Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 23833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Phew!
It was not much of a reprieve, but Cat was just glad and relieved as the words led to banter and another passionate display of affection between the newlyweds. She started to relax and was about to reach for her cup of coffee when she heard the matriarch clear her throat.
"As for my other announcement..."
All thoughts of coffee fled her mind the moment La Strega turned to her.
This. Is. It.
"Cattleya here has asked for my permission to become Ezio's bride."
She saw Ezio jerk in the corner of her eye, and Cat didn't know what to think. It was so unlike him to betray his emotions like that, and...that was good? Or was it not?
"And I said yes."
All eyes swung to her yet again, and Cat was just thankful she had years of practice of wearing a mask.
Am I really doing the right thing here, God?
Because the way everyone was looking at her had Cat starting to doubt the things she once thought were certain and true.
I didn't hear You wrong, did I?
And even though she hadn't really expected Him to answer her, He did.
Because Ezio was suddenly looking straight at her, and his beautiful, dark gaze was still unreadable as ever.
Oh, thank You.
Just as the way she was only visible to him, he alone was unreadable to her, and that was all the answer she needed.
"Did I hear nonna correctly? Did you truly ask her to marry me?"
She didn't even hesitate, saying simply, "Yes."
He stared at her, and it was another one of those rare moments in which Ezio allowed everyone, herself included, to see what he was feeling.
He was incredulous, for one.
Infuriated even, surprisingly.
And then...
It was all gone.
The windows to his soul shuttered close, and it was almost as if she had only imagined what she had seen.
But I didn't. Right?
Ezio suddenly rose to his feet, and Cat's heart started pounding.
"If you would excuse us..."
There was nothing to read in his honey-smooth voice except for the firmness of his tone, which brooked no argument.
"I'd like to have a word with Cattleya in private."
Four
EZIO DID NOT ALLOW himself to think as he led Cattleya to the game room and locked the door behind them.
Preconceived notions were a dangerously slippery slope he always made a point of avoiding. When danger in one's life was a constant, the wrong assumptions killed just as easily as inexperience.
The only way to survive was to think on one's feet.
And that was why with this woman whom his grandmother unexpectedly chose to be his bride...
Cattleya.
Five years ago, he had seen her falling overboard from the balcony of his suite.
And saved her from drowning.
But instead of being grateful, she had kept her distance from him and had, at times, even displayed an inexplicable aversion to his presence. It hadn't bothered Ezio then, but it sure as bothered him now.
He stared at her, but she remained still under his gaze. Her hair was the same decadent shade of chocolate that he remembered, and he had a sudden, disconcerting desire to see it fanned over silk pillows as he fucked her.
What the hell?
He had never been the type to waste time fantasizing about women. No one would likely believe him, but he had been celibate for years. Sex was simply not a necessary outlet for him. And yet the longer he stared at his would-be wife, the more he wanted it.
Sex.
With her.
Now.
And that made no fucking sense.
He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his trousers.
Stop thinking with your cock, Marchetti!
His gaze went back to Cattleya. She had on a lace dress with a scooped neckline, a bodice that emphasized her remarkably tiny waist, and a skirt that billowed gently around her legs at her slightest movement.
On any other, it would have looked overkill for breakfast at home.
But on Cattleya, it looked perfectly suitable.
Not just that, but it looked so damn good that Ezio realized there was nothing he wanted more than to tear it apart, just to see the beauty that was sure to be hiding underneath all those maddening layers of cotton and lace.
What. The. Hell.
Ezio was almost tempted to pinch the bridge of his nose.
He had never been this...illogical.
There had to be an explanation for this.
So think, Marchetti!
He recalled the conversations he had with his older brothers. Of how Cesare had desired Penelope the moment he saw her. Or how Massimo had found Ysabel instantly appealing. And even Giancarlo, despite his young fiancée's rebellious ways, had wanted Sarica to be his from the very start.
Was that it then?
The only common denominator was that it was La Strega who had chosen those women for his brothers, just like Cattleya was also his grandmother's choice. But on the other hand...that did not explain why his nonna had chosen her in the first place.
Sarica and Penelope both came from well-known famiglie and, to a lesser degree, so did Ysabel. Cattleya, though?