Page 18 of Twisted Games of Revenge

I give my full attention to the man who is now standing way too close to me. “What did you have in mind?” I ask sweetly, showing my innocence. It’s easy to play this guy when you know exactly what he wants to see.

“While my son may be powerful and wealthy, his lack of taste in women is glaring.” He fixes his stare on the girl standing withhis son. Sure, I would agree she looks trashy as fuck in her mini dress, but if you have legs like that, why not show ‘em off.

“We want him to find a nice girl so he will settle down,” Valentina adds, coming to Enzo’s side.

His hand comes to my arm softly. “I get the impression you could do with a little extra cash to help you settle into town. Am I right?”

“A little extra cash would never go astray,” I agree with him eagerly.

He chuckles, his laugh loud and deep rolling through his chest. “Seduce my son and leave this party with him tonight, and I will see to it a nice cash injection comes your way.”

I gesture toward my chest in surprise. “Me?”

His head drops closer to mine, and a cold shiver runs down my spine. I want to run; I don’t want this man anywhere near me, it’s making my skin crawl, and my feet want to move. “He’s still looking at you now, Vivian. This is easy money.”

I glance back at Alessandro and see he’s right. “What’s the catch?” I laugh nervously.

“Anything you find out in his presence comes right back to me. I will see to it Valentina passes on my personal phone number.”

“You want me to spy on your son?” I whisper.

He nods like it’s no big deal.

From his smug expression, it’s clear he underestimates my intelligence and believes he can effortlessly manipulate me. Little does he know, he has unknowingly fallen into my trap. Well, not the seducing the son part, that could be dangerous, but the getting me to spy for him part. “Could you introduce us?”

He motions for Alessandro to come join us, and I’m surprised when he ditches the girl he was talking to quickly and moves across the lawn. His papa does still have way too much control over him.

His mother takes his hands in hers. “I have a special new friend for you to meet,” she gushes, smiling toward me with a warmth I never got when I was Harley Havardi.

Feeling suddenly shy in his presence, I drop my head, my cheeks flushing with heat. How the hell am I supposed to do this? I can’t even look at him, too frightened he will work out who I really am. Or am I just too scared that if I seduce him, I won’t be able to walk away when I have to?

“Alessandro, this is Vivian,” his papa introduces us.

I lift my head and our eyes meet, sending my heart racing out of control. He’s so fucking handsome in his all-black suit. But it’s not from that. There are lots of nice-looking men here tonight. Nope, this is from the crazy electric pull I have toward this man.

“Vivian.” He takes my hand, placing a kiss to the back of my fingers. “How lovely to meet you,” he says with a warmth that melts my insides. He has no idea who I really am. I’m grateful but also a little sad. With the real me out of the picture, he was already on the prowl for someone new. I was the one who made the decision to leave him and urged him to find happiness elsewhere. But this quickly, that’s a slap in the face.

“Hi.” I smile softly, wishing I was playing at how shy I feel. Vivian is supposed to be confident. Go in and take what she wants kind of girl. That’s not how I feel at all as he towers over me, his eyes running down the length of my dress. Eating up my ink-covered arms, blonde hair, and face meticulously painted.

His lips twitch up at the sides. The rest of the noise from the party blurs and then there is just us. “Dance with me,” he asks, taking my hand in his.

His mother takes my undrunk glass of champagne from me, playing her part. “Yes, a dance, what a perfect idea,” she coos encouraging me.

With a nod of agreement and a small smile, he leads me to the crowded dance floor. His masculine scent overwhelms meas he places a hand to my waist and pulls me in close. The instrumental version of “Careless Whispers” plays, and I get lost momentarily in everything Alessandro. The feel of his hand on my lower back, the way his dark eyes light up when he smiles at me, and how our bodies move together like they were made for each other as he gracefully sweeps me across the dance floor. His intense gaze stays locked with mine the entire time. My heart flutters irrationally, getting carried away with the romance of dancing with him like this.

“Thank you for saving me,” he mutters.

“Saving you? What did you need saving from.”

“The women throwing themselves at me,” he groans, and it’s not in an arrogant way. He really can’t stand the way they all swoon over him. “What I wouldn’t give for a quiet night at home instead of all this bullshit.”

“You’re serious?” I laugh to cover my response. “I mean, you must enjoy some of it, from what I can see you looked like you were having fun.”

He raises a brow. “When you have been attending parties like this as long as I have, you get used to faking it.”

I stare up at him, my dress twirling as he spins me. “Are you faking it with me?” I ask softly, not knowing if I really want the answer or not.

“I have no need to fake anything with you, Vivian. From the moment I met you at The Raven’s Nest you had my interest piqued.”

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