Page 6 of Claimed by The Italian

I feel eyes on me and I shudder as I look up and see the man from earlier staring at me. He’s got snake eyes, I realize. He looks like he’s always ready to strike...and when he strikes, he strikes to kill.

“You have a very beautiful maid,” he says in a thick Italian accent to Lorenzo, but he’s looking at me. “What a shame to have a pretty thing like her serving drinks. Perhaps I can think of some other use for her, hmm?”

I blush, knowing exactly what he’s insinuating. I’m certain this is his sick way of trying to compliment me, but it just makes my skin crawl. I feel a little nauseous.

Suddenly, Lorenzo is on his feet and striding across the room. He grabs the man by his shirt and pulls him to his feet.

“You disgusting bastard,” he snarls at the man. It’s like an animal has taken over his body and made him forget his cool, calm demeanor. “You will pay for treating Lydia that way.”

Lorenzo’s fist slams into the man’s face and I cry out in shock, backing off. I never expected him to fight for me like this. He barely knows me. Whoever these people are, they’re obviously important, and yet he’s broken whatever bond there is between them with a single punch. The man, now bleeding, snarls at Lorenzo.

“You’re going to regret that,” he hisses. “What is wrong with you? She’s just a maid.”

“She’s not just a maid. She’s a person. One who deserves respect,” Lorenzo growls deeply. “You are no longer welcome in this house. You have made a powerful enemy tonight, Luca.”

“You’re insane,” he hisses. “Your poor maid. I should take her off of your hands. I could take very good care of her…”

Lorenzo swings his fist back again to punch Luca, but Bianca stands up with a furious expression on her face.

“Enough,” she snarls. “Lorenzo, stop. That is enough already.”

Lorenzo finally steps back, but only because he’s looking at me. He moves over to me and cups my face in his hands.

“Are you alright?”

I nod nervously. I was uncomfortable, but he could’ve let that whole thing slide I would’ve been fine. Comments can’t hurt me, after all. And yet he was so desperate to defend me. So desperate to show me that he would protect me. It makes my heart swell. It shows that in some way, he cares about me...maybe even the way I care about him.

“Go to your room while I handle this,” he tells me quietly. I nod, walking out of the room, feeling like I can finally breathe again. The whole time I was in there I felt stifled, unable to take the tension of it all.

And I still don’t have a clue about Lorenzo’s deep, dark secrets.Lorenzo

“What the hell were you thinking?”

I scowl at Bianca. “Leave it.”

“Leave it? Your job was to get them to give us money they owe not become unhinged, and start a fight.”

“I intimidated him, didn’t I?” I growl, pacing up and down my office. The Moretti family has been sent away with the threat that there will be in serious trouble if they don’t cough up what they owe. The meeting didn’t go smoothly, but I’m not about to admit that. “That’s my job, Bianca. To make them fear us. It doesn’t matter how I did it.”

“Of course it does! For one, you’ve just shown that you have a massive weakness...her. And worse still, you’ve shown that you can’t keep your temper under control. They’re going to take that as a weakness too. They’re going to think you can be easily unraveled.”

“And they’d be wrong.”

“Not anymore.” Bianca shakes her head at me. “Lorenzo, you used to be untouchable. You know damn well that if this was a traditional family, I’d be running our business. I’m the eldest. I should be running the ship. But Mother and Father thought I wasn’t up to the job. They saw you and knew you’d always be the level-headed one, the fearsome one, the ruthless one…”

“You don’t think I was ruthless back there?” I growl. I did what I had to do to protect Lydia. She’s mine and not because she’s my maid. I’ve claimed her. She’s going to give her body to me and I’m going to make it mine. My cock is straining against my pants, ready for her even as I’m filled with anger and frustration at our predicament. She’s forbidden fruit, but that won’t stop me...not even if it interferes with my work.

“You were ruthless, of course, you were. But you were also reckless. I’ve never seen you that way before.” Bianca takes a step toward me, her face softening a little. “Look...whatever you’re feeling, I know it’s tempting to follow your heart to it. Love is stronger than hate or fear. That’s why it’s so dangerous. You showed back there that you’d be willing to do anything to save Lydia. You’re going to get her killed, Lorenzo. Send her away before it’s too late.”

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