Page 10 of Bound to Him

Still watching her, I noticed her swallow, then say something quietly. Was she speaking to me? Her eyes were still pinned to mine. I found myself hoping she was and dying to figure out what it was she was saying, until she broke eye contact and looked over her left shoulder. It was at that point that my heart went cold. The face that appeared over her slender shoulder was one I already knew.

Fucking Tony Romano, her brother. Christ, when would I get away from thisstronzo? He spoke softly into her ear and suddenly her eyes darted back to mine. This time, they widened in a different way. No longer enticed or intrigued, but rather surprised. Astonished. What the fuck was that prick telling her about me? I watched the interest simmer away from her face, replaced by a hesitant curiosity.

I could have wrung my hands around Tony’s fucking air pipe, right then, in front of his whole goddamn family. Here was this goddess of beauty, the first truly breathtaking woman I’d ever seen, and he was right there talking shit about me into her ear. It made this visit so much more unbearable.

I turned back to the once again dying conversation and slapped my thigh with a lie of a smile across my lips. “Well, this was wonderful, wasn’t it, Antonio?” I looked at him with a hidden message in my eyes, and he caught my hint. We’d been here all of 30 minutes, and that was enough for him as well.

“Yes, Hux. It sure was.” Antonio put his hands on his chair and pushed himself up. “Enzo, thank you.” The two men stood, shaking hands, and finalizing their business. “It will take some time.” Antonio’s eyes bounced between me and Viola. “But I believe this will be a very beneficial union.”

“Indeed, Antonio. We’ll see you here at the party next week, yes?”

“Yes, of course. Keep well, Viola.” Antonio nodded at her as she stood, her face portraying a relieved shade of happiness. Mia and Fiona stepped forward to kiss her cheeks, and I gave her a tight smile before greeting Enzo.

Before leaving, I looked back to see that the beautiful Olivia was no longer in the doorway. I didn’t know why it affected me, but I left the Romano mansion even more tense than before.

6

Olivia

Oh my fucking God. Is that Huxley Moretti?

Irecognized Antonio Moretti from previous events with my father and Fiona from this one party we’d snuck out to, but I hadn’t seen Huxley before. Not like this anyway—maybe when he was a kid, but now… he was a damn sex idol!

I knew I shouldn’t interrupt Viola’s meeting with her husband-to-be, but I was curious to see if she was doing okay. At first, I was focused on her, noting that she looked irritated and plain bored out of her mind.

No matter how much you don’t want this, Viola, please see it through… because you won’t get out of it. Trust me, I know.

That’s when I looked over at him, and my heart stopped. That’s when I saw his eyes already glued to mine.

He looked bored too, sitting with his thumb between his teeth, his head tilted to the side, watching me instead of her. At that very moment, I forgot about Viola. I forgot that Huxley was hers, because in the name of all I held dear, I wanted him to be mine. I felt as if he were destined to be mine. The way his eyes were locked onto mine felt as though he knew it, too.

He was big, as in, so muscled that he looked like he was getting ready for a big fight. You know? Like a boxer, or one of those heavyweight guys in the UFC.

He had much lighter hair than his brother and sister, almost a dirty blonde that was short on the sides and longer at the top, loosely brushed to the side. His eyes were this golden hazel color, and his face had a masculine shape to it, chiseled and absolutely panty-dropping. I found myself wanting to run my tongue up his smooth, shaved jawline.

What the fuck, Olivia? You want to lick his face? What’s gotten into you?

I jolted slightly when I heard Tony’s voice over my shoulder. Hoping to God that he didn’t somehow know what I was thinking just then, I swallowed deeply.

“What you gawking at?”

I replied softly, not wanting the group to hear me. “Viola’s meeting the Moretti’s with Papà.”

“Oh? That’s today?” Tony said, leaning over my shoulder to look in. “There’s cunt-boy in the flesh. Shit, Fiona’s here too?” He pulled away quickly and leaned against the wall next to me.

A slight frown creased my brow, but I quickly removed all emotion from my face. “I know you hate him, Tony, but he’s going to be your brother-in-law soon.”

“I can’t fucking believe Papà chose him for Viola. Or for you, even. He’s the worst of the lot. A realdiavolo, if you ask me.”

Yeah, a realdiavoloin bed, I was sure. The way he was seated with his legs wide apart, one hand on his thigh and the other at his mouth, had me breathing with more difficulty just looking at him.

“What’s he done that’s so bad?” I asked, then added, “Other than screwing yourputtanagirlfriend.”

I’d always hated her anyway. Although, I had to admit now that I could see exactly why she was after Huxley. How the hell is a girl supposed to say no to such a thick limbed, sexy man with those eyes that currently seemed to be searing into my soul?

I could hear the irritation in Tony’s voice when he answered, “Aside from his own whoring around, sister, he’s a killing machine.” I looked at him next to me. “It only takes one wrong step, and he whacks a guy. Easy. A slug in the head. And that’s not even his specialty.”

“What’s his specialty?”

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