Chapter 15 Luka
Luka
Chiara’s head rests in my lap, uncomfortably close to my cock, but I’m not complaining. There’s a pillow between her cheek and my erection. Besides, she’s asleep.
She nodded off halfway through episode seven of the series I’ve forced her to binge with me; the wine hit her hard.
The woman is a lightweight drinker.
Her attitude softened after I cracked open the second bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from Angelo’s cellar. He won’t miss it.
I glance up at the camera winking in the corner. The jealous bastard is probably watching us. From the way he overreacted the other day when he came home to find Chiara and me chilling by the pool, it’s pretty fucking obvious he doesn’t like me spending time with her.
Why he’s so against my hanging out with her is a mystery.
As far as I know, this is a marriage of convenience. A deal orchestrated by our dear papa and Chiara’s hag of a stepmother.
In our world, men hold all the power, so it’s hardly a great surprise that Chiara had no say in whether she got married. What does surprise me is that Angelo agreed to such an arrangement.
He hates how our father treats Serafina, so why he’d agree to wed a woman who was so against the marriage that she ran away at the first opportunity confuses the shit out of me.
I’d ask him, but I doubt he’d give me a straight answer.
He and I are not close.
Our father never gave us the chance to form strong sibling bonds.
Still, at least Angelo didn’t kill me when he learned of my existence.
Chiara mumbles something in her sleep as the season finale ends. I reach out for the remote and switch the TV off. It’s time to take Sleeping Beauty to bed. With another glance up at the camera in the corner, I ease myself out from under her. She grumbles but doesn’t wake.
I could leave her here on the sofa; it’s comfortable enough. But because I love to wind up my brother, I gently lift her bridal-style.
She snuggles into my chest and half-smiles, which amuses me no end. Sleepy Chiara is far more amenable to my touch.
Winking cameras follow me as I carry her upstairs. The house servants have all gone to bed, so the lights are low and the upstairs landing is empty. When I reach Chiara’s bedroom, I step inside to find a rumpled bed and a pile of paperbacks on the nightstand.
There are cameras in this room too, but I can’t see them. Kane will have installed them out of sight so Angelo can spy on his wife without her knowledge. Such a creep.
The minx will kill my brother when she finds out he watches her sleep. I should have told her already, but it’s more fun to use the cameras to my advantage.
I place Chiara on the bed and cover her legs with the covers so she doesn’t get cold. Next, I fill a glass of water for her and leave it on the nightstand, along with a packet of Tylenol. I have a feeling she’ll need them when she wakes.
She stirs as I stand watching her, and I wonder if she’ll open her eyes, but she stays asleep. Her light brown hair gleams in the pale light, blonde roots showing, and the soft wool sweater clings to her curves, revealing a tempting sliver of skin above the curve of her ass.
It’s a cool evening, so I tug the covers up further, letting my fingers brush her soft skin. It’s pure torture. My body would love nothing more than to slide her pants down and part her thighs, but I’m not a pervert.
Knowing Angelo will zoom in on this brief interaction is enough for me.
Before I leave, I drop a kiss on Sleeping Beauty’s lips. Then I smirk to myself and close the door behind me.
Before I’ve made it back to the bedroom I use when I stay here, my phone vibrates in my pocket.
Touch my wife again, and you’re dead.
I chuckle. Angelo would never hurt me.
He had his chance when he found out I existed. But instead of quietly getting rid of me, he protected me from our father, who would happily have brushed me under the carpet to hide his fling with my mother while his wife, Angelo’s mother, was still alive.
I look forward to the day that man breathes his last.
It can’t come soon enough.
I open my brother’s message and reply with a wink emoji before closing the app.
It sucks to be him.