Chapter One CHIARA #2
The masked man pulled back again, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Now, he had blood smeared on his perfectly chiseled jaw. His other palm was still wrapped around my trembling ankle. Like he hadn’t decided to let go yet, fingers digging in hard.
My gaze lifted slowly. Over the sharp line of his jaw, now outlined in my blood. The faint shadow of black stubble. The mask hiding his eyes… Those eyes still glinted darkly, despite the faintly lit night.
“What are you?” I asked.
What did I just let you do to me?
“What am I? What are you? You’re certainly not staff,” he said, letting me go. “So who are you?”
My ankle rolled to the side and I winced as he stood up. He towered over me in his expensive suit, the mask making him look menacing.
“Of course I a-am,” I stuttered, trying to pick myself up.
“Do I look like a fool?” he said, voice bitter.
“How am I supposed to know, with that mask?” I bit back. “I’ve never seen you before.”
He touched his mask with a smirk playing on his lips. “Maybe you have.”
I stared back, hard. I knew I would recognize him if we’d met.
Especially the near-constant fluttering in my stomach when he was close.
That wasn’t a staff mask he was wearing, either.
Mine was simpler, just a slip of black silk.
His was more complicated, fancier. He was definitely a guest at Papa’s estate.
“Spit it out,” he said. “Are you a guest?”
“I’m a maid,” I managed weakly.
“Fat chance. You don’t work here,” he smirked. “Don’t lie to me.”
“You have no proof,” I blurted out, my mouth shutting when he touched tendrils of my hair escaping the tight bun on top of my head.
“Your hair is the proof. Staff wears it down. Only unwed girls, part of the Five Families, are supposed to wear it up.”
Subconsciously, I touched my braided bun. Damn it.
“But I see we both have secrets to keep, so I won’t ask your name. Don’t ask mine,” he suggested, a devilish smile on his lips. “Agreed?”
I thought about it. About my silly dreams of a first kiss. What he’d done felt more intimate than any makeout scenario I’d conjured in my mind.
“Agreed,” I whispered, attempting to pick myself up.
But when I stepped on the bad ankle, I hissed with pain.
“You’re not walking on that,” he said firmly.
“I can walk just fine,” I insisted.
Before I could react, he stepped forward again. And lifted me.
A startled gasp tore from my throat as the ground disappeared beneath me for the second time that night. One muscular arm braced my back. The other slid beneath my knees, locking me against him.
“Put me down!” I snapped, grabbing at his suit jacket. He paid me no mind.
My pulse spiked as I struggled weakly against him, but it was useless. He didn’t even seem to notice.
“Stop struggling,” he murmured near my ear, his breath warm against my skin. “You’re going to make it worse.”
“I said put me down,” I snapped, but it came out thinner than I wanted. My fingers twisted in the front of his jacket, not even sure if I was trying to push him away or hold on.
“You’re not in a position to give orders.”
Something in the way he said it made my body go still.
The pain in my ankle pulsed, sharp and spreading, but it felt distant compared to everything else.
Him. The way he held me. The way he didn’t hesitate.
“Why are you helping me?” I asked, my voice quieter now. “You’re going to get us both in trouble.”
He didn’t answer right away. I felt his gaze shift, like he was looking past me, calculating something.
“I didn’t say I was helping you,” he said finally.
I frowned, my head spinning. “Then what are you doing?”
A faint, almost amused breath left him. “Making sure you live through this.”
Before I could argue, voices drifted closer. Staff, I realized dimly. There was the familiar clink of glass. High heels clacking on marble.
The masked man slowed, then stopped just before the light spilling from the veranda. I could feel the tension in him, the way he paused like he was deciding something important. His hand pressed more firmly into my back.
“Listen to me,” he said, his voice dropping lower. “Don’t mention seeing me tonight. Our little secret. And make sure you get help for your ankle. You need to see a doctor.”
My lips parted. “But I-”
“Say it.” The command cut through every protest I had. “It’s our little secret.”
“Our… Our little secret,” I repeated, my breath uneven.
“Good girl.”
For a second, he didn’t move. I felt his gaze on me again, heavy and unreadable behind the mask. Like he was memorizing me.
A maid in my exact uniform turned the corner and froze when she saw us, her eyes going wide. “Signore, what happened?”
“Snake bite,” the stranger said, the spell broken. “Get her inside. Now.”
Before I could react, he shifted me out of his arms. The loss of his heat hit, leaving me colder than I should have been. The maid caught me with a startled gasp, already calling for help.
“No, wait,” I tried, twisting slightly, searching for him. But he was already stepping back into the shadows. Gone before I could even see his face.
And now there was no fixing the mess I’d gotten myself into.