Page 91 of Maddest Temptation

“And you’re a bastard,” he said naturally. “You might be older but not wiser.” Vitelli took a sip of his Scotch. “This need for revenge is going to consume you and everything that’s still good in you.”

My face fell, my nostrils flared, and my jaw clenched. “You forget her so easily.” I was happy for my brother, I really was, but a part of me hated him for being able to move on.

His eyes widened and he shook his head. “You’re a fucking asshole, you know that, right?” he snapped. “I will never forget, but I know she wouldn’t want us to live in misery.”

I fisted my hand. “They would have wanted revenge.”

“That is what you want, Cassio, do not assume it was what they wanted. Arabella would never have asked this of you. Especially knowing how much it has consumed you.”

With that he left me standing there on my own, thinking about his words. Of course, my father and sister would have wanted revenge.

As I looked at Francesca dancing with Michelangelo, my thoughts scattered, making it hard to remember what I had been thinking. Was Vitelli, right? I didn’t know anymore, and honestly, with Michelangelo’s hand close to Francesca’s ass, I couldn’t really care for revenge right now.

“Mind your hands,” I snapped at the man who was dancing with Francesca. I stood directly behind him and when he was about to move, he bumped into me.

“Hey, man, mind your—” He shut his mouth when he saw me. “Sorry, Boss.” He bowed his head in apology.

“Go find something else to do,” I instructed him, eyes cold and commanding. Michelangelo offered Francesca an apologetic smile and quickly scurried away like a rat. I took his place, taking her hand in mine and placing another one at the small of her back.

Francesca tried to contain her smile but failed. “You can’t do that,” she complained.

I shrugged. When it came to her, I became a possessive beast and any man who dared touch her would lose his hand. This was the way things were going to be now. Francesca was untouchable.

“Jealousy looks good on you,” she teased.

“I’m not jealous,” I argued, pulling my shoulders back.

She grinned. “You looked like you were having indigestion every time I danced with someone else.”

How perceptive my little princess was. “You look ridiculously beautiful tonight, Francesca. Everyone else pales in comparison with your beauty.” The words slipped from my lips, yet they were the truth.

Francesca’s eyes widened and her cheeks blazed. “Keep saying things like that and I’ll swoon.”

“And I’ll be here to catch you.” I took a step closer and brought her chest to mine.

“Cassio,” she warned. “People are looking.”

I wanted them to look. For once, I wanted everything to be different. I wanted to be someone else so that I could have Francesca all to myself, and not pretend we were nothing but two acquaintances.

I took a step back, controlling myself. “Say something else,” she requested.

“Greedy, are we?”

She smiled. “It’s not every day I get to listen to these inspiring words.”

I made a mental note, right there and then, to make sure to always tell her how beautiful and incredible she was. Buying her flowers every day wouldn’t cut it, I needed to up my game.

“By the end of tonight, I’ll have to cut out the eyes of every man at this party,” I said.

Francesca’s head fell back as she laughed. “How romantic.”

I couldn’t help the tight and timid smile that graced my face. “It’s true, Francesca. Your beauty is for my eyes only.”

“You already have me, Cassio.”

I don’t think she realized what she said or if she even meant it, but my chest tightened. I swallowed hard.

“Leave these poor men alone.”

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