Saying that Aiden was mad that a new man was driving me home every other day would be an understatement. When Mariano pulled in in front of my apartment building, Aiden was standing there talking to Landon. I got off the car, and both of them strangled me into a hug so that it looked like we were a throuple. Landon pulled away a lot later after Aiden did and glared at me.
"Too many one-night stands, babe? I didn’t know you were that kind of girl." He taunted. I narrowed my eyes at him. That kind of girl?
Mariano stood there, leaning against his car and watched us.
The club was blaring hard rock music. It smelled like sweat mixed with expensive cologne. And, it smelled, vaguely, like gunpowder. But maybe that was just in my head, considering the number of guns I was near these days. The name of the club was The Nostra. I thought it was weird, as it sounded like something related to the nose. Landon explained that it meant 'the thing' in Italian. Too much of Italian. I was surrounded by everything from that damn country. God.Landon made me sit on a high stool at the bar - I'm too short for him, he's like 6', Mariano maybe is 6'3, and why is he interrupting my thoughts? - and ordered me a cranberry and vodka. I was underage, but Landon knew
I woke up in Mariano's arms, snuggled closely against his chest, his face buried in the crook of my neck. I could feel my hair stand on end as our skins kept touching, his soft, warm breath fanning my cheek. I don’t think I’d ever slept like this with a man, except Aiden. I realised I’d had another night without a nightmare. Maybe my shrink wasn't that bad."Hey." I whispered, but he didn't reply, probably still asleep.
Chapter 11The first place where I looked for Mariano was the basement. He wasn't there. He must be in his office, I decided. I made my way upstairs slowly, bumping into Luigi on the way, and telling him that he looked dapper in his suit.I stood on the first floor and looked for his office. Which one was it, again? There were too many doors, all the same looking. I looked back for Luigi, but he had already gone downstairs.
No, I was not thinking about green eyes. No, I was not thinking about being entangled in silken bedsheets with a heavy arm wound around me. No, I was not thinking about Mariano Wolfe Lionelli - Montefiore Rivera. Nope. Not at all. Nada.Yes, I was lying to myself.Mariano hadn't left my mind since the second I had turned my back to him. He was everywhere. In Aiden's green sweatshirt, in Felicia's Guide to Basic Italian, in Lando
The next morning when I woke up Aiden greeted me with a mug of hot coffee, and I readily accepted it, gulping it down in large sips. "Do you want to see Mariano?" He asked."No?” Oh. Right.
Stefano called Mariano from his phone, and I sighed deeply before pressing it to my ear."Sí, Stefano?" Mariano asked curtly. His voice sounded different on the phone. Hm. I'd never spoken to him on the phone. It was still a nice voice."Uhm.
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. "No."He tugged at his hair in frustration, groaning, then reached out and undid the knot I had made and yanked the shirt off of my waist.I gasped. The gall. The audacity.
I set about laying the table. Mariano poured wine for us. He didn't seem to mind that it was the cheap variety.As I pranced around the room, making sure to twirl around in my skirt so I looked pretty, I felt the constant thud of excitement in my veins.We ate in silence, with Mariano commenting