Aria was painfully beautiful. The photo wasn’t an official one. It looked as if paparazzi had taken it without her knowledge, so her gaze was distant as she looked into the camera. She was walking the streets in Chicago, carrying a few shopping bags, and followed by Umberto and her second bodyguard. She was dressed in a short gray winter coat, an oversized white wool pullover, a heart-stoppingly short plaid skirt, and gray overknee suede boots that showed off her slim calves and legs. Her long blond hair trailed down her shoulders and good Lord, her face…I wasn’t even sure if she wore make-up, but she was stunning.
“You’re drooling,” Matteo said as he leaned across from me.
My eyes snapped up to his.
“But so was he.” Matteo pointed at a man in the photo who almost broke his neck to stare after Aria, checking her out. I felt the urge to find out who he was and kill him just for the thrill of it. But I had a feeling I wouldn’t stop killing if I punished every guy who checked out my fiancée.
“I have to say I’m a bit offended that they didn’t consider me the most sought-after bachelor in New York. I mean, look at me.” Matteo stepped back so I could admire him in his outfit. Fucking biker boots, leather jacket and ripped jeans.
“You don’t have to worry about it anymore. According to this, I’m now off the market,” I said dryly.
“Did you know the news would be leaked to the press?”
I shook my head. Father hadn’t told me when exactly the announcement would go out. I scanned the article to see what they’d written about Aria.
Luca Vitiello’s long row of conquests will certainly shed a couple of tears finding out that the heir with an estimated net worth of 600 million dollars is no longer up for grabs.
“They even disinherited you in their article,” I said to my brother. He and I would both inherit Father’s fortunes, and it was closer to 700 million dollars, but what were one hundred million give or take for the press? They kept their fact-checking to a minimum as usual.
His future wife, Aria Scuderi, Italian-American as expected, is the oldest daughter of restaurant chain owner Rocco Scuderi.
I almost snorted. Rocco definitely had his hands in several restaurant chains, but that was definitely not his job description.
His connections to the Chicago underworld have been rumored but never confirmed. The same can be said for the Vitiellos, which leads to the question of how the connection came to be. Salvatore Vitiello and Rocco Scuderi declined any comment. One can’t help but wonder how Aria Scuderi convinced the Vitiello heir to give up his bachelor ways.
I closed the newspaper. What bullshit.
My phone rang and Grace’s name flashed across the screen. She usually knew better than to call me. I was the one who asked for a meeting, not the other way around.
“It’s an angry ring,” Matteo said with glee.
I picked up but, before I could say a word, Grace’s voice shrilled in my ear.
“When were you intending on telling me?” Her voice was pissed and whiny.
Matteo chuckled and emptied the rest of my coffee.
“Telling you what?”
“That you’re going to marry, of course!”
“It’s none of your business.”
“What?” she screeched. “We’ve been fucking each other for three years. I think I deserve—”
“You don’t deserve shit, Grace. It’s like you said. We fucked, and if I remember correctly, we both fucked others in that time as well.”
Silence. “I would have agreed to being exclusive if you’d asked me.”
“I didn’t want to. I don’t care whom you fuck.”
Matteo was laughing quietly, making me want to chuck my phone at his pretty head.
“So you think I’ll just let you keep fucking me when you’re married as if nothing’s changed?”
“First of all, I’m not married yet. Second, you’ve fucked married guys before. And third, you aren’t anything special, so I don’t give a fuck if you let me fuck you or not.”
“Luca,” her voice became even whinier. “You don’t mean it. Why don’t we meet later and have some fun?”
I hung up. That woman had no pride.
Matteo grinned. “Your Grace drama brightens my day once again.”
“Let’s head to the dojo. I want to rearrange your pretty face with my fists.”
Matteo clapped his hands. “All right.”
I shook my head and followed him toward the elevator. There were several reasons why I needed a good fight, and Grace was only a minor one. The major one was that I needed to release the pent-up desire stirring in my body since I’d seen Aria.
There were still six months until I could finally touch that body. Six fucking long months.
SIX MONTHS LATER
“So, are you nervous, Luca?” Matteo grinned.
“No. I’m never nervous.”
“But you haven’t seen Aria in three years. What if she doesn’t look hot in person? Photos can be deceiving. Then you’ll be stuck fucking an ugly woman for the rest of your life.”
As usual, Matteo’s favorite pastime was to annoy the crap out of me. “You’re full of shit.” She’d been pretty three years ago. I could only imagine how beautiful she’d be now. The photos of her had been the worst kind of torture I could imagine. When she’d been underage, I’d managed to stop myself from imagining fucking her but, for a while now, every look at the photo of her had turned my cock rock-hard.
We arrived at the door to Aria’s suite. I paused, looking around for her bodyguard who was supposed to keep watch. He wasn’t there. “I should have sent you to guard Aria years ago,” I told Romero, then I knocked.
Light steps rushed toward us and the door was ripped open by a girl with dark blond hair. She was dressed like a cheap rocker girl. She was obviously trying to impress me with her barely-there hips and moderate chest. I had trouble remembering her name; she had to be the kid sister.
“Hi Luca,” she said, actually smiling in a flirty way. I had to stifle a chuckle. Did she really think I didn’t see how young she was? Then it finally clicked. “You’re Liliana, the youngest sister.”
“I’m not that young.”
“Yes, you are,” a familiar soft voice said. “Go to Gianna.”
And there she was. Damn it. Three years ago she’d shown promise, but today she looked like a fucking wet dream come true. Long blond hair, smooth skin, lean legs and firm tits. I couldn’t wait to see every fucking inch of her body.
“I didn’t know we’d meet in my suite,” she said with a hint of disapproval. What a warm welcome.
“Are you going to let me in?”
She stepped aside. I gave Cesare a sign to wait outside before the rest of us walked into the suite. Matteo headed straight toward the redhead. As usual, he was attracted to the troublemaker. My eyes were once again drawn to Aria’s fucking hot body. Only a few more days and she’d be mine. I couldn’t wait.
“You shouldn’t be here alone with us. It’s not appropriate,” Gianna muttered.
Of course it wasn’t. That’s why there was supposed to be a guard in front of their door. “Where’s Umberto?”