Page 14 of In Ruins
“Lauren, dear, you remember my son, Enzo. Enzo, this is Lauren,” she introduces us.
“Nice to meet you,” I say politely but in an uninterested tone.
“Take your mask off so she can see that handsome face of yours again. It’s been a while since she was in Chicago last.” Ma beams at me.
“Why have a masquerade ball if you want me to take my mask off? It literally makes no sense. Plus, everyone already knows what I look like, Ma,” I mutter. She elbows me in the side. She doesn’t bother with me or my words and just grabs my mask and pulls it off my face.This damn woman!
I see the lust that instantly forms in Lauren’s eyes, even before she takes off her mask. She scans me from head to toe like she can’t wait to get her hands on me. She’s beautiful, but there’s not a hint of attraction to her, no spark at all. It’s just crickets, well, for me at least. It’s actually been that way for a while now. No one has seemed to pique my interest for quite some time. Whenever Nadia and I got together, it was just to scratch the itch for both of us. There were no feelings involved.
We talk for a couple of minutes longer before Mother moves on. She has her arm in the crook of my elbow, holding on to me tightly so I can’t escape from her. She introduces me to a few other lovely ladies before I literally feel like slitting my own throat. That’s when I put my foot down and try to get away.
“Mom, I’m starving. Will you let me go get something to eat before we continue this? You wouldn’t want me to meet any more of my potential wives on an empty stomach and be crankynow, would you? What kind of impression would that give them?” I ask sweetly.
“Like you’ve been such a peach all evening.” She eyes me skeptically before her motherly instincts win out. “Fine. Go get something to eat, sweetie, but make sure you bring your ass right back here when you’re done.”
“Scouts honor,” I say, giving her a salute.
“Like you’ve ever been a Boy Scout before,” she says, rolling her eyes.
I don’t waste any time getting far away from her. I walk out to the balcony with another drink in my hand. It’s where I plan to spend the rest of the night to avoid meeting any more of the women whom my mother has picked out.
I’m sitting in the shadows for about fifteen minutes when something catches my eye from down below. I look down to see someone in a suit walking toward the back of the house.
The person is wearing a white mask that glows in the moonlight. It looks kind of familiar, but I can’t put my finger on why at this second. It covers their entire face and is white with black cracks around it. I have only seen one similar to it, and only once at all the parties I’ve been forced to attend.
Then it hits me! But that just raises new questions. Luca Bellucci is supposed to be missing or dead, last I heard. Now I’m curious to see who this person is and where they’re going. I hop off the railing and start to make my way down the stairs, following the person quietly, like a predator stalking its prey.
The person goes all the way to the back of the house and straight through the door that leads to the basement, which also leads to the dungeon. I’m not worried that they’ll find anything, since it’s just a bunch of hallways down there and lots of storage spaces.
The real dungeon, where all the fun happens whenever we need to interrogate or torture someone at home, is behind ahidden wall, and you’d have to know where it is to find it. When I step through the cellar doors, I quietly pull them closed behind me, making sure that no one can get in after me. But, more importantly, that the person snooping won’t be able to get out.
We have high-priced art in storage down here, too, and that’s where I catch up with the intruder because he stopped to stare at it. I take a moment to study this person without letting them know they’re not alone, before making my presence known. I’m thinking it’s a guy based on the tux, but he’s pretty short and small for a guy.
“I do believe this is called trespassing,” I say, my voice coming out a little harsh in the silence. The person lets out a high-pitched squeak before spinning around to face me. “Who are you and what the hell are you doing down here?”
There’s no response. He just stands there and stares at me before he slowly starts to inch backward like I won’t notice. I stalk over to him and grab him by the throat, using my height and build to slam him back against the wall.
A definite feminine gasp escapes the person, and I realize this might not be a man. I’m pretty sure it’s a woman. For some unexplainable reason, my cock stirs in my pants as I press my whole body against hers. From where we’re touching chest to chest, I feel something bulky inside the suit. Almost like there’s a bandage around the chest area.
I’m confused because I haven’t felt this kind of attraction to anyone in a long time. Fuck! I don’t even know what she looks like, but my dick is already acting up. That’s so fucking weird!
“Are you going to tell me your name, sweetness?” I ask. She shakes her head no, and I let out a sigh. “We’re doing this my way then.”
Without warning, I pull her mask off and come face-to-face with the most soulful brown eyes I have ever seen. She’s wearing a wig that’s cut into a man’s hairstyle, and I pull that off herhead, along with the wig cap hiding her real hair. Long and luscious hair spills down, catching my eye.
Fuck. Me.
I instantly become rock hard as we continue to stare at each other, and the feeling of attraction that had been eluding me before today slams into me full force. It feels like I’m being burned by fire, with the intensity of the connection that’s brewing to life between us.
I’m pretty sure she can feel it too, because a gasp and a moan escape her. My hips slowly grind into hers, and I wasn’t even conscious of the fact that I was doing that shit.
I continue to stare down at the tiny beauty before me. She’s tan and petite, about five feet six inches. She has long, straight brunette hair that’s just past her waist and those brown eyes that completely captivate me. She also has plump pink lips that I’m dying to taste.
But the most important thing of all is that I recognize the beauty who’s standing before me, staring at me just as hard as I’m staring at her.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the elusive Mafia princess, Aria Bellucci.”
CHAPTER 4
