Page 3 of Till Death Do Us Part

It wasn’t her fault she was despised by the famiglia. It was who she represented and what—a time when Dario chose to follow his own rules instead of Father’s.

Aléjandro’s smile returned as he tugged Jasmine toward him. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” He scanned from my light brown hair to the tip of my shoes. “Jasmine is a rare find. Most famiglia women are cold as ice.”

“She isn’t famiglia,” I said.

“Hi, Jasmine,” Giorgia said, friendlier than I was. After Jasmine returned her greeting, my cousin looked at me and tilted her head. “Mia, Rocco is looking for you.”

“Yet, from what I hear, they make such obedient wives,” Aléjandro said as we walked away.

“Rocco isn’t looking for you,” Giorgia whispered as we walked away. “That guy gives me the creeps. What ishedoing with Jasmine?”

“I don’t know. I can’t stand either one of them.”

After Dario and Catalina made their exit, I looked around for Rocco. The reasonable answer was that he’d gone with the other soldiers into Father’s office. That get-together was one last opportunity for the fruition of a red wedding—top officers from both the famiglia and cartel in close quarters with alcohol and weapons.

The other possibility was that he found someone else to screw. A smile threatened my façade. If that was the case, I might get a good night’s sleep.

Up in the mansion, I walked down a back hallway, trying to avoid any of the guests, when I made a startling discovery.

Aléjandro and Jasmine.

He had one arm against the wall, trapping Jasmine.

There was something about her body language that set off my alarms. I wasn’t a fan of the young woman. That didn’t stop the small hairs on the back of my neck from standing to attention at seeing her in what appeared to be an uncomfortable situation.

I raised my voice. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the big meeting in my father’s office?”

Both sets of eyes came to me.

Jasmine’s blue gaze sent a silent plea my direction. Aléjandro’s dark orbs were again scanning me from my head to my toes.

Steeling my shoulders, I went closer. “Jasmine, you should go.”

Quickly, she nodded.

Aléjandro dropped the arm that had been preventing her retreat. As Jasmine slipped away, her predator turned his attention on me. His lips curled as he reached out, caressing my face. Without thinking, my palm slapped his cheek. The smack sent hot tingles through my hand and up my arm.

Instead of responding in kind, Aléjandro began to laugh. “I like a woman with fire in her blood. Much better than a timid little girl.”

“Go to hell.”

He secured his arrogant grin. “There’s no doubt. I just want to have some fun along the way.” His deep, accented voice was like the prickling of rubbing velvet against the grain.

The heat of his stare singed my flesh even beneath my dress, finding its target at my twisting core. My body’s reaction was not only inappropriate, but it was also downright wrong. This man represented everything I detested about my family and his.

Power.

Greed.

Misogyny.

“The next time you want to havefun” —I emphasized the word— “do it with someone who is of age and wants your attention.”

“Jasmine is eighteen. Of that, I’m positive.”

“If you think she wanted what you were trying, you have a warped sense of entitlement.”

He took a step closer. “You’re right.”

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