ella

ie didn't last. It shatter

u lying New York puttana (whore)!" she shrieked, her voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling o

y eyes. I braced myself, ready to catch her wrist, but the heavy oak door

marked with the faint, pink impressions of where I had slept against him. But

of his size should be able to, his hand snapping

r instantly replaced by a trembling f

that scraped against my nerves. He twisted her arm slightly, forcing her to her knees. "Screaming like a

g onto the carpet. Cristina scrambled back, pale an

for the truce we had unknowingly shared in sleep. Instead, his gaze swept over

to his suite and slammed the door.

was just the jailer who d

battlefield disg

to a mirror shine that reflected the heavy crystal chande

aper. He didn't look up. To his right sat an older woman who could only be his mother

s a knife, "women rise before the men. A qualified future mistress overs

I could feel Vincenzo's presence like a physical weight,

aze evenly, "our women are the family's glory, not its servants. W

plate. Her face flushed a mott

he table. The violence of the motion silenced his mot

e bitter liquid burning

clutch and pulled out a thick stack of cash, tossing it onto

ecent clothes. Stop wearing those rags from the New York

had been used as a pawn, it should have been a fortune. But to 'Leo', the secre

at her with a pity that I knew w

" I said softly. "But I prefer custom. A

puttering in the foyer, and step

pen, and I slid into the back seat. The door thudded shut,

car started moving, he pocketed it and turned his

f the sleep-roughness from earlier, now sharp and commanding. "A spy

Moretti," I snapped. "Our 'deal' was made by my grandfather and you. A three-

p my jaw. His fingers were strong, calloused, f

tracing my lower lip with a touch that was more threat than caress. "Long en

g against my ribs-not from fear, but from a dangerous

overestimate

burning in their depths. The car slowed, pulling up

see," h