It was only the knowledge that she would come to me willingly which made me hold myself back. Owning her, every single fucking inch of her, will be so much better when she comes to me willingly without any idea about how I’ve set her up to believe I’ll be her salvation.
I’ll be so much fucking more than that.
It’s taken too long already and it’s starting to make me feel like a caged animal. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to hold off, my plans be damned. I’ve hardly been able to concentrate on anything other than my Lily since Gio was killed, knowing it was only a matter of time.
I wonder if she liked the lilies I sent her along with my condolences. Briar put together a gorgeous bouquet for my woman since she owns a flower shop in one of the boroughs. After I blackmailed her into being part of Scavo’s assassination, she certainly didn’t have to put together a bouquet or have it delivered for me, but she did.
Luca, my youngest brother and the man behind the number crunching for the family, snaps his fingers, bringing my attention back to the present. It’s not my fault half my mind is whirling over whether tonight will be the night when Lily comes to me.
It’s just a matter of time.
His eyes narrow as he accuses me with his questions, “What is going on with you? You’ve been distracted for a while now.”
I sit up a little straighter and shake my head, my voice dismissive, “Nothing.” He glares at me, and I sigh. “You’ve gotten much bolder since your heart transplant. Aren’t you supposed to be taking it easy?”
He scoffs, “I had surgery almost two years ago.” His voice turns cold, “I’m no longer the weakling of the Agosti family who doesn’t have anything to contribute other than numbers.”
I blink a few times at the edge of violence to his voice. He was always the softest one of us, other than Daisy. We’ve always protected them, not just because it was my duty along with Elio, but because they have always been the weakest of us.
Luca was born with a congestive heart defect which made him sickly growing up. When our mother was alive, she doted on him. It wasn’t something we held against Luca because we understood why she did it. The worry she always wore as a mantle around her shoulders was plain to see.
I wish she could see Luca now. He worked as hard as he could and always took care of his body, but it had limitations. Not anymore though. After his surgery, it took him some time to recover, but now he’s so much stronger than he was before.
I can see the life in his eyes. I can feel the power of him now. It warms my heart to see my brother healthy and happy. I won’t even take offense to the way his confidence now manifests itself. He’s an Agosti, I expect nothing less from him.
When I don’t answer Luca, his eyes narrow, his tone accusing, “What did you do? I’ve seen that face before, and it’s always been when you’ve plotted something big and are just waiting for it all to come together.”
I huff out a laugh and shake my head, amused for a half a second that he got it so fucking right. I should have known though. He was always the observant one. He had to be because, we wouldn’t let him do much more than that growing up. There’s always been something cunning in his eyes which is only rivaled by the same look in Elio’s.
Elio was always going to be the one to take over for our father. We didn’t know his death would happen when it did though. A year later and I think we almost have our feet underneath us. With Elio being bred and raised to be king, I learned early on that charm was going to be the best tool at my disposal. It’s served both my family and me well.
My eyes turn hard even as I grin at my brother, “You know I love you Luca, but you realize that now I could fight you and take you down without having to pull my punches.” He scoffs and waves his hand dismissively, making me throw my head back and laugh.
“You’ve been acting strange ever since you had that meeting with Scavo.” I can see the gears turning in his head. “Now Giovanni is dead.”
Before he can grill me further, which I can tell he’s dying to do, I glance over at the security footage of Sala, one of the many clubs I manage and the one I spend the most time at. The sight which greets me has my cock hardening in my slacks and rage burning through me at the same time.
I’m up and out of the chair before I can think better of it. I don’t bother saying a fucking word to Luca. He’s the last thing on my mind now.
Not when Lily is in my fucking club with her wide eyes wide and worried as some fucker leers at her. My woman came to see me and there’s no way in fucking hell I’m going to let some other man look at her. I may have only gotten a glimpse of the dress she has on before I started moving, but I already know I’m going to fuck her so hard she won’t be able to walk for a few days for wearing it.
The pieces I’ve been moving around are finally coming together. It’s time to get my queen and make her mine.