“Not your bedroom?” She winked. I ushered her out of the room and followed, glowering at the slinky back of her dress. She tossed a cheeky look over her shoulder as my men muscled her into my study. I clenched my jaw as I slammed the door shut.
“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?” Merissa uttered from where she sprawled on the leather armchair at the head of my desk. I grimaced. People said this to me constantly, as if it wasn’t asinine and unimaginative.
“What are you doing here, Merissa?” I hissed, motioning for my men to halt when they tried to leave. I was not staying alone in a room with this woman.
“You don’t call? You don’t write?” She pouted, pulling out a cigarette and putting it on her plump lips. I still remembered the taste of them: illicit revenge. “What’s a girl supposed to think? Her beau would surely do the gentlemanly thing and break it off in person if he was truly sick of her.” She arched an elegant, thin eyebrow. “I need to speak with you alone.”
“I’m married now, and I was very clear about what we were, Merissa. This is crossing a line. Coming to my house?”
Merissa rolled her green shimmer-painted eyes and blew a cloud of smoke my way. She moved her limbs sulkily, showcasing her tanned assets well.
“I miss you.” She leaned forward. “Marriage never stopped you from meeting me every other time.”
“That was different.” My nostrils flared. I needed to get her out of here without anyone seeing her. Especially Anita or Bruno. Merissa was one of my more reckless endeavors, and I kicked myself for it now. I’d been willing to do whatever it took when I was single.
“What difference could it make now when you never cared before?” she questioned, lips pursed with soft reproach.
“The difference between us is that I respect my wife,” I snapped, skin itching to return to Anita. Her change had left me feeling off-kilter. I wanted to be with her before she noticed my absence. Destroying Lanton Vani had been my sole focus before I married, and it still was. What better person to pump for information than his young, gorgeous trophy wife? I’d been unattached and vindictive enough not to care about the fact that I was cuckolding the monster of Greenich Bay. A rash choice, one I’d repeated a handful of times. But once I committed to Anita, I stopped. I couldn’t say why. Except that the thought of her dreaming of me while I screwed someone else had my stomach turning.
“Please, for old time’s sake,” she cajoled, leaning forward so her soft cleavage pressed against the confines of her low plunging dress. I ground my teeth, dizzy with regret. This was a situation of my own making. I had been desperate when I’d taken Merissa into my bed, especially when she didn’t know anything useful. I should have put a stop to it, but I enjoyed sullying Lanton’s preciously guarded wife. She was too young, too lovely for him. But it didn’t stop Lanton from taking her, or all the other young women he’d ruined. But Lanton was myfather’s right-hand man, and there was no easy way to remove him. All this subterfuge made me dizzy with prickling rage. But I wouldn’t stop until I saw him destroyed. I saw the way her lashes fluttered, desperate to seduce me.
“Merissa, you can’t be here.” I was careful not to judge her. She had to know this was madness. If someone saw her here, she would end up like Lanton’s first wife, Diane. Twenty years of marriage wasn’t enough to save her from ‘tripping’ down a set of stairs. Her neck neatly broken at the base. Lanton crossed a line with her and when no repercussions came, he knew there was nothing stopping him from doing whatever he wanted. He was too powerful to stop and yet, I had to do something. I’d made promises I intended to keep. Her brother, Bruno, wanted her avenged and I wouldn’t fail him.
“You owe me,” her coaxing tone turned shrill.
“I don’t owe you anything.” I clenched my jaw, blowing out a frustrated breath. This was fruitless for her and for me. But Merissa’s pretty face morphed into something ugly, and her hand coasted over her flat stomach.
“I’m pregnant and the baby is yours,” she uttered, and my ears roared. It couldn’t be. I hadn’t touched her for well over eight months. Merissa’s smile sharpened as it drifted over my shoulder. The back of my neck prickled, and I knew what I would find when I turned around. Anita was pinned in the doorway. Her face was inscrutable, but her knuckles were white on the frame. She’d heard the last comment, at least. She cut off my spluttered excuses.
“Will you be joining us for dinner Ms…” She raised her eyebrows.
“It’s Mrs. Vani,” Merissa gloated, but her cheeks pinked at the sniff Anita gave her. With no words, my wife stripped Merissa of any ‘win’ she had thought she would achieve with her lies.Down the arch of her nose, the judgment was loud. What was amarried womandoing here, claiming such scandalous things?
“Mrs. Vani misspoke. There is no child, is there Merissa? And she was just leaving.” I glared, and she chewed her lip. The simpering sensuality replaced by a shrinking doubt. This was not what she had envisioned when she arrived. What was she thinking? Coming here. Lanton would not be merciful if he discovered his young, pretty wife at another man’s house.
“It would be no imposition to add you to the table, however, it would make the numbers odd.” Anita’s invitation was an icicle, one cold enough to kill. Merissa didn’t know what she’d unleashed, but I did. Anita’s spine was straight and hard as steel, her proud nose tipped to the ceiling. We were all beneath her right now. My stomach dipped with the urge to prostrate myself. As if she were a predator who deserved my respect. Merissa seemed to realize this as she gathered up her things and moved toward the door.
“No—I—this was a mistake.” She tried to slip past my wife, but Anita didn’t budge. A slow smile spread across her pale lips, and she hooked her arm through Merissa’s.
“Let me get you something to go,” she insisted and dragged Merissa with her toward the kitchen. I darted in front of them with my arms outstretched.
“Anita,” I bargained, pinned to the spot by the absolute venom in her face. The useless guards milled behind them, taking in every mortifying second.
“They will serve dinner in a moment. Our guests are waiting for you at the head of the table. Go say some pretty words. It’s what you’re best at, right?” Anita smiled, and it cut me sharper than any blade.
I hadn’t wanted her beautiful sweetness tainted by the darkness of my plans. But I had failed. I’d kept my distance, refused to touch her even. But my past had invaded her,anyway. I was an arrogant fool to believe the heir to the Orazio throne could keep his innocent wife pure of the underworld that covered me in filth. I had no choice but to step aside and let them pass, grinding my teeth as they did.
Flowers and a gift would not fix this mess.
3
Age Six
“What about this one?” I asked, my slender fingers angling toward the fat, white petals of a potted plant. My father rapped my fingers once, sharp. A warning accompanied by an intense gaze.
“Rules, Anita, that’s one strike.”
Rule one. Look with your eyes only.
