Page 9 of Desire and Revenge

Nero

Even from this distance and with the smell of cigarette smoke permeating the air, I can still smell her. I don’t know how. It should be impossible. But the citrus smell isn’t a fragment of my imagination.

“Well,” she begins thoughtfully, “I don’t know what it is exactly, but you don’t strike me as the type of person who gets sentimental about nuptials. And from what I understand, you’ve been gone a while. For years.”

“Why I wouldn’t have thought you a gossip, Mrs. Lucchese?”

She stiffens, her body going ramrod straight as if she wasn’t already as straight as a ruler. She sits like she’s a goddamn soldier in the general’s office. If she tries any harder, she will snap her own spine like a twig.

“I don’t gossip,” she snaps, the gem-like green of her eyes flashing with indignation. “I just put two and two together, and?—”

I scoff, cutting her off. “Then what in the hell are you doing being Sebastian’s wife? You should’ve gone to the nearestprecinct and given them a live demonstration of those razor-sharp deduction skills.”

Sofia’s bottom lip pokes out, and for a second, I wonder if she’s doing it on purpose. Does she know what that goddamn pout does to me? I shift my gaze away from her and take another drag of my cigarette.

It’s not possible that she knows. After all, I didn’t know myself until a moment ago.

“You can mock me all you want, but you know I’m right.”

It’s time to shut this down. I messed up by not turning her away as soon as she burst in through those doors, wide-eyed like a kid at Christmas. The question now is, why didn’t I?

I can lie to myself by saying that I was only assessing how much of a threat the new Mrs. Lucchese is going to be. But the truth is that I’m as curious about her as she seems to be about me. And nothing good can come out of such curiosity... for either of us.

“The only thing I know, Princess, is that you shouldn’t be sneaking out of your husband’s arms to satisfy your curiosity about another man.”

Red rises up on her sharp cheekbones, and she splutters, “It’s not like that. You’re making it sound sordid, but it’s not like that. And anyway,” she drops her head, looking pitiful, “I wasn’t in my husband’s arms. We didn’t do much cuddling.”

My brow shoots up at the information, and I store it away at the back of my mind with all the other things I know about Sebastian. “Isn’t it too early for separate beds? You should be in marital bliss, telling yourself that his snore is the best sound you’ve ever heard in your life.”

“What do you know about marital bliss?” That dangerous curiosity rears its ugly head again.

I allow myself to smile. “Fishing Mrs. Lucchese?”

“My name is Sofia.” Her small hands fist the fabric of her silk nightdress, and it draws my attention to the smooth, alabaster skin of her thighs.

That is my cue to get the hell out of here and not look back. I flick my burnt-out cigarette to the ground and then crush it under my boots, then turn to leave.

“Y-you’re leaving?” She jumps to her feet, and there’s a panic in her eyes that I refuse to examine too closely.

I don’t want to examine Sofia Luccheseas a wholetoo closely. She’s the kind of beautiful that’s nothing but trouble—the kind that I’m not currently in the market for. She’s also the enemy, and I’ll be damned if I let a slip of a thing like her get in my way.

“Didn’t you come out here for some alone time?” I mock. “I’ll let you get back to that.”

“I-uh-don’t mind the company. You can stay.”

I press my mouth into a thin line. “Is your new husband so disappointing that you’d rather freeze to death out here?”

Her fingers curl into fists at her sides. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Of course he’s not disappointing. It was perfect, wonderful, even.”

What a little liar.

“If it was anywhere close to perfect, you would be asleep right now, Princess.”

She swallows. “Sleep never comes easy to me. It’s always been that way. My wandering around used to drive my nanny crazy. Are you out here because you couldn’t sleep, too?”

I stare at her. “I’m nothing like you, Princess. Don’t try to pin similarities between us and rope me into being your friend.”

“I should be friends with my husband’s friend, shouldn’t I?” She raises a brow. “And you’ll be living here, so we should get to know each other better. You can start by telling me where you’ve been all these years. I’ve never heard about you.”

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