overheard earlier. It bugged me that my wedding was tomorrow, and yet there was still some obviously unfinished business. What was Sophia hiding that was important enough to keep it from her eldest son?
“Are you okay? You look a little pensive.”
I looked over to Belinda and smiled as best I could. “Wedding nerves, I guess.”
She gave me an understanding look and nodded her head. “Understandable. But, you and Luca belong together. Everyone can see that. Even his mother has to see that.”
I sighed in exasperation. “She’ll never accept me. No matter what, I can’t turn myself Italian.”
Belinda laughed. “You’d be hell to live with if that happened.”
“Belinda!” I playfully scolded.
We both laughed, and just then Mia came from the dance floor and tugged at my arm. “Come on, Clara. I want to dance with my girl before I give her away tomorrow.” She winked at me. She was drunk, but I liked Mia when she was drunk. She came out of her shell a little more.
“Okay. Only one dance, though. I’m already knackered.” I laughed and looked at my watch. It was only just past nine. “Oh fuck, I’m such a lightweight.” I rolled my eyes as we marched out onto the dance floor in a fit of giggles.
One song ended, and straight away, “Dangerous” by David Guetta came blasting through the speakers. We all jumped up and started swaying our hips. I was laughing and swinging to the music. As I turned, though, something at the bar caught my eye. There was a man in a suit standing there watching us. The moment I saw him, I knew he was trouble. His eyes were boring into mine, and I knew there was no mistaking that he had been watching me in particular. He looked dark, mysterious, and like a man to be reckoned with. He was handsome and somewhere in his late thirties with dark hair and a goatee.
Once he knew I had caught his eye, he smiled, but I quickly turned my head so as not to gain his unwanted attention. He looked like bad news, and bad news seemed to follow wherever Luca and I went.
As the song ended, I left all the girls dancing and approached the bar, being careful to keep my distance between myself and the dark, mysterious stranger as much as possible. I ordered a
drink and turned to watch the girls give it their all. They were getting lots of attention, but that didn’t surprise me. They were all beautiful in their own, unique ways.
“Your smile would light a thousand stars.”
I rolled my eyes and turned to the sound of the voice. It was the dangerous-looking guy. “Yeah? I bet you say that to all the girls.”
He smiled, but didn’t retort. “Are you here in Sicily on business or pleasure?” The way he said the word pleasure was like he was making love to it.
I studied the smirk on his face, and I knew then that something was off. “Pleasure, but then I have this feeling you already knew that.”
Mystery Guy quirked his eyebrow. “Oh, yes? And what gives you that impression?”
I shrugged my shoulders. Every part of me should have been screaming to shut up, but for some reason, my mouth always won out. “Oh, I don’t know… Maybe it has something to do with the fact that all you family,” I emphasised the word with both hands, “all look the same with your overpriced suits, perfectly styled hair, and expensive rings on your fingers.” I pointed to the bulging one he had wrapped around his pinkie. “You all even stand the same—like you somehow own everything around you.”
Mystery Guy gave me the most amused, perplexed look I had ever seen on a man. “Sorry I couldn’t attend the party earlier, but I’m glad I got to meet you here.” He gave me a big smile, as if to say, “Yes, you were right.”
I smiled back, immediately relaxing. “Okay. And you would be?”
He held out his hand. “Angelo Belatoni, at your service.”
I shook his hand. “A relation to Luca?”
He nodded. “Yes. I am his cousin.”
I frowned. “So, why aren’t you with him now?”
He scrunched up his face. “The kind of strip club they’re at is not really my thing.” He leaned in further to whisper in my ear. “They kind of offer extra services … if you know what I mean.”
I sucked in a breath and scowled. Heat rose to my cheeks as my anger grew and my fists clenched. I wanted blood … preferably Luca’s. “Where is this place?” I found myself asking.
Angelo frowned, but it looked as though he was trying hard to repress a smirk. “Oh, it’s actually only two streets away from here. The place is called La Bella Vita.”
I felt a whoosh of air and then a little squeal from Chiara. “Angelo, what are you doing here?” She went in to give him a hug, but I was too busy fuming from the information Angelo had provided.
“I was in town and thought I would pop in for a drink. That, and I wanted to see if I could find my beautiful cousins.”
Chiara beamed and looked towards me. “I see you’ve met Luca’s fiancée, Clara.”
Before he could answer, I gritted my teeth. “I need to be someplace else.”
Chiara frowned. “Where?”
I breathed out deeply, trying to calm my ever-beating heart. I was going to kill Luca once I found him. “La Bella Vita.”
Angelo smirked and Chiara noticed. “Angelo, what did you do?” she asked in an exasperated tone.
Angelo shrugged his shoulders. “I did nothing. What?” He threw his hands in the air with indifference and puffed out some air once he saw the scowl on Chiara’s face. “Clara wanted to know why I wasn’t with Luca. I was just being honest.”
With that, I picked up my bag and started to move through the crowd. I wasn’t just going to kill Luca; I was going to castrate him first.
“Angelo!” I heard Chiara shout, but I wasn’t stopping. I stepped out into the mild night air and inhaled deeply. Pretty soon, everyone was running out behind me, wondering what the hell was going on.
“What’s the matter?” Belinda asked.
“Luca happened,” I growled. I then turned to Angelo. “Where now?”
Angelo, with a hidden smirk, pointed to our left. I didn’t waste any time. I fled towards this club with a trail of high-heeled shoes following behind me.
“Angelo, what have you done?” I heard Chiara belt out again. I didn’t hear anything offered in return. Instead, I just heard the faint scurrying of high heels frantically trying to keep up with me.
Chiara grabbed my arm. “Whatever Angelo said, it would have been blown out of proportion.”
I turned to Chiara. “I still think I would like to see for myself.” As I walked across the road, I could make out some flashing lights. I squinted, trying to make out more, but by the second crossing I could see they were the bright lights of La Bella Vita.
I approached the bouncer, but he stopped me dead in my tracks. He waffled something in Italian and Angelo said something back. As soon as the bouncer saw him, he quickly retreated out of the way. “Mi dispiace, Angelo,” he murmured. At least I knew that was an apology. Obviously, Angelo was well known around here.
I passed by the bouncer, who watched us as we all flooded in. I took to the stairs and climbed them all the way to the top. With each step, the music got louder. At the top of the stairs, I pushed aside a curtain to reveal a mass of men and scantily dressed waitresses and dancers. None of them were naked, but by the way they gyrated around on the stage, they might as well have been. Lots of men stared, and some even leered towards us, but there was only one pervert in this place I was interested in. “Where is he?” I shouted over the music.
I watched as Angelo scanned the room, and then his eyes landed somewhere. He smirked and pointed. “Right over there.”
I looked in the direction he was pointing at, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Luca was standing at the bar, and with him was a near-naked brunette with her hand on his shoulder as she whispered something into his ear.
I saw red and marched up to where he was standing at the bar. Pietro was there, and he spotted us as we came towards them. He patted Luca and motioned with his head towards us. When he looked over his shoulder, his face fell, and it wasn’t long before he turned to the brunette to say something. I wasn’t sure what, but she quickly retreated at his request. Once she was gone, Luca fully turned to me—his face full of thunder as it landed on Angelo.
“What the fuck were you thinking, bringing Clara here? You know this is no place for her.”
He made a move towards Angelo, but I stopped him in his tracks. “Instead of blaming Angelo, would you care to tell me what that nearly undressed woman was doing with her hands all over you?” He didn’t answer. Instead, he kept his death gaze fixed on Angelo. I pushed him. “Hey! I’m talking to you!” I was getting pissed off and seriously thinking about punching his lights out.
As the thought entered my head, Luca finally looked down to me. “You shouldn’t be here.”
I pushed him again. “Answer the question, or so help me God, I will not only hit you, I will be on the first plane out of Sicily.”
Luca’s dark gaze settled on me. “Do you really think I would let that happen?”
I got closer to him and pointed my finger at his chest. “Stop trying to control me, and answer the damn question.”
Luca breathed in deeply through his nose. “She works here. She came up to me and asked if I would like a private dance in the VIP room. I was telling her no when Pietro motioned to me that you were here.” I looked at Pietro, and he nodded his head.
I folded my arms across my chest. Luca knew that meant I was about to get defiant on him. “If I decided to go to a male strip club…”
Luca stepped forward with a hard glare. “It wouldn’t even be up for discussion.”
Trying to keep my breathing calm, I lowered my arms. “And yet, it’s perfectly acceptable for you to be in a place like this.” I waved my arms around the club to emphasise my point.
“That’s different,” he blurted. He then looked up to Angelo. “I’m going to fucking kill you,” he pointed with a glare.
I placed my hand on his and forced it down with my own. “You’re talking to me. Not Angelo.”
“Clara just wanted to know where you were. What was I supposed to tell her?” I turned my head to
face Angelo and spotted the shit-eating grin on his face.
Chiara rolled her eyes. “Here we go again.”
I frowned, wondering what on earth Chiara meant when a whoosh of air passed me. I barely had time to register what was happening when Luca lunged for Angelo and both fell to the floor.
I stood in horror, watching as the two of them wrestled on top of each other. Nobody tried to intervene—not even Pietro. I looked at Tony, who was smiling. “Do something, Tony!” I shouted, but Tony just shrugged his shoulders.
“They always do this to each other,” Chiara shouted. “Every time they see each other, they make jokes and end up fighting. It’s their way of saying hello.”
I couldn’t believe what Chiara was saying. “They do this shit all the time?” She nodded. “How fucking juvenile.” She nodded again, and I huffed. “Hold my bag for me.” I motioned for Chiara to take my bag. She gave me a curious frown, but took my bag. I said, “Thank you,” and rushed up towards the stage. Luca and Angelo were still rolling around the floor like some overgrown apes playing, but no one was paying much attention. Pretty soon, all eyes were on me as I stepped up to the stage and started dancing. The crowds hollered and whistled as I swayed my hips and danced provocatively.
That seemed to gain Luca’s attention as he craned his neck in my direction. Once I saw his eyes were on me, I placed my hand at the zip of my dress and was just slowly sliding it down when Luca bounced up, pushed Angelo out of the way, and bolted towards me. I watched as he watched me, and a small smile crept up on my face. He was being juvenile, and I knew that, in a sense, I was being the same too, but I needed to distract him from Angelo. Most of all, though, I needed to prove a point.
As Luca grabbed my arm and hurled me over his shoulder, the crowd booed, but Luca wasn’t stopping for anyone. Soon after, we were in a separate room which I assumed was the VIP lounge as everything looked a lot nicer with its soft furnishings and the drinks at the ready in the corner.
Luca set me down and came up close to me. “What the fuck was that?”
LUCA (Because You're Mine) (The Sicilian Mafia Series Book 2) Page 13
