Page 5 of Cage of Thorns and Blood

She knows exactly how to push my buttons, and I hate that I can’t ever seem to resist her little digs and challenges. It’s more than that, though. I want my revenge on that bastard. I want to make him pay.

I might have only been a teenager when he betrayed me, but it still hurts. A lot.

The guy is a fucker. He dumped me when I was sixteen for a DeLuca sister for God’s sake. Those girls were not blessed by the pretty stick, that’s for sure. If he preferred Francesca DeLuca to me then, what’s to say he will want me now? Nothing.

God, my parents are hard faced. I still can’t believe they summoned me back to the family home to basically demand I get into bed with a man whom they’ve spent their entire lives telling me is the enemy.

Footsteps descending the stairs have me on alert. It will be Mamma. I recognize her light tread. She’ll be coming to soften the blow. To persuade me that this is for the best.

I smooth my hand over my skirt and take a breath.

“Darling,” my mother’s soft tone still manages to be imperious. Damn her.

“What?” I snap.

“This is a good idea. Don’t go getting all upset about it.”

“I don’t see how it is a good idea in any way. I shall try; I’ve said I will.” I let her see a tiny chink in my armor, even though I hate myself for doing so. “I don’t understand why you remotely believe he’ll have anything to do with me.” I cross my arms and face her. “He’s probably drowning in women.”

She laughs lightly. “Firstly, you’re insanely beautiful, but secondly, you’re forbidden. From the enemy’s camp, and if I know one thing about men, it’s that most of them want what they can’t have. And they want what they can’t have the most of all things.” She huffs. “Look at your brother. Lost his head over that silly Cindy girl. Why? Is she that special? No. She’s sweet, I grant you, and pretty enough, but nothing so amazing. Yet, she was out of bounds, and Nico decided he wanted the one thing he couldn’t have. Her. Powerful men always want what they can’t have. Tell a powerful man no, and he’ll try to subvert that. They hate being told what to do. Like little boys still. All of them.”

I’m not sure she’s right about that, but she is correct about men liking forbidden fruit. They are suckers for it. Trouble is, Matteo Mancini has already tasted me. Then I gave his best friend my virginity. So how do I make myself desirable to him again? Do I even want to? This could bring me so much heartache.

Then again, I’ve hardened immensely since I last saw him, and my desire to hurt him burns brighter than my fear of being hurt.

“How do I go about it?” I ask, curious as to how she envisions this happening.

“I’ve become friendly, as I said, with a woman named Angela who is high up in the Mancini family gossip tree; a distant relative of theirs but one who it seems has access via her friendships to some interesting inside information. We met accidentally and slowly became friends. She hates them.” Mamma laughs coldly. “I mean, Renata, she really hates them. Aldo used to always try to grope her and harass her, and she simply had to keep her mouth shut. She has been more than happy to spill their secrets to me. I happen to know that Matteo Mancini dines alone every Tuesday evening at the Carlton Bar.”

“Why alone?” I ask. It seems like an odd thing for him to do.

She shrugs. “Who knows or cares why? He does, and that’s useful for us to know. Perhaps next week, you can book a table near to his and you will also be alone. You can approach him, say something friendly, non-committal, and if he has even half the fake manners his stuck up father possessed, he’ll ask you to sit and dine with him. It’s improper to leave a lady to dine alone.”

“Erm, Mamma. Firstly, no one gives a damn about women eating alone these days.”

“They do in our world,” she insists.

“Secondly. His family was hardly stuck up.”

I don’t say it is our family who are the stuck up, pretentious ones, but she must sense it is what I’m thinking because her mouth turns down.

“Matteo is apparently a lot less uncouth in his tastes than his father or his uncle. The business is almost entirely legitimate now. The Mancini name rinsed clean and a part of the wealthy set. Even the house has been entirely remodeled since he inherited. Yes, the Mancinis are a different breed these days.”

That’s interesting. “Clifford too?” I ask. I recall Matteo’s cousin, and he always scared me.

“Oh, he’s another story. Apparently, the man is unhinged. Dangerous. Stay away from him. He doesn’t live with Matteo, and from what I’ve heard, he’s not safe to be near.”

“You make him sound like a wild animal.” I sip at my drink and study her.

Her face is unlined, thanks to her regular Botox, but her mouth is downturned as if life has been one long disappointment. Her beauty is still evident, but it’s fading slowly, as will mine one day.

“I suppose I shall be booking myself a table at the Carlton then.” I sigh.

“Take the family credit card and buy some clothes.”

I laugh at that suggestion. “Mum, I’m not Cindy. I have a closet full of the best clothes money can buy.”

“Yes, but get something new. Something super sexy yet classy. Alluring in an old movie star kind of a way. You suit that style. There’s something of a different era about you, my darling girl.”

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