Page 36 of As Devils Love

“Good to meet you, pal,” Lorenzo nods while he speaks.

I opt to stay quiet, lest I say something that may get me into trouble.

“He a mute or something?” Lorenzo turns his attention back to Matteo.

“I think he is nervous about meeting you. Or maybe it’s because I may have let slip that Fiametta is going to be here today,” Matteo says. On hearing his daughter’s name, Lorenzo’s eyes instantly narrow in irritation.

“Yes, well, she’ll be out soon. And as hard as it is to admit, she’s the reason I’ve called this meeting.”

“I had my suspicions from the moment it came out that Fiametta was your daughter. I know how deeply you cherished that secret.” I’ll give Matteo credit. He knows how to play the game.

“Yes. I’ve always believed that, if not for our family, we don’t have much to live for,” Lorenzo sighs. If I were normal, perhaps that would’ve set me off. Hearing him talk about family so longingly, when he stole the only part of mine, I had left. Instead, I’m more interested in the look on Fiametta’s face when I give her the surprise, I picked up on my way here.

“It’s part of the reason I wanted to keep her hidden. Keep her safe. But this world of ours is full of ups and downs.”

He breaks contact with my hand and finds his seat. The rest of us follow suit.

“Y’know, I’ve always been prone to the saying, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans,” Matteo says. “But don’t worry, old friend, whatever you’ve called us here for, we’ll see to it that it happens.”

And just as we all get comfortable, Fiametta steps through the door leading onto the veranda. She’s wearing a summer dress that bears a striking resemblance to the color of my eyes. Mixed in with the green are white flowers. In the first few seconds of her entrance, the whole table falls quiet. Every single one of us is basking in her stunning elegance and beauty.

Her face. Look at her face. You can’t keep staring at her tits.My inner voice roars in the back of my head. It’s right, too. Lorenzo would no doubt have me hung in the dense overgrowth of trees in his garden if he thought I had interest in his daughter.

But looking at her face is an even bigger mistake than inspecting her body. Because her wide eyes are glued to mine, and her jaw has dropped so far, it’s practically part of the floor.

She recognizes me.

Chapter Thirteen

FIAMETTA

Iwish I could say that I woke up with a renewed vow to make better choices, but that would just be a flat-out lie. My heart is still racing with equal parts fear and excitement over my encounters with the man who, by all accounts, wants me dead.

What I can’t seem to wrap my head around is how, instead of just carrying out his twisted task, his main focus up to this point seems to be giving me an earth-shattering orgasm. Of course, I’ve felt threatened in his company. Felt his firm arms around my throat, while the sharp edge of his blade glistened beneath the light. But never once did he make me believe he was actually going to use it on me.

He's so carefree in taking advantage of me, and I let him. Because deep down, I want him to. I enjoy it. I like having no control, while he uses me like a glorified sex toy.

Is my enjoyment of his touch really that messed up, though? Shouldn’t I be more concerned by the fact that, instead of fighting tooth and nail to remove Tomas from my security detail, I agreed to join Father at this meeting? Sure, I came here this morning to discuss Tomas’s insubordination, but I was roped into this, before I had any chance to express my disdain for the man. That’s partly due to Father’s own troubled look after I arrived. I saw something in his eyes that I’d never seen before, and it chilled me to the bone.

Father was scared. He’s hiding it well in front of Matteo Baronne, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still bubbling inside him. Helping him through this is my best shot at ditching Tomas.

“Mr. Baronne, it’s a pleasure as always,” I greet Father’s equal first, giving him a curtsy to accompany my words. He’s part of a very select few who know I’m Lorenzo Napoli’s daughter…

Well, that’s before the news broke a couple of weeks ago.

“The Napoli jewel, in the flesh.” Matteo stands up from his chair and extends a hand to me. I offer mine, and he brings it to his lips in an old-fashioned greeting.

“How are you holding up? I understand this must be a rather worrisome time for you.”

“I’m fine, thank you. A few uncomfortable interactions,” I force my eyes toward Tomas as I say the words. “But otherwise, it seems I’ve managed to walk away from whatever this is unharmed.”

I can’t tell them about what happened last night. Or the attempt on my life at my boutique. Or how a masked man been following me through New York but always seems to disappear before I have a chance to spot him properly.

Beyond wanting to help Father through the hardships of this meeting, it’s my stalker’s fault that my mind isn’t on the piece of shit, Tomas, sitting on my father’s right.

I bet we’re all here because of him too. I’ll never know for certain without proof, but every inch of my being screams that he’s the one who slaughtered Bruno last night. Another one of Father’s faceless suits, who was meant to guard me, but instead was found dead among the trashcans outside my building.

I’ve tried talking myself out of it. Thinking that he was there to continue his slaughter of Napoli men, rather than wanting anything to do with me last night. It stung, originally, believing our fun was an afterthought to him, instead of the main attraction.

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