Page 40 of The Last Vendetta

My blood. My virginal blood.

Ten minutes ago, he’d wanted me. He’d finally acted on this rabid sexual tension that snapped between us. It was a small consolation, to know now that he’d been suffering from the same damn need that I’d struggled to deny and hold off.

Shock from his actions returned, chasing away the bliss of the orgasm. Seeing him just as bewildered proved that he hadn’t really planned this either.

How could he have? I surprised him by showing up as a dancer at that club. He hadn’t planned on finding me there to premeditate bringing me here and raping me. In the process of teaching me a lesson and scolding me about the sheer stupidity of spying at that club, he’d lost the fight to the never-ending attraction that still burned between us.

I loathed him. He’d taken my virginity. It was done now, but I still couldn’t help but cling to the satisfaction of how good it had felt in the end.

“I don’t need to make every fucking decision for everyone to feel important,” he groused, grabbing his phone from his pocket in the pants on the floor. “I don’t need to be bothered constantly for every little fucking thing.”

It sounded like he wasn’t acclimating well to being Giovanni’s second in command.

But that hardly mattered right now.

With another deep sigh, he shook his head and headed out of the room with his phone. “I’ll be right back,” he said.

I won’t. He seemed annoyed with this call, like he needed more time to figure out what to do with me. I wasn’t sure what my next move should be—except to get the fuck out of here.

He left me to take his call, and as soon as he was gone, in the bathroom suite, I scrambled out of bed. Ignoring the burn between my legs, I wiped the small trace of blood on his sheets and grabbed his clothes. My teeth helped with the knot around my wrists. The dancer costume I’d borrowed was a mangled scrap now, and in order to get out of his place, I’d need real clothes.

His shirt and pants draped over me, but they would keep me decent. Before he could return, I rushed to the door and undid the locks.

No guards stood outside the door, and while it seemed odd, I bet it was another detail that Renzo struggled with. As the heir, the next in line for the Bernardi Family, Renzo had to have a security detail to protect him.

Not that he can’t handle that himself, I mused as I ran out of his apartment.

He hadn’t hesitated to chase after me and save me from those Romano guards who’d been so suspicious of me at the club. He hadn’t thought twice about saving me from those men.

I was grateful. I owed him my life. But to pay him back with my virginity?

Not now. I couldn’t let my emotions control me at this moment. I’d analyze it all later, when I was safe at home and able to get over the shock of all that happened tonight.

My clothes were still at the club, where I’d been dropped off. My phone was at home. Dario agreed with me that preventing any tracking would be smartest. Instead of worrying that I was stuck without a way to go home, I headed to the nearest cover business my Family owned and operated to launder money. The restaurant was a seedy little hole in the wall, but from there, I could call home and ask Dario to send me a ride.

Only once I was in the backseat of the hired car did I fully exhale and let out all the tension I’d bottled in. The night had begun with such a simple goal. My uncle asked me to spy to get information. I’d obtained none. And lost my virginity in the process.

My God…

I covered my face with my hands, closing my eyes and trying to shove back the reactions I didn’t have time for right now.

I couldn’t believe I’d done it.

Renzo hadn’t given me much choice, but I didn’t exactly resist him, either.

Because I’d wanted him too. And I refused to feel guilty for taking what I wanted. For the first time in my life, I’d gone for what I desired, and nothing could shame me into regretting it.

My sisters were still asleep when I arrived, and as soon as I finished changing into my own clothes and hiding Renzo’s in my room, I went to find my uncle in the library.

“Giulia.” He looked up with such a bright expression of hope that I hated having to report in at all.

I shook my head and carefully sat on the couch across from him.

“What happened?”

Renzo Bernardi fucked me. “Nothing.” I cleared my throat.

“What? What do you mean? Weren’t Bernardi and Romano meeting at the club?”

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