27. Serendipity
Serendipity
By the evening, I was still reeling from Santino’s ‘punishment’ of denying me his dick, and furious that my clit hadn’t stopped aching since.
But I refused to let him win. I spent the day acting as if nothing had happened, ignoring Santino’s attempts to flirt and seduce me with his nakedness, filthy innuendos, and infuriatingly charismatic presence, and did everything in my power to drive him up the wall instead.
I accidentally put all his expensive white shirts in the wash with my red lingerie, so he now owns seven salmon-coloured shirts. His reaction? Tugging one on for the day and telling me I’m right, that pink really is his colour. Fail.
Knowing how much he liked things neat and in order, I left the lights on, left drawers cracked open, moved chairs at the wrong angle, swapped his sock drawer with his underwear drawer, and swapped his underwear drawer with his watch drawer.
That’s when he started tallying on a piece of paper he kept in his pocket, refusing to tell me what he was doing.
That put me on edge, but it also made me more determined to make him crack.
I’d even interrupted his meeting with two scary-looking men by constantly popping my head around the door to ask inappropriate questions and embarrass him in front of them.
But the only reaction that granted me was a few more tally marks on the paper as he said, “You’d best start behaving, Ribellina, or I’ll collect on every single one of these marks later. ”
I licked my lips, holding his gaze while my insides trembled with the thrill of his threat. There was teasing him… and then there was teasing him. Both were equally dangerous. I’ve avoided him ever since.
Running my hands down the curves of my baby pink dress, I pushed the nerves away at the prospect of tonight’s dinner with my papi. Honestly, I’d rather not be going at all. No good could come of this.
I thought it would put my mind at ease that it was a public meeting, seeing as they couldn’t kill each other, but it only made the whole thing a hundred times more nerve-wracking. People would recognise them. Everyone’s eyes would be on our table.
My phone started vibrating on the velvet stool beside me, and I stared at the caller ID, feeling those pesky nerves flare even more.
Callum. I had avoided his calls so far by replying to his texts asking if I was okay.
But I couldn’t ignore him forever. I knew I had to explain myself, but I had no clue what to say.
“Callum, hi.”
“You answered.”
“Sí.” I stared at my reflection in the full-length mirror of Santino’s dressing room and played with a few waves of my hair, combing them over my shoulder. “Sorry, I? missed your calls.”
“That must mean you’re alone? He’s not around?”
I glanced around the corner into the empty bedroom. “He’s around. Just not with me right now. I’m sorry. I should have spoken to you sooner. I know I owe you a huge apology for what happened, and I—”
“You don’t, Aria. I’m not a fool. He blackmailed you into marrying him. He probably threatened the lives of Piero, Allegra, and me. Am I right?”
I bit down on my bottom lip, glancing back at the door.
“Your silence is answer enough. Has he hurt you?”
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I promise. He’s been…” Irresistible. Honest. Funny. Sexy as hell. “…surprisingly nice to me.”
Callum sighed, but it didn’t sound like relief. “Don’t fall for it, Aria. He’s acting. He’s buttering you up so you’ll turn on your father. He needs you by his side to control Piero. Once you’re no longer of use to him, what do you think will happen to you?”
I gulped, leaning back against the wall as bile rose in my throat.
“I’ll tell you what men like him do to nice women like you.
They use them for their own gain. He might keep you around for heirs while he fucks whores on the side, or he might get bored with you and cast you aside once he has your father under his command.
Or, the worst outcome… he’ll kill you and make it look like an accident. ”
I pushed the wave of nausea down and straightened my spine. “Callum, I appreciate your concern, but I can handle myself. I’m not about to be anyone’s puppet.”
“Good. I’m not saying this to be harsh, but you need to hear the brutal truth. He’s using you. Don’t let him.”
I exhaled deeply and bent down to put on my heels. “I won’t. I need to go, Callum.”
“I know. You have a dinner meeting with your father. That’s why I’m calling, Aria, to prepare you.”
“What do you mean? Prepare me for what?”
“Your safety is the most important thing to your father and to me. We’ve agreed that if Santino signs the divorce papers tonight, we will drop the investigation into him and his businesses. We will find another way to bring him down.”
I froze. My heart raced. That was what Santino wanted. That was why this had all started. I’d be free of this marriage. So why did my stomach plummet?
“What if he doesn’t agree?”
“Why wouldn’t he? His entire empire would suffer if he didn’t. His legal business accounts are frozen; he can’t pay his staff, and his warehouses and shipments are stuck at the docks. He’d be a fool to refuse.”
Were his accounts frozen? I thought of the black card he’d handed me yesterday and of all the money I’d spent.
Guilt pushed its way forward, but I tried to ignore it.
His business may suffer, but I’m sure he has enough money of his own.
That explained why he’d seemed so stressed whenever he’d reappeared from his office today.
“Aria. If he doesn’t agree, you’ll need to do what you can to protect your father. Otherwise, he’ll be in serious danger.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are in a prime position to gather information that could help us bring a criminal like him down. You are living in his home. You have access to his office, his devices, and his movements. If you play this carefully, he might even admit to things that would incriminate him.”
“You want me to spy on him?”
“Discreetly, of course. I don’t want you putting yourself in any more danger, but yes. If you hear or see anything that could help us build a case against him or his family, take pictures or record evidence on your phone and send it to us.”
“Bella Ribelle, are you ready?”
My rapid heart flew up to my mouth when I heard Santino’s deep voice heading my way.
“I have to go.” I didn’t wait for Callum to reply and ended the call, shoving my phone into my handbag.
“I’m coming,” I shouted, striding from the bedroom into the hallway. Santino emerged from the living room, and I tried to calm myself, turning to face him with a forced smile.
His dark gaze travelled down the length of my body, and he fell sideways against the wall, covering his jaw with his tattooed hand. He started towards me, each step slow and deliberate, increasing my heart rate as he continued to stare as if I were all that existed in the world.
“Is it okay?” I feigned uncertainty, running my hands down my body. “I didn’t know what to wear. I tried on—”
“This,” he interrupted, placing his hands possessively on my hips as a slow, dangerous smile curved his lips.
“You wear this.” He leaned down to whisper in my ear, sending shivers down my spine with his next words.
“You have no idea what you’re doing to me, looking like this while I’m trying very hard to be on my best behaviour tonight.
I know you’re driving me insane on purpose.
” He squeezed my hips in his bruising grip. “And it’s working.”
My eyes closed briefly, hoping it would hide how much desire he’d just injected into my veins.
“We should go,” I whispered as he buried his face in my hair and breathed in against my neck, making my head tip as I fought back a moan. “We’re going to be late.”
“You look and smell amazing,” he groaned, his nose brushing my cheek, and then he pulled back to stare into my eyes.
He let go of me, lifting one hand to lean against the wall and then shoved his other in his pocket as if he didn’t trust himself to touch me.
“You’re going to cause me trouble tonight. I can already tell.”
Instead of throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him as every cell in my body screamed for me to, I placed my hand on his side, wanting to pull him back into me but also push him away. The conversation with Callum had disturbed me for all the wrong reasons.
“I thought you liked trouble? I’m only giving you what you want.”
His gaze dropped to my lips, and a small, cocky smile tugged at his mouth, making my stomach flutter in a way that felt better than nerves. “I do. That’s the problem. I think… before we meet daddy dearest… you should kiss your husband before he loses his damn mind.”
Oh, God, every time he suggested we kiss, I realised I wanted it even more.
He’s using you. Don’t let these feelings grow. Stay guarded.
“Try being a decent man who doesn’t cut people’s ears off as a hobby, and I just might,” I forced the sass into my voice, masking how much he was affecting me with my bravado. I stepped back, breaking the power he had over me, and gave him a knowing smirk that matched his own.
“But you like me indecent,” he said, pressing his hand against the bulge in his suit trousers to readjust.
I lifted my chin, refusing to look at it, and strode past him. Cristo, I’d just figured out my type. Indecent, filthy and insane.
We made our way down to the underground garage for the first time, and I skidded to a stop in my heels when I saw his collection of supercars and motorcycles, along with a few vintage models.
I walked slowly around the matte-black Lamborghini, admiring it.
He strode over to an organised display of helmets and leather jackets, sifting through them before pulling one off.
“Here,” he said, walking back towards me, a helmet under each arm and a leather jacket. “You should wear this. It will be cold on the bike.”
My eyes widened. “Bike? Are we going on a bike?”