Chapter 15 – Serena #2
I broke free and fled.
***
I am not attracted to my host. “That is what they call Stockholm Syndrome, Serena,” I scolded my reflection.
Between the stern lecture and the cold shower, my senses were mostly returned to normal.
Emerging from the bathroom, I nearly jumped out of my skin. A stifled scream squeaked past my lips.
“Do you always talk to yourself in the shower?” Markos murmured, a smirk etched in his unearthly face.
He would have been devilishly handsome if it wasn’t for the scar. But, if I was being honest, I barely noticed the marks. The more I was around him, the more I noticed one thing: How attractive he was.
“Amongst other things,” I said to answer his question.
He tipped his head. “Like what?”
The slow, deliberate way his gaze slid down my body sent a rush of heat sizzling through my veins.
“Oh, good grief! Is that the only thing you men are capable of thinking about?” I snapped, brushing past him on my way into the bedroom where the comb sat on the vanity.
“Tell me you don’t think about the opposite sex in the shower,” he dared.
I slapped my palm against the furniture’s wooden top. “Maybe I’m into chicks? Ever thought of that?”
The comment had him faltering.
Yeah, take that! I hid my satisfied smirk. Served him right for assuming my preferences in sexual partners!
“See, I doubt that.” He leaned against the doorframe, studying me as I picked the comb back up and began to work the snarls from the ridiculously long lengths.
“Oh? And what makes you say that?” I tugged violently on the strands.
Ouch! I thought about cutting my long hair, now more so than ever.
It was curly in this heat, but the manual labor made it knot no matter how I secured it—braids or ponies, even a bun, it didn’t matter. The effect was the same: A bloody mess.
“You would have jumped my cousin if you liked chicks,” he insisted.
I glared at him through the mirror. “What if Evangelia isn’t my type?”
“She’s everyone’s type. Cute, spunky, and easily dominated. If you took a lover, you’d try to be the master in the bedroom, which is why you need a man.”
What a load of bull! I could not believe we were having this conversation.
“Fine, you win,” I dismissed him. “I’m not attracted to women. Can we drop it?”
“I’m supposed to find you a husband.”
Those words were a blast of cold water. The strength sapped from my fingers.
“There might be an alternative,” he said softly, stepping forward.
Unable to form a coherent sentence, I watched him approach. He took the comb from my numb hand and began to work the tangles. His touch was gentle, and...he was good at this.
“I don’t want to marry one of you,” I whispered.
Markos nodded. “Like I said, I have a solution.”
“And that is?” The words sounded funny, forced around the lump in my throat.
“A job.”
I snorted. “I’m a terrible farm hand.”
“Not what I’ve heard.” There was a note of warmth in his voice. “But that’s not the job.”
“Okay?” I breathed, suddenly keenly aware of how intimate this exchange was. His steady hands caressing my hair, carefully working the comb through the strands—it was overwhelming.
“You like to snoop. How sneaky can you be?”
I hummed softly. “Depends.”
He lifted his gaze and gave me an encouraging nod.
A sigh escaped my lips. “I’ve been known to pilfer through my brother’s business. Been doing it for decades, and he’s none the wiser.”
The chuckle that sounded behind me was rich and warm. It had to be why I opened up, continued to tell this stranger details I’d never told another soul.
“He never did figure out that it was me who told our mother about his dirty magazines as a teen. And I told his first wife where he hid the better whiskey.” In hindsight, that sweet soul never needed to know that detail.
She had tragedy that not even my nosy self found until it was too late.
“I found his...friend’s affair with their other friend’s second wife.
That one I did tell him, and it was a mess.
As was the time a business partner stole from them, and they couldn’t figure it out until I began to dig around. ”
The more I admitted, the more it dawned on me how instrumental I could have been to the Famiglia. Not that my brothers would hear of such a thing. The mob was no place for a woman, they’d always said. I let their macho ideas hold me back.
Only to watch the don elevate his wife to the second highest position in the organization.
Love changed people, it seemed.
“So you’re good at uncovering secrets,” Markos observed, his fingers now working deftly at braiding my hair. I hadn’t even noticed when he’d switched from combing to braiding.
“I have a knack for it,” I admitted. The warmth of his hands against my scalp was distracting. “What exactly are you suggesting?”
His eyes met mine in the mirror, serious now. “We have enemies. People who would love nothing more than to see our family fall. I need someone who can move through certain social circles unnoticed. Someone who can listen, observe, and report back.”
“A spy?” I whispered, both horrified and intrigued.
“I prefer ‘intelligence gatherer,’” he said with a half-smile. “You’d be perfect.”
I jerked away, letting the braid fall half finished. His presence was stifling! I shook my head but failed to clear the fog. “How can you say that? You don’t even know me!”
Markos reached for a hair binder and held it out to me. I stared at it as if it would bite.
He sighed. “You’re right, I don’t. But.... How about a test run?”
There wasn’t time to think through what he offered. I didn’t want to return to Chicago. I also wasn’t keen on being a prisoner here. Was this really my choice? Escape to a gilded cage in the safety of my brothers’ domain, or marry and stay here? No. I could do it.
I could be this man’s spy.
Merciful heaven! I really liked this place. I could see myself living here amongst the villagers. And I was willing to work for this mobster in exchange for that opportunity.
Not that Markos knew that I’d learned the truth about his work. To push that thread, I asked, “What kind of businessman needs to know information about his competitors? Information that can’t be found through the normal channels?”
“All businesses worth their salt spy on each other. The government is one of the biggest.” His dark grin was sly and full of danger.
“I don’t want to get into trouble.” What was I saying?! I should be jumping on this opportunity, if for no other reason than to prove I was more than a pretty face.
“Well, I didn’t think you could do it anyways.” He smirked. “Never mind. Forget I asked.”
That smile, it did things to me.
Damn me, but I rose to his bait. “I can do it! I just don’t think I should.”
Laughter glistened in his eyes. “You want to, though. Admit it. The idea of doing something unethical excites you.”
The bastard—it did. “Fine.”
He leaned forward, still holding out the binder.
I snatched it, but he didn’t move away. The audacity!
I held my ground, forcing him to brush against me.
I had to tip my head back to meet his gaze, searching for any hint of hesitation.
My insides clenched under the weight of his stare.
A delicious tingle spread between my legs.
That mouth—oh, mother of god, that mouth! Why was it so perfect? And why was I crazy enough to want it on my body?
Because.... A soft voice in the back of my mind taunted. You’ve never been fucked by a real man.
The tingle turned into a flood of heat. I wanted Markos, wanted him badly. This was no awkward gardener in my brother’s Tuscan villa, bumbling with my body and failing to get me off. This wasn’t the cold, unfeeling friend of my brother who I dreamed of kissing.
This was the pirate who ignited a wild fury in my veins and made me question my sanity. And I wanted him.
“Good,” he said. “Tonight’s your job application.”
I balked. “Application? You suggested it! I didn’t!”
“And any good businessman puts his employees to the test.” Markos grinned, all teeth and menace. “Let’s go, Serena. We’re already behind schedule.”
The air seemed dangerously thin as his words sank in. This was all happening too fast! I tried to take a steadying breath but failed.
Could I really go through with being a spy?
Did I even want to? Muscles tensed, I watched Markos sweep out of the room.
I didn’t move, not right away. Instead, I stood glued to the spot, watching his retreating back.
I could tell him no. I should tell him no!
I could turn around, march out of the manor, get on a plane, and disappear back into my old life.
But my old life.... Was it my life? Was it what I wanted? No. No, it wasn’t.
“Coming?” Markos called from the hall, voice impatient.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I dashed after him. His pace was quick, determined, as we moved through the stately old villa. The windows were open to the warm evening air, and the smells of sun, earth, and olive trees saturated the rooms.
“Is this how it’s always going to be?” I asked as I bounded after him. My own breath was beginning to come in quick, short bursts. “Rushing from here to there with no warning?”
“Most of the time,” he said, sending me a playful glance over his shoulder. Before I had a chance to respond, we were outside. The setting sun washed everything in a golden glow, and the cicadas sang loudly in the rows of vines, sounding our passing.
“Okay, lead the way, Mr. Boss.”