Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Valentina had been taken because he’d taken his eye off the ball. He’d been in another country with Rossi, handling business. The moment they got the news, they had been on a plane back home, but the damage had already been done.
“So, tell me what you are thinking about right this moment,” he said.
“Are you sure you want to know the simple thoughts of your wife?” Valentina asked.
“You will soon come to see, my sweet, that I don’t ask for anything I don’t want.”
She licked her lips. He saw the tip of her tongue as it traced across her bottom lip, and he so wanted her mouth on his body, licking at him, sucking at him.
“Er, I … I’m not a very good dancer,” she said.
He chuckled. “Neither am I, but I did put in a few hours of practice so I didn’t stand on your toes.”
“You did?” she asked.
“Yes, does that surprise you?”
“A little bit. I had to practice as well. With my brother and my mom. My dad didn’t want me to make him look like a fool.”
“That would be impossible for you to do when your father looks like a fool with no help from anyone.”
This made her gasp and then laugh.
Good. He wanted her to be happy. Not afraid.
“I can’t believe you just said that.”
He leaned in close, pressing his lips against her ear. “Any man who is willing to allow his daughter to be overlooked and let go is a fool. Don’t even get me started on Leonardo. He doesn’t have the first fucking brain cell to even know who he gave up.”
Giovanni pulled back and smiled at her. Her lips were slightly parted, and he wanted to do nothing more than kiss them, but he held himself back. Now was not the time to kiss those luscious lips.
“He is happily married,” Valentina said.
He doubted it. The couple hated each other. Victoria and Leonardo Rossi were perfect for each other because of their complete hatred and cruelty.
He wasn’t going to allow Valentina to get close to either of them. The bastard hadn’t deserved her before, and the truth was, he’d been trying to find a reason for them not to marry. Valentina wasn’t like most women in their circle. She was sweet, kind, loyal, caring, everything their circle hated and saw as a weakness.
Leonardo would have broken her. He put on the façade for people, but Giovanni knew of the women he’d attacked and nearly killed in his vile rage.
Glancing over Valentina’s shoulder, he spotted Leonardo watching her. He had tried to convince his father not to allow this wedding to go through.
The moment Giovanni had been given the opportunity to have any woman he wanted, he’d picked Valentina without a second’s hesitation. Leonardo had said his selection was absurd. That no one should have Valentina. She was defective and to even attempt to have her was a mockery.
To get her, Giovanni had to question Rossi’s loyalty.
Of course, he didn’t hold the same opinion as his son. Even though the older man had terminated the contract between his son and Valentina, that didn’t mean he had turned his back on the woman.
He saw an opportunity, even if he didn’t completely understand Giovanni’s reasoning. It didn’t mean he was going to let her be out of favor any longer.
As Leonardo watched, Giovanni ran his hands down her back, the tips of his fingers teasing at the edge of her ass. The line of her panties ruffled the dress she wore, but he didn’t care.
Leonardo knew what he had lost.
As long as he was alive, he was going to make sure Valentina was alive, and as The Butcher, no one had ever succeeded in killing him.
No one had the stomach to face him.
Not even Leonardo Rossi.
Chapter Two
The dance.
The speeches.
The cake.
More dancing.
All of it was now over, and the men hollered at Giovanni to take her, to claim her. The men who’d drunk too much and too freely called for him to pop her cherry. To fuck her.
Valentina wasn’t a fool. She had learned what sex was. Her mother had made sure she understood what was required of her tonight.
No one stopped them as they approached their bedroom for the night. As per tradition, they had to stay at her father’s home.
This was where he’d take her virginity, bloody the sheets, and then, tomorrow, the men would see. They’d all know she was no longer … pure.
She didn’t hold any value in her virginity. That was between the men. Their requirement for certain business deals. It was archaic, and she hated it.
But staring at the bed with the pristine white sheets, the reality of what was about to happen came crashing down on her. She wanted to run away screaming, and the strangest thing of all, a part of her was curious.