Chapter 7

Alessio

"To our Capo," Carlos  fixes his gaze on mine, "and to the alliance with the Seven."

"The Seven?" Alessandro  turns to me, "That’s who your new bride is related to?"

I tilt my head, "Is that a problem?"

He scratches his chin, "Amongst them all, they own most of the UK and parts of Silicon Valley too, I hear." He fixes his gaze on me, "Ambitious, are we?"

"Well as long as it is not my life ,there is not a problem." He raises a shoulder. "And I assume this has to do with getting access to enough connections to consolidate your position with the other families?"

Alessandro  really is smart. He got this all figure without me saying a word.

"So," Fabien  glances between us, "when do we get to meet your new bride?"

"At the wedding," I murmur

"What?" Alessandro  blinks. "We don’t get to meet her before?"

"No."

"Don’t you trust us with her?" Carlos drawls.

"Never." I fold my arms across my chest.

"Aww that is sad ." Alessandro smirks. "The way you’re acting, you’d think you have her hidden away here and want us to get the hell away so you can spend time with her."

I glare at him and a look of understanding dawns on his features, "So you do have her here with you?"

Of course, Alessandro would have to figure it out. Not that I am hiding anything from them or anything. "And if I do?"

 "Why, you lion  , you kidnapped her and brought her here, eh?"

"Fuck off," I growl.

"You did, didn’t you?"

I glare at him. This dude  is seriously getting on my nerves.

He places his elbows on the bar, and leans forward, "Was it love at first sight?" He smirks, "You saw her and it was the romeo and juliet kind of love ?"  

I snort. "Next you’ll be telling me that you’ve experienced it yourself, the way you talk passionately about it."

"Me?" He laughs, the sound without mirth, "Would I be standing here if I had?"

I peer into his features, take in the tightness of the skin around his eyes, the slight slump to his shoulders, which is a surprise. I’ve never seen Alessandro anything but the annoying .Apparently, He have some secrets which I tend to lure out someday .

He is accurate about on thing is the devastation of meeting my new bride to be but not for the reasons that he thinks.Fucking her is out of the question, at least, until the wedding. On that much, I am clear. There, however, remains the task of breaking the news to her.Something I need to mull over. I need to figure out a way to get her to willingly agree. This entire plan which I had hatched on the spur of the moment is, clearly, more complicated than I expected.I place the glass back on the bar counter, then step back, "I am sure you can see yourselves out."

I shut down the camera, then turn to leave.

Alessandro  chuckles. "So anxious to see your lady huh ?" he calls after me.

“Vaffanculo," I hold up a middle finger above my shoulder, "I don’t think that is concern  any of your business."

"Everything you do is our business," he retorts. "Considering you’re the Capo."

I pause, turn to glare at him over my shoulder, "It’s because I am Capo, I am asking you for the first and last time to never talk about her,capisci?"

I hold his gaze, and he finally lowers it. Good. Alessandro may be my annoying little brother , but he knows I am the one in charge. And I intend to be for a long time. If he thinks he can displace me from my hard-won position, he has another thing coming. No doubt, one day, he is going to challenge me, too. I know that as well as I know my name… It’s why the next move I make is going to be very important, one on which hinges the future of me and my famiglia.

"I am leaving, and when I return, I don’t want to see none of you here." I glance around the faces of my siblings, "Capito?"

Violet

I looked at the  domed ceiling far above the bed .How old is this building? From the outside, it had a baroque architecture. The kind I’ve seen in magazines. It was beautiful. Does he own it? He must. Just like he owns the private jet we’d flown in that had landed on the private airstrip on the other side of the island.

He’d stalked off the flight and driven off in a car. His men had directed us to the second car. There had been two more following us as our little procession had made its way here.

I don’t where we was but I figure we were on a island due to the landscapes and water surrounding us in the center .I also figure we should be in Italy given  the language that he and his men have been speaking.Alessio himself, though, spoke with an odd accent, something between American and Italian.

Alessio is clearly a Mafia and he represents a leader because he had many men abiding his orders .  If he hadn’t given himself away when I had mentioned my father,the proceedings after that had given away his identity. I stand up and stretch.The hair on the back of my neck prickles. I glance around the room, but there’s no one. A shiver runs down my spine. I wrap my arms around my waist, take stock of my surroundings. There’s a closet in the corner, an old-fashioned dressing table pushed up against one wall. Beyond that, a door. I walk to it, push it, and step inside a bathroom that’s spacious enough to have a clawed bathtub in the center. Beyond that, a large window allows light inside. On the other side is a sink. I walk over, catch my reflection and flinch.Dirt streaks my face and my hair has bits of… I pull at it—dried leaves? There are towels on a chair nearby. I strip out of my clothes, ignore the bath and walk over to the shower stall at the far corner. The shampoo and the shower gel smell of moon flowers. Whoa! How did he know that this is my preferred scent? I step under the water, which is hot and just perfect.I let it flow over me, sink into my tired muscles, allow my muscles to unwind. When the hot water runs out. I step out, dry myself, survey my clothes. My sports bra has flecks of blood,his blood. Hmm. I wrap the towel around my torso, cinching it in under my arms. I step out of the bathroom and my breath leaves me.

“What are you doing here ?”

He turns from the window ,and for a second ,the lights lowers to  his ocean blue  eyes which burns into mine.I flinch.He examines me from head to toe then he lowers his eyelashes and then jerks his chin towards the bed .A new set of clothes were perfectly folded on the bed .

“Your welcome “ he smirks.

Fuck you, very much.I snarl low in my throat. "How did you…?" I frown, then turn on him. "Did  you watch me ?"

He tilts his head.

"You…you creep."

"You really do need to get more inventive with your insults, Pretty face "

"Stop calling me that."

"Stop trying to resist every step of the way, it’s…annoying."

"What’s annoying is you haunting me, turning up at every corner, insinuating yourself into my life, making it a living hell, taking me away from everything and everyone that—"

"Made you unhappy."

“What are you talking about ?”

“You were very unhappy in your life pretty face,you hated it  “

How did he know ?

“You know nothing about me to say such silly things”

“Actually on the contrary." He stroke his fingers on his chin  "Birth name: Violet Spencer . Born  to Elizabeth  and Michael Spencer . Mother died when you were a young, leaving you in the care of your father. Who promptly threw himself into his work, then fell into debt. He then abandoned you and your sister to the foster care system, and left the UK to escape the wrath of the Mafia. Your sister made it out of the foster care system when she came of age, then took you on as your legal guardian. Just a few weeks ago, she married Adam West , one of the richest men in the UK. You attended their sham wedding. Then drank the night away with your two friends at the pub two streets down from their residence in Primrose Hill. Wanted to go home with a man…but didn’t. Along the way, you also dropped out of a graduate course in fine arts at Goldsmiths, where you had received a full scholarship, instead preferring to spend the days at your pop-up shop in Camden Market where you hawk your wares."

"I don’t hawk. I share my designs," I snap.

"You mean the clothes you sew?"

"They are dress creations that I fashion," I sniff, "and sell under my independent clothing brand."

"What-fucking-ever." He smirks. "That’s…when you are not haunting your local pub or dancing to electronic with fellow goths who pretend to understand you. But really, no one does."

“Oh and you think you do?”

“Well you have to admit ,I know more about you than anyone else “H e tilt his eyebrows at me and it quickly give me a shiver down there.

No, he doesn't. He has no idea that I have a heart problem or that I'd been seeing a specialist about it before he took me captive... Or that...in a way, I am glad that he took me away from my life because, while my sister Nina means well, she is stifling me with all of that attention. In a way, he set me free. Does he know that? Now, all I have to do is take back the ability to make my own choices. I tilt up my chin, "You've barely scratched the surface of who I am."

"Hmm." He draws his gaze down my features, over my chest, "And what a thing of beauty that is, too."

My nipples grow erect. "Leave .Now ."

His smile widens ,

“I have to change”

“Go ahead “

This bastard.  I march up to the clothes folded on the bed. There’s a pale yellow dress, and next to it, underwear—a matching bra and panties set. My cheeks flush. Did he choose my underwear? Nah, he probably had it ordered or something for me, not that I am going to ask him. That will simply reveal just how nervous I am. I take in the comfortable ballet pumps next to the bed on the floor. Not my style, but at least they look comfortable.His gaze bores into mine and the skin around his eyes tightens. A strange nervousness seems to roll off of him as he flexes his shoulders. He can’t be nervous. Can he? Nah, it’s my imagination. This loser  here isn’t be afraid of anything…or anyone. All of this is just a ruse to get me naked. If he thinks I am going to shrink away from it…he’s…mistaken. I tip up my chin, drop the towel.His entire body stiffens. A breeze blows in from the window and I shiver.Get the clothes and put them on. Do it. Cover yourself.I grip my fingers at my side, try to glance away from his perusal, but I can’t. He walks over, until he’s right in front of me. So big, and tall. I have to tilt my head back, and then further back, to meet his gaze.His blue eyes gazed on my features and deepened as he stares sharply on my lips down to my nipples which instantly pebble, across my trembling belly, to the slippery core between my thighs.

“Get on the bed and spread your legs for me now”

“No !” I exclaimed

“Yes” he said .He quickly threw me on the bed and my heart beat faster to his manly rage.

“Wait a minute ,Is that what I think it is “

“What?”

“When did you get a piercing down there “

“None of your bloody business ,creep!”

He bit his lower lip.”You are wrong pretty face,everything about you is my business from now because  I own you ,you’re my property now ,do you understand?”

“Hell no ,I am a free woman not a object you can possess as your own”

"Wrong." He yawns. "When you left your life behind, you gave up all rights. Now you’ll do everything I tell you to, when I tell you to, how I…" he leans forward on his heels, "tell you to."

“I didn’t leave my life behind. You took me,” I object.

“Tomayto, tomahto; potayto, potahto.”

“Let’s call the whole thing off,” I retort.

He raises his eyebrow. “As I was saying, you’re mine now, and you’ll do as I say...”

"No."

"Yes." He nods, "Starting with that." He jerks his chin toward my core.

"What the hell do you mean?" I scowl.

"You need to shave."

I blink. "Excuse me?"

"I’ll send someone to help you clean up the hair." He pivots, then begins to walk toward the door. "I prefer it completely bare."

Anger explodes in my chest.  All of my senses seem to pop. I never felt so humiliated in my  entire life .Who does this guy thinks he is .I close the distance between us and strike myself at him.