Salvatore’s estate was large and very private. Tall iron gates opened upon our arrival. Only moonlight illuminated most of the grounds, until we drew closer to the house, and I got my first glimpse of the mansion with its huge garage, outbuildings, and extensive and various types of landscaping lights. The grounds, from what I could make out, were expansive, with woods circling most of the property. It seemed to me that the driveway was at least a mile long before it finally circled at the main entrance to the residence. A woman came outside and waited for us. As soon as the car stopped, I climbed out on my own, needing to stretch my legs after so many hours of sitting. I’d grown up surrounded by wealth, but I’d never lived in a house this grand. It seemed pretentious of Salvatore, maybe another weakness. I walked toward the woman.
“Ma’am.”
“Just Lucia,” I answered, attempting to give her a warm smile. I’d need allies. I didn’t want to be hated.
The woman smiled back and nodded. I turned to the guard who’d flown with me. He looked as tired as I felt.
“When will Salvatore arrive?” I asked, wanting information.
“I’m not sure.”
“Come inside,” the woman said.
I followed her in, looking around the house—my new home—for the first time. The large circular foyer led off in several directions, one of which had to be the kitchen, considering the delicious smell coming from that direction. I could see the living room through a large archway. At the far end stood a wall of glass, and large doors led to a patio. Dim, colorful lights shone off the glass-like surface of the swimming pool, inviting even now. The rest of the interior doors stood closed. I turned my attention to the large marble staircase leading to the upper floor.
“Are you hungry?”
I shook my head, stifling a yawn. “I’m just very tired.”
She nodded. “I’ll take you to your room.”
I touched her elbow to stop her before she turned. “What’s your name?”
“Rainey.”
“Rainey. That’s a pretty name.”
“Thank you.”
I figured her to be in her early forties. It felt strange to have her wait on me. I’d always hated that, actually. I felt uncomfortable and awkward even with servants. I didn’t mind a housekeeper or cook, but a servant felt different.
I followed Rainey up the stairs and toward the double doors at the end of the hall. I assumed that was the master bedroom. My heart thudded as we approached, knowing he’d expect to have me in his bed. Of course he would. Why not? What sense would it make for him to take possession of me but not fuck me?
But before we reached the foreboding doors at the end, we turned to the right, where Rainey opened a single door.
“This one’s yours,” she said, switching on a light and gesturing for me to enter.
The room was huge and richly decorated with heavy dark curtains draped from each of the windows. Exposed brick made the space appear darker and gave it a masculine flair, but I liked it, especially the large fireplace I wouldn’t have need for just yet. Rainey pointed out the bathroom, which I barely glanced at, because my gaze had fallen on the large, four-post, king-size bed in the room with a thick duvet and overstuffed pillows at the head.
“Shall I help you unpack? We’ve already moved your other things into the closet.”
“Other things? Oh.” I’d forgotten. Salvatore had had my things packed up and brought here a few days ago. I didn’t have much, hadn’t needed much at a Catholic school, but what I had was neatly organized in the open walk-in closet Rainey stood at the entrance of. “I’m actually tired. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll just have a shower and go to bed.”
“Of course.”
She closed the closet doors and moved over to turn down the bed—another thing I didn’t like. I could turn down my own bed.
“Thank you, Rainey,” I said, dismissing her.
Once she left, I went over and peeked inside the closet. Huge. The racks were full and contained my clothes as well as items that did not belong to me. I checked the size of a dress. Four. He’d probably bought them for me. Or had them bought. I couldn’t see Salvatore Benedetti shopping.
Apart from the bathroom, there stood another door Rainey hadn’t pointed out. I walked over to it, but when I tried to open it, I found it was locked. I’d ask about it tomorrow.
I went into the bathroom and saw the separate shower as well as a bathtub set in the middle of the large space. It was old-fashioned, one with copper feet and fixtures. All surfaces were sparkling clean, and on one of the shelves stood several of my favorite brands of shampoos and body washes. Even bubble bath. I hadn’t had a bubble bath in years. I decided I’d have one instead of a shower.
I turned the taps on in the bath, checked the temperature, and poured in the soap, watching as champagne-pink bubbles began to appear almost instantly. I found a hairclip in one of the sink drawers and piled my hair up on top of my head. The deep auburn mass would fall to the middle of my back when I let it down. As I undressed, I checked out the rest of the space. Everything was high-end, from the gold-veined marble on the floor and countertops to the copper fixtures on the taps. A stack of towels stood on a shelf. I touched them. Soft and luxurious. Brand-new.
The bath filled. I turned the water off and dipped a toe inside. I caught my reflection in one of the two mirrors. I’d lost a few pounds in the last two weeks. I ran almost daily, and at 5 feet five and 120 pounds, I was healthy with long, lean muscle, small but pert breasts, and a bubble butt. That was the yoga. The sisters at the college actually allowed a woman to teach classes three evenings a week, and I never missed a single one. It was that and the running that kept me sane, that kept me from tearing my hair out in frustration at how life had turned out for me.
I sank slowly into the bath. Steam rose off it, but the warmth felt good compared to the relative coolness inside the house. They must have had the air conditioner cranking, since it was July and the heat outside was stifling, with the evenings offering only the slightest relief. I wadded up a small towel and lay my head back against it, closing my eyes. Between the heat and my exhaustion, I must have dozed off, because the sound of someone clearing his throat startled me awake.
My eyelids flew open, and I caught my breath when I saw Salvatore standing just inside the bathroom, watching me.
“Jesus!” I sat up, instinctively covering myself, although it wasn’t necessary. The bubbles created a barrier between us. “You scared the crap out of me!”
“I knocked, but there was no answer.”
He wore dress slacks and a button-down shirt he’d undone to where I could see the gold chain circling his neck. A small cross hung from it. It took me back five years, seeing that. I remembered noticing it, concentrating on it when I couldn’t bear to look him in the eye.
I flushed and glanced away.
“I fell asleep, I guess.”
“It’s dangerous to do in the bathtub.”
“Yeah.” I pulled my knees up, making sure the bubbles still hid me. When Rainey had told me this was my room, I’d assumed we weren’t sharing it. I’d assumed the double doors had led to the master. Had I misunderstood? “What do you want?” I tried to keep my voice friendly. Salvatore seemed to process the question slowly. He looked like he had a thousand things on his mind. Was it the meeting he’d been called to?
He opened his mouth to speak, but instead shook his head and ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. It made me think of his brother, of how different they looked, and thinking about his brother made the water suddenly feel cold.
“I wanted to check on you, see if you needed anything,” Salvatore finally answered.
“I’m fine.” I wanted to ask if we were sharing the bedroom, if it was his, but couldn’t bring myself to just yet. “Where were you? Marco said you had a meeting.”
“I did.”
A wealth of information.
“How close are you to your cousins, Lucia?” he asked, coming a l
ittle farther inside the bathroom and leaning back against the counter, ignoring my question entirely.
“Odd question. Why?”
“I’m curious.”
“I don’t know. Not particularly, at least not in the last five years.” I wasn’t going to tell him that Luke had been keeping me in the loop with the goings-on of my family while I was at school. Besides, it wasn’t like he told me anything Salvatore would be interested in.
“So you didn’t talk to Luke once a month over the last five years?”
“Am I being interrogated?”
He folded his arms across his chest and studied me closely. “Do you need to be?”
“What are you talking about? Luke is my cousin, we talked, so what?”
“You didn’t talk to any other member of your family, not even your sister.”
“Christ, you were keeping tabs?”
“I was keeping an eye on my property, yes.”
“Oh, right, your property.” I glared at him. “You do know I’m a human being, right? That we typically aren’t referred to as property.”
“I don’t think there’s anything typical about our relationship.”
He stepped over to the tub, and I leaned back, covering my breasts. He didn’t touch me, though. Instead, he sat on the edge and dipped a hand in the water.
“You and Luke good friends? I saw the way he looked at you at the church.”
“He’s my cousin.”
“Not by blood.”
“What are you implying? What, are you jealous?” The moment I said it, I knew there was truth to the statement. I saw it in the slight shift of Salvatore’s eyes. In his momentary hesitation before answering.
“I want to be sure you realize you’re as good as a Benedetti now. Want to be sure your loyalties are where they belong.”
“Just because I was forced to sign that stupid contract doesn’t mean my loyalties suddenly shifted. I am not a Benedetti.”
He snorted, shaking his head. “Water’s cooling.” He rose to stand. He wiped his hand on a towel. “Get out of the tub,” he said, without looking at me.
“I’m not getting out with you here.”
“I want to have a look at what I own.” He said the words purposefully and unfolded one of the plush bath towels. He held it out before him but remained several feet away, so that I’d have to walk toward him to reach it, giving him a full view.
“What exactly is this? What do you want, Salvatore?”
“Just what I said. I want to see you. Naked.”
“You want a look at what you can’t have?” Flimsy words, and I knew it. He could take whatever he wanted. I just, for reasons that had no basis in reality, didn’t think he would. And I was determined not to give him this particular power over me. My heart pounded against my chest as I slowly rose, suds clinging to me as I stood. “You want to see?” I asked again, seeing how his eyes darkened as they raked over me before returning to mine. His attraction to me, mine to him, this cruel sort of push-pull between us, I would use it. I would be stronger than it, and I would use it. I climbed out onto the bath mat and stood before him. “Have a look, then. Get your fill,” I bit out.
Salvatore’s throat worked as he swallowed. Without a word, he stepped toward me, held my gaze, and wrapped the towel around me. His hungry eyes held mine, meeting my challenge, posing his own as he dried me, his handling of me rough, the soft towel now scratching at my breasts, my sex. Once he finished, he stepped back, letting the towel drop to the floor.
“Now I can have a proper look.”
He did, gaze pausing at breasts and belly, hovering at my naked sex. Again, he swallowed, then met my eyes once more.
I stood still, watching him. Watching his eyes. They burned, the blue darker now, sparkling like blackest onyx. Something raged behind them, inside them. Something that screamed for release even while it reduced me to flesh alone, to a thing, an object possessed.
Was this some sort of contest, some game? If it was, I lost, because I blinked first, looking away, unable to maintain the contact.
“Go to bed.” He turned to leave the bathroom but stopped at the door.
I swooped down to grab the discarded towel and held it against myself, shielding my body from his view.
“And Lucia,” he said, turning to look at me and taking a step back inside, back toward me. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
He rubbed his hand across his mouth, that rage behind his eyes burning now.
“I will punish you if you betray me.”
He turned on his heel and walked out the door.
I sat down on the edge of the tub, trembling.
4
Salvatore
My cock throbbed. I’d had to force myself to leave her room. Fuck, she was so beautiful. Her anger, her hate, it only made her all the more appealing. I wanted her. Wanted to take her. Have her.
The monster inside me screamed to possess her.
My cell phone rang. I tugged it from my pocket and checked the screen. It was Dominic.
Prick. I rejected the call, almost running Rainey over in the hallway on my way to the study.
“Mr. Benedetti! I’m sorry,” she apologized, although I was the one not paying attention.
“No, it’s fine. It was my fault.”
I raked a hand through my hair. What the hell was that upstairs? Why had I gone in there when I’d seen her in the tub? I should have walked away.
“Would you like to eat dinner, sir? Miss…Lucia…wasn’t hungry, but—”
It’s dangerous to fall asleep in the tub? Christ, what did I think she was, a kid? No. Not with that body. She was certainly no kid.
“No, it’s fine. I’m…” I walked into the study, looked around, then walked back out. “You know what, I’m tired. I’m just going to go to bed.”
“Oh. All right.”
I went back up to my room. It connected to Lucia’s, but I doubted she knew that. Once inside, I stripped, headed into the bathroom and turned on the shower.
I didn’t understand Lucia. Hell, I didn’t understand myself around her. The meeting earlier, it had been last minute and required both myself and my father to be present. Dominic had been pissed to be left out, but that was too bad. I knew what Dominic wanted: anything I had. Including becoming our father’s successor. But it didn’t work that way. It would have been Sergio, firstborn, as the successor, but he’d been killed, so I was next in line. As little as I wanted to be the boss of the Benedetti family, Dominic taking on the role I wanted even less. My little brother had a mean streak, a violence inside him that when unleashed was terrifying to witness. Some days, I wasn’t sure I knew him at all, wasn’t sure I wanted to know the depths of his darkness.
I stepped into the shower, the water so hot, it scalded me. I turned it down.
My father, Roman, and I had been the only three of the Benedetti’s at today’s meeting. There was talk about a new group forming. Luke DeMarco was a problem. Or he could become one. Was it vengeance that fueled him or a lust for power? I’d bet the latter. Given that one DeMarco daughter wanted nothing to do with the family business and the other belonged to the enemy, Luke stood to gain a whole lot if he were able to gather enough support and rouse them to war. Which was exactly what he was attempting to do. And he’d come farther than any of us had expected. He’d gained supporters from the Pagani family, our fiercest opponent of the two Sicilian families.
Was Lucia in any way involved? I’d seen the look exchanged between Luke and Lucia at the church, but that had fueled a different sort of burn. One of jealousy. Why did I feel so possessive of her? Why did I care? I could have any woman I wanted, as many as I wanted. Our contract bound her to me with no restrictions on me. My father had orchestrated it, enjoying the idea of having a living trophy under his thumb he could torture as he pleased.
Thoughts of my father made my stomach turn. I switched off the shower and grabbed a towel. My eyes locked on the door connecting my room to Lucia’s. I bypassed
it, climbed into bed, and laid there with the sheet tossed aside. I closed my eyes and gripped my cock, the image of her standing before me, naked, suds sliding off her creamy skin, her hard little nipples, her shaved cunt. I wanted to see all of her, to take my time. To lay her out and open her. Smell her, taste her. Sink my cock inside her.
Her eyes flashed into my mind, accusing and hard. I pumped faster, imagining her here, watching me, sucking me, squatting over my face while she took my cock in her mouth and fed me her pussy. Fuck.
I bit my lip when I came, ropes of cum landing on my chest, my cock throbbing against my palm as I squeezed out the last of it with a groan, knowing it would not be enough, knowing this would not sate me, knowing however many women I fucked, none would give me the release I needed, the one only she could give.
I woke a few minutes past five. It was a long, deep sleep, considering my usual two- to three-hour stints. I lay there for a few minutes, hoping if I kept my eyes closed, I could sleep again. Less hours to get through in the day if I could just sleep them off. But that wasn’t happening.
My cell phone buzzed on the nightstand. I picked it up. Dominic. A quick glance told me he was still pissed about the meeting. I decided to delete Dominic’s message without bothering to read the rest.
I tossed the covers back, got out of bed, and pulled the curtain aside to look outside. Dawn. The sun would rise soon.
Finding clean running clothes, I put them and my Nikes on, glanced once at the connecting door, and walked out of my bedroom and down the stairs. I used the door in the kitchen, which opened onto a large terrace. I jogged out, crossing it and the swimming pool area, and headed into the woods, running to meet the sun. It only took me a few minutes to realize I wasn’t alone.
Gates protected the grounds, and cameras recorded all movement. The sound came from a short distance away: branches cracked underfoot, and I could hear the crunching of pine needles and leaves. Too heavy for a squirrel or bird. Deer sometimes jumped the fence, but it was rare. As I stalked closer, I heard the sounds of shortened breath. My intruder on my morning ritual run was human.
Salvatore: a Dark Mafia Romance Page 4
