Chapter 51
ALEX
All night, I tossed and turned. My mind drifted between sleep and consciousness, dreams and nightmares. Luca, the man who wore many faces, was in all of them.
My Devil in Disguise .
The air had shifted between us. A few days had passed since the meeting with my grandfather.
I knew he would fall back into his old habits.
Instead of asserting his claim over me, he’d left me with Marcello.
Again. It was like he wanted me to run into his brother’s arms. He was making it too easy for me to choose Marcello at the end of the month.
I saw Luca on Tuesday morning. He looked like my greatest sin, dressed in a navy suit and brown wingtips.
The Devil I Craved . Before he’d left the house that night, Luca promised to come home for dinner.
Stupid liar never bothered to call and didn’t answer my text messages.
Marcello covered for him, claiming he was working and couldn’t be disturbed.
The arrogant prince showed his face the following morning.
He didn’t even bother to tell me he was home.
I strolled into the kitchen. Luca stood in front of the refrigerator, a bottle of water in his hand.
He eyed me across the room, taking in my curves that hugged the tight cranberry-colored maxi dress.
“Where were you last night?”
He shut the refrigerator and uncapped his water. “Out.”
I moved toward him, though careful to keep my distance. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days.
I shoved my hands to my hips. “Where were you?”
Luca glared at me from beneath his dark eyelashes. “I don’t answer to you.”
“Then don’t expect me to answer to you.”
He crossed the room, avoiding my gaze. “Where I was last night is none of your business.”
“Were you with another woman?”
There was no answer, only a nasty scowl.
Even though I wanted to look away from him, I held his gaze. “I hate you.”
His cell phone rang. The obnoxious sound blared throughout the room. He raised it to his ear without glancing at me and muttered a few words in Italian. Then he left the room as if I didn’t exist.
On Thursday night, Marcello ate dinner with me at the table on my balcony. We had steak and lobster, eating mostly in silence. I liked that about him. The silence was oddly comforting.
He could walk on his own now and was healing nicely. If I tried to baby him, he gave me a warning look. So, I stopped pressing him to get rest and take care of himself. His number one priority lately seemed to be me.
After dinner, he cleaned up after us and left my bedroom with our trays.
He usually handed them off to someone else, then sat in the chair beside the window, drinking while I sketched new designs for my next exhibition.
We fell into a comfortable but strange pattern.
But I slid off the bed when he didn’t return, abandoning my latest sketch.
He’d been gone for a while, and after seeing his spy shed, I wondered if other secrets were hidden in the house.
I cracked open the door and poked my head into the hallway lit by sconces.
Dom wasn’t on duty tonight. It was just Marcello and me on this floor.
So I stepped into the hall and headed left, checking for cameras as I tiptoed toward the back stairwell.
I turned doorknobs as I crept down the corridor, most of which were locked. The last door on my left opened without issue. My heart pounded as I pushed on the wood and heard loud moaning.
Not what I had expected.
I leaned against the frame, peeking into the dark room. Skin slapped together. A woman cried out in pain. Someone grunted. Then, a groan ripped from a man’s mouth.
“Harder,” the woman moaned.
Another slap.
Then another.
Was it Luca?
Anger surged through me, sending a ripple of heat down my arms. We’d never committed to each other. He was free to do as he pleased, but I fucking hated him and his double standards.
As I stood in the doorway, my nipples pebbled. Liquid heat pooled between my legs with each moan and scream. Even though I couldn’t see them clearly, the sounds alone were enough to spark something inside me.
What the hell was wrong with me?
A hand snaked around my middle, and another covered my mouth. “Shhh,” he whispered against the shell of my ear.
I leaned back against his muscular chest and felt his hard cock digging into my ass. His hand slid up my stomach and over my breasts. Slow and steady, he took his sweet ass time exploring my body. My skin heated from his touch, like it was about to catch fire.
His hand dipped beneath my silky pajama top. More moans filled the quiet air. My own slipped from my throat as he rolled his thumb over the aching bud. The woman inside the room screamed, snapping my attention back to her. She whined, her words muffled as she attempted to speak.
Breathing hard, I pressed my palm to the wall before me. A rough hand slid down my stomach and over the front of my shorts. My nipples stiffened against the fabric, painfully sore as he rubbed my clit. I grabbed his hand and shoved my shorts and panties to the side.
His tongue glided across the back of my neck, his teeth grazing my hot flesh as he plunged two fingers inside me. I moaned against his hand. He fucked me harder with his fingers. Rocking my hips to meet each of his thrusts, he stretched me out, rubbing against my inner walls.
I licked his hand, and he groaned in my ear. He liked it. So I did it again, tasting his skin.
Heat spread down my arms, igniting a fire and bringing me back to life.
I closed my eyes and listened to the moans and groans in the room, riding out my high as I came on his fingers.
Out of breath and desperate for air, I tugged on his hand.
He lowered his hand to my hip. Both of us struggled to catch our breath.
I stared at the wall, wondering if I should acknowledge what we did. What difference did it make? We were both consenting adults.
“Marcello,” I whispered.
I knew it was him.
And I didn’t care.
Fuck Luca and his games.
Luca had a specific scent, one I had burned into my memory: salt and sandalwood. The brothers had many similarities, from their good looks to their height. But I would always know Luca without seeing him. This was his fault for leaving me with his brother. For not giving a fuck about me.
“Don’t say a word,” he said before sucking my earlobe into his mouth.
He slid my panties and shorts back into place, still holding onto me.
We stood there momentarily, my back to him, our hearts beating.
Marcello reached for the knob and pulled the door shut.
I spun around and leaned against the wall, staring at him.
He was as tall as Luca and just as handsome.
If only he would smile. Neither of them did more than smirk or frown.
I grabbed hold of his waistband and pulled him toward me.
Marcello clutched my wrist. “What are you doing, Alex?”
“I need more.”
“Alex,” he groaned.
“You started this… and you need to finish.”
He removed my hands from his waistband. His eyes flicked up and down the length of my body. Marcello licked his lips and studied my curves as if committing them to memory.
“Luca’s fucking another woman right now.”
He shook his head, and a dark lock fell onto his forehead. “That’s Damian’s bedroom.”
I had no idea Damian slept on this floor. I’d assumed it was Luca since he would never fuck a whore in his bed. And since I was pissed at his absence, I wanted to believe he was out cheating on me instead of working, as Marcello said.
My jaw dropped. “I thought…”
“I know what you thought.” An evil grin graced his full lips. “Never assume, Alex. Doesn’t matter, anyway. You’re not just his . You belong to The Knights.”
Marcello stepped into my office at Wellington Architecture and Design a few days later. He hung in the doorway, staring at me with those blue eyes. Lonely boy . A part of me felt more connected to Marcello. The walls between us had lowered, but they were still there.
He was still Luca’s brother.
And I had a choice to make.
“Kali is here,” Marcello said as he approached the drafting table.
I dropped the charcoal pencil. “Tell her I’ll be ready in a minute. I just need to clean up.”
He extended his hand.
I slipped my fingers between his. “Have you seen Luca?”
He released my hand, the energy between us shifting in an instant.
“Where is he?”
No answer.
“Please, Marcello. It’s been days.”
His expression was blank, unreadable.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
He turned his head toward the door. “You shouldn’t keep your friend waiting.”
I tugged on his silky tie, forcing him to look at me. His hand fell to my waist, and silence passed between us.
“Marcello, please. This is driving me crazy. Why is he ignoring me?”
He dropped his hand and sighed. “Stop asking questions. You don’t want the answers to them.”
Then, he walked out of my office, shattering my heart into pieces.
Lunch with Kali was my only indulgence since I’d arrived in Devil’s Creek. The one thing none of the Salvatores denied me. We went to Blue Moon Cafe, a high-end restaurant in town. Kali chose a private booth in the corner, right by the window, where I could see Marcello sitting in his car.
“Are you ready to meet the Devil’s Creek Belles?” Kali asked. “It’s your birthright to be our leader.”
I rolled my eyes. “The thought of spending time with Blair makes being drugged and locked in my bedroom sound like fun.”
Kali sipped from a straw, her eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Who drugged you?”
“Marcello did my second night in Devil’s Creek.”
She set her drink on the table and gasped. “Oh, my God. What an asshole! Why did he do that?”
“I thought I told you about that.”
Kali shook her head.
“I tried to run from Wellington Manor and didn’t know Marcello was waiting for me across the street.”
Her mouth widened. “Girl, you have some balls on you.”
“I wanted out of here so bad. I still do. But I’m not going anywhere until I find out what happened to my brother.”