Smart man.
“She’s fucking amazing,” Shane replies with a scowl. “Did you see her?”
“Yeah.” I nod slowly. “We saw her.”
Without another word, Shane stands and goes in search of the woman, and Rocco lets out a laugh.
“What’s wrong with her?” Elena demands again. “She’s pretty.”
“She’s not ugly,” I agree. “But she’s hardly Shane’s type. He goes for the cold, supermodel types.”
“Like Nadia?” Elena asks with a cocked brow.
My eyes narrow on her. I don’t know why I suddenly feel so defensive of the Bratva princess. I can’t stand her.
“You don’t understand.” The words are clipped. Short.
But Elena doesn’t back down.
“You know how I feel about this.”
She thinks my mission’s futile—is sure that Nadia doesn’t have the answers, and that I’m wasting my time.
I think she’s wrong.
“Let’s dance,” Nadia says, suddenly at my side. I take her hand, kiss the palm, and stand at her request.
“That would be a pleasure.”
She leads me out to the dance floor. As the Goo Goo Dolls sing Iris, I pull Nadia to me, flush against me, and we move around the space.
Her lean body is a temptation that I never stop longing for. It’ll be a pity that I won’t get to fuck her anymore once all of this is said and done. I don’t know that I’ve met a woman I’ve been so sexually compatible with before. I may not find one ever again.
The fire in her eyes as she gazes up at me tells me that she’s just as fired up as I am.
Without another word, I take her hand and lead her off the floor, down a hallway, and to an empty storeroom that must be used as a maid’s closet for the hotel.
I lock the door behind us and yank her against me.
“Did you do that on purpose?” I growl against her neck. “Seduce me on the dance floor so I’d be hard and wanting you?”
“Maybe.” Her voice is breathy as her hands immediately reach for my slacks, pulling them open so she can plunge her hand inside to cup me. “Probably.”
“Fucking hell.” I turn and pin her against a shelving wall of folded sheets. I gather her skirt in my hands until it’s up around her waist and then grin when I find her bare.
“I love it when you go without panties, babe.”
“I know.” She bites my earlobe. “Now, fuck me, Carmine.”
She doesn’t have to ask me twice. I retrieve the condom from my suit pocket, and when I plunge into her, I’m like a wild animal, unable to stop myself from fucking her hard and fast, punishing us both with the crazy rhythm I set.
“God, yes,” she sobs and lets her head fall back against the sheets. “Fuck, yes.”
It’s over as quickly as it began. Once I dispose of the condom and we right ourselves, I open the door so we can return to the party.
Pandemonium hits.
“Oh, shit, what happened?” Nadia says as she hurries to the dance floor where a crowd has gathered. I follow.
We push our way to the front in time to see Armando, one of my father’s men, seizing on the floor. He’s foaming at the mouth, his face beet-red, eyes bulging.
“He’s been poisoned,” I mutter as I stare down at the man.
“I’ll call the police,” someone offers, but they’re quickly taken aside.
We don’t call the authorities.
And the fact that this was done here, with a mix of families and civilians, makes my blood boil.
I march over to Nadia’s father’s table, where my dad is already standing, his expression mutinous.
“That drink was meant for me,” Pop says. “Armondo grabbed it by accident. We laughed about it, and then I flagged down the waiter for another. Moments after drinking it, that”—he gestures to the floor—“happened.”
“Are you implying that I ordered your murder at my niece’s wedding?” Igor asks, his tone mild. “I’m not the only boss here, Carlo.”
“Yours is the only family the Martinellis have an issue with,” Pop replies.
Shane and Rocco stand beside me, all of us behind our father. Nadia and her brother, Alexander, stand behind their father.
My gaze holds Nadia’s.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Igor says. “I’ve never done anything to you or your family.”
“You had my sister killed,” Pop immediately replies.
“I always liked Claudia,” Igor says and drums his fingers on the table. “Vinnie, not so much. He was a pitiful excuse for a man and certainly had no business being the boss of your organization. But I suppose that’s none of my business.”
“So you killed him,” Pop says.
“I certainly did not,” Igor says and leans forward. “No one in my organization is responsible for Vinnie’s or Claudia’s deaths. If I was, I would take responsibility for it.”
My father nearly vibrates with his fury.
“What good would that do me?” Igor continues. “The Bratva is successful, thriving, without the need for war. Just because I thought Vinnie was a worthless piece of shit doesn’t mean I ordered his death. And I certainly wouldn’t give the order to have you, my friend, Carlo, killed at my firefly’s wedding.”
“Then what the fuck is going on?” I demand and scan the crowd. Someone took Armondo’s body away and cleaned up the floor. The guests murmur quietly. The DJ started the music again.
Only at a mafia wedding could someone get murdered and have the party carry on as if nothing at all happened.
“Clearly, someone has it out for our families,” Igor says. “Nadia.”
Nadia places her hand on her father’s shoulder. “Yes, Papa?”
“I’m assigning this to you.”
“Carmine will help you,” Pop agrees, and I feel my back straighten.
“I don’t need to involve Nadia in this.”
“I’ve just involved her,” Igor says. “You’ve been playing house for weeks, and nothing has come of it so far. Let’s change tactics.”
My eyes move to Nadia’s, and right before me, the warmth I’ve seen in those blue orbs freezes.
“Did you honestly think I was in love with you?” She smirks. “Grow up, Carmine.”
I should have seen it. I should have known that she was double-crossing me. Maybe I did. Perhaps I ignored it.
I’m a fucking idiot.
“It’s decided,” Pop says. “You two will hunt down those responsible for what’s happened here today. And for my sister’s death.”
With the wave of a hand, we’re dismissed. Before Nadia can run away, I corner her and turn her to me.
“What?” She glares up at me.
“What was the end game?” I ask, my voice hard as stone.
“I didn’t have one. Yet.” Her gaze falls to where my hand rests on her arm. “I didn’t give you permission to touch me.”
I feel the smile slowly spread over my lips. “So, it’s true what they say? You’re nothing but an ice princess.”
She doesn’t even flinch. “And you’d do well to remember that. I don’t want your help with this.”