Not Juliet (12 page)

Her eyes were
dark, pupils as wide as matching solar eclipses, inviting and
mesmerizing. He captured her lips and plunged back inside her soft
heat, rotating his hips and using the movement to part her legs
wider. Damn, she was so tight, so sweet.

Riella’s hips
tilted up to meet his thrusts. She was so hot, it was killing him!
He pulled almost all the way out and plunged in again, deeper. Her
breath caught and she squeezed her pelvic muscles at the intrusion,
causing his own breath to hitch as he struggled to keep from
finishing too soon. Her nails grazed his back and he moved again,
delving deeper still, and again, until she’d taken him whole.

Her hands
dropped to his buttocks. She clutched him as close as she could and
quivered when the tip of his shaft brushed her cervix. “Harder,”
she gasped, swiveling her hips to meet him better. “Please.”

God have mercy!
Luca felt his eyelids threatening to close, but he was not giving
in so easily. She was rocking beneath him, gripping him harder and
harder as her breathing became more erratic and her body began to
quiver.

He wound his
arms around her middle and thrust inside her with everything he
had. Shivers of pleasure rolled through him and he pivoted inside
her, twisting side to side, pushing her over the edge. She
shattered, completely out of control, her scream of release
reverberating in the quiet stillness of the night. Her throbbing
muscles clenched and pulsated around his length, making him feel
buzzed to extreme, like one enormous nerve ending.

One last
thrust, and Luca swore he could feel the beat of his heart as it
forced the gush of blood through the raised veins in his neck, and
in his groin, and he released his seed in such an intense
explosion, he saw pinpricks of light flash in his periphery, making
him worry that he might pass out. As it was, he buried his face
into Riella’s neck, working to catch his breath and his strength
enough to move.

The sound was foreign
and Luca’s ears pricked up. He lay still, waiting to check he
hadn’t misinterpreted its source.

There it was
again – a slight clink, like the hard ends of shoelaces against the
polished wood of the stairs. Too miniscule to be recognizable, but
definitely real.

Carefully, he
slid from underneath Riella’s arm and cheek. He’d brought her to
bed when it got too cool for comfort outside, by the pool, and made
slow, sweet love to her in his bed – their bed now, for he
certainly didn’t want her sleeping in any other bed, ever again –
worshipping her body until they were both exhausted and ready to
slip happily into exhausted oblivion, heartbeats synchronized,
bodies tangled around each other’s, blissfully contented.

He listened to
Riella’s breathing. Still asleep. Making sure Riella stayed
covered, warm and comfortable in her little cocoon of happiness,
Luca scooted to the edge of the bed and placed his feet on the
floor.

The next sound
froze him to the spot. It rang out exactly like his own gun when he
chambered a round. Sharp and lethal. He’d recognize it
anywhere.

“USP Tactical,
40 cal,” a male voice drawled quietly from across the room in
English. “Decent gun, I have to say. I might keep it. Good
penetration and accuracy.”

Dawn couldn’t
be far off; through the murky grey of the almost-morning, Luca
caught the movement as the intruder extended his arm and pointed
the gun at Riella’s sleeping form. He jumped to his feet.

“One more move
and I swear I’ll shoot her. I don’t need her alive.”

Luca halted,
chilled to his very core. “Who are you?” he asked, barely
suppressing his anger.

A small click,
and one of the wall lights turned on, back-lighting the stranger.
He was leaning against the back rest of a couch, most of his body
hidden from view. His face was also hidden, behind the carnival
mask Riella had abandoned when she’d fled from the shooter in
Florence, two days before. Luca squinted, scrutinizing the shadows.
He compared the outline of the man’s left shoulder with his right.
Definitely a bulge there. The rogue. The fleeing man’s grunt of
pain, back in that alley, must have meant one of Luca’s bullets had
clipped his shoulder, which was now bandaged, hence the bulge.

Luca’s glance
shot to the wall panel – no blinking light signifying the presence
of intruders. He clearly remembered resetting it after returning
from dinner with Riella the night before, when he’d come in to get
the champagne. He’d not been as thorough as usual, pressing buttons
quickly, in a hurry to get back to her. Had the rogue entered his
property while they were out?

Bile rose up in
his throat as he imagined this sick pervert getting himself off
whilst watching their lovemaking, tainting their sacred moments
with his filthy ogling.

How had he got
his hands on the mask and his gun, though? Luca could think of only
one explanation: instead of running away, as he had expected him to
have done, the thug had doubled back and followed him, and
therefore had seen where he’d stashed the gun and the mask, as he
rushed to catch up with Riella. He never did get the chance to talk
to Guido and have him recover his favorite weapon, and he guessed
Guido would have found the box empty, if he’d checked.

Hmm… This guy
certainly had more nerve than he’d given him credit for.

“I know who you
are, but I don’t know why you’re here.”

Zamir laughed
and pulled the mask off his face with one hand. It made a light
clinking sound as he threw it on the chair next to his. Ah. The
sound that woke him up – must be the tinkling of the strings of
small beads sewn around the mask.

“I won’t need
this anymore, then,” the rogue said. “Never liked the Italians’
tendency for the dramatic anyway.”

Luca ignored
the barb. “What do you want? And don’t even think of hurting my
wife. There won’t be a place on earth where I won’t find you, and
when I do…”

“Yeah, yeah,
yeah. Yadda, yadda, yadda. All waffle and talk,” Zamir said, waving
the gun around. Luca launched himself at him, but before he took
one step Zamir’s hand steadied and he shot the pillow next to
Riella’s. “Next time I won’t miss.”

Luca stared
open-mouth at the hole ripped through the pillow and the feathers
released by the impact. The blast had been deafening, but Riella
didn’t fully wake. She merely stirred, turned on her back and
brought one arm over to cover her face.

“Don’t do that
again,” Luca growled at Zamir.

“You’re in no
position to argue,
Your Majesty
.” He twisted his mouth on
the last words, making them sound offensive.

Riella moved
again and let out a disgruntled moan.

“Now, when she
wakes up, you are going to tell her it was all a big
misunderstanding and she’d better go back home and forget she ever
met you.”

Luca was
shaking his head even before he’d finished speaking.

“Think
carefully before you say – or do – something stupid. I have orders
to kill her. I am breaking the rules for personal reasons, but I
won’t bother if it gets too difficult. I’m offering to get her home
to her father alive. What happens after that… I don’t know. It’s
out of my hands.”

“I can’t let
her go. We’ve only just married. I love her. And she loves me.”

“She won’t for
much longer. Stop resisting, if you want her to live.”

“Luca?” Riella
mumbled.

Luca shot her a
worried look, then turned back to the villain. Florence, Rome, the
guy’s tenacity and perseverance – all pointed at the seriousness of
the situation. Someone really wanted her dead. Even if he took this
one down, how many others would be waiting to take over? And what
if they wouldn’t be willing to ‘break the rules’? What if there
were snipers pointing their guns at them this very moment? He
couldn’t risk Riella’s life like that.

He needed to
get to the source, find the decision maker. That would certainly be
the safest way, at least for Riella. Whether he knew it or not,
this villain was giving him a passageway into enemy lines. He could
pretend to agree for now, follow them, and get her back later.

Time. The first
thing to do was buy himself and Riella some time.

“And you’re
sure you can get her home untouched?” Luca checked.

“Mmmm… I didn’t
say that.” Zamir shrugged his good shoulder. “I kinda enjoyed
watching the two of you last night. I know people who could make
your… performance… go viral.” He patted his pocket. “So you see how
hard it would be for me to keep my hands to myself. If I’m gonna
commit to a no-touch policy, I’ll need something to sweeten my
deal.”

“What do you
want?” Luca asked, barely containing his anger.

“I want you to
relinquish all control over the gang masters up north. Keep your
business away from the Romanies in England. We won’t need your
guidance,
oh, Mighty Ruler
.”

Again, with the
sarcasm.

“Luca?” Riella
sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes with the back of her fists, like a
child. “What was that? What ruler?” She looked around, sleepy and
confused. “Oooh, feathers! Is this a new game?”

Luca turned to
face her. She looked up to him and frowned at his tense appearance,
then caught sight of the man behind him, gun in hand.

“I don’t want
you to worry, love. He won’t hurt you,” Luca started.

Riella’s frown
melted away. Her confused expression cleared and she smiled.
“Zamir! Hi. When did you get here?” Then she clocked the gun. “Why
are you threatening Luca?”

Luca turned to
see the gun was no longer pointed at Riella, but at him. He didn’t
stop to ponder why. Without missing a beat, he threw himself at
Zamir. His hands stretched for his neck, to teach the little shit a
lesson, but he missed. Zamir ducked to the side and Luca landed on
the floor, the other side of the couch.

“He’s not who
you think he is!” Zamir shouted to Riella as he scuttled away from
Luca.

He wasn’t fast
enough. Luca scissored his feet and caught his ankles. Zamir
toppled to the ground, smacking face-first into the lacquered wood
floor, and a second later Luca had wrestled the gun out of his
hands. He dropped the magazine and the chambered round and kicked
them to the farthest corner of the room. The gun, he lobbed onto
the bed, where it stirred some more of the already-dislodged
feathers.

“Luca, wait!”
Riella shouted. “He’s harmless. He’s only here to protect me.” She
struggled with the bed sheet, pulled it off the bed and wrapped it
around herself like a toga, leaving a narrow gap down one leg, so
she could walk.

“Is he?” Luca
turned on her, teeth gritted, jaw working. “So why is he pointing
the gun at you, then?”

Riella looked
from Luca to Zamir, to the gun, and back to Luca.

“He wasn’t
pointing it at me. He was pointing it at you.”

“Okay. Have it
your way. Why was he threatening me, in my own home, in my own
bed?”

Riella turned
her enquiring eyes to Zamir.

“I was trying
to protect you,” he said apologetically, shrugging, and wincing
straight after.

“Protect me
from my husband?”

“You married
him?” Zamir asked, eyes round, as if it was news to him. “Who
marries someone they met a day ago?”

“Two,” Luca
corrected.

“Whatever,”
countered Zamir. “My apologies and congratulations, Mrs. – what is
your name now?”

Riella frowned
and looked back to Luca. “I don’t know, actually. I never asked. It
seemed… unimportant.” Her eyes stayed on Luca.

The bastard
knew exactly what he was doing. Nostrils flared, Luca ground his
teeth, then kissed his marriage goodbye.

“Anziano. You
new name is Riella Anziano.”

The gasp robbed her of
the last trace of air. She felt like she’d been punched in the gut.
It was a good thing she’d stayed close to the bed. She let herself
fall onto the soft comforter, now. Air. She needed air. Pulling in
a ragged breath, she searched Luca’s eyes. He was looking down.

“What? I don’t
understand. What do you mean?”

Her thoughts
weren’t making much sense. She shook her head and tried breathing
again.

“Why didn’t you
tell me?”

He didn’t say
anything. She struggled through a few more breaths before she could
get her thoughts in order. The first one surprised her.

“Wow. Isn’t it
ironic? I planned to give myself to the king in return for him
calling off his hit men for a few weeks. I guess I got what I
deserved.”

“Riella…” was
all Luca said, his voice strangled off by his guilt, she imagined.
His arm lifted, as if to reach for her, but he stayed where he was,
unmoving, a perfect statue of a broken love affair.

Riella took a
moment to think about it – how easily she’d been duped. And all
because of her treacherous heart. All her dreams of eternal love,
her romantic ideals, had led her nowhere. In the end, she’d acted
stupid. She’d wasted time, and moreover, wasted her love, on a
liar. And what did she have to show in return?

“Do me a
favor,” she said to Luca. He lifted his face to meet her eyes. “If
you’ve ever loved me, though it looks like the last couple of days
were just an act…” Luca opened his mouth to talk, but she silenced
him with one hand. “If the last few
hours
meant anything to
you… You’ve got what you wanted. I’ve already given you the most
valuable thing I possess. And I gave you my heart, but you didn’t
need that. I get it. When you’ve got it all, there’s little left a
king could wish for.”

“Riella,
please, hear me out.”

“Don’t. I have
nothing left to bargain with. The only thing left to me is to beg.
So, here.” She dropped to the floor, kneeling naked in front of
him. “I’m begging you,
King
Luca Anziano…” A strangled noise
issued from his throat, but she ignored him. “I’m begging you to
let my father live his last days in peace. Please. If my love meant
anything to you at all.”