Chapter 6 Leo
LEO
“Where do you want me?” the busty blonde murmurs seductively as I close us inside the next available room. Her eager breaths wash over me, her blue eyes wide and inviting, and her hands roam freely down my chest, exploring me now that we’re alone.
But after seeing how thoroughly I got under Sora’s skin, I’m finding it hard to draw much pleasure from the moment. It’s been my singular mission to find cracks in my intended bride’s composure, but today when we burst in on her, it felt more like I shattered something deeper.
Suddenly, my blonde conquest feels too enthusiastic, too eager to be interesting. I don’t even know her name, but she’s already starting to unbutton the crisp white dress shirt that’s part of her serving uniform.
“Stop,” I insist, pulling her hands away from her buttons before she can get too far.
“Would you rather I start with you?” she asks, sinking to her knees and running her hands down my abs to my belt.
She’s looking up at me through thick mascara-coated lashes, her lips softly parted in a sensual look that says she’s ready to wrap them around my cock, but right now, nothing could interest me less.
“No, just… get up. Get out.” Grasping her upper arm, I pull her back to her feet and turn her toward the door.
Doubt and confusion flash across her face, and she turns back to me with a hurt expression.
“You don’t even want to come in my mouth?
” she offers. “Or I could put on a show if you’re feeling shy.
” Her lips curve into a coy grin as she thinks she’s got my number.
“I’ve always dreamed of experiencing the famous Chiaroscuro playboy. ”
Growling with irritation, I storm past her and wrench open the door. “Just get back to work,” I command over my shoulder before I stride down the hall to get ready.
I’m used to women throwing themselves at my feet. Pussy’s not a hard thing to come by when you’re the heir to an empire like ours.
And most of the time, I really don’t mind using that to my advantage.
Sleeping with who I want, when I want, keeps things interesting.
If I start to get bored, I can always increase the number of girls I fuck at one time.
But I would be lying if I said I didn’t let Sora get into my head a little bit.
Buying her a nice dress for tonight was my father’s idea—a peace offering because he knows I’ve been an ass to her even if he can’t pinpoint specifically what I’ve done.
Still, seeing Sora in the gown that I had an inkling she would find too revealing to even try on made me rock hard—a hell of a lot harder than making out with the blonde waitress or receiving her offer to suck my cock.
It was the first time I’ve seen Sora without makeup, too, and something about her natural beauty is captivating.
Somehow, she looks even more delicate and enticing without her mask of perfection—not a common ability.
But now that I’m away from the busty blonde and fully focused on the vision of Sora in that skin-tight red dress, my cock is straining against the zipper of my slacks.
It’s too bad that sleeping with Sora will be the final nail in my coffin, the last link to the chain that will bind me to my fate.
Our marriage will lock me into this world forever and set into motion my father’s plans to pass on the title of Don—a large part of why I never cared to marry before now.
I hoped to avoid the title as long as possible, but it would seem my father got tired of waiting.
I suppose fucking Sora won’t be the worst consolation prize.
I spent four months convincing myself that nothing on God’s green earth could make me want that—regardless of how attractive Sora might be—because her family has been the bane of my existence since before I knew who the Yakuza were or why we were fighting.
Yet, she managed to unravel all that hard work the moment she gasped my name.
She looked horrified by the sight of my tongue down some random woman’s throat, but in that moment, hearing my name on Sora’s lips made me want to make her scream it in a very different way.
Did I give her maid that gift to find which room Sora was in?
Yes.
Did I intentionally burst into that room with another woman to convince my fiancée to call off the wedding?
One hundred percent.
So, what should it matter if I slept with the blonde after?
Biting back a growl, I turn toward the foyer and nearly slam into Miko as I round the corner.
“There you are,” he says mildly, stopping short. “The don sent me to find you and bring you to him.”
“No doubt so he can give me my pre-party lecture about the consequences of misbehaving at tonight’s dinner.”
Rolling my eyes, I fall into step with my older brother—the only Chiaroscuro son my father seems to respect, probably because he’s not related to us by blood.
And because the don picked Miko up off the streets when he was too young to remember, my adopted brother has always felt indebted to my father.
He’ll do whatever it is the don tasks him with—even take a bullet without question.
While I could easily resent Miko for behaving like a glorified dog, I’m actually massively grateful for him.
He lightens the load around the don’s expectations, and even if half the time, Miko’s only around because my father raised him to be my personal bodyguard, he’s my best friend.
We might not be related by blood, but Miko’s as much a brother to me as the other three—just a hell of a lot more lethal with knives.
He knocks on the double doors leading into my father’s personal suite as soon as we arrive, then opens one side as soon as we’re told to enter. Rather than follow me in, Miko mutters a hushed “Good luck” and closes the door behind me.
Biting back a resigned sigh, I wait for my father to acknowledge me as he adjusts his tie in the mirror. Then he turns to face me.
“I’ll be keeping a close eye on you tonight,” he warns. “If you put a single toe out of line, I can promise you’ll regret it.”
“I’ll be on my best behavior,” I promise with a smirk.
“You’re already failing. Go make yourself presentable. The rehearsal dinner will start shortly.” He waves me off, cutting the conversation short as he turns his attention back to the mirror.
That might be the easiest lecture I’ve ever endured from my father, and as I step into the hall, Miko’s eyebrows lift in silent surprise. Shrugging, I head toward my room to change, and my brother follows without a word.
“Don’t ask me,” I mutter, responding to his unspoken question. “Apparently, as long as my toes are in the right place, Father has nothing more to say to me.”
“I recommend you keep your shoes on, then,” Miko states flatly, his delivery somehow managing to enhance his dry humor.
Snorting, I shake my head. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
I take a quick shower and change into one of my tailored suits, adding a gold tie to the ensemble before heading to the lounge, where our guests have just started to gather for a pre-dinner drink.
Tomorrow, the reception will be hosted in our great room, but tonight, the company is small enough that we’re using the formal dining room.
As soon as I step into the lounge, my eyes are drawn to a slight, raven-haired figure dressed in rich crimson velvet.
To my surprise, Sora actually wore the dress I gave her.
My mouth goes dry as I catch sight of its open back beneath her long, dark hair that cascades nearly to her waist.
It looks as if she was attempting to hide her exposed skin with the thick curtain of locks, but all it does is draw my eye to the firm line of her spine and the hint of back dimples that peek out above the dress’s low cowl.
In this dress, her hips are fuller than I would have given her credit for, and they taper into a thin waist that the clinging red fabric showcases perfectly.
“Is that drool, Brother?” Raf teases as he and Sandro stop beside me.
“No,” I snap, ripping my gaze from Sora’s perfect figure to scowl at them.
“You might want to close your mouth, then,” Gio suggests lightly as he joins us, passing me a drink.
Rolling my eyes, I accept the etched lowball glass and lift it to my lips. It takes all my self-restraint not to check the corners of my mouth for any wayward saliva.
I know my brothers are just giving me a hard time, but to be honest, it’s hard not to appreciate my wife-to-be in that dress.
Her head turns as I approach, and the glint of her ruby earrings catches my eye, calling attention to her delicate features and the soft curve of her neck before she spots me.
Excusing herself from her current conversation with a polite smile, she faces me more fully, stepping away from the gathered guests so we can take a turn around the room.
As soon as she does, the fire in her eyes ignites, warning me that regardless of what happened after I left her, I’m guilty in her eyes.
Maybe she’ll call the wedding off, after all.
Even as my hopes lift prematurely, an unexpected hint of disappointment tinges my taste of victory.
“Nice to see you could remove your tongue from a woman’s mouth long enough to join us,” she says with sickly sweetness.
“Careful, Princess, you almost sound jealous,” I tease.
“I just hope you used a condom so I won’t catch whatever diseases you’ve been exposed to,” she says with enough venom to pack a punch.
I might have a lot of sex, but I’m very careful about using protection and choosing clean sexual partners.
No pleasure is worth an accidental child or STD. But I’m not about to tell Sora that.
Smirking, I lean in to drop my voice seductively, preparing to goad her further. “Haven’t you heard, Cattiva? You and I are getting married tomorrow. After that, what’s mine is yours.”
For the first time, Sora doesn’t even try to hide her disgust as she tilts her chin up in fierce defiance, and I wonder if I’ve finally pushed her past her limit. I’ll admit it’s been harder than I anticipated.
“You are such a pig,” she hisses, brushing past me as she storms from the room.