The night had been rough—rougher than usual. Our victim had escaped because I had a sick penchant for hunting and had allowed him to run. We almost hadn’t found him.
Massimo sent me a disapproving look. Even with sunglasses covering his eyes, I knew that was what it was from the downward tilt of his mouth and even sharper contours of his cheeks. He was royally pissed at me. He would never risk one of our targets getting away. Not because the police would arrest us—our fathers would get us out immediately—but because our parents weren’t fond of our nightly adventures. Especially if the victims weren’t pre-approved.
When Dad had caught us last time, he’d threatened to split Alessio, Massimo, and me apart and send us to work for Underbosses in different states.
The hunt had been fun, though, even if it took until the early morning hours.
“You know she’s checking you out again?” Alessio said in a bored tone. Like Massimo, he was stretched out on the lounge chair beside mine, with dark glasses over his eyes.
“Who?”
“Aurora.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the spot where Carlotta and Aurora tanned on sun lounger at the other end of the pool. Aurora was indeed looking my way, a glass clutched in one hand, but she quickly jerked her head around, then casually looked back and gave me a forced smile. She didn’t notice her glass tipping over and spilling its ice-cold contents all over her front. She let out a shocked scream and dropped the glass—luckily unbreakable thanks to Kiara’s overprotective nature—on the ground, so it spilled its remaining contents everywhere. Her drink had been red—probably some awfully sweet fruit concoction—and left red splatters all over her white bikini. It was the first time I saw her in a bikini. Up until this point, she’d worn bathing suits or swim trunks and tank tops.
Of course, it would go this way.
Aurora jumped up from her sun lounger, probably to clean up. Her breasts bounced up and down in the triangle bikini top. She filled it out nicely, and the red juice trailing down the valley between her breasts reminded me of blood, which made the sight even more appealing. I dragged my eyes away before my thoughts got carried away. I’d spilled blood last night, and Rory was off-limits.
“It looks as if you got a visit from Aunt Flo,” her younger brother Davide cackled, pointing at her ass. The back of her bikini bottom was indeed red in a very compromising way.
Aurora glanced my way, her face turning beet red. Despite her tan, her naturally pale skin blushed easily and very frequently. Pressing her lips together, she whirled around, her blond ponytail whipping through the air before she rushed over to the house with a mumbled, “I’ll get a mop.”
Carlotta, who’d watched everything with a concerned look, followed her, as could be expected.
Massimo watched her leave with intense interest. She wasn’t in a bikini. Of course not. Yet the modest bathing suit didn’t seem to diminish Massimo’s fascination in the slightest.
“They won’t return soon. Aurora will probably cry, and Carlotta will give her a pep talk. Give it an hour,” I said.
Aurora was amazing with a skateboard and athletic skills in general, but she had a horrible talent that made her a complete fool of herself around me. Greta thought it was because she had a crush on me. I knew it was the case. The problem was Aurora liked a version of me that was pretty much only the PG version. But the real Nevio wasn’t even R-rated. A movie about me would be banned because of excess violence and craziness.
Massimo frowned. “I don’t care when they return.”
Alessio scoffed. “He wasn’t talking about them.”
“I wish it had been blood that would have elevated a pitiful display to a slightly entertaining one,” I mused as I stretched out again with my arms crossed under my head.
Alessio released a sigh. “Don’t mess up.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him. “I have absolutely no interest in Rory. She reeks of innocence. Her clumsiness even triggers my protective side. It’s not sexy. I don’t do pity fucks.”
“You don’t do pity anything,” Alessio muttered. “As long as she doesn’t accidentally fall on your dick, everything’s good.”
“It’s more likely that I accidentally fuck you in the ass, asshole, all right?”
“Then my cyclone knife is going to impale you.”
I shrugged. “That’ll only get me off sooner. Pain and pleasure, nothing beats that.”
Massimo got up from his chair with a shake of his head. “I need to clear my head. Every second of your nonsense talking makes me feel dumber.”
“You should wait with your water show until Lotti returns. I’m sure she’ll appreciate how your muscles glisten when they’re wet,” I said.
He gave me the finger, then dove into the water in perfect form.
Aurora
I stormed up to my room, utterly furious at myself. Soft steps followed me.
I didn’t stop until I was in my room. When Carlotta closed the door, I began to tug my bikini from my body. The red juice on the white fabric really made it look as if I had my period. My eyes burned with mortification, even if it wasn’t the case. I’d spent days working up the courage to wear a bikini. Not because I was shy about my body but because it simply wasn’t my usual style, so it was a given that everyone would notice.
I had wanted Nevio to notice, but not like this, though.
“We should return. Don’t make a big deal out of it. If you downplay the situation, the boys won’t care. They probably don’t either way. They don’t feel embarrassment like we do,” Carlotta said in her reasonable voice.
It was one she had to use often when Nevio was concerned.
I nodded, even if I really didn’t want to go back down there. It wasn’t the first time I’d acted like a clumsy cow around Nevio, but that didn’t make it easier. “Why am I like that?” I asked angrily.
Carlotta shrugged.
I grabbed a familiar sporty bathing suit from a drawer.
“Put on another bikini,” Carlotta said.
I raised an eyebrow. “Lotta, are you trying to turn me into a sinner?”
I sometimes teased her about her prudish bathing suits and gym clothes.
“It’s not sin. I just feel more comfortable if my most private areas are covered up. But it would draw even more attention if you switched back to your old style only because of a little accident.”
I grabbed the second bikini I owned, a turquoise piece that brought out the blue in my eyes, according to Carlotta.
Carlotta gave me a thumbs-up, then she checked her own reflection. Her bathing suit was modest with a high neckline, though I knew it was mostly to cover up her scar. She still managed to look effortlessly sexy.
She took my hand, and we headed back downstairs. Pretending nothing was up, we headed straight to the pool and jumped in. The cold water cleared my head.
When we emerged, both Carlotta and I were laughing.
Davide popped up right beside me, startling me and tried to dunk me. Despite him being three years younger than me, he was already stronger and taller, and managed to push my head underwater. Carlotta fell victim to Nevio’s little brother, Giulio, who was only seven but a force to be reckoned with.
I spluttered when I managed to resurface after almost a minute.
Carlotta coughed somewhere behind me, then screeched again.
Through blurry vision, I saw Nevio and Massimo dive into the pool. Shortly after, Nevio was by my side and dunked my brother with a devious grin.
Massimo helped Carlotta, but his intervention looked less fun. He grabbed Giulio by the throat and shoved him away. “Be careful. Carlotta has a heart condition.”
Giulio rubbed his throat and poked out his tongue at his cousin, then dashed off and began to splash Alessio, who’d remained on the lounge chair.
Davide followed suit, leaving me with Nevio. “All good?” he asked, then his eyes dipped lower. I glanced down and flushed. A tiny sliver of my nipple peeked out. I quickly tugged my top back into place. Something on Nevio’s face made me feel hot and not from embarrassment.
“I’m fine, really. I won’t have a cardiac arrest from a bit of water play,” Carlotta said, looking embarrassed. Massimo seemed to disagree, judging by the stern look on his face.
“Young love must be sweet,” Nevio muttered.
“Yeah,” I agreed. Our eyes met, and the heat in my cheeks intensified. Nevio searched my eyes, and I couldn’t look away. I had no hope that he couldn’t see my stupid crush on my face.
Alessio flung himself into the water with an ass bomb, dousing Davide and Giulio.
Water splashed Nevio and me in the faces too.
“Water battle!” Nevio shouted.
Before I knew what was going on, Nevio hoisted me onto his shoulders, and my thighs hugged his neck. Stunned, I stared down at his black crown.
“You should wait this out,” Massimo told Carlotta who grudgingly moved to the edge and lifted herself out of the pool. I sent her an apologetic smile, but she only gave me a thumbs-up.
“I want to fight her!” Davide shouted.
I sent him a dark look. He’d been annoying as hell recently. Mom said he was going through hormonal changes, but so what? So have I for the past few years, and I was never this annoying.
“Kick his ass, okay? I count on you,” Nevio said, peering up at me, his white teeth on display in a challenging grin. My heart picked up, and I grinned in turn. “Oh, I will.”
Davide climbed on Alessio’s shoulders while Massimo played referee.
“No hair tugging,” Massimo said sternly to my brother, who would definitely try that move. “Alessio, Nevio, you can kick and punch each other. No off-limit areas.”
“Finally, some good news,” Nevio said.
Alessio pointed his fingers like guns at him. “You better watch your balls.”
Massimo let out a whistle, and the battle was on.
Eventually, I was out of breath, and we settled on a draw after Davide and I had both landed in water about two dozen times. I sank down beside Carlotta, who handed me a towel. My chest heaved with every breath I took.
Nevio sent me another grin from the pool. “Good job, Rory.”
I smiled back and nodded.
“Now look at me,” Carlotta muttered, and I did. She smiled. “See, you can act normal around Nevio. This is a good start.”
“It was fun.” Then I sobered. “I’m sorry you had to sit on the sidelines.”
“Don’t be. I’m used to it by now. Diego is even worse than Massimo.”
“Massimo is really concerned about your health,” I said teasingly, looking over at him. He was chatting with Nevio and Alessio in the pool. My eyes halted on Nevio who ran his fingers through his wet hair before he hoisted himself out of the pool, biceps flexing, his trademark grin on his face. It wasn’t one that made you want to smile because you realized that something was lurking behind it.
Carlotta jabbed her elbow into my side. I quickly dragged my eyes away from him. I wasn’t sure why I had such a hard time ignoring Nevio. The magnetic pull he had on me was sometimes terrifying.
