Page 32 of The Shadow King's Brother

“Where’s Vinny?” she asks.

“Locked up with Gio and Steven outside his room, as ordered. Good morning to you, too,” I reply.

“Good,” she says, then approaches me, rising on her toes, offering her rosy lips.

I pull her close, one hand on her lower back, and meet her kiss. A surge of desire, involuntary and immediate, tightens my body as she presses against me. I can’t help the flicker in my eyes as she teases my groin with her hand.

“Elio,” she whispers against my lips, “good morning to—all of you,” her hand briefly teases over the fabric of my suit where my now-hardened cock is visible.

I deepen the kiss instead of replying. Her taste is toothpaste, her scent, shampoo, and cinnamon.Her.

Damn, all I want is to take her back upstairs.Fuck.

“Fuck the meeting, let’s go back upstairs,” I murmur, my thumb tracing the soft outline of her slightly swollen lips. “It’s just Tuvio.”

“We need to go,” she states, with no hesitation, though I can feel her body responding to mine, her breasts pressing against my chest as she arches into me.Damn it.

“Really?” I draw her closer, my hand gliding down her waist, stopping at the soft silk blouse where it meets her blue pencil skirt.

She gasps as I slide two fingers inside the band of her skirt, meeting her warm skin.

“Come on, Elio. We have work to do. I want to ask Tuvio about the Broad company, if he found something.”

“Right,” I mutter, disappointment settling in my body.

“I’ll make it up to you later,” she teases, winking, then swats me away and heads for the door.

“Fine,” I grunt, not at all happy with how the morning has turned out. But she’s right.

She usually is.

We leave the mansion. Marcus waits by the car, the air crisp, the early sun glinting on the thin layer of frost on the estate. The gargoyle fountain by the main gate has frozen, and the water is still mid-spout. If I wasn’t so preoccupied, I might even find it beautiful.

“He didn’t meet Seraphina at the safe house, did he?” I ask once we’re settled in the car and it begins to move.

Nica shakes her head, a dismissive scoff escaping her lips. “No way. He’s lying.” She stares out the window, the city landscape a blur. “He needed a name, someone we might react to. Someone to throw us off.”

“Why would he lie about that, though? Why Seraphina?” I tap my fingers on the steering wheel, trying to piece together the puzzle. “She’s been off the map for years.”

Nica shrugs. “To confuse us. To make us look in the wrong places… Who knows.” Her gaze locks onto mine, sharp and cutting. “The point is, he’s not to be trusted. Not even a little.”

“I just hope he doesn’t make any trouble,” I murmur.

“Of course he will,” she replies and rolls her eyes.

Even with Gio and Steven watching Vinny, the mansion feels off. Vinny had actually approved of himself being locked up, and there was a disturbing glint in his eyes as he had added, “I like being looked after.”

Like some messed-up joke.

But I pretty sure he’s genuinely terrified. Whatever haunted him – whether real or imagined – got to him. And Vinny isn’t easy to scare.

I pull out my phone, dialing Maria.

I need to hear her voice, even if I resent her, even if her words are always tinged with that subtle undercurrent of disapproval.

“Maria,” I say when she answers, “How’s Celeste?”

“Oh, she’s good, Elio, a little angel, a little miracle,” she says. “A real De Luca.” Her tone has that familiar, cloying sweetness.

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