by Penelope Sky
He got straight to the point. “Have dinner with me tonight.”
I stood in my living room with my arm wrapped around my waist. I’d been to dinner with dozens of guys, but none of those dates made me nervous. This one made me nervous as hell…because I had no idea what I was doing. “Alright.”
“I’m outside whenever you’re ready.”
“Maybe you should ask ahead so you don’t have to sit in the hallway forever.”
“I’m not sitting in the hallway. I’m in the car on the street. One of my men will escort you.” Click.
The man seemed to be chauffeured by two dozen men everywhere he went. I wondered if he would close down the restaurant like he did last time. That seemed over the top and unnecessary.
My hair and makeup were already done, so I pulled on a black cocktail dress and heels before I left my apartment. Just as Bosco said, there was a man in a suit waiting in the hallway for me. He walked ahead of me and guided me downstairs. He spoke into the intercom in his ear. “She’s coming, sir.”
I did my best not to roll my eyes.
Bosco was standing on the sidewalk next to his blacked-out car. There were two other cars in front of him and behind him, making him look like a president who was protected by the Secret Service. He stood with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He wore a white V-neck and a black blazer, dressed nicely, but not overly nice. His eyes settled on me, and he looked at me with the same intensity he always watched me with, like he wanted to press me against the car and screw me then and there.
I walked up to him, feeling my heart beat fast in my chest. I was nervous, nervous that I’d agreed to do this.
His hands immediately circled my waist, and he leaned down to kiss me softly on the mouth. He pulled me closer as he deepened the kiss, claiming me right on the sidewalk and in front of his men. He gripped the fabric of my dress and made it rise a little higher.
I wanted to pull away first, but I couldn’t. Hypnotized by his possessive kiss, all I could do was take it.
He finally pulled away and opened the back door for me.
I got inside, and he sat beside me. Then the car pulled forward, and we headed to our destination.
“I hope you aren’t planning on closing down the restaurant like last time.”
“That’s the only way I dine.” He faced forward, his knees wide apart with one arm propped on the windowsill. “I’m not a fan of people or the public.”
“Well, people aren’t fans of an asshole who shuts down their favorite restaurant.”
He smiled slightly. “It really bothers you, huh?”
“I think it’s a little excessive.” Okay, not a little. Extremely excessive.
“Fine. Then I won’t shut it down.”
“Good.”
He stayed on his side of the car and didn’t try to hold my hand or give me any other kind of intimate affection. He didn’t try to talk to me either.
I was still nervous, nervous that I was going on a real date with a man I knew I should stay away from.
We arrived a few minutes later, and Bosco wrapped his arm around my waist as he escorted me inside.
The man at the podium immediately panicked when he saw him. “We can get the restaurant cleared out, sir. Just give us—”
“Not necessary,” Bosco said as he kept me into his side. “At the lady’s request.”
“Oh…” The host clearly never expected Bosco to ask for anything else. He grabbed two menus and escorted us to a private table that was spaced noticeably farther away from the other patrons. With a low-burning candle and a small vase of roses, it was a romantic scene.
Like a gentleman, Bosco helped me into my chair before he sat down. The waiter appeared out of thin air, and Bosco ordered a bottle of wine for us to share.
I recognized it right away because it was a bottle my family produced. “You like Barsetti wine?”
“Yes.” He glanced at his menu before he met my gaze. “They make fine wine.”
“I hope you aren’t saying that to impress me.”
“Not at all,” he said. “You’ve made it very clear what impresses you.”
“Which is?” I asked, interested in his answer.
He wore a serious expression, his blue eyes painfully beautiful. “Nothing.”
Unsure what to say, I continued to stare at him.
“A woman who doesn’t need anything is impossible to impress—and that’s why I like you.” He leaned forward with his elbows on the table, infusing me with his presence like he was right beside me. He ignored everyone else in the restaurant even though I saw a few beautiful women look at him. Undeniably handsome, he had dark hair that complemented his tanned skin, and his shoulders looked even broader in the blazer he wore. The V-neck of his shirt showed the musculature of his chest, a hint of his powerful pectorals under his clothes. He was a tall man with a powerful physique, so he attracted the attention of every woman in the room—including mine. “The Barsetti name is a respectable one, even in my world.”
“I’m glad to hear that…I guess.”
“I know your father and uncle retired to a quiet life decades ago, before I was even born, but I’ve heard tales of their brutality and strength. I suspect your family is one of the reasons Bones retired, because he was never the kind of man I expected to retire. He’s too good at what he does—and he loves money too much.”
“All that changed when he met someone he loved more than money—my cousin.”
“Must be an exceptional woman.”
The waiter returned with the bottle and poured two glasses. Then he took our order and walked away again.
Bosco kept looking at me, like he wanted me to respond to what he’d said.
“She is. We’re a lot alike. I feel like we’re sisters more than cousins.”
“That explains a lot. Barsetti women seem to have a special quality.”
“It’s all Barsettis,” I said proudly, knowing we were a tight-knit family that understood loyalty more than anyone else.
The corner of his mouth rose in a smile. “I like a woman with pride. Another sexy quality.”
“Why don’t you tell me about your family?” It was the first time I’d asked him a personal question.
His eyes slightly softened like he appreciated the question. “My mother passed away five years ago. Cancer.”
“I’m sorry.” It was one of the worst ways to go, and I pitied anyone who had to go through it.
He nodded. “It was rough. I was really close to her. So was my brother, Ronan.”
“What about your father?”
“That asshole took off after Ronan was born. Decided being a father wasn’t his strength, so he abandoned us. I was raised by a single mother, and let me tell you, she did one hell of a job. Worked two jobs to support us, and she got us into the best schools and gave us the best life she could.”
I liked the way he spoke about his mother, the same pride in his voice as there was in mine. “You never heard from your father again?”
“No. He’d be stupid to show his face. I’d shoot him right in the stomach and watch him bleed out and die.”
I grabbed my glass and gripped it, slightly stunned by easily those words rolled off his tongue.
“I’m not angry at him for leaving. Ronan and I were fine without a father. Our mother played both roles, and she did it a lot better than he ever could. My hatred is on my mother’s behalf. I hate him for abandoning her, for knocking her up and leaving her stranded. That’s why he deserves to die. I know I had a better life without him around. My mother was the one who had to struggle, not me.”
He’d now said something else that surprised me, something that touched my heart. “It sounds like you really loved her.” It made sense that he ended up the way he did, a criminal because his life hadn’t been perfect the way mine had been.
“I did. Miss her every day.” He drank his wine then licked his lips. “I started making serious money in my early twenties. That’s when I
told her to quit working and relax a bit. Ronan and I put her in a nice apartment here in Florence along with an allowance. She said those years were some of her best. She even had a boyfriend.”
“That’s really sweet.” It was rare to hear about someone who supported their parents. I couldn’t imagine doing that for mine since they were well-off. But I knew if something horrible happened, Carter and I would do whatever it took to be there for them. “Did she know what you did for a living?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
And she was okay with him breaking the law? Hurting people?
Like he could read my mind, he addressed my thoughts. “Good and evil aren’t black and white. You do what you have to do to survive, and I won’t apologize or make excuses for my choices. I break the law every day, but I have no regrets.”
I still didn’t understand exactly what he did because I never asked. After what Griffin told me, I didn’t want to know. “And what exactly do you do?”
He watched me for a long time, his eyes serious as he considered his response. It was a question I’d refused to ask, so he never had a chance to answer it. But now, I’d finally asked for the information I’d been dreading receiving. “When Bones told you I control all the money in the city, that was a good way to put it. That’s exactly what I do.”
“Could you clarify?”
“I run the biggest illegal casino in Italy. It’s right here in Florence. Villains and criminals pay their million-dollar memberships to join. Anyone who crosses me or my casino in any way is thrown into the ring.”
I’d heard him use that term before. “The ring?”
“It’s where we have the Brawl. Two men are put in the center, and all the members bet on who’s going to win. It’s the biggest highlight of the casino, where most of the cash is made and dealt.”
“So they just fight until one gives up?”
He shook his head slightly, a sinister look in his eyes.
That answered my unspoken question.
“They fight to the death,” he said out loud. “Winner lives to tell the tale.”
Jesus Christ. “And you’re in charge of all that?”
He nodded. “Yes. My brother and I do it together.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it also wasn’t good either. On a nightly basis, he saw men die for their crimes. They operated above the law, disregarding it completely. Bosco clearly had immense power, to make two grown men fight like animals for survival.
He continued to watch me, expecting some kind of reaction from me.
I didn’t know what reaction I wanted to give. Griffin used to be a hitman before he retired for Vanessa. In some ways, this wasn’t nearly as bad. But in other ways, it was worse. “I don’t know what to say…”
“It’s okay if you have nothing to say. It is what it is.”
I drank the rest of my wine and refilled it. He said that he specifically only ran this casino for criminals, so regular men didn’t participate. That meant he was constantly surrounded by thugs and hitmen, people just like Griffin. “Is that why you’re escorted everywhere you go? Because men want to hurt you?”
“Not necessarily,” he said. “It’s mostly a sign of power. For people to fear you, you always have to give them a reason to. I have eyes and ears everywhere. There’s nothing that happens in my casino or in my life that I don’t know about.”
“So in the alleyway…”
“They’re members of my casino. And when I give an order, they obey it. Otherwise, they’ll lose their membership, or worse, they’ll be thrown into the ring and forced to fight for their right to take another breath.”
“I see…” This man had more power than even Griffin did. “And helping people like me isn’t something you’re interested in?” My brother and cousin both worked to liberate innocent women who were captured. But Bosco walked by and didn’t seem to care that I needed help.
“No.” He didn’t show me a hint of remorse. “I’m not that kind of guy. I’m not a hero, and I’m not looking to be one. In this life, if you want to survive, you have to watch every step you take. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man, a woman, or a dog. You have to watch your back as well as your front. You failed to do that—and that’s why you needed me there.”
I wasn’t angry by the answer because he’d been transparent about his motivations from the beginning. He never pretended to be something he wasn’t, and even if he wasn’t a good guy, at least he was honest.
“But I’m glad that I saved you. Best decision I ever made.”
My eyes moved back to his face, seeing the sincerity written in his blue eyes. “Good thing you owed Griffin a favor.”
“Yes. Thankfully. But a part of me suspects I would have saved you anyway.”
“Why?” I asked, staring into his soft eyes.
“I’ve never seen a woman put up a fight like that. They just cry and scream. You didn’t give up. You held on to your dignity even when you were compromised. It didn’t matter that you were outnumbered. You weren’t going to stop until you were free. I respect that.”
I was flattered by the compliment when I shouldn’t be. Anyone else would have done the same thing. To assume a woman would just cry and give up was incorrect. Women were made of more strength than that. “Why did you owe him a favor anyway?” I asked, referring to Griffin.
“One of my dealers filled his pockets on his shift then took off with a few million. Bones is the best in the business, so I hired him to retrieve the dealer. Instead of monetary compensation, Bones asked for a favor debt.”
“What’s that?” I asked. “A favor debt?”
“It means he can ask me for anything at any time. That’s what makes Bones so unique. He works for loyalty as well as money, and that’s why it’s so easy for him to gain the intel he needs and also to operate in complete secrecy—because no one will rat him out. So when you said he was family in the alleyway, I was obligated to intervene.”
Now I was eternally grateful that Griffin asked for loyalty instead of money for some of his jobs. I didn’t want to think what would have happened if I didn’t have that trick up my sleeve. I would have kept fighting, but there was a good possibility I wouldn’t have gotten away. I may have ended up… I didn’t even want to think about it.
Bosco’s eyes were trained on my face, as if there were words popping up on my cheeks and he was reading them like a book. He examined me with a powerful stare, ignoring the wine on the table because he was focused on me so intensely. “I can keep you safe, Beautiful. With me, you never have to be afraid ever again. You can walk the streets alone naked, and no one will look twice at you—because they know you’re mine.”
“I never said I was afraid.”
“No.” He tilted his head slightly. “I’m a great poker player. Probably the best in Italy. I can read people extremely well, regardless of how hard they try to hide their insecurities. I know you’re a strong woman who will hold her head high even when she’s outnumbered—something I respect you for. But I can also tell that you’re frightened, that experience shook you to your core, made you realize how vulnerable you really are. If Bones hadn’t been a part of your life, where would you be right now? It’s a terrifying thought—and you should be scared.”
I held his gaze with the same resolution, but inside, I felt the tremors around my heart. Fear wasn’t something I admitted easily, but when he cornered me like that, I couldn’t deny it. I had had a few nightmares because of the ordeal, even though I pretended I was perfectly fine when I spoke to Vanessa and Griffin. I didn’t take a taxi home every night because I wanted to make Griffin happy. I did it because I was afraid to walk alone in the dark.
Bosco didn’t celebrate his victory. “You never have to be scared with me. You’d be invincible. Untouchable.” He slowly reached his hand across the table until his fingertips rested on mine. “As the woman on my arm, you’d be the second most powerful person in this city.”
“And what do you ask for in exchange?” I asked, knowing the answer before he even gave it.
He brought my hand to his lips and kissed the back of my palm. “You.”
We got into the back seat of his car and got on the road.
I immediately knew he wasn’t taking me home because we were going in the opposite direction. We passed the shops and cafes as we headed to the west side of the city, the buildings that had perfect views of the hillsides of Tuscany.
He sat beside me in the back seat of the car, his large hand on my thigh and his fingers poking up my dress slightly. His scent filled the back of the car, cologne mixed with soap, creating a powerful aroma of pure masculinity. He turned his face toward mine and stared at me as we drove through the quiet streets of Florence. It was dark in the back seat, and his chiseled jaw was slightly covered in the shadow. The light from the street hit his eyes perfectly, making them sparkle like diamonds. He was a beautiful man, but some of his best features were hidden in the darkness—just like his soul.
He watched me for minutes, his eyes hardly blinking because he was so absorbed in my features. Now that I’d agreed to give him a chance, he seemed more possessive of me than before. He used to maintain a distance and listen to me, but now those boundaries had been shattered.
I turned my gaze on him and met his gaze fearlessly, refusing to be intimidated by that expression that could soak my panties right off my legs. I watched his eyes slightly shift back and forth as he looked at me, his soft lips surrounded by the dark stubble that was sprinkled on his masculine chin. With a body that dwarfed mine, he was all man, from head to toe, from shoulder to shoulder. “Yes?” I whispered, even though the center divider between the driver and us was closed.
He never gave an answer. Like he hadn’t heard me at all, he kept staring at me with the same intensity. His hand moved into my hair, and he cradled my head so he could get a better look at me. His thumb brushed along my bottom lip, but he didn’t kiss me. “You’re beautiful. From the fierce look in your eyes to your long legs, you’re absolutely perfect. I want you underneath me, whispering my name over and over as I make you come. You’re a queen, and I’m glad you’ve given me a chance to be your king.”
