Page 6 of Tilly
It seems a little unfair. Like I’ve been cheated. Also, I have no idea where the freaking kitchen is. Maybe I should just try to find the front door and hightail it out of here. Except my good manners insist that I should at least thank the man before skipping out on him. He didn’t have to come and get me out of that bind last night. He also didn’t have to let me stay at his house and avoid the wrath of my parents for a few hours.
When I find myself standing in the foyer, I hesitate. The front door is right there. I could just slip out unnoticed. It’s not like Antonio would actually care, right? He’s probably forgotten I’m even here.
“Thinking about sneaking out, Little Valentino?”
I jump at the sound of the voice, turn around, and come face-to-face with Emillio. Antonio’s younger brother.
“What? No… I wasn’t…” I shake my head.
“Yes, you were,” he says. His lips tip up into a smirk as he lets his eyes travel up and down my body.
I hold last night’s costume tighter to my chest as a fresh wave of heat creeps onto my cheeks.
“Come on. This is far too entertaining for me to miss.” Emillio wraps his arms around my shoulders and guides me in the opposite direction. Away from my only chance of a somewhat less embarrassing escape.
“Wait. Where are you taking me?” I ask as I dig my feet into the flooring.
“Breakfast.” He smiles wide. “It’s the most important meal of the day, Little V, and you look like you’re all but withering away. Do they not feed you in that castle of yours?”
“I get fed plenty.” I roll my eyes and somehow end up letting Emillio guide me farther into the house.
We end up in a dining room. A dining room full of men. Antonio’s men. I look around the huge table. There have to be at least fifteen guys seated here, and none of them is Antonio. The only one I recognize is his best friend. Rafe. Who meets my eyes and smiles.
“Shit, this’ll be good. Clear the knives off the table, boys.”
I look to Emillio, then down at the arm he still has draped over my shoulders. “Right? That’s what I thought,” he agrees.
The door swings open and my breath halts. Antonio walks—no, more like saunters into the room. His gaze is focused on his phone. Then his head snaps up. And those dark, empty eyes meet mine. My heart races. I suck in a breath and try to school my features.
He doesn’t want you, Tilly. Last night made that more than obvious.
So why does my body still crave his touch? My fingers clench around the leather of my costume as I somehow clutch it tighter to my body.
“What the fuck?” Antonio hisses. “Emillio.” He directs his icy glare to his brother.
“I caught this one trying to sneak out.” Emillio shrugs and tugs me closer to his side. “What kind of hosts would we be if we didn’t feed her first?”
Without another word, Antonio walks up to me, stopping when there’s a few inches between us. I look up at him. “You’ve got three fucking seconds,” he growls. His eyes are on me, but it’s clear he’s talking to his brother.
I glance from one to the other. I have no idea what’s happening here.
Emillio laughs as he drops his arm from my shoulders and steps back. I watch as he then walks over to the dining table and takes a seat. When I look back at Antonio, he’s still glaring down at me.
“Um, I…” Shoot, think, Tilly. Say something. Anything.
Antonio reaches out and grabs the bundle of clothes out of my hands. “Joey, burn these,” he grunts as he passes my costume to one of his men.
“Wait! What? No.” My brain finally decides to work as I attempt to grab a handful of red leather. “Those boots cost me three grand.”
“You can afford the loss.” Antonio’s eyes rake over my body, and I feel even more exposed now that I’m not holding my clothes against me. I’m still in nothing but the shirt he gave me and my red lace thong. “Fuck,” he hisses out, his jaw clenched as he removes his jacket and quickly passes it to me. “Put this on,”
“Why?”
Antonio leans into my ear while keeping his voice low. “Because I don’t want to have to cut the eyes out of all the men in this room, Matilda.”
It takes everything in me to not melt into a puddle at his closeness. I can smell him—sandalwood and citrus—while the warmth of his body heats my own. Or is it just my need that has me so hot and bothered right now?
Antonio doesn’t wait for an answer before he wraps the jacket around my shoulders. “Hungry?”
