Chapter 03
Tiziano Constanzo
I dragged another photo across the table, pushing it with my fingertips as if this were some ridiculous game. Maybe it was. Perfect women from respectable families paraded before me in carefully selected photographs, but not one of them made my mouth water or, more importantly, made my cock hard.
Marriage, to me, needed to be more than a contract. I wanted someone who could turn me on just by looking at her, someone who could steal my breath before she even opened her mouth. But all I saw were plastic smiles and bodies that looked sculpted only to be displayed, not devoured.
“This one has something,” Enzo said, holding one of the photographs between his fingers and tilting his head as he studied her curves. He traced the outline of her body with his index finger, as if trying to measure how well she might fit into one of his fantasies.
I lifted my eyes, studying the picture for a moment. Beautiful, yes. Elegant, maybe. But there was nothing there that knocked me off balance. Nothing that made me forget who I was or what I had done to get where I was.
“Keep her.” I pushed the photo back toward him dismissively, making him laugh under his breath.
“You’re too demanding, Tiziano. Not every woman needs to be a work of art.”
“Art isn’t what I want, Enzo.” I leaned forward, locking eyes with him with a cynical smile. “I want someone who makes me want to sin every night. And none of these women do.”
Enzo laughed, but he agreed with me. He knew what I was looking for. It wasn’t just beauty or pedigree, it was desire. And those girls in flawless photographs were far too superficial to belong in my bed.
“Save your desires for the brothels, Tiziano.”
“I have no intention of staining my father’s name with filthy affairs, Enzo.
” I straightened in my chair, crossing my arms as a mocking smile formed on my lips.
“When I get married, I want my wife to be enough. I want her to leave me so satisfied that I don’t need to look at anyone else.
If I’m going to share my life with someone, it’ll be with a woman who makes me want her every day and every night. ”
“We’re going to meet Ant?nio Ferrucci’s daughters,” Luigi said, sliding an invitation across the table that was so modest it almost felt insulting. Far too simple for someone daring enough to invite a Don into his home.
“And who are they?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at the paper, more curious about the audacity of the gesture than its contents.
“The Ferrucci name has always been reliable currency in our business,” Luigi said, his gaze fixed on me as if he wanted to drive every word into my mind.
“Ant?nio is a competent accountant, the kind who knows where to hide every dirty cent without raising suspicion. Discreet, yes, but weak. A man you can bend with a single look, Tiziano. And that is exactly why he serves us well. Weakness is useful when it’s under control. ”
“Ant?nio may be a brilliant accountant, but his numbers aren’t what interest me right now,” I declared, sliding the invitation back toward the center of the table.
Luigi leaned forward.
“I know, it’s his daughters.” He settled back in his chair, his fingertips drumming against the table as a cold smile appeared on his lips.
“Like every mediocre man, Ant?nio made up for his insignificance by creating valuable assets at home. Giulia, the eldest, is a polished jewel, shaped to shine wherever she’s placed. ”
I arched an eyebrow.
“I don’t know if that’s enough, Luigi. They aren’t from the same social class. We could seek more advantageous alliances, families with more power and influence.”
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table, my gaze fixed on his.
“Power and influence look good on paper, Tiziano, but do you know what else they are? Unstable,” he said firmly. “Ant?nio is discreet and predictable, two qualities powerful families rarely possess. He may be nothing more than a mediocre accountant, but he’s an accountant who has never failed us.”
I picked up the invitation again, turning it between my fingers as if I were deciding the fate of Ant?nio and his precious daughters right there.
“As for the daughters, well, one of them carries the brilliance Ant?nio wants to put on display, and the other is the shadow he prefers to pretend doesn’t exist. We’ll see which one of them has what it takes to carry the Constanzo name.”
“If you insist, then we’ll attend the event.”