28. The Curse of Cures

Chapter 28

The Curse of Cures

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.

Red? Black? White? Lace? Satin? Charmeuse? Chiffon?

God, this is frustrating. I hate choices.

"Jules?" I call out, whipping my head around the luxury boutique. "Julia?"

"Yes, cara?!" She waltzes toward me, several shopping bags in hand. "What is it?"

I hold up two lingerie sets. The first features a sheer black Chantilly lace bra with satin bow accents, a double strapped thong, and a matching high-waisted garter belt. The second, a Bordeaux red stretch satin bra with a lace finish, a rouleaux strapped thong, and finely stitched gold clasped suspenders.

"Which is sexier?"

Julia blinks, smiling awkwardly at the sales associate behind the counter. "Kiara, I adore you, truly, I do. But I am Italian, not Targaryen . Milo is my brother; I do not wish to assist you in seducing him."

An oversight .

"Right." I wince, slowly placing the sets on the counter. "I'll take both. Grazie ."

"Good choice." Julia lets out a soft laugh, spraying her wrist with sample perfume. "Always buy both, cara. Why decide when you can have everything?"

I lean against the counter as the associate scans the items. "If I follow that mindset, I'll need a bigger closet."

Julia shrugs. "So?"

I roll my eyes, turning my attention back to Claudia who is over the moon with me right now.

"Visa, please," I say, hesitantly handing her my credit card.

I know money is not an issue but nine hundred euros? Ouch.

"These are beautiful pieces," Claudia coos with excitement as she charges me an obscene amount of money for tiny scraps of fabric. "You have a very lucky man at home. You will bring him to his knees."

"That's the plan," I whisper, hoping the said man's older sister doesn't hear me. I thank Claudia and grab the handles of the matte black shopping bag as I cast Julia a small smile. "Okay, let's go."

"Come back again anytime!" Claudia exclaims. "Anytime!"

"Oh, I just love shopping! It makes me feel like royalty," Julia laughs, looping her arm through mine as we exit the store. Gio and Matteo follow closely behind as we stroll back to the SUV. "Do you like what you bought?"

"Mhmm," I hum, cringing. "Sorry about asking for your opinion. I wasn't thinking?—"

"Forget about it, cara." Julia immediately waves me off. "It's not a big deal, I was half-joking anyway. I'm sure my brother would love you in anything. I haven't seen him this happy since—" She freezes, faking a cough. "In a long time."

A tiny pang of jealousy gripping my gut. "Since Vittoria?"

He was happy with her. That shouldn't bother me. It's disgusting that it bothers me. She's dead. I'm jealous of a dead woman? That's horrible.

I'm horrible.

Julia lifts a brow. "He told you about her?"

I nod, incredibly disappointed in myself. "Yeah, when we were in Milan. He told me everything."

"Oh," she hums as we cross the street. "That's a good sign, Kiara, that he's finally talking about it. I was starting to worry about him." She sucks in a sharp breath. "Milo, he is a private man. The fact that he's sharing with you is incredible. I'm proud of him."

I'm unable to hide the smile forming on my face. "Yeah, I am too." I bite my lip, mustering up the courage to be nosy. "Did you uh—know her well? Vittoria?"

"Mmm… Not really, I only met her a handful of times. Milo had only been dating her for six months before she—" She swallows. "It wasn't very long."

"Six months?" A lot of feelings can emerge in six months. Or six weeks. Hell, six days is plenty for some people. Ask Jane Austen. "How did they meet?"

"I believe they met at a club." Julia clears her throat, averting her gaze. "She was a dancer."

I blink. "A dancer?"

Julia twists her lips as she tosses me a meek glance. "A stripper."

"A stripper?!" My eyes bug out of their sockets. "Oh, okay. That's cool. You know, I read once that stripping requires lots of training. It's like a sport, really, very athletic. There are even competitions and?—"

"You're rambling, cara." Julia cocks her head to the side. "It is okay if you feel a bit uncomfortable."

"What? Me? I'm fine." I expel a nervous laugh. "Not a big deal. Really. It's just a job." Readjusting my sweaty grip on the shopping bags, I ask, "So, uh, what was she like?"

Julia tosses me a dubious side-eye. "Why do you care, Kiara? It doesn't matter, she is not your competition."

"I know that… I just—I'm curious is all."

I don't want to push Milo into talking about her. Frankly, I don't want Milo to think about her. I want him to think about me. Only me. I want to be the first thought that crosses his mind when he wakes up and the last when he falls asleep.

Is that bad? Am I terrible for wanting that? Milo said that the pain from losing a loved one never goes away but I want his pain to go away. I want it to disappear. I want to scrub away the stain she left on his heart. I want it gone. I don't want to be a second choice. I don't want to live in her shadow.

I don't want to be a consolation prize.

Julia inhales a deep breath as Gio opens the car door for us and we slide inside. She faces me, revealing, "Vittoria was very, uh...vivacious. From what I remember she enjoyed being the center of attention, cocktails, and umm...she talked a lot. As I said, I did not know her well."

"Oh—"

"Kiara…" Julia's tone is gentle as she places a hand on my forearm. "Do not compare yourself to her, that is the worst thing you can do. She is gone, cara. She is not a threat. "

I fiddle with my fingers. "It hasn't been that long since she passed away, Julia. What if he's not over her yet? What if I'm just a distraction? A band-aid?"

"You are not a band-aid, cara." Her raw faith punctures my self-conscious heart. "You are a cure. You are healing him; I can see it."

"Most cures have side effects."

"That is true, but they are usually temporary. The cure, however, is permanent."

If I'm a cure, I think I need to start giving him larger, more powerful doses.

I need to pump his body full of me .

And get rid of all of her .

When Julia and I enter the estate, I catch the back of Luisa's head as she turns a corner down the hallway.

"Luisa!" I call out, grabbing her attention. She stops and circles back toward us, eyeing our shopping bags, a barely noticeable frown marring her groomed brows. "Do you know where Milo is?"

"He and my father were gone for most of the day," she says. "I think he is in his office now." She bites her lip, scanning one of my bags. "You went to Mimibella ? Did you like it? It is one of my favorite boutiques. Claudia is fantastic, no?"

"She was great," I say, reading her vaguely disappointed expression. Hmm. "Did you uh—want to come with us next time?"

If I'm going to be living here for the next foreseeable future, I should try and expand my pool of confidants. Julia's not going to stay in Italy forever. Once she leaves, I'll only have Milo. He's more than enough but he's busy. A lot.

"Yes! Excellent idea!" Julia chirps, looking up from her phone. "We go again on Saturday, yes?"

"Oh," Luisa hums, crossing her arms, uncomfortably shifting her weight between both legs. "Uh—yes, that would be nice."

"Great! I can't wait," I smile, nudging my elbow against Julia's side. She's like a teenager. Always on her damn phone. "I'll see you at dinner, okay?"

"Where are you going?" she whines with an over-exaggerated pout. "I thought we could have some drinks before dinner. I can't drink alone, that is so sad. Why are you leaving me?"

"Maybe Luisa can drink with you." I toss Julia a coy grin as I wave the Mimibella bag in the air. "I have other plans."

Julia groans. "Fine! Go! I do not need you!" A startled squeal slips past Luisa's lips as Julia latches onto her wrist. "Come with me. We drink!"

And she marches away, a squirming Luisa in tow.

I shake my head, stifling a snort as I walk to Milo's office, a burst of excitement thrumming in my veins.

We've only been apart for a few hours, yet I desperately crave to be in his presence. To be held by him. To kiss him. To simply breathe the same air.

I knock on his office door. "Hello? Milo?"

The low timbre, melodic inflections, and sultry tone of his native tongue fill my ears as I twist the handle and step inside his office.

" We do it tomorrow then, we have all that we need from him. "

I bite my lip, undressing Milo with my eyes as he paces back and forth talking on the phone, his statuesque silhouette making me hot. So fucking hot. He stops, snapping his head toward me, a devilish smirk on his face.

" I will call you back, Marchello ," he mutters, a wicked gleam in his irises as I stride toward him and drop the shopping bags by my feet. " It is final, Marc ?—"

His jaw clenches as I stop in front of him, my eager hands running over the muscular ridges of his wide shoulders. I press my body against his, my lips floating down the length of his neck.

"Get off the phone," I whisper, my fingers raking through his hair as I nip at his skin. "You can call him back."

Milo grumbles into the speaker, his voice strained as he hangs up and tosses the phone on his desk. Grabbing my waist, his lustful gaze sweeps across my face.

"You are very bad, tesoro."

"What are you going to do about it?" I taunt, drawing figure eights on his chests with my freshly done nails. "Hmm?"

"I can think of many things…" He coils his fingers around my hand, his thumb gliding across the red acrylic tips of my manicure. He lifts a curious brow. "These are new."

"Ye—" I glance down at his hand, pursing my lips as I take in his raw bruised knuckles. "So are these." I frown, peering up at him. "What happened?"

Milo ignores my question, examining the ridiculously long nails Julia pressured me into getting. "These are quite long," he notes, the arousal in his voice kindling the flame that's already burning in my belly. "And sharp."

"Very sharp." I tilt my head, bringing my fingers up to his throat. I drag my nails across his soft, vulnerable flesh. "It's like I have ten tiny daggers at my disposal."

His expression hardens, his grip tightening around my waist. He fists my sweater, pinching my skin. "Are you threatening me, Kiara?"

"Of course not. Just merely stating facts."

"Well, your facts are going to get you into trouble one day," he breathes, his palm circling around my ass as he thrusts his hips forward. "A lot of trouble."

"I like trouble," I coo, batting my lashes. "I?—"

Milo surges forward, his lips crushing against mine, coaxing them open, his tongue merciless in its assault. I kiss him back, only for a second, before pulling away, my breathing shallow as I say, "Not yet. I want to show you something."

"Whatever it is, it can wait." He arches down and nips at my neck as he attempts to remove my sweater. "This can't."

Despite the building ache in my core, I push him away, taking a step backward. "It'll be worth it." My gaze darts to the shopping bags. "I'll meet you in your room in ten minutes."

He glares at me with suspicion and elevated curiosity. "An early Christmas gift?" He leans against his desk. "What it is?"

"Just a little something for you to unwrap." I pick up the bags and head to the door. I crane my neck over my shoulder before exiting. "I know how much you love red." I pause, licking my lips. "And lace."

"Cruel woman," he hisses, his jaw twitching as he pushes himself off the desk and marches toward me. He coils his hand around the base of my throat, dragging his thumb along my bottom lip as his balmy breath fills my lungs. "You are maddening."

"Hmm…" My hand travels down to his pants and I stroke the outline of his growing erection. "You seem to like it." Pulling away, I cast him a devious smirk. "Ten minutes. Make yourself comfortable."

"Ki—"

" Bye ," I sing, quickly darting out of his office, a triumphant grin on my face as I run to my bedroom.

One dose of Kiara, coming right up.