Page 23 of Made to Sin

I angled my body toward him, only to find that he was analyzing me from head to toe. The hairs on my neck raised from awareness, but I stifled the reaction and stared directly into his eyes. They were dark, black specks dominating his irises as if he were angry with what he saw. A wave of uneasiness bubbled up my throat at the thought of not meeting his standards.

Ugh,who cares if he didn’t like me? I thought I was cute, and that was all that mattered. He probably preferred leggy blondes with a model figure, like Sophia, anyway.

“Why?” I suspiciously asked.

“I was informed that you made a generous donation at the gala back in March.”

“The donation was from both my husband and I.”

I purposely avoided any descriptive mentions of my exact donation. Marco didn’t give any hint he knew about the missing necklace, so I was trying to play this so-called donation off as the check he wrote. That way, I pleased his ego and saved my own ass.

Luciano made a lowtskwhen I said “husband” so lovingly, but I ignored the mockery.

“Was something wrong with the check?” I continued.

He straightened the cuff on his inked arm. “No, the opposite. Eda, the foundation chair, wanted to know if you’d be willing to help her with some volunteer work around the warehouse. She saw your passion for the cause and asked me to reach out.”

I inaudibly gasped. Did she take me up on my offer from a crumbled napkin?

While my instinct told me to take the opportunity, I knew if I answered before consulting with Marco, I would get punished. Feeling lighter without the abuse lately, I was walking on eggshells, afraid of resetting the cycle.

“Oh, that’s great, but can I get back to you later? I need to check my schedule.”

I peeked a glance at my husband and saw his lips pressed into a thin line, but he didn’t immediately refuse. At least it wasn’t a straight refusal and left an opening for the future.

Luciano looked up and followed my gaze as the reason for my hesitation clicked for him.

He turned to Marco himself. “Marco, can you persuade Katarina to say yes? Eda would love to have her on board, and itwould send a message to both of our families about our alliance if they see your wife on my property.”

Albeit tense, Marco forced a fake smile. “My love, I think it would be a fantastic opportunity for you to meet some new people. You should try it.”

I internally squealed at how much of a pushover Marco was. By bringing up business, Luciano trapped him in a corner.

A grin played on my lips. “If you insist,dear, I’ll give it a try.”

Luciano handed me a plain business card, no larger than the size of my palm. “The organization’s information is here. Head to the building when you’re free, and Eda will tell you what to do.”

“Thank you,” I firmly stated, almost collectively for everything else he had done.

I watched as his shoulders stiffened for a fraction of a second before he gave me a small nod in return.

From saving me the first night to working with Marco to getting me this volunteering job… The list probably went on for more than I could remember. I might dislike the don for a handful of reasons, but he’d helped me out more than I could ever imagine.

I hadn’t heard anyone say Luciano Beneveti was generous to a person outside of his family.

But he was tome.

An odd feeling crept up in my heart, but I pushed the delusions away. If I kept going, the thankfulness could snowball me into accidentally joining his fan club.

Yep, time to leave.

Neither objected as I excused myself and made my way through the door.

The heat of Luciano’s gaze followed me until I was out of his line of vision. Call it attention-seeking, but I swayed my hips a little extra and walked slower than normal.

It wasn’t until I reached my room that I let out a heavy breath stuck in my lungs. If I needed another sign to avoid theman any further, it was definitely not healthy for me to be around him if I couldn’t breathe properly.

Like I said before, he was nothing but bad news.

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