Marcello Salvatore:This isn’t the time for jokes.
Luca Salvatore:Call my girl fuck-hot again, and I’ll slit your throat.
Bastian Salvatore:She’sours, asshole.
Sonny Cormac:Calm down, psychos.
Damian Salvatore:Who are you calling a psycho? **crossed swords emoji**
Cole Marshall:6 years. How have none of you fucked her yet?
Sonny Cormac:I’d give my left nut to fuck her.
Cole Marshall:So will the men bidding on her.
Bastian Salvatore:This isn’t funny, dickheads!
Luca Salvatore:I’m glad all of you are taking this seriously. I’ll find another way to get her off that site.
I tapped the three dots in the app's corner, clenching my jaw so hard it felt like it would crack in half.Luca Salvatore has left the chatflashed on the screen.
My cell phone rang. I expected it to be Marcello, or even Drake, but it was my father.
I raised the phone to my ear. “I assume you’ve heard about Alex.”
“This complicates matters,” he said in a firm tone. “We need to rush the wedding. It’s the only way to keep her safe.”
We had gentleman agreements with our peers. Even the criminal underworld had rules about wives. Girlfriends and children were fair game, especially heirs. But wives were always off limits.
I stuffed the jewelry box into my pocket. “I have mom’s ring. We’ll be engaged by the time we get back from The Mansion.”
Amysterious box appeared on my bed, black with a pink ribbon. After I got out of the shower, I found it on top of the duvet. My door was still closed, and from what I could tell, no one was in my room.
Sliding my finger beneath the pink ribbon, my heart raced with anticipation. I lifted the box’s lid and set it on the bed, surprised to find a black, silky gown and a gold-and-black carnival mask inside. Beneath the mask, I found a gold envelope with black writing.
An invitation.
You are cordially invited to The Mansion. Wear your mask, follow the rules, and enjoy your peek into the forbidden.
I dropped the card on the bed, staring in awe at the words, the dress, this mask they expected me to wear. Nerves stirred in my belly, twisting up my insides. I removed the dress from the box and held it in front of me. It was beautiful, expensive, and sexy.
“Do you like it?”
Luca’s deep voice sent my heart racing into overdrive. He had a habit of appearing out of thin air.
I laid the dress on the bed and spun around to face him. “Yes, it’s beautiful.”
“I chose it for you.”
I pressed my lips together, unable to take my eyes off him. “I figured as much.”
Luca had impeccable taste. Only the best for the heir to the Salvatore billions.
He approached me, dressed in a three-piece black Brioni suit with a gold tie. As usual, he looked like a billion dollars, armed with his cocky but sexy smirk. Of all the Salvatores, he infuriated me the most. He never let me close, never got personal with me.
Aside from what my grandfather had told me, I knew almost nothing about Luca.
Mysterious.