Bound By Love (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles Book 6)

LUCA

The days passed quickly after our return to New York, and soon November rolled around and with it Matteo and Gianna’s fucking engagement party. The girl didn’t even try to hide that she didn’t want to marry Matteo.

If it had been up to me, I’d have let Scuderi marry her off to whatever old creep he’d chosen for her before Matteo played the fucking hero and asked for her hand.

She would bring trouble to New York, and I was glad that the wedding was still more than half a year away because additional trouble was the last thing I needed at the moment.

Dante entered my mansion with Scuderi and nine-year-old Fabiano, who trailed after them like a lost puppy. Gianna and Liliana had arrived earlier with their mother and immediately gone upstairs to prepare for the festivities. Neither of the women felt comfortable around me.

Dante and Scuderi wouldn’t be spending the night under my roof. They preferred a close-by hotel, and I was fucking relieved. Maybe our fathers had agreed on a truce, but Dante and I didn’t trust each other. I didn’t want him under the same roof as Aria. Not that he had any interest in her. He hadn’t officially taken over as Boss from his father Fiore Cavallaro yet, but everyone knew he was already running the show in Chicago.

“I still can’t stand their fucking faces,” Matteo muttered. “Especially Scuderi makes me want to optimize his face with my knife.”

One day maybe, but not today.

I walked toward them and held out my hand to Dante as tradition dictated. “Dante,” I said neutrally, which was the friendliest tone I could muster. “I hear you got engaged only recently. Congratulations.”

Dante inclined his head. “The wedding won’t be a big affair like yours with Aria.”

“We’re honored to attend anyway.” Of course, we had gotten an invitation and were required to go, even if I couldn’t have cared less if Dante married or not.

Dante inclined his head, his eyes cold and wary. I shook Scuderi’s hand after that, and squeezed a bit tighter than was called for, remembering what Aria had told me in Sicily—that he had hit her even after our engagement, even after I told him she was mine.

His brows drew together. “Luca.”

I released his hand. “Rocco.”

“Where is Aria?”

“She is talking to the caterer about some last-minute changes, but she will be here any moment.”

“Is Romero still her bodyguard? I never understood how you let an attractive man close to her age guard her. I wouldn’t allow my wife an opportunity like that.”

The moment this truce was over, I’d hunt him down and show him what it felt like to drown in his own blood. I smiled coldly, my voice steel. “My men know she is mine. No one would dare look at her the wrong way. Men like your nephew Raffaele would have been skinned in New York, their skin left to dry so it could make a nice carpet for my office.”

Scuderi’s face turned red.

Dante only met my gaze with the same cold appraisal as always. “We’ve come to celebrate an engagement, not skin anyone, I assume.” His eyes said he would have preferred the latter.

I inclined my head. “Of course. We want to further our bonds, right?”

“Right,” Dante clipped, and silence followed.

Beside me, Matteo looked like he was only waiting for a sign from me to pull his knives and carve a smile into their throats.

My eyes went to the small figure behind Scuderi who watched us with huge blue eyes, Aria’s eyes.

“Fabiano,” I said, trying to soften my voice but succeeding only marginally. He peered up at his father, who gave a jerky nod before Fabiano stepped forward and held out his hand. I took it and shook it, and then the kid narrowed his eyes. “Where are Gianna and Lily?”

Protectiveness rang in his young voice, and I had to stifle a smile.

“He’s buried them in the backyard,” Matteo said with a grin.

Fabiano jerked, and I sent Matteo a scowl. “They are upstairs,” I told Fabiano and tightened my grip slightly, sending him a warning look. He was still a kid, but I wouldn’t tolerate his insolence in my own territory.

He lowered his eyes and I released him.

“I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, but you will have to beat Gianna into shape. She needs a hard hand,” Scuderi said, and Matteo’s answering grin sent me into high alert.

Dante straightened. Three years of truce. How much longer?

The door swung open and Romero stepped inside, checking if the air was clear before he allowed Aria to step through. His brows drew together when he noticed the tension between us, and he stretched out his arm to bar Aria’s way. Of course, she wouldn’t have it, her eyes zeroing in on her brother.

She ducked under Romero’s arm. “Fabi!” she called, her face breaking into a smile as she rushed toward us. She flung herself at her brother and hugged him tightly. The unbridled happiness on her face banished any violent thoughts I’d harbored. She pulled back, her eyes scanning her brother. “You have grown again. When will you ever stop?”

“When I’m as tall as Luca,” Fabiano said firmly.

And Aria let out that bell-like laugh I fucking loved more than anything else. “Then we’ll have to feed you a lot.” She raised her gaze to me, so full of happiness and love I had trouble keeping my face emotionless and hard. Her expression fell slightly before realization set in as she turned to Dante and her father. Politeness and grace took over her face as she stepped up to her father and kissed his cheeks. “Father.”

Then she turned to Dante. From the tense set of her shoulders I could see that he scared her, and that sight would have been enough to make me want to lunge but Matteo’s hand on my forearm, a silent warning, stopped me. I sent him a look. Now he had to stop me from breaking truce, really?

Dante must have seen some of my thoughts, because his eyes narrowed the slightest bit before he took Aria’s hand and kissed it. He released her quickly and she stepped back. She came to my side and I touched her waist. Mine.

“Has the cake arrived yet?” she asked. “The caterer said they couldn’t reach the bakery, and nobody’s picking up when I try to call.”

I stared. I didn’t even know we’d ordered cake.

She sighed. “I think I’d better have Romero drive me over there.” She turned to face her brother. “Why don’t you join me?”

I stifled a smirk. Aria had picked up on the tense atmosphere and she wanted her brother away from it.

Fabiano looked at his father, who waved a hand at him. “You’re only in the way anyway.”

Aria wrapped an arm protectively around her brother, eyes hardening. “Come on.” She raised her eyes to mine. “If Gianna and Lily ask for me, please tell them I’ll be back soon.” She gave me a short smile but didn’t kiss me. There would be time for that when we were alone.

“I must admit Aria seems surprisingly relaxed around you. Given your reputation I’d have thought she’d cower in front of you,” Scuderi said. “But I suppose some reputations are misleading.”

“A marriage is no place for fear,” Dante said, and I felt something like respect for him.

Several hours later, my suspicions were confirmed when Gianna caused a scene, making her reluctance to marry plainly clear to anyone who had the misfortune of being around.

Matteo took it with stride. He was the master of games, and she would be his ultimate victory, or so he thought. I had a feeling the redhead would not only make his life hell, but also mine. I could only hope she wouldn’t drag Aria into trouble with her because when her siblings were concerned, Aria lost all sense of self-preservation.

“What are you going to do about Sylvester?” Matteo asked.

I grimaced. I’d postponed a decision until now. Whenever Aria had asked what we were going to do on Sylvester I’d pretended I hadn’t decided yet, but that was a fucking lie. Like every fucking year, I was invited to the social event in New York—Senator Parker’s Sylvester party. The Famiglia had been working together with him for many years, and it was expected that I make an appearance as the current Capo.

“I will attend, and so will you.”

“And Aria?”

That was going to be a major problem. She was my wife and of course everyone expected her to be there as well, and I wanted her at my side—if there wasn’t the matter of Grace being there too. I hadn’t seen her since Aria had caught me with her, and I’d forced the senator to send his daughter off to England, but she would return for the party as was expected. “She will come with us.”

“That’s got the potential for a scandal,” Matteo muttered.

As if I didn’t know that. Not that I cared about a scandal, but I cared about Aria’s feelings.

“Are you sure Grace won’t make a scene? You never dumped her in person.”

“I never dumped her because I wasn’t dating her. I fucked her, and other women.” Of course, the other reason why I hadn’t seen her again was that I wanted to kill her for paying Rick to put roofies in Aria’s drink. If she wasn’t a woman and more importantly a senator’s daughter, I would have put a bullet in her head.

“Grace might disagree.”

“I don’t give a fuck. She’d better keep her mouth shut and treat Aria with the necessary respect, or I’ll make her regret it.”

That evening as Aria and I lay in bed, I finally bridged the subject I’d been avoiding. “We’re invited to a party for Sylvester.”

Aria lifted her head from my chest, brows drawing together. “Okay. And you only found out five days before?”

I shook my head. “I’ve known for a while.”

She sat up and peered down at me with confusion. “And you didn’t tell me, why?”

“It’s Senator Parker’s party.”

Aria stiffened and moved to get out of bed, but I grabbed her by the waist.

“Please,” she whispered. “Let me go.”

I released her. That broken whisper was a fucking bullet to the heart. She slid out of bed and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Manhattan, leaving me to stare at her naked back. I got out of bed, moved toward her and stopped close behind. Her face was reflected in the window, but her gaze was distant as if she didn’t see what lay right in front of her. I could imagine too well what memories she was reliving.

I rested my hands on her hips and my chin on the top of her head. “Aria—”

“Grace will be there,” she said quietly, and finally raised her eyes to mine in the window.

“Yes.”

She gave a sharp nod then tried to step out of my hold, but this time I didn’t let her evade me again. “No,” I growled, tightening my grip on her waist. “Don’t make a bigger deal out of this than it is.”

Anger flashed across her face, and she surprised me by ramming her elbow into my side. I let go of her in shock. She whirled around, her eyes furious. “A bigger deal than it is?” She brought her palms up against my chest and shoved hard. I had to bite back a grin. That would have sent the wrong message. When I spotted the hint of tears in her eyes, my amusement died.

“Aria, I don’t give a fuck about Grace, believe me. It doesn’t matter if she’s at the party or not.”

“If it doesn’t matter, then why did you keep the party a secret from me for so long?”

“Because I knew how you’d react, and I was right,” I said.

She frowned.

“Come on,” I said, then took her hand and tugged her toward the bed. She followed and climbed back under the covers. I joined her and pulled her on top of me, but her body didn’t soften as it usually did.

“She will try to rub it in that you cheated.”

I stroked her soft back. “I told you before. She is a fucking rat trying to humiliate a queen. Ignore her.”

Aria sighed. “I’m not sure I can.”

“You are a mafia princess, Aria. You were brought up to brave men like me. You can stand up to a wretched whore like Grace.”

Aria tilted her head. “If you think so little of her, why did you spend time with her?”

“It’s not like I dated her. She was a fuck buddy.”

“I can’t imagine sleeping with someone I don’t have feelings for. I’ve only ever made love.” Her voice was a soft exhale.

I ran my knuckles up her spine. “Before you I ever only fucked, Aria. I didn’t care about any of those women.”

“But if you couldn’t stand their presence, wasn’t it difficult to spend time with them after sex?”

My brows pulled together. “I didn’t stay afterwards.”

Aria’s eyes filled with incredulity. “You slept with them and left immediately after you were done?”

“I fucked them and left, yes. Why would I have stayed?”

She regarded me as if she couldn’t possibly understand my reasoning. “But…what about snuggling? Did you never long for closeness?”

I chuckled. “Oh, principessa, you have a wrong impression of me. This version of me is one only you have ever seen.”

She propped herself up on my chest and peered down at me. “But with me you like it?”

That she still had to ask. “No,” I murmured. “I love it.”

Her lips turned up in a gorgeous smile, then she gave me a soft kiss. As if anyone could ever compete with Aria.

Matteo looked like the cat that got the cream. With his sick fascination for trouble, he’d probably end up enjoying being married to Gianna after all. Thankfully, he wouldn’t marry her until the summer, so I didn’t have to bear their annoying bickering yet.

“I hope there will be a nice piece of ass for me at the party. I need a good fuck,” Matteo said.

“You can have Grace for all I care. She gives head like a pro,” I muttered.

Matteo seemed to consider that. “Not sure I want your leftovers. You wouldn’t mind?”

I snorted. “I don’t give a fuck, trust me.”

“She’ll make a move on you, Luca.”

I fucking hoped she wouldn’t, but I feared Matteo was right. I’d wounded Grace’s pride. She was a spoiled brat who was used to getting her way, and I was the first man who hadn’t fawned over her. I still wished I had killed her after what she did to Aria in the Sphere, but Father had forbidden it and our connections to Senator Parker were too important.

I was about to say something when Aria stepped out of the bedroom and onto the landing, and any sane thought escaped my mind. She wore a floor-length golden dress that fell in soft waves around her legs. It was sleeveless with a jeweled high collar. Her golden-blonde hair fell in wavy curls around her face. Now she looked like a queen.

Matteo released a low whistle. “Grace will throw a fit.”

Aria glided down the staircase and I moved toward her, extending my hand. She took it with a small smile. Nerves filled her eyes. “You are gorgeous, principessa.”

“You are,” Matteo confirmed.

Aria flushed and I squeezed her hand lightly in reassurance.

When we arrived in Senator Parker’s home, Aria’s hand was tense in mine, but her face didn’t reflect her turmoil. She looked regal and elegant as I led her inside his brownstone town house.

And then I spotted Grace, and worse, she spotted me.

Senator Parker sent me an apologetic look and Grace’s brother even tried to lead her away, but she sauntered over to us. She’d gone all out. A tight, gold sequined minidress that ended high up on her thighs and left little to the imagination. Her neckline dipped low, showing off her impressive chest.

Aria stiffened and I turned to her. Aria in her far less revealing dress was so much sexier than Grace could ever be. Aria was a queen, and Grace was not worthy to breathe the same air as her.

“Luca,” Grace said sweetly and actually leaned forward as if she considered hugging me, but the scowl I sent her made her pull back. “Aria,” she said with pursed lips.

“I need to have a word with you,” her brother said as he grabbed her arm and practically dragged her away. Maybe he had seen how much I wanted to end his sister, woman or not.

Aria relaxed beside me, but the first guests crowded around us soon so I didn’t get the chance to ask her if she was okay. Grace tried to catch my attention several times through the evening, but I didn’t spare her a glance and her brother paid better attention to her whereabouts, making sure she didn’t come close again.

Grace got visibly frustrated with my lack of interest and in a last attempt at getting a reaction out of me, she walked up to Matteo, who had been flirting with the daughter of another politician. She gave him her best bedroom eyes, leaning in close to him. Matteo smirked, but his eyes found me above Grace’s head.

I raised my eyebrows at him. Have a go at her.

He whispered something in her ear, wrapped his arm around her waist and cupped her ass. Before she led him away, she sent me a scathing look. Did she really think I gave a fuck? If she thought she could win me over by sucking my brother’s cock, then she was even stupider than I’d realized.

“Please tell me it’s not how it looks,” Aria whispered, looking sick to her stomach.

I squeezed her waist. “Matteo is going to get the blow job of his life.” A moment too late I realized how that had sounded.

Aria’s cheeks flushed and she stiffened in my hold, but I didn’t get the chance to soften my words because the owner of a restaurant chain we protected came over and involved me in a conversation. Aria’s face looked like it had been carved from stone the rest of the evening, and I could have kicked myself for my thoughtlessness. Aria stayed at my side, keeping up appearances, but she didn’t spare me a single glance.

Almost one hour later, Matteo returned to the party, his hair disheveled and a self-satisfied grin on his face. He sauntered over to us when my last conversation partner had left, and I sent him a warning look but of course Matteo, being an asshole, ignored it.

“Now I get why you kept her around for so long. Damn it, that woman doesn’t have a gag reflex.” That and she took it up her ass, but Aria didn’t need to know that.

She stiffened, paling. Matteo glanced at her, then back at me, dark eyebrows climbing his forehead. I sent him a death glare.

“Excuse me. I need to freshen up,” Aria said in a formal tone, stepping back from me.

I would have stopped her if Grace’s father hadn’t come over in that moment and I couldn’t risk a scene in public. Aria turned on her heel and stalked off, her head held high. I could have killed Matteo.

ARIA

I had trouble breathing as I made my way toward the restrooms. Luckily, nobody tried to stop me. I wasn’t sure I could have kept up my mask if they had. The moment I stepped inside the bathroom, I released a shuddering breath. I washed my hands because I couldn’t wash my face without ruining my makeup. Lifting my face, I regarded myself in the mirror. I wasn’t vain but I knew people found me beautiful. I had received praises for my beauty all my life, and yet the mention of Grace’s abilities made me realize that it might not be enough to hold Luca.

He loves you.

I closed my eyes and counted to ten until I felt the necessary strength to return to the party. Grace was the past.

I moved out of the bathroom and stiffened when I saw Grace waiting for me in the hallway. She smiled but it was all fake.

Resisting the urge to lower my eyes, I met her gaze straight on. She moved closer, encasing me with her overly sweet perfume. With her high heels, she was several inches taller than me, but I straightened my spine.

“I hoped I’d get another chance to talk to you. At your wedding, I didn’t have much time.”

He will fuck you bloody. That’s what she’d said and fueled my own terror. She wasn’t that much older than me, perhaps twenty, but she had a world of experience on me.

“Maybe you think Luca is satisfied with what you can give him,” she began in a low voice. “But I’ve known him for two years, and he’s never settled. I was the only woman he returned to over all that time, because I gave him what he needed.”

Two years? Even if he’d been with other women in that time, why had he kept her around?

Grace’s smile widened. “I’ve let him do every kinky thing you can’t even imagine, Aria. You don’t look like you are willing to take his cock up your stuck-up little frigid ass.”

It was enough. I took a step toward her, bringing us too close, and narrowed my eyes at her. I was raised in the mafia world. I had grown up among predators. I had rammed a knife into a Bratva member. If Grace thought I’d let her intimidate me again, she was thoroughly mistaken. “You will stay away from him,” I said quietly but firmly. “The only reason why he used your ass was because he didn’t want to see your face. You have always been and will always be replaceable. One among many. You are nothing to him. Cheaper than a whore, that’s for sure.” I hated that her ugliness brought out my own viciousness, but I couldn’t take anymore.

She raised her palm to slap me when a shadow fell over us, and Luca’s strong hand clamped around her wrist. He shoved her back from me so she collided with the wall but he didn’t release her. His grip on her wrist made her wince, and she cowered under the force of his gaze. He looked murderous.

“She’s not worth it,” I whispered imploringly.

His mouth pulled into the cruelest smile I’d ever seen on him as he released Grace’s wrist. “You won’t ever speak to Aria again. You won’t go anywhere near her, or you will see a side of me very few have survived.”

“Luca, please,” she begged, clutching his arm, and I stiffened. “I’d do anything for you. I love you.”

He shook her off in disgust. “Don’t touch me, whore. You just swallowed my brother’s cum; do you really think I want your dirty hands on me?”

He turned to me, and some of the anger slipped away, but Grace wasn’t done yet. Her face scrunched up as she leveled her hateful eyes on me. “I wish that guy in Luca’s club had raped you when I paid him for it. I bet with roofies in your blood that was the first time you could take all of Luca’s cock inside your pussy. It was probably the only time he enjoyed fucking you.”

I gasped, but my shock lasted only a second because Luca reached under his jacket for his knife. I wasn’t quick enough. He turned and lunged at Grace, thrusting her against the wall and pressing the blade against her throat. The fury on his face halted me only a second, then I rushed toward him and gripped his arm, trying to pull it down but he resisted, and he was too strong for me. His hateful eyes never left Grace as he held the knife against her skin. I didn’t much care for Grace, but if Luca killed her here, Senator Parker would call the police, and not all of them were on the Famiglia’s payroll.

“Luca, please,” I murmured.

“You listen to me, Grace. You will leave New York again and you won’t come back. I will say this only once: you will never threaten my wife again, or you will be the first woman I will skin alive. That’s a fucking promise.” He hit his chest with the hilt of the knife, right where his Famiglia tattoo was. His gaze made me shudder, and Grace finally realized he was being serious. Color drained from her face as she nodded. “And now you will go to your fucking room, and you won’t emerge until this fucking party is over.” He released her and she ran down the corridor where her room must have been.

Luca turned to face me, sheathing his knife, the remnants of the monster still in his expression.

I exhaled. “God, even I was scared of you. You can be terrifying.”

Another chunk of the monster fell off, his expression softening as he regarded me. “So I have been told.”

I stepped up to him and put my hands up against his chest. There was no sense in punishing Luca for something Grace had said or done. I’d forgiven him for his slipup long ago. With my touch, the last of Luca’s darkness fell off and the warmth reached his eyes. “Don’t listen to a word she says, Aria. She thrives on spite and lies.”

“Two years?” I asked quietly.

Luca shook his head. “She was one of many, Aria. I only returned to her because…” He stopped himself.

“Because of her missing gag reflex,” I muttered.

“Aria,” Luca said almost angrily, reaching for my hand and pressing it against his chest, over his heart. “I’ve never wanted anyone more than I want you, and not because I have to imagine my aunts naked to stop myself from shooting my cum the moment your perfect lips close around my cock, though that too, but because you make me laugh, because you are kind and because whenever I look at you, I feel something I’ve never felt before: peace.”

I swallowed.

Matteo chose that moment to barge into the corridor. “It’s close to midnight. You lovebirds should make a reappearance.” His eyes narrowed as he took in the way we were facing each other.

I gave Luca a small smile to show him we were okay, and he took my hand and led me back to the party. Shortly after midnight we left. Luca was on edge, and staying any longer would only increase the risk of him losing his temper.

Together we returned to our penthouse to toast the New Year again without dozens of curious eyes on us.

Matteo and I grabbed glasses and a bottle of champagne, and headed out onto the rooftop while Luca searched for snacks. Fireworks were still rising into the sky in the distance. Matteo opened the bottle and poured champagne into the three glasses before he handed one to me. His dark eyes were keen as he regarded me.

“Grace cornered you at the party.”

I didn’t say anything but gave a small nod as I took a sip from my champagne. Then when I was sure my voice would come out strong, I said teasingly, “I hear I’m not the only one she cornered.”

Matteo cracked a grin. “More than cornered,” he said suggestively.

I nodded, looking back out toward the skyline.

“Trust me, no missing gag reflex ever made Luca look at Grace with anything close to the fucking vomit-inducing adoration he shows you when he thinks no one is watching,” Matteo said with his trademark grin. “My brother is hopelessly in love with you, and to be honest I want to have the same drugs you use on him for Gianna so she’ll look at me the same way once we’re married.”

I burst out laughing, and champagne shot out of my mouth and onto Matteo’s shirt. He glanced down at it then back up at me with raised eyebrows. “That was incredibly sexy—no wonder Luca can’t keep his hands off you.”

“I have my moments,” I said with an embarrassed smile.

“What was sexy?” Luca asked sharply as he stepped up to us with a plate loaded with bread and cheese and olives. He shoved it at Matteo, who winked at me. “Possessive husband mode activated.”

Luca circled my waist with his arm. “Matteo, I think you pissed me off enough for one evening. You don’t have to shoot all your ammunition today.”

“I never shoot all my ammunition, Luca,” Matteo said with a grin, wiggling his eyebrows.

I pressed up to Luca, feeling my cheeks heat from embarrassment and the effects of the champagne. Luca sighed, but when he looked down at me, I could tell he was happier than I’d seen him all day.

“And that look is my cue to head out and find someone to shoot my ammunition at,” Matteo muttered, downing his champagne.

Hesitation flickered in Luca’s gaze. They had spent every Sylvester together, and I realized that I had changed things between them too.

“No, stay.” I reached out and grabbed Matteo’s shirt because I didn’t get to grasp his arm and pulled half of it out of his pants. I released him at once.

His eyebrows shot up. “Luca, can you please tell your wife not to rip my clothes off my body? It’s sending out mixed signals.”

I burst out laughing and Luca pressed a kiss to my temple, then shoved his brother. “You wish.”

I smiled. “How did you spend your last Sylvester?”

Matteo rubbed the back of his head, glancing at Luca, who sent him a warning look. I took another gulp of the champagne. “I assume that means women were involved.”

“A few, yeah,” Matteo said with a wink.

“At the same time?”

“Matteo was too drunk to remember,” Luca said firmly, and I rolled my eyes at him but decided to let it drop.

“I never got to see old photos of you from when you were kids.”

Matteo grinned. “Let’s see if we can change that.” He moved back inside and began searching the cupboards.

Luca sighed. “He’s a pain in the ass.”

I touched his arm and his brows drew together, but I didn’t say anything. Maybe Luca thought he had never loved anyone before me but even if he didn’t realize it, he loved his brother. “Come on,” I said. “I want to see you when you were little.”

“I was never little,” Luca objected as he followed me into the living room.

Matteo held up an old photo album and I settled beside him on the sofa. Luca sank down beside me, grimacing at the first photo. It showed him and Matteo at ages three and five, dressed in suits. Luca was already tall but still scrawny, and his face already held a hardness a kid that age shouldn’t display. Matteo was holding his brother’s hand.

“You are holding hands,” I said with a smile.

Luca groaned. I turned the page and both Luca and Matteo tensed. The photo showed Matteo and Luca, wearing the same suits as before, beside a woman with long dark hair. She was staring into the camera with the most hopeless expression I’d ever seen. I could practically feel her despair. Luca’s mother had killed herself when he was only nine, and seeing her expression, I wasn’t surprised. I quickly turned the pages until I found a photo of Luca in his teens with the most horrible mustache I’d ever seen.

“I’d forgotten your pornstache!” Matteo said, chuckling.

“Pornstache?” I repeated, raising my eyebrows at Matteo. Luca was glaring at his brother.

“Because that’s the facial hair many porn actors had.”

I took another sip of my champagne even though I was already drunk.

“I was fourteen and thought it would make me look grown up,” Luca muttered and turned the page to a photo of him on a yacht in only bathing shorts. The mustache was gone and he was already all muscle, even though he couldn’t have been more than sixteen.

I let my eyes wander over him appreciatively and Luca smirked. I couldn’t wait for us to be alone.