Page 14 of Tainted Ties

There was a beat of silence before a rough laughter broke the tension, coming from the man whose back was still to us. “You will do no such thing.”

That voice…

Sometimes I thought the world was against me, and this moment proved it true when the man turned.

Standing before me was someone who had haunted my existence since I left Italy a decade ago.

If I could have dug my own grave right now, I would have.

Sweat coated my back and I felt exposed, bared on display as Roman’s jaw tightened, his bewitching eyes raking down my body.

Unsettling fear formed in the pit of my stomach at his lack of surprise at my presence.

He was clad in all black. The top buttons of his dress shirt were open, chest hair peeking through across his golden skin.

When I brought my gaze up to his face, he was already staring at me with narrowed eyes, cold and flinty. It became unbearable to hold the intensity of his stare.

I broke eye contact and stared at Enzo next to me.

I ran my tongue across my teeth, shooting daggers at him with my eyes.

This was why he avoided my question. He knew the mere mention of Roman would eliminate any chances of me coming to Italy. I could havemurderedmy brother right now.

Instead, I focused on surviving and leaving this room as fast as possible.

* * *

We had been in this polished basement for almost an hour—to say it wasn’t going in our favor would be an understatement.

In conclusion, my breasts were not winning material.

Not only was I uncomfortable with how I was dressed, but a particular pair of eyes had been glued to my form since I arrived.

“I don’t understand the problem here,” I uttered with exasperation. “You gave your word to the Bianchi family that you would hand over their assets. Sign the contract and both parties can part ways without bloodshed.”

The only reason I had a firm grip on my senses and hadn’t tumbled into a fit of fright was because I had gone unrecognized. It seemed that my change of appearance had worked after all.

I scanned around the table and set my eyes on the leader.

It was only fair to stare at him when he had been unashamedly gawking at me for the past hour. Had no one ever taught him that staring was disrespectful, or was Mr. High and Mighty immune to such mundane manners?

He tilted his head to one side, and I swore I saw the slightest hint of a smirk playing on his lips. Before I could register it, his face had gone flat again.

To my dismay, Roman began to speak, “And I will.” He waved a hand in the air swiftly. “Once I’m given what I’ve been promised.”

His voice was silky smooth as words rolled off his tongue like liquid gold. He was the epitome of danger and seduction.

If I were to come out of this meeting unscathed, I needed to get ahold of myself.

“Promised?” Enzo asked, his eyebrow lifting in confusion.

A slimy feeling crawled up and down my body as the air charged with something sinister.

Roman stared at me with an eerie calmness that made me want to peel my skin off.

I swallowed thickly. “I’m not sure what you mean. We’ve brought this contract to you to create a semblance of peace. We haven’t promised you anything else,” I muttered the last part menacingly.

“On the contrary.” Leaning back in his chair, Roman rubbed a hand across his jaw, scrutinizing me in place with his unrelenting stare. “I’ve been promised a valuable… object.”

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