Dangerous Attraction

“Interesting conversation.”

My heart nearly stopped.

Alessio stood in the bathroom doorway with his hands in his pockets, watching me carefully.

Beautiful.

Cold.

Dangerous.

And judging by the look in his eyes—

he heard everything.

Panic slammed into me instantly.

“How long have you been standing there?” I asked weakly.

“Long enough.”

Oh God.

I physically felt the blood drain from my face.

“You were listening?”

“You were talking loudly.”

I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole.

This could not be happening.

If Alessio told anyone Bianca was pregnant—

we were finished.

I stepped toward him quickly. “You can’t tell anyone.”

His expression didn’t change.

“That depends.”

My stomach twisted painfully.

“Depends on what?”

“Whether your sister plans on humiliating my family publicly.”

I flinched.

Because he sounded calm.

Too calm.

Which somehow felt worse than anger.

“She never meant for this to happen,” I whispered.

Alessio’s gray eyes stayed fixed on me silently.

Then finally:

“Who’s the father?”

“A man from London.”

“Does your father know?”

“No.”

A muscle moved in his jaw slightly.

“And your brilliant solution is replacing one sister with another?”

Heat rushed to my face immediately.

“It wasn’t my idea.”

“But you considered it.”

I opened my mouth.

Closed it again.

Because honestly?

A tiny part of me had considered it.

And judging by the dark amusement in Alessio’s eyes—

he already knew.

“This is a disaster,” I muttered.

“That’s one word for it.”

I folded my arms defensively. “Are you angry?”

“Yes.”

The honesty startled me.

But strangely, he still didn’t seem furious.

More… irritated.

Controlled.

Which somehow made him even scarier.

“You should be angrier,” I whispered.

Alessio stepped closer slowly.

Too close.

Everything about him felt overwhelming up close.

The expensive cologne.

The sharp jawline.

Those cold gray eyes that somehow still looked heated whenever they landed on me.

“I should,” he agreed softly.

“Then why aren’t you yelling?”

His gaze dropped briefly to my mouth before returning to my eyes.

“Because every time I look at you, I forget why I’m supposed to be angry.”

My breath caught painfully.

God.

This man was lethal.

“You can’t say things like that,” I whispered shakily.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re engaged to my sister.”

“And yet you’re the one standing here alone with me.”

I hated that he had a point.

Again.

The tension between us thickened dangerously.

One step closer and I knew he’d kiss me.

And the worst part?

I wasn’t sure I’d stop him.

“You should leave,” I whispered.

“You want me to?”

No.

Absolutely not.

Which was exactly the problem.

Before I could answer, voices echoed from down the hallway.

Alessio stepped back immediately.

The shift in him was instant.

Cold again.

Controlled.

Like the dangerous heat between us never existed.

My mother appeared seconds later looking irritated.

“There you are,” she snapped at me. “People are asking questions.”

Her gaze shifted briefly toward Alessio before her expression softened instantly.

“Alessio.” Her smile became almost too sweet. “I hope Lucia hasn’t been bothering you.”

His eyes flickered toward me briefly.

“Not at all.”

Liar.

Complete liar.

“Well,” my mother continued proudly, “Bianca is very excited about the wedding.”

Something dark flashed across Alessio’s face for half a second.

Gone too quickly to read.

“I’m sure she is,” he said smoothly.

I nearly choked.

If my mother only knew.

She linked her arm through mine aggressively.

“Come. Stop hiding in bathrooms.”

I allowed myself one final glance back at Alessio before leaving.

Big mistake.

Because he was already watching me again.

Like he physically couldn’t stop.

And honestly?

That terrified me more than his anger would have.

Dinner somehow became even worse.

The two mafia families gathered around an enormous table while staff poured wine and served expensive food nobody actually cared about.

My father and Roman Romano discussed business.

My mother discussed wedding venues.

Bianca looked seconds away from passing out.

And Alessio—

Alessio watched me.

Constantly.

Every time I looked up, his eyes were already there.

Heavy.

Intense.

Dangerous.

I could barely eat.

“This salmon is excellent,” Roman announced calmly.

My father nodded proudly. “Our chef trained in Paris.”

“Impressive.”

Across the table, Bianca suddenly pushed her plate away quickly.

Too quickly.

Alessio noticed immediately.

“So,” my mother chirped brightly, “have you two discussed honeymoon destinations yet?”

Bianca nearly choked on her water.

“I—what?”

“The honeymoon,” my mother repeated impatiently. “Surely you’ve thought about it.”

Bianca looked horrified.

Meanwhile, Alessio looked almost entertained.

“Not yet,” he answered smoothly.

My mother sighed dramatically. “Young people today have no romance.”

Romance.

Right.

Because arranged mafia marriages were obviously peak romance.

I nearly snorted into my wine.

Unfortunately, Alessio caught the reaction.

One corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Infuriating man.

Then suddenly—

Bianca stood up so quickly her chair nearly fell backward.

“Excuse me.”

She rushed from the dining room with one hand over her mouth.

Silence followed.

My mother frowned immediately.

“She’s been emotional all day.”

Emotional?

That was one word for it.

“I’ll check on her,” I said quickly, standing up.

Before anyone could stop me, I escaped the dining room.

I found Bianca leaning over the bathroom sink again.

Tears filled her eyes instantly when she saw me.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered brokenly.

“You have to calm down.”

“She’s talking about honeymoons, Lucia.” Her voice cracked. “I’m pregnant with another man’s baby.”

I pulled her into a hug immediately.

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.”

And honestly?

She was right.

Nothing about this situation was okay.

“What if Alessio tells everyone?” she whispered fearfully.

I hesitated.

Because I honestly didn’t know.

“He won’t,” I lied softly.

But would he?

I couldn’t tell.

That was the terrifying thing about Alessio.

He was impossible to read sometimes.

One moment he looked ready to ruin my life.

The next he looked at me like he wanted to ruin me personally.

A knock suddenly sounded on the bathroom door.

Both of us froze.

“Bianca?”

Alessio’s voice.

Bianca looked horrified instantly.

“Oh my God.”

“Relax,” I whispered quickly.

Easy for me to say.

Alessio knocked again.

“You’ve been gone awhile.”

Bianca wiped her eyes shakily before opening the door slightly.

“I’m fine.”

Alessio looked at her carefully.

Too carefully.

Like he noticed every nervous movement she made.

Then his gaze shifted toward me behind her.

And instantly the air changed again.

Dangerous.

Heavy.

“You should both come back,” he said quietly. “Your father’s getting suspicious.”

Panic flickered across Bianca’s face immediately.

That caught Alessio’s attention too.

I saw it happen.

The exact moment he realized something was deeply wrong.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“Bianca,” he said slowly, “is there something you want to tell me?”

My heart stopped.

Bianca looked terrified.

And before she could answer—

someone shouted from downstairs.

Gunshots exploded through the mansion.