Page 82 of His Vicious Desire

The sight of how desperate he is for any hint of affection from her has me wanting to slap her.Why couldn’t she love him the way he wants her to?

“It’s your fault he doesn’t sleep more than a handful of hours, and why he’s never here.I wish he’d never brought you here.”I hiss at her before leaving because I can’t stand the sight of her.

Bianca

I sigh as my alarm goes off.The dinner where everyone pretends like this isn’t the biggest farce of the decade is happening in an hour.Maybe I should have given myself more time to get ready, I admit to myself as I step into the shower.I haven't done anything to get ready for tonight except go out and get a new dress and have my nails done.

Like the well-raised woman, they aren’t anything like what I want.They’re a prim and proper American tip.Nothing flashy, nothing that draws attention.Carina’s nails are probably blood red and pointy—too honest.She hides who she is so well.

My hair takes forever to dry.As I'm trying to figure out how I want to style it, I catch sight of the clock in the corner of the room.I don't have time to style it.Annoyed, I put it into a sharp ponytail without a hair out of place.

Ready for the dress.I take it off the hanger and smile.I'm not going to do anything rude or stupid, like wear a white dress for the wedding tomorrow, but tonight is just family and friends.Everyone knows what it really is.So I put on a white version of the black dress that Gaetano hated so much he cut off me.

Checking the back I smile at how good my ass looks in this dress.Gaetano is going to be sooo pissed when he sees me wearing it.Good.

I keep the make-up light not out of any preference, it was out of a need to move my ass.Oh shit.Sonofabitch.The hickey on my neck from when Gaetano tore up my neck in the back of my SUV is still showing.I can never get this as right as I want to.Then again, it isn’t something I’ve ever had to do before.

As I get into the elevator, I swear, great, I'm ten minutes late, hopefully not everybody is sitting down.It’s going to be very noticeable that I’m late because the restaurant has been closed down for tonight.

I enter the restaurant to find everybody is here, and sitting down.Sandro is flashing me a glare.Whatever, I roll my eyes and find the lone empty seat.It's in between Bella and the gorgeous Dominic Sabatini.His father is sitting across from me, and I completely understand the rumors I've heard about scary Tony Sabatini.His nickname is the librarian, yet they say it should be the grim reaper.

Flashing my smile at the gorgeous Tony Sabatini, I refuse to show I’m annoyed with the way Gaetano is glaring at me.Tony Sabatini knows all and sees all.One corner of his mouth tips up, and he shakes his head.He's not interested in flirting and having a little bit of fun to pass the time during this boring dinner.

Fine.I turn my attention to Dominic Sabatini.God, he is gorgeous too.

They look eerily alike, but there’s enough to tell the difference between the two.While Tony has more gray hair, his son isn't far behind him, and it looks good on him.

“I'm sorry.What?”He lifts an eyebrow up at me.

Blushing, I slap my hand over my mouth.Shit.I said that out loud.A dimple appears in his cheek.Whatever, why not go for it?Just a little friendly flirty.Nothing serious.

“I said your gray hair looks really good on you.”

He exhales a laugh and a grin that shows me dimples in both cheeks.

“And you have dimples in both cheeks.It’s not fair.”I sigh

Shaking his head.“I’m married.”

“Okay.Good to know.”

“You and Carina are gonna get along very well.”He sips from his wine.

I lose my smile.“We haven't so far.”

His eyes roam over me.I know the moment he sees the hickey on my neck because his eyes soften.“If he hasn't called you or texted back, you deserve better, and I hope you get it.”

Forcing a shrug.“It's just so annoying the way he's treating me like a stupid little girl to pat on the head into contentment.“Patience,” he says.If I just knew what I was waiting for…”

“Sometimes there is no other answer than time.Time answers to no one.You have to wait for more information.Which is why you need patience.”Dominic says the words softly, but not without rebuke, it’s something I should know by now.

Oddly, the dinner isn't as bad as I thought it would be.Dominic takes pity on me, and we discuss the business classes that I was taking and how I hoped one day to work on the marketing business side of this hotel.Instead of treating me like a little kid, he asked questions, and my opinion on changes, and what I would do.It's actually kind of nice.

Until the moment I can't wait to use the restroom, I decide not to bother Bella to ask her to come with me and trek down the long hallway.I’m not going to the one for patrons.I prefer the one for employees.My hand is pushing the door open when I look up at the sound of someone walking down the hall to see Gaetano.

Yep, he’s pissed about the dress.

One hard hand goes around my upper arm as he backs me into the bathroom and flicks the lock.Oh god, it’s a replay of the time I wore the dress in black.Thank god.

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