Page 88 of When She Tempts (The Fallen)
I feel feverish. My stomach is in knots. There’s even a persistent thrumming sensation in my clit. Is that healthy?
Jesus. My body isn’t equipped to handle this emotional rollercoaster.
I sit down with Allegra and Tommaso and quickly learn from them that Giorgio has left the property. Something important came up, but Allegra doesn’t know the details.
An anxious fear, potent and sudden, plows through my lingering arousal. What happened? Where is he? He’s lying to Sal about me. What if the don found out? The thought of Giorgio being in danger is suddenly unbearable.
“He didn’t say anything?” I ask, doing my best to keep my voice steady.
Allegra places a pork chop on her plate. “No, dear. Don’t worry yourself about it. He’ll be back before you know it.”
The straight face I manage to hold through dinner costs me a year of my life, at least. I’ve never felt more jittery or anxious. I say no to the post-meal espresso Allegra offers me and retreat to my room. Sophia follows me upstairs. Maybe her doggy intuition senses that something is off with me, and she seems pleased when I allow her to jump up on the bed.
As I pet her short fur, I tune my ear to the room on the other side of the wall.
As expected, it’s silent.
Maybe I should call Dem. He might know where Giorgio went. I fish my phone out of the nightstand and allow my finger to hover over his name for a few long seconds.
No, I better not. I don’t want to disturb him if he’s busy, and if I start asking about Giorgio right now, I’m not sure I’ll be able to mask my concern. My brother knows me too well not to see through it.
It’s been a few days since I last talked to Dem. He’s been stingy with the details of how his plan is going. When we talk, he makes everything sound all right, but my brother is a master at controlling his emotions, and he’s never shared much about clan business with me. I can only hope everything is fine with him and Vale.
I’m about to put my phone away when I notice the date.
My birthday is tomorrow. I’m turning nineteen.
I’ve spent every birthday with Dem until now. Ras is usually there too, and some years he’d bring his parents, who took Dem and I in when our own parents died. The realization that tomorrow I won’t see any of my family slams into me exceptionally hard.
I close my eyes against a surge of sadness that layers on top of worry, and the weight of the emotions press against my heart.
Will Giorgio remember it’s my birthday? Not that it’s important. The only gift I need is him coming back here safely.
Dem will call. Of that, I’m sure. Then I can ask him if he knows where Giorgio went.
The thought lifts my mood a tiny bit.
I turn off my phone and flick it under my pillow. Sophia hops off the bed as I settle under the heavy duvet and turn off the lights.
As the clock ticks, each second bringing me closer to midnight, my mind occupies itself with problems that suddenly seem urgent.
What am I going to do when Dem becomes the don?
For all of my complaints about Dem treating me like a child, I still rely on my brother a lot. That’ll have to change. He has a wife now, and one day, he’ll have his own family. He’s mentioned to me before that he wants a lot of kids. If Vale is on board, I wouldn’t be surprised if they start working on it soon. I’m not going to compete for his attention against my future nieces and nephews. They’ll need him more than I do.
He’s going to be even busier with work than before. Running a clan takes… Well, I’m not sure what it takes, but I don’t imagine it’s the kind of thing you check in and out from. He and Vale will probably move to Casal, where the rest of the powerful Casalesi families reside. Will they want me to go with them? Would I want to go?
I pull the blanket up to my chin and try to imagine it, but I draw a blank. Since we left Casal when I was very young, I don’t remember it well. The place comes with negative associations. It’s where my parents died in a house fire that destroyed our family’s home. Dem told me the story when I was a kid, and it made me terrified of the town.
But if I don’t go with Dem, where will I go? My culinary school dream faded after everything that happened over the last few months. I’m not sure what I want out of my future anymore.
I need to find my own place in the world. To carve a path out for myself.
The edges of my consciousness begin to blur with sleep.
I wonder what Giorgio will do when Dem wins. Will he return to Casal? Stay here?
The question that lingers, even as I drift off, is whether he will think about me when I’m gone…
