“I don’t think you need me for that, to be honest,” Gianna said with raised red eyebrows. “But do me a favor and slow down with the wine.”
“I thought you wanted me to have fun.”
“Yeah, but I want you to be sober enough to realize what you want. And I don’t think Romero will take you seriously if you’re shitfaced.”
“You’re right. He’s too much of a gentleman to take advantage of a drunk girl.”
Gianna snorted. “Wow, now I know why Aria’s worried.” She watched Romero for a while. He was laughing about something Matteo had said. “I wouldn’t put too much trust in his gentlemanliness, if I were you. Stay in control when you’re with him. He’s still a Made Man. Don’t make me have to kill him, okay?”
“I thought you weren’t a mother hen?”
“I’m not. I’m the angry mother bear who’s going to tear his dick off if he hurts you.”
I burst into laughter. Aria joined us at the table in that moment and regarded us with suspicion. “I don’t know if I like you two alone together. It smells like trouble if you ask me.”
“You don’t want me alone with anyone it seems,” I said, only half teasing.
Aria groaned and took a glass of wine for herself. “Are you still mad at me?”
“I’m not mad at you.” I was only going to ignore Aria’s orders, and I’d do my best to convince Romero to ignore them as well.
Aria glanced at Gianna who made an innocent face, then at me. “I don’t like this. Promise me you two aren’t getting into trouble.”
“I’ve had enough trouble, thank you very much,” Gianna said with a grin.
Aria fixed me with her older sister look.
“I’ll behave, I promise,” I said eventually. Then I poured myself more wine, trying to come up with a plan to get some alone time with Romero. I knew Aria would do her best to be my constant shadow.
* * *
During the day it was pretty much impossible to shake Aria off. She watched me, and particularly Romero like a hawk. When had she turned into such a killjoy? The nights and the early mornings were the only options I had. Since I barely slept anyway, that wouldn’t prove too much of a problem. For some reason the darkness made me afraid of falling asleep, so I spent the nights fantasizing about Romero and making plans on how to seduce him while I caught the occasional hour of sleep when my sisters and I were sunbathing in the afternoon.
It had taken me a few days to gather my courage for my next move. I knew how to put on a brave face but this wasn’t something I’d ever done before. I had no experience with men, except for the harmless flirting I’d done with Father’s soldiers over the years.
I wasn’t as worried about Romero’s rejection as I used to be. I’d caught him watching me too often in the last few days when he thought nobody was paying attention. When the sun came up, the first hesitant rays brushing my face, I slipped out of bed and crept toward my window facing the beach. Like every other morning in the last few days, I spotted a lonely figure jogging along the beach in shorts and without a shirt. This was the highlight of my day. I wasn’t sure where Romero took the discipline to get up before sunrise every morning to work out, and I really hoped he wouldn’t show that much self-control when it came to me. I watched him jog uphill toward the mansion and pressed myself closer to the wall so he wouldn’t find me spying on him. After he’d disappeared from view, I waited another five minutes before I headed out of my room. It was deadly silent at this hour, barely six o’clock. My sisters were still asleep; they never got up this early, and Matteo and Luca had left for New York yesterday and wouldn’t be back until tonight, so the only person who could have crossed my path was the other guard Sandro. When I passed Sandro’s door I made sure to be extra quiet, but there was no sound coming from his room. I picked up my pace the closer I got to Romero’s room.
I knew it was wrong. If someone found out, if my father found out, he’d keep my locked up in Chicago. He wouldn’t even let me leave the house anymore. What I was doing was vastly inappropriate and unladylike. People were still bad-mouthing Gianna after all that time. They’d jump at the chance to find a new victim, and what could be better than another Scuderi sister getting caught in the act and with a mere soldier no less?
And deep down I knew I was exactly like Gianna when it came to resisting temptation. I simply couldn’t. Romero’s door wasn’t locked. I slipped into his bedroom on tiptoes, holding my breath. He wasn’t there but I could hear water running in the adjoining bathroom. I crept in that direction. The door was ajar and I peered through the gap.
Romero was a creature of habit, so I found him under the shower as expected. But from my vantage point I couldn’t see much. I edged the door open and slipped in.
My breath caught at the sight of him. He had his back turned to me and it was a glorious view. The muscles in his shoulders and back flexed as he washed his brown hair. There was a cross, which was wrapped in barbwire, inked into the skin over his spine. Naturally, my eyes dipped lower to his perfectly shaped backside. I’d never seen a man like this, but I couldn’t imagine that anyone could compare to Romero. Even the fantasy-Romero from my dreams couldn’t compare.
He began to turn. I should have left then. But I stared in wonder at his body. Was he aroused? He tensed when he spotted me. There was another tattoo
