Page 10 of Midnight Secrets

The shower pounded down on my flesh, massaging out all the knots that had formed there from the stress of today. I braced my hands on the tiles and closed my eyes. An image formed in my head of a woman who had shocked the fuck out of me today. When had Lucrezia grown up—and why had I never noticed?

My balls pleaded with my unruly dick not to even think about her, but he disobeyed and hardened at the memory of her image. I stroked his length, visualising every single piece of her from the tip of her head, past her breasts that had peeked out from that silk blouse, to her curved ass and long legs that deserved to be wrapped around my waist as I thrust balls-deep into her.

I groaned when I shot my load against the pristine white tiles. Lucas Black would shoot me for even imaging her naked in bed, but for the first time in too long, I was interested in someone. She drew me to her like a moth to the flame that would destroy it. But the exquisite burn before you combusted would be worth the deadly result.

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Chapter Five

Lucrezia

When Papa was back in the UK, he had business meetings every single night. It allowed him to go home to Tuscany and hibernate for months before he had to return and sort out his business again. Xavier had his mum’s share in the distillery and dealt with a lot of the problems to save Papa from travelling, but he liked to interfere whenever he was back.

Catarina popped the little black box into her bag for Harmony, the necklace she bought already around her throat.

“Was that not supposed to be for Harmony?” I asked, nodding at the delicate roses that I’d spent hours carving.

My sister gave me that narrowed eye look that brought men to their knees. “I’m entitled to nice jewellery. You’re wearing a new piece every week.”

I honestly never realised that she noticed what I wore. I tended to wear my new collection as I created it so I could tweak it along the design pathway. My polished smile appeared on my lips. “You love shoes the way I love jewellery.” I shrugged and moved into the living room away from her assessing gaze.

“What was your meeting today?” She followed me into the room.

“I invested some of my trust fund into shares and I was to meet with my accountant. He wasn’t feeling very well and rearranged our meeting. Nothing very exciting, I’m afraid.”

She stared at me as if trying to see inside my head, but every day at school I had learned to hide my reactions until only a porcelain exterior remained. No one ever saw the real me because she was terrified of everything, even though she craved affection.

“You sure you don’t want to come to the party?”

I shook my head. “Wish Harmony a happy birthday. I’ll maybe crash it next year.”

Catarina never followed social protocols and would happily crash someone’s birthday. It went against all the etiquette that had been drilled into me from an early age.

“Cat, it’s time to go.” Her security detail Tom stood watching her from the door. His gaze contained a possessive ownership that would anger Papa. I’d heard the noises from her room, but it was her decision who she allowed into her bed.

“Have a great night,” I said with a wave, sitting down and lifting my Kindle to put an end to her questioning.

“Don’t wait up!” Her outside persona was in place as she linked her arm through Tom’s.

As soon as she was out the door, I immediately sprang into action and ran upstairs to change out of my pyjamas. I’d deliberately put them on earlier because she tended to like to drag me along behind her. Jeans and a T-shirt would be fine since there was no one to impress, my hair dragged up into a messy bun on top of my head. I’d started to panic the longer she loitered in the hall that Xavier would arrive and spark her curiosity.

“You okay?” Francis asked when I wandered back downstairs.

“Yeah, I just hate asking for help with my business,” I admitted.

“There is no point in having someone like Xavier Bartholomew as a cousin and going this alone.”

My lips twitched. “You make him sound scary.”

“Have you ever seen him and his friends in a boardroom?”

“Nope.”

“I have. They act cool and then turn into vultures when no one is looking.” He squeezed my arm. “You’ve made the right decision.”

Sofia and Catarina got hot security guards, and I got another father figure who watched out for me and helped me when I was stuck. Instead of waiting for Xavier in the living room, I went into the kitchen. Madison had taught me to bake from an early age because she was normally in the kitchen and I was lost and in need of someone to care for me.

I reverted into my old habit of baking muffins. All the guards loved their chocolatey goodness. My apron was a silly pink frilly creation that I bought on impulse last time I was in London. I hit the button for music to flood the kitchen while I moved seamlessly around, cutting and mixing until I filled cupcake cases and popped them into the oven.

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