Page 5 of Unrelenting
Rather than fishing for compliments, she looks genuinely curious, so I hold back the disbelieving laugh that’s desperate to break free.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
She folds her arms across her chest. “Not to me. I’m not your usual type.”
She’s right. Lucia Lazaro possesses a beauty that most women I fuck only achieved with cosmetic enhancements and expensive dresses.
Even disheveled after an evening spent working in a hot kitchen, Lucia outshines most of the women I’ve been with.Her gorgeous dark blonde hair and enormous brown eyes are incredibly alluring.
It’s not just her physical attributes I’m drawn to, though. She knows her own mind. Right now, I’d love for her to give me a piece of it.
“What is my usual type?”
“Well, judging from what I’ve seen on social media…”
“You’ve read about me online?”
Caught out, she scowls. “You’re hard to miss since you court gossip.”
People may spread stories about me, but I do nothing to encourage it. “I really don’t, but go on.”
“Judging from what I’ve read online, you go for bleached blondes whose tits are bigger than their IQs. I’m guessing you like the type of woman who falls at your feet to worship your magnificence.”
“Hmm.” As much as I hate to admit it, her assessment is accurate. I stroke my chin thoughtfully. “Lorenzo the Magnificent. I like the sound of that.”
Lucia snorts derisively. “You’re five hundred years too late. We’ve already had a Lorenzo the Magnificent.”
I nod. “A great patron of the arts, if I recall, and an incredible statesman, though not without a few stains on his reputation.”
Lucia’s eyes widen. “You know about the Medici?”
Now it’s my turn to scoff. “I may be a simple Roman boy at heart, but I’ve embraced Florence as my home. I’ve learned all I can about its history.”
The Medici and their kind were not so different from the families who vie for power today. I studied them long before my brothers and I expanded our territory into Tuscany.
“But to get back to the topic at hand,” I say, “I want to fuck you because you’re not like my usual women. You possess a rare beauty, and you have a spine of steel.”
Lucia shuffles from one foot to the other. “I’m not sure about that.”
“You do,” I insist. “You’re afraid of me, but you refuse to back down.”
“I am not afraid of you.” Her denial would hold more weight if her voice didn’t quiver.
“You are a little, and that’s okay. I like it.” Reaching out, I curve my hand around her cheek. To her credit, she doesn’t flinch. “The moment you defied me, I knew I would make you mine.”
“Lorenzo…” There’s a note of caution in her voice. I love how my name sounds on her lips, but I’d rather hear it in a breathless moan.
“We’ve been dancing around this long enough, Lucia. I want you, and I’m not prepared to wait a moment longer.”
She lifts her chin in challenge. “And if I say no?”
I don’t have an answer to that. I’d like to think I’m strong enough to walk away, that I’d never take a woman who’s unwilling, but I’ve never faced a test like that before.
“Are you saying no?” I drop my hand to my side.
Lucia holds my gaze for a few seconds before looking away. Unable to utter the words to refuse or accept me, she sinks her teeth into her bottom lip.
I step toward her, and she backs away. I follow until she comes up against the wall. Placing my hands on either side of her head, I cage her in.
