Luca left shortly after breakfast, and Gianna immediately dragged me to the rooftop terrace, away from Romero’s attentive ears.
“What’s going on? You’ve been acting strange all morning. Why didn’t you answer when I called you this morning?”
I looked away, blush spreading across my cheeks. Gianna’s eyes grew wide. “What did he do?”
“She betrayed me,” I admitted.
“You let her?”
I laughed. “YES.” Even more heat rose to my cheeks at the sound of excitement in my voice.
Gianna leaned forward. “Do you like it?”
“I love it.”
Gianna bit her lip. “I hate to think of you with him, but you really seem to like him. I guess it has its advantages that Luca has fucked every high society girl in New York.”
I didn’t want to think about it.
“So how does it feel?”
“Like I’m shattering. It’s overwhelming and amazing and I don’t know how to describe it.
“But you didn’t sleep with him?”
I shake my head. “Not yet, but I don’t think Luca wants to wait much longer.”
“Fuck him. He can screw himself.” She squinted her eyes. “Did he make you suck him off?”
“He didn’t make me. I wanted to.
Gianna looked doubtful. “E? Tell me more. You know I have to live vicariously through you.
I’m so damn tired of being watched all day long. I want a boyfriend. I want to have sex and orgasms.
I huffed. “I doubt Father will allow it.” “I’m not going to ask him,” Gianna said with a shrug. “I’m here now. No one’s stopping me from having fun, right?”
My eyes widened. “My father would kill me if I let you make friends with boys while you were here.”
“You don’t need to know that, do you?” She shrugged again. “It’s not like I would tell him.”
I gasped, then laughed. “Well, unless you want to seduce Romero or Matteo, your options are pretty limited.” “Ouch, no. I don’t want either of them. I want a normal guy. A guy who doesn’t know who I am.”
“Well, I don’t know how we could find you a guy.”
Gianna smiled. “How about going to a disco?”
“Romero doesn’t let me out of his sight after I ran away from him once. There’s no way to escape him and go to a club.”
Gianna thought about it. I was worried about the crazy plan she might come up with. I actually liked the idea of going out for a night of dancing. I always imagined what it would be like to spend a night on the dance floor and go wild.
“Romero can come with us. He’s protecting you, not me. Maybe I can get away.”
“And then what? A quickie in a bathroom? Do you really want to live all your firsts like this?”
Gianna looked at him truely. “At least, I would live them on my own terms. That would be my choice. You don’t have any choice. Luca and Father took them all away. I don’t understand how you can be so calm about it. How can you not hate Luca?
Sometimes I’ve wondered that myself. “I should hate him.”
Gianna’s face crumbled. “But you don’t. Geez, Aria, do you really care about him? Do I love him?”
“Would you really rather I hated him and was miserable?”
“He treats you like a prisoner. You don’t really think Romero is only for your protection, do you? He keeps an eye on you, so no other guy gets a piece of you.
I knew that. let’s go shopping.”
“Really? She really is a trophy wife of yours.”
“Shut up,” I said jokingly, wanting to lighten the mood. “Buy sexy clothes for tonight. We can go to one of Luca’s clubs.
Gianna smiled. “I want to wear something that will give guys a fucking boner watching me.”
*** Romero had waited outside the store while we went shopping. He had probably checked in advance to see if there was a back entrance we could use to escape. I had not yet told him about our plans to go to the disco. It would have been better if I had pointed it out to him at the last moment.
Gianna whistled as I turned around so I could admire my outfit. “Holy crap. You’re sex on your legs. Or maybe death on legs, because Luca will probably kill any guy who looks at you the wrong way.
I rolled my eyes. “Luca won’t kill anyone for looking.”
“Would you like to bet on that?”
No, I wouldn’t. I had never worn anything so sexy in public. The black leather pants hugged my body so tightly that they felt like a second skin. The sheer black sleeveless blouse I had tucked into the waistband revealed my sparkling push-up bra underneath.
“You don’t even look that scruffy,” I said.
Gianna jumped off my bed. “You think so?” She gave me a seductive smile. She looked really sexy in her black tights and black leather hot pants.
“You’re a jailbait.” Good thing we didn’t have to worry about getting the card. We put our arms together and I led her out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Romero was sitting on the couch and cleaning the knife. He looked up and remained completely still. His gaze wandered over our bodies. He had never openly stared at me.
“Are you checking us out?” I couldn’t help but tease him. He was always so controlled. This little glimmer of humanity was a relief.
He stood up sharply, slipping the knife into its sheath. His eyes were again firmly focused on my face. “What’s going on?” There was a hint of tension in his voice.
I approached him and he tensed up as if he thought I was going to dive. This almost made me laugh. “Gianna and I want to go to Marquee.” That was one of the trendiest clubs in town.
Romero shook his head. “That one belongs to the Bratva.”
“Oh, so which is the most fashionable club that belongs to Familia?”
Romero said nothing at first. He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, probably to call Luca. Something clicked in me then. I couldn’t believe that he needed to ask Luca’s permission. I glanced at Gianna and nodded to Romero who had started writing. She came up to him and really squeezed his butt. He jumped and I used the moment to snatch the phone from him.
He took a threatening step toward me, his eyes blazing with anger, then froze. “Aria,” he said. “Give it back .”
I tucked the phone into my belt. The pants were tight enough that there was no risk of them slipping down.
Gianna turned away from Romero, smiling. “Why don’t you stick your hand in Aria’s pants and take it. I’ll take a picture and send it to Luca.”
Romero’s eyes lingered on the shape of his phone in my pants, but I knew he would not try to take it . “This is not funny.”
“No, it’s not, you’re right,” I said abruptly. “I’m an adult. If I tell you to take me to the disco, I don’t want you to ask my husband’s permission. I am not a child, nor am I his property.
“You are Luca’s,” Romero said calmly.
I moved closer to him, so close that I had to tilt my head back. “Gianna and I are going to the disco.
So unless you want to hold me at gunpoint, you will either take us there or let us go alone.
Romero’s jaw clenched. The look in his eyes made me realize why he was my bodyguard. For the first time I remembered that Romero was an assassin. “I will accompany you. But you’re going to the Sphere. It’s Luca’s.”
“Is that okay?” asked Gianna.
“It’s hotter than the fucking tent.” Romero was really pissed off.
“Take us there then.” He put on his jacket and led us to the elevator. “Luca won’t like it,” he said.