My dinner is a lonely affair. The table is set for one, and when Allegra comes in to serve me roast chicken with fingerling potatoes and grilled asparagus, she doesn’t chat the way she normally does. Instead, she shoots me a few apprehensive looks tinged with a hint of condemnation.
I lift my index finger to my lips and gnaw on a nail. By now, the entire household must know what happened earlier, and I’m getting the sense that going against Giorgio’s wishes is kind of a big deal.
What did he do to Polo? I stood by the window all afternoon trying to catch a glimpse of him returning, but it happened the moment I stepped away to use the bathroom. When I returned, his truck was there, but I didn’t see him.
“Stop eating yourself, bella. That’s not going to help anything now.”
I drop my hands and fold them on my lap, my gaze jumping to Allegra’s.
She clicks her tongue and gives her head a shake. “That boy. He’s gotten himself in a lot of trouble now.”
“It was my fault as much as his.”
Allegra rounds the table, putting a plate of sauce on the other side of my plate. “You shouldn’t have left, but you wouldn’t have been able to go anywhere if Polo didn’t take you. I might not know the details of the things Giorgio is involved in, but I’ve never made the mistake of questioning his judgment. If he tells us you are not to leave the property, it means he’s got a good reason for it.”
I drag my teeth over my bottom lip. “What is Giorgio going to do to him?”
“I don’t know,” she says, widening her arms before dropping them back down to her sides. “But he’s very angry. I only hope this will be a lesson for Polo not to do something this stupid again.”
She leaves me to my dinner, but I barely taste the food. My mind is preoccupied with my role in this ordeal. I feel guilty for getting Polo into this mess, but I hardly had to convince him to take me.
It’s almost like he wanted to piss Giorgio off.
The next day, in my eagerness for another self-defense lesson with Giorgio, I head down for our class a little early.
Okay, I’ll admit it’s not so much eagerness for the class as for the man himself. Our encounter in the car yesterday plays on repeat every time I shut my eyes, and with it comes the uncertain sensation of being close to getting what I want.
The truth is, I’m walking into completely unknown territory with him. I’ve never tried to seduce another man, if you can even call what I’m doing seduction. There’s no rule book for me to follow, so I’ve been relying on instinct alone.
I could be making a fool of myself, like he keeps saying, but the words that come out of his mouth don’t match the message I’m getting from his body. And the promise of what lies on the other side of his resistance is tantalizing enough for me to keep going.
While I stretch in the empty gym, I eye the clock. Our usual time comes and goes, and Giorgio doesn’t arrive.
Fifteen minutes pass. Why isn’t he here? At breakfast, Allegra told me he wasn’t planning on leaving today, so he has to be somewhere in the castello.
Irritation bubbles beneath my skin. Is he just giving up on our classes then?
When the hand of the clock reaches the twenty-minute mark, I go looking for him.
My steps take me directly to the door of his office, and I give it three firm knocks.
The door jerks open to reveal Giorgio. Suit jacket and tie missing, he’s in a crisp white dress shirt and dark-gray pants.
Clearly, he had no intention of training me when he got dressed this morning.
“These lessons were your idea, and now that I’m actually starting to enjoy them, you decide to flake out on me?”
Giorgio gives me a blank look before crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m busy right now.”
“Are you? Or are you just avoiding me? And even if you are genuinely busy, have you ever heard of giving people a heads-up? Basic courtesy. Don’t they teach you that in Naples?”
Something amused passes over his expression. “You’re angry.”
“I waited in the gym for you for twenty minutes.”
“I’m sorry, did you have something more important to do?”
My mouth parts. Is he actually being this rude right now?
“Fine. If you don’t want to work out with me anymore, I’ll work out on my own.”
“I didn’t say that. I said I’m busy right now. We can resume tomorrow.”
“What are you so busy with?”
He leans his shoulder against the doorjamb. “Erasing footage of you and Polo from all of the public cameras in the area.”
Oh. My irritation eases a smidge. “Are there many?”
“More than you’d think.”
“What did you do to Polo? I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”
Hi gaze darkens, like he’s irritated with me for asking. “He and I had a conversation. I told him the next time he takes you off the property, he’ll lose a finger.”
Blood drains out of my face. “You did not.”
“He disobeyed me,” he says, his voice taking on an edge. “He knew there would be consequences, but it seems the two of you have the same problem. You don’t know how to respect boundaries.”
The nerve of him. He says it as if he wasn’t the first one to trample right over my boundaries. Putting me in the room next to his. Climbing into my bed. Kissing me.
I don’t even care anymore that he was still under the influence of that tea when he did it. The tea may have lowered his inhibitions, but he must have been thinking about it for a long time before then. It’s the hypocrisy that grates on me.
I take a single, purposeful step toward him, my gaze never wavering, and slide my palms up his broad chest. It’s firm and warm, and my palms look impossibly tiny in comparison. His gaze drops to where I’m touching him, and that small movement is enough to send tension rippling through the air.
His scent wraps around me, thickening my throat.
This close, there’s no hiding the acceleration in his heartbeat. His body doesn’t lie, even when his mouth does, and that knowledge makes me want to have my hands on him all the time. Then all of his secrets would be mine.
“Am I crossing another boundary right now?” I lean in an inch closer. “What are you going to do? Cut my finger off?”
The pissed-off heat of his gaze singes my face. He takes my wrists in his hands and tugs me off him, but he doesn’t let go. “No. But if you try this again, I will punish you.”
His tone is harsh, but my pulse leaps.
“Liar. You know you can’t do anything to me or my brother will kill you. You’re scared of him, aren’t you? That’s why you’re so terrified I’ll tell him what you did.”
His eyes flash, and his grip on my wrists tightens until it’s almost painful. “Careful, Martina,” he breathes. “There are some ways I can punish you that you’d never dare share with your brother.”
“Like what?”
He leans in, and my lungs stop moving. Lips brushing against me ear, he says, “Like bending you over my knee and making your ass so raw you won’t be able to sit for a week.”
My body grows perfectly still, even as my heart nearly leaps out of my chest. What? Did I hear him correctly?
He pulls back and takes in the stunned expression on my face. “Now, be a good girl and let me get back to cleaning up your mess. We’ll resume our classes tomorrow.”
I stare at him in shock as he closes the door in my face.
Did he really just…threaten to spank me?
My poor virgin brain can’t take it.
I walk back to my bedroom in a trance and sit on the edge of the bed, staring at nothing in particular.
The thought of him doing that to me is terrifying. He’s strong and could do some serious damage. But the way he said it… The heat in his eyes…
I squeeze my thighs together. Shit.
Burying my face into the duvet, I let out a groan. To be at his mercy like that is strangely arousing. It makes me think back to how heavy he felt lying on top of me, and the thrill I felt at the idea that I wouldn’t be able to get away. Is that normal? Or is there something wrong with me?
Sitting up, I rub my eyes and replay our conversation. How can he say things like that to me while denying that the kiss meant anything? It’s like he’s addicted to gaslighting me. He probably doesn’t even know what that term means, but that’s exactly what he’s doing.
Deciding to work my frustration out at the gym, I hop off the bed and walk past the closet when a flash of neon green catches my eyes.
My bikini hangs off a coat hanger.
Blistering sun streams through the window, and there wasn’t a hint of a breeze when I was in the garden. It might be the warmest day since I arrived here. Perfect for a swim.
I contemplate the bikini for a few seconds, then I grab it off the hanger. After that encounter with Giorgio, I need to cool down, and the pool is the perfect solution.
I change out of my workout clothes into the bikini and grab a silk robe to cover up for my walk over. It’s not far. There’s a side door near the living room that opens right to a short path to the pool.
No one sees me as I slip out of the house. The deck around the pool is empty as always. The only person I’ve ever seen here is Allegra when she tidies it up once a week. I drop my towel on a lounger, then feel out the water temperature by dipping my toes.
It’s nice and crisp. They must have stopped heating it.
The plants in the big pots scattered artfully around the area are blooming, the flowers attracting hummingbirds. A bee buzzes by my ear before landing on a marigold. I close my eyes and take a moment to listen to all the sounds around me, tuning in to the outside world to ground myself.
When I’m ready, I untie the belt of my robe and let it drop at my feet. I think I’ll jump. Usually, I can’t stand the shock of cold water slamming against my skin, but I’m feeling bold today.
I’m about to do it when the hairs on my nape stand straight, and I’m hit with a certainty that someone’s watching me.
I whip my head around, looking back at the castello. In the window of the second floor, the one right at the landing, stands Giorgio.
His hands are pressed against either side of the window frame, and his serious gaze is trained on me.
A shiver runs down my spine. I’d do anything to know what he’s thinking right now.
I glance down at myself, noticing the hard outline of my nipples. Is he enjoying the view? I’m not an expert, but spying on me while I’m in my bikini definitely feels like crossing a boundary.
When I look back at him again, he adjusts his stance, and it’s obvious he’s aware I’ve noticed him. And yet he doesn’t look away.
Is that all he’s ever going to be willing to give me? Heated looks from a distance?
I turn away from him and shake my head. Damn him and his boundaries. It’s not fair what he’s doing, how he’s messing with my head.
I think it’s time I give him a taste of his own medicine.
A nervous tremor works up my spine as I reach around my back to the knot of the bikini. My eyes are trained on the surface of the pool, but I’m hyper aware of Giorgio’s gaze on my skin.
My fingers tangle with the strap, and I give the end a gentle tug, feeling it unravel.
The straps fall. I lift the bikini over my head and drop it to the ground.
I’m the only one here, but the air grows as hot and dense as it would in a room full of people. My thumbs hook on the sides of my bikini bottoms, and I ignore my heart palpitations and slowly drag them down my legs until they’re pooled at my feet.
I’m tempted to look back at Giorgio one more time, curious about his reaction, but at the last moment, I chicken out. My chin hovers over my shoulder. No matter how brave I try to be, I can’t move it another inch.
With a deep breath, I turn back toward the water and take two steps until my toes curl over the edge. My pulse thunders inside my ears. I clench my fists and jump in.
It’s not like the bikini provided a ton of extra coverage, so it must be a mental thing, but God, the water is colder than I expected. I keep my head under as I swim to the other end of the pool. To swim back, I have to turn around.
I’m breathing hard as I gather the courage to finally do it.
But when my gaze lands on the big window, Giorgio’s powerful silhouette is gone.
There’s no one there.
He…left?
Disappointment and embarrassment pass through me. I really thought I did something there, didn’t I?
I glance down through the water at my body’s distorted shape and suddenly feel exceptionally ugly. I’m not vain. I’ve never spent much time thinking about my looks or the shape of my body, but I’ve always assumed it was acceptable. My brother called me cute my whole life, which I guess doesn’t mean much. He’s my brother. He’d be an asshole to say otherwise.
I spiral down memory lane, trying to dig up any evidence that I’m not absolutely hideous. Guys have flirted with me before, although not often. I always assumed people stayed away from me because Dem can be extremely intimidating when he wants to, but what if that’s not it at all? What if the problem is with me?
God, I feel stupid.
I swim to the edge of the pool and climb out as quickly as I can, my confidence shredded into pieces. If Giorgio says something about this, I think I might cry. I can’t get into the damn robe fast enough, and I don’t even bother pulling the bikini back on. It drips in my hand, leaving a wet trail on the ground as I hurry inside.
What I need is a shower and another dinner taken in my room. No way I’m sitting down with everyone tonight.
I fly upstairs, scaling the steps two at a time. Thankfully, no one is around to see me. I don’t know how I’d explain to Allegra why I look like I didn’t even bother patting myself down with a towel. I slip inside my bedroom and shut the door behind me.
My gaze drops to my feet just in time to see a drop of water roll down my calf.
Suddenly, I feel like crying.
It’s one thing to have the courage to go after what I want and another to accept humiliation after humiliation in the process. How much more can I take?
No, I’m not going to cry over him. I sniff and tip my chin up, forcing the tears back. So what if he just walked away? If he thinks I’m ugly? That’s one man’s opinion, and I—
A palm closes over my mouth.
My eyes blow wide. “Ungh!”
Before I can remember what I’m supposed to do in this situation from my lessons, soft lips press against my ear. “I warned you, Martina.”
Giorgio. My body sags with relief.
But the feeling is short-lived, because the next thing I hear is the door clicking shut and the lock sliding into place.
