3. Alessandro
What the hell happened last night?
I fall back against my bed after my shower. How the hell did Natalia Fiorenzo get into my bed? And why does my dick want to do it again?
Then a memory tugs at my consciousness.
“This is going to be epic,” Romeo says as we enter the club to celebrate his thirtieth birthday. I should be focused on celebrating with our friends, but I’m still reeling from the phone call I had with our father. The one where he told me I would never be as good as Dario, that I’m a disappointment, and that he should never have given me a chance on this deal. A deal that has taken me months of hard work coaxing the hotel owner to let The Conti Company be the one to take over the brand. My father wants this deal desperately—it would be a jewel in our empire—he also knows the Fiorenzos want it, which makes him want it even more.
“You assured me that they were on board,” my father berated me.
“That’s what they said,” I tried to explain but when he’s in such a mood, nothing I say can calm him down.
“Then why am I hearing that they are thinking of going with Fiorenzos?” he screamed down the phone.
That was news to me.
“I don’t know, but I’ll fix it.”
“You better fucking fix it, or we’re done.” And with that, he’d hung up the phone.
I’ve tried everything to be the son that he’s proud of. I’ve stopped partying, I’ve devoted my life to The Conti Company, I’m the first one there and the last one leaving at night. I don’t go to every single opening anymore, my social life is nonexistent. Except for the odd hookup, I’m only human. My life is spent in my office, trying to chase a ghost, but nothing I do is good enough. I will never be Dario.
“Are you okay?” Nico, my best friend, asks me, handing me a shot.
I take it and throw it back. Tonight, I want to escape being Alessandro Conti.
“Yeah, I will be, nothing I can’t handle,” I reassure him.
Nico’s brows pull together. He’s known me all my life and knows when I’m faking it. “Let me guess, you had a phone call from dear old dad?” He guessed it in one. I pour myself another shot and throw it back. “I don’t know why you put up with his bullshit. Go out on your own, like you always wanted to do.”
I look over at my friend as I throw back another shot. “I can’t leave him now.”
Nico shrugs. “He treats you as if it’s all your fault that Dario died.”
“He lost his son, Nico,” I argue. It’s the same argument we’ve been having ever since I started back working there. “I was never meant to be the heir.”
“You were never meant to be your father’s punching bag either,” Nico adds before knocking back his shot.
He’s right. But if taking out his anger and frustration on me helps my father’s grieving process, then it’s what I have to do.
“Forget about all that, we’re here for Rome and I want to get fucked up,” I tell him.
“Might do you good. It’s been a long time since the old Alessandro came out to play.” Nico smirks.
“Consider him out of retirement for the night.” I laugh, raising my glass high in the air.
Our booth is right on the dance floor, and I sit back against the leather seat and take in the bodies swaying before us. I’m mesmerized by a gorgeous brunette wearing the tightest and shortest red dress, which is molded to her curves in all the right places. I’m entranced by her peachy ass as it sways before me. One of my friends hands me a drink and I block out whatever bullshit they are talking about as my focus is all in on this woman. This is Vegas, there are beautiful women everywhere you look, but this is the first one that has made me sit up and take notice. Her chocolate locks cascade down her back like ribbons and all I can think about is how silky her locks would feel between my fingers as I fuck her. I wasn’t planning on hooking up with anyone in Vegas, but it’s been a while, maybe I need to let off some steam.
As the night continues, eventually I say, “I need to take a piss.” I stand up and shuffle out of the booth. The lights flash around me, the bass thumping through my body with each step I take. I fight my way through the crowd and head into the bathrooms where I take a leak before heading back out.
“I’m not interested,” a female voice says from the darkness.
“You’ve been teasing me all night. You’ve been begging for it,” a man’s voice answers.
His words raise my hackles as I squint into the darkness.
“I’ve been dancing with my friends. I don’t know who you are,” she says, and I can hear the concern in her voice. She’s not asking for this man’s advances. I step in their direction until I see the man has her cornered.
“You’ve been shaking your ass in front of me all night, of course you know who I am. Fucking tease,” he says, voice rising.
“I was dancing with my friends,” she reiterates, trying to step around him, but he blocks her retreat.
“No, you were doing it for me,” he says, grabbing her arm. “I saw you watching me. You want me and now that you’ve got me, you’re playing hard to get. I don’t like women playing games with me.” He sneers.
“Babe, there you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” I say.
The man stiffens upon hearing my voice and steps away from the frightened woman he has caged in a darkened corner.
What the fuck?
This can’t be happening. There is no way in hell that Natalia Fiorenzo is staring wide-eyed back at me. How much have I had to drink, am I seeing things? What is she doing in Vegas?
“Babe?” the man asks Natalia.
Those sapphire-blue eyes dart to mine, and I can see it written all over her face as she contemplates who is the lesser of the two evils in this moment. Look, I hate the girl with every fiber of my body because she’s a fucking Fiorenzo, but I’m not that much of an asshole that I want something untoward to happen to her. I’m still a decent human being.
“I’m so happy to see you,” she says as she rushes toward me. The next thing I know, she is grabbing my face and kissing me.
What the hell is happening? And why am I kissing her back?
“Fucking prick tease,” the man grumbles before I hear him storm away.
My back hits the wall as she pushes me up against it. Who knew the little Fiorenzo was so aggressive? I like it. Her lips duel with mine. She tastes like sugar and berries. Is it her lip gloss or is it her? My hands run down the curves of her body instinctively until they land on her peachy ass, my fingers digging into her softness as I grip and pull her into me.
What universe did I fall into? There’s no way in this world that I am kissing Natalia Fiorenzo.
“What the fuck,” she curses, pulling herself away from me with a sour look on her face.
“I could ask you the same fucking thing,” I bite back.
She wipes her mouth and screws up her face. “You kissed me.”
Wait, what?
“You were the one that kissed me first, I just went with it.”
“Why?”
I blink at her as I try to shake the alcoholic haze from my mind. “I don’t know why,” I answer. I run my fingers through my hair as I take in the enemy. My father would have a field day if he knew I made out with a Fiorenzo, he’d probably have a heart attack.
My eyes slide from her face down her body, taking in the familiar tight red dress molded to her curves, luscious, plump breasts peeking out the top. My eyes land on her arm, it’s red from the fingers that stranger had on her, and my body stiffens. She may be the enemy, but even she doesn’t deserve a man to touch her like that. Without even thinking, I reach out to grab her arm. She gasps as my fingers wrap around it and assess what the asshole did to her.
“He fucking bruised you.”
She tugs her arm from me and rubs it, emotion glistening in her eyes. “I know.”
“What the hell were you thinking?” I question her angrily. If I hadn’t noticed what was going on with her, something far worse could have happened.
“You think I wanted him?” she splutters at me.
“He sure as hell thought so.” My words are like a slap in her face and honestly, I didn’t mean them. This isn’t her fault, it’s that asshole’s, but I’m not thinking clearly.
“Fuck you,” she says, pointing her finger in my face. I notice the red polish on her long nails. They would look good wrapped around my dick. Wait a minute, where the hell did that thought come from?
“No, fuck you. Do you have any idea what that man could have done to you if I didn’t come along?” I yell at her.
She slinks back at the force of my voice as tears well in her eyes. All the bravado I had is starting to crack. “I know, thank you,” she says quietly.
I still.
It’s not common for a Fiorenzo to apologize, and especially not to a Conti.
“Are you okay?” I ask, looking again at the marks the man left on her. She rubs her arm as she nods, but I can tell she’s shaken up. “Why didn’t you knee him in the fucking balls?”
“Because he … he … I don’t know. I’ve had a lot to drink, I wasn’t thinking. He seemed harmless. He’s well-dressed and in the VIP area,” she answers, and the first tear slides down her cheek as realization sinks in that the shiny exterior that man showed her easily hid the monster underneath.
“Do you think every handsome man is harmless?” I yell at her.
She shakes her head. “You’re sure as hell not.” I still at her words. “Harmless, not handsome,” she adds quickly.
My eyes narrow as I smirk and look down at the five-foot-nothing, annoyingly angry, beautiful girl. Has she always been this beautiful? No. She’s a fucking Fiorenzo and the only reason your dick is hard is because she kissed you and caught you off-guard, nothing more. I continue to stare down at her. This is the closest I’ve ever been to her in my life. Usually, we are scowling across the room back home. I’ve never noticed how pouty her lips are, red puffy pillows that would look good wrapped around my dick … oh hell no.
“I’m certainly not harmless, especially to a Fiorenzo,” I add, my eyes sliding down to her lips, remembering what they felt like against my own before returning to her face. “And I know I’m handsome but thank you for noticing.”
“Fuck you,” she says, poking me in the chest with her finger.
“Never,” I bite back.
Her sapphire-blue eyes flash with fire. “What are you doing here?”
“Saving your ass.”
She shakes her head. “No. What are you in this club? Are you here to destroy my brother’s bachelor party?”
I still. His what?
I’m genuinely surprised. Honestly, I had no idea. I tend not to keep track of the Fiorenzo family’s social schedule unless it’s got to do with business, and then I will hunt them down and destroy them.
“I have better things to do with my time than worry about what your brother is doing.”
“Then why are you here?” she asks, her finger poking me with each word.
“Would you stop poking me.”
“No, what are you going to do about it?” She smirks.
This woman is infuriating—typical Fiorenzo—thinking they can do whatever they want to whomever they want.
“Poke me again and find out,” I warn her.
“Poke, poke, poke.” She smiles as her red, manicured finger pokes into my chest.
I’m not in the mood for some spoilt princess’s theatrics as I grab her wrists and shove her up against the wall, pressing both her hands high above her head. Those sapphire eyes slowly blink at me, shock registering across her face at my action. I did warn her.
Fuck, I’m no different from that guy from earlier as I realize what position we are in, and I swallow slowly, my thigh between hers. Her tits have been pushed high in the position she’s in, and all I want to do is bury my face between the two bronzed mounds. What the hell is wrong with me? Her breathing is shallow and that doesn’t help as my attention is pulled every couple of microseconds toward her tits. Would you stop ogling the Fiorenzo? She’s pushed me to the edge. I’ve lost my damn mind.
“I warned you,” I say on a growl, every nerve ending in my body now strung tightly.
“Looks like you did.” She grins, her tongue sliding out along her lips before her teeth sink into her plump bottom lip.
Fuck, is she flirting with me? Why does she look to be enjoying this?
“You like being restrained, princess?” I ask, my hands tightening against her smooth skin.
“Yes.” Her answer is barely a whisper against the backdrop of the club’s music, but I hear it loud and clear.
Fuck.
My heart is thundering wildly in my chest. What is this siren doing to me? It has to be the alcohol. No sane man would be thinking about tying up his family’s enemy’s daughter and having his wicked way with her.
Raising a curious brow at her, I ask, “What else do you like?”
She leans forward, pulling at my restraint. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Her eyes flick down to my lips before returning to my eyes, almost daring me to do something stupid, again. And why am I thinking of doing something stupid?
Leaning forward, my lips touch the skin of her ear. “I would like to know very much.” Is that a moan? I pull back a little to glare down at her again.
“Doubt you could handle me?” she states cockily, even as her cheeks flush pink.
“You seem pretty easy to handle right now.” I smirk.
“Dick,” she bites, trying to tug against my restraint.
“Hey now, things were just getting interesting.” I chuckle.
“I wouldn’t fuck a Conti if you were the last man on Earth,” she hisses.
My hand lets go of her wrists as I grab her face. “A Fiorenzo could never handle a Conti anyway.”
She raises a brow at me before a smile falls across her lips, and the next thing I know, she has her hand cupping my thickening dick through my suit pants. I hadn’t had time to get changed from my earlier business meeting before meeting up with the boys.
“Seems like I’m handling you okay right now.” She chuckles as her hand continues to cup and squeeze me. I try to hold in a moan, but I fail miserably. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten laid, and my dick isn’t caring that it’s a Fiorenzo giving it the attention it so desperately needs. “Seems like you don’t mind me handling it either, judging by how hard you’re becoming.”
What the hell do I say to that because it’s the truth. My dick likes being handled by her, but my brain doesn’t.
“I’m not going to deny it,” I confess as her hand continues to undo me.
“It does?”
Closing my eyes momentarily, it’s now my turn to bite my lip as I nod in agreement.
“Seeing you like this is turning me on,” she confesses, surprising me. “You’re thick and hard under my fingers.”
“I am.”
“This wasn’t supposed to happen, you’re … you’re you,” she states, stumbling over her words.
“And you’re you and yet my dick is enjoying it,” I say, lifting my hand to the wall behind her as I try to stifle another moan, my head falling forward. She continues her tortuous cupping and stoking of my dick, and all I can think about is that I’m going to hell for letting this happen, but no amount of thinking can make me want to stop her. I breathe in her berrylicious smell and goosebumps break out against my skin.
Fuck.
I turn my head and slide my tongue against the smooth skin of her neck.
“Hmm,” she moans as a shiver slides over her body.
Oh, she likes that, does she? I do it again, and her body continues to shiver as a groan falls from her lips. I nip, suck, and lick over her sensitive neck, loving every shiver that slides over her skin from my touch; it’s intoxicating. I’ve never felt such a need to make a woman shiver from my lips before, but it’s my new game and I love it. I move to the other side and give it the same attention.
“Fuck,” she curses again as I slide my tongue, then my lips, over her skin, and every so often, a suck. I continue until she is wiggling under my touch, fuck this is hot.
I pull away and stare down at her, those red lips open, her chest rising and falling, those sapphire eyes bright with desire.
“Fuck,” I curse as I stare up at the ceiling. This is one monumental fuck up I’ve done, touching the enemy like I did.
There’s a knock at my door, and I head over to it. I’m surprised to see Nico standing there, and he doesn’t look happy.
“Tell me it isn’t true,” Nico asks as he strides into my suite.
“Tell you what?” I question him, slamming the door shut behind him. Nico is normally chill, nothing ruffles his feathers, especially in his line of work, which is on the don’t ask, don’t tell kind of scale.
“Last night you didn’t marry fucking Natalia Fiorenzo,” he yells.
I just stare at my oldest friend, he’s rendered me speechless. His eyes narrow on me as he stares around the room, and I know he is clocking every single item in my room that is out of place.
“Fine, I fucked Natalia Fiorenzo last night, but I didn’t marry her,” I confess to him.
Nico raises a brow at me, then smirks. “You fucked a Fiorenzo?”
I scrub my face. “I don’t know how it happened, but I woke up this morning with her naked in my bed.” His eyes fall to the open bathroom door, then back to me. “She’s already gone.”
“And she didn’t say anything about the two of you getting married?” he asks.
“We didn’t get married. Why do you keep asking me that?” Is he still drunk?
“Because I got these fucking pictures sent to me this morning,” he says, handing me his phone.
I stare down at the open email and curse. There, in color, are Natalia and me, hugging and kissing in front of Elvis at the Little White Chapel, getting married, and a copy of our marriage license.
“What the fuck!” My heart starts to beat uncontrollably in my chest. Am I having a heart attack? Is this what heart attacks feel like? I think marrying Natalia Fiorenzo warrants a heart attack.
“I could ask you the same thing?” he says, and I hand him his phone back.
“They can’t be real. It’s AI or something. Is someone trying to extort me?”
“It’s real.”
“Fuck,” I curse as I rake my hand through my hair. “Why the hell would I do that?”
Nico raises that pointed brow at me again. “I don’t know. Why would you marry your enemy’s daughter?”
“Fuck you. You think I did this on purpose?” I ask.
He shrugs, not answering my question. Why would I fuck things up by marrying a Fiorenzo? Things are already on thin ice between my father and me.
“Who took the photos then?” I ask.
“One of Francesca’s team,” Nico explains.
His cousin, of course. “And we can still kill the story, yeah?”
“Francesca doesn’t want to, this is huge,” he explains.
Panic turns last night’s alcohol into acid in my stomach.
“But I will,” he adds.
Thank fuck.
“Such a shame, this story would be huge and make me a lot of money.” He chuckles.
“You asshole. My misery shouldn’t make you rich.”
“Don’t do stupid things then,” he bites back.
“I didn’t even know I did something stupid,” I argue with him. I throw my hands up in the air and start pacing.
“You’re lucky we’re friends, otherwise, this could have been a shit storm.”
“If Natalia and her family find out, it’s going to be a shit storm,” I tell him.
“She’s a smart girl. I don’t think she wants this getting out any more than you do.”
This is true. She has as much to lose as I do. “This is messed up.”
“Welcome to Vegas.” Nico chuckles.
“You’re not being helpful,” I tell him.
“I told you, you were married. What more do you want me to do?” Nico grins.
“I don’t know,” I yell at him as I continue pacing around the room.
“Looks like the two of you had fun consummating the marriage.” He smirks as he eyes the broken lamp and scattered clothes. I flip him off which only makes him belly laugh.
“This isn’t fucking funny. Romeo can’t find out, not until I’ve worked out what the hell I’m going to do,” I tell him.
He pretends to zip up his lips and throw away the key.
Asshole.
“I can’t believe I married her. What would have possessed me to do something so stupid?” Nico starts to answer, but I turn and glare at him. “That was a rhetorical question.”
He throws his hands up in the air. “What I was going to say was because she’s a beautiful woman. I follow her socials,” he says with a grin.
“Sounds like you like her.” My eyes narrow on him, my jaw twitching at his comment.
“I’m not allergic to Fiorenzo like you are.”
Fuck him.
“You haven’t minded sharing before,” he adds.
What is going on? “You seriously asking me if you can fuck my wife?”
“Wife, hey?” He chuckles deeply.
“Fuck you,” I say, flipping him off. I’m freaking out here. I don’t need my best friend pressing my buttons, too. “My father is going to kill me,” I say as I start pacing the room again. “He already thinks I’m useless. Especially now that he’s got word the Emerald Hotels might be looking to go with Fiorenzo after they assured me they liked our deal.”
“What are you going to do about it then?” Nico asks.
“Who the fuck knows.”
Nico grins as he walks over to the bar and grabs the bottle of tequila. “I think what this situation needs is shots,” he states, holding the bottle in the air.
“I think that’s what got me into this situation in the first place.” I moan.