Chapter 3

Maria

“And that was how I ended up here, shit faced drunk in a pretty dress.” I said summing up my story.

I looked to Mr. tall, cold and handsome for some kind of reaction but the dick wasn't even looking at me anymore. I gasped when I realised that he must have stopped listening to me minutes ago. The jerk!

“So you weren't even listening?? You know what, I don't care. I need to pee anyway.”

I hopped down from my barstool but my legs nearly gave way. Weird. I tried steadying myself but everywhere was spinning too much for me to concentrate. I laughed, everything felt too funny.

“Hot face. Is the world spinning around you too?”

He didn't even acknowledge me.

“You're a jerk you know that? But I'll let it go because you're so pretty. Your poor mother. I'm sure she has migraines because of how you turned out.”

His head slowly, so slowly turned around to face me and the hostility in them made me want to turn around and run for my life.

“How much did you have to drink?” he demanded. I wanted to trap his voice in a bottle and hide it under my pillow.

Still entranced I held up 8 fingers, “Two glasses.” Unfortunately, holding up my fingers meant letting go of the table and I nearly fell down.

But a strong hand reached for me quickly before my face collided with the floor. He held my arm tight with one hand and it was enough to keep me from falling down. I gulped because there was something his touch was doing to me that made me see stars. Or it could have been the alcohol. Either way, I wanted to get pregnant with his babies. What??

“What's your room number?” He demanded.

I grinned. “I see what you're trying to do but I'm not that kind of girl. You have to take me on a date first Giovanni.”

A vein in his neck bulged.

“I'm not fucking you.”

I blinked. He glared. I blushed. He glared.

“You didn't have to be so crass about it.”

He looked up as if begging God for patience. Ha!

“You're drunk. Unless you plan on stumbling all the way to your room, I'd say you tell me your room number.”

“Six shots does not make a drunk girl.” I countered stubbornly.

“Your room Maria.” Oh no. My name from his mouth made me imagine many unladylike things.

Realising he was right and also tired of my mind going haywire in his presence, I gave in and told him my room number.

He got down from his stool and I had imagined he was tall but I didn't realise I had been talking to a walking, breathing pole. Provided said pole was built and toned but still. He had to be at least 6’3.

He could crush me if he wanted I realised.

So what was I expecting when he offered to lead me to my room? I don't know maybe some butterfly inducing hand holding you know? I most definitely did not expect him to bend down and hook one hand behind my knees and the other behind my neck before lifting me up like I weighed next to nothing. I had my fair share of cheese and pasta mind you.

I let out a gasp against my will. He ignored me. I grabbed this opportunity to clutch him tightly like my life depended on it. Technically it did because I didn't want to imagine how great a fall it would be to the ground if he dropped me. This close to him, the scent of his masculine cologne invaded my nostrils. It had woody and aqua notes in it and I wanted to bury myself in his warmth.

Before I knew it, my eyes were starting to droop and I fought very hard to fight off the sleep. Unfortunately, sleep won the battle.

“Key?” His warm breath tickled the tip of my ears.

I held out my hand where I held the key card in a firm grip.

He pried it gently from my fingers and opened the door. I barely registered him laying me carefully on the bed and taking off my shoes for me. My dress stayed on however.

Through sleep filled eyes I noticed him staring at me intently so I smiled or at least I tried to.

“Thankyou hotface.” I whispered.

“Sleep.” Was his only reply.

So I did and I may or may not have dreamt of babies with green eyes and brown hair like mine.

*****

I woke up the next morning to a prickling feeling like I was being watched. Pair that with a building migraine and I was well on my way to shitty morning town. First class.

I shot up from my bed, the head ache I had been feeling increased with the movement. My eyes immediately met with the green ones of the man inciting this panic in me and I nearly released a breath of relief when I discovered it was the man that had brought me back to my room last night, Giovanni. Nearly, because why on earth was he sitting in my room and staring at me like a total creep??

Looking at him now in the crisp morning light and also with alcohol free eyes, I noticed he looked vaguely familiar but I couldn't pin a finger on it.

His dark, curly hair was slightly tousled and covered his forehead. Another thing I noticed was that he was much more pretty than I remembered with his aristocratic nose and lips I still wanted to bite.

His eyes were still on me. Still staring. He had a finger on his lips, idly rubbing it subconsciously. Yup, I still wanted his babies. I didn't know what that said about me though.

He didn't talk, I didn't talk either. We just kept staring at each other and I realised he expected me to break the silence. The jerk. Only because I needed to feed my curiosity did I speak.

“Why are you here?” I asked slowly.

He didn't speak for a while. Only watched me with that intense gaze. He did reply me before I could ask again though.

“Maria Vitalio.” Was all he said, that sinful voice sending fantasies to my head again.

Surprised because I didn't tell him my name last night, I asked him “Who are you?”

“It's good to know you're more of a vault when not in your drunken state.” He said standing up and strolling toward me. I gulped at the sight he portrayed. He wore perfectly tailored slacks that ran down his long legs with a crisp white shirt tucked into it. His top two buttons were undone, revealing a hint of a tattoo and even his sleeves were rolled up exposing his toned arms.

Then there I was. Still dressed in last night's clothes and nursing a hangover.

“You still haven't told me why you were watching me like a creep while I slept. I appreciate you helping me to my room last night but this is a whole different brand of creepy.”

He ignored me. “You were engaged to Lucas Romano. Is that right?”

He must have done his research then. “Go on. Keep rubbing salt into my already aching wound.” The idiot ignored me.

He speared me with a look, his eyes pinning mine in place as he looked down at me from beside my bed.

“Listen and listen carefully because I only ever offer deals once. I have a proposal for you and you must provide me with an answer this instant or I leave and I promise you will regret letting me walk.” He said curtly in a cold voice.

Of course I was confused. “Why would I make a deal without knowing the details involved? Besides you can't just waltz into my room and demand I make deals with you. I get that you're a beautiful piece of art but not everyone is going to bend over backwards for you. I know I won't.”

His jaw ticked. “You want revenge on your family and fiancé.” He stated so matter-of-factly that I wondered if there was a window he had used to peer into my soul.

“I think you should leave.” I said getting up from the bed and walking to the door. I held it open for him. I mostly needed to put some distance between the both of us.

He didn't move from the place he stood, in fact his hands rested idly in his trouser pockets. His face and position a well sculpted mask of calm and casualness. “I can offer you your revenge. I can make sure they see you as more than just the girl they mercilessly fucked over.”

“Leave.” I told him, my voice wavering slightly.

He stalked toward where I stood by the door, the air suddenly felt unnecessarily charged. He placed his hand on the door I held open and pushed it close. Caught between him and the now closed door, I swallowed.

“It's sweet, really. Thinking you can order me around. I will offer you this deal one last time, and I expect you to give me the answer I want.”

“So I have no choice in this.”

“You can choose to do the right thing.”

I couldn't even stop the chuckle that slipped out of my lips.

“What do you want from me?”

“Not you. Your father.”

“My father?” I asked incredulously. The whole shit kept getting weirder.

“Hmm.” Was his reply.

“Let me guess you're one of the people that want to what? Ruin him?”

His eyes twinkled. As if the thought of ruining my father brought him pleasure. He came closer and bent down until I could feel his lips ghosting my ear.

“I am going to make your father beg darling. I'll take every single thing that belongs to him little by little until he becomes a withering mess. I'll make sure he knows whose face is behind the collapse of his empire and I'll wait patiently for him to come begging. Then I'll dangle it all in front of him and just when he thinks he can get it all back, I'll yank it away and destroy it all right in front of his face. He will hurt, but there will be no one to share his pain and then, only then will I be satisfied.”

I didn't realise I was holding my breath until he stood straight. I could still feel his warm breath on my ear and I had been tempted to lean in closer a bit, just to know what his lips felt like.

“You hate my father.” If I had any doubt, the steel in his eyes gave it out.

“Hate is too feeble a word.”

“I can understand and I don't fault you for it. He is a difficult man afterall. But I don't get where I come in. I have never been involved in his business so I can't reveal any business secrets to you so you're probably wasting your time here.” I told him with a shrug.

“No.” He clipped

“No what?”

“I am not wasting my time.”

“You do know that I have no way of helping you?”

“Do you want revenge on your father?”He asked me for the second time that morning.

Tired, I answered truthfully. “Yes”

“Then marry me.”