Chapter 36

I woke up in a tangle of heated bodies, feeling more satisfied than I ever have. But desperate to pee. So, I snuck out of their warm holds, used the bathroom, then chucked on Maddox’s discarded T-shirt and headed into the kitchen. I flinch when I see Alessandro sitting at the kitchen counter, cup of coffee in his hands. I’m not ready to see him again after last night, but stuck in this place, I have no choice.

He doesn’t say anything, but I can feel his angry eyes watching me.

I go about making a coffee then turn back toward him, leaning into the counter as our eyes meet. I sip the steaming deliciousness to warn off the icy chill now descending over the room. He’s mega pissed with me.

“You never came to bed,” he seethes.

My brow rises. Are we really going to do this? “Sorry, I fell asleep, didn’t want to disturb you. You seemed in a mood when you got home,” I respond, a chirpiness to my voice. I’m not letting him bring me down. I feel happy for the first time since I broke into their compound, and he’s not taking that away from me because he’s a miserable son of a bitch. He stiffens, and I wonder if my snippy attitude toward him is too much this morning.

He runs a hand through his long hair, and that’s when I notice how messy it is. He’s not all put together this morning like he normally is. He looks stressed. “You have no fucking idea, princess.”

“That’s because you keep me in the dark,” I snip. “Did something happen last night? After I left, maybe with Geovani?” I ask, trying to be nice. Well, kind of.

He doesn’t answer me. It’s what I figured would happen, but he looked distressed and some stupid part of me thought he might need to talk about it. I finish my coffee and place the empty mug in the sink, sighing heavily. I don’t know why I still bother with him. He’s impossible to communicate with.

His hand comes to my arm, but I pull away. He can’t keep blocking me out then think it’s okay to act like the chemistry between us is real.

“So, you’ll fuck my brothers, but you won’t even let me touch you?” His voice is low, hardly a whisper, but it holds a dangerous edge to it.

Something inside of me snaps. I’m so done with this bullshit. “Your brothers have both done everything they can to fix their wrongs of the past. What have you done?” I spit out, bitterness dripping off my every word. I didn’t want to have a fight this morning, but he’s just shoved me over the edge.

His face hardens, but he doesn’t respond.

“Exactly. All you do is boss me around. You don’t try and have a conversation with me or attempt to fix things between us.” I stand a little taller, ready to fight him. “You know what, Alex. If you’d come to me right back at the beginning and told me you missed me, that I meant something to you, I would have given this thing with you a real go. God knows I was obsessed with you back then. It wouldn’t have been hard to win me over at all. Instead, you’ve treated me like your little plaything since I got here, good for nothing but messing with and marrying.”

He steps in closer, dropping his head so it’s just inches away from mine, our eyes locking in a silent stand-off. “You don’t know what I’m up against.” His hand skates up my arm, settling on my chin.

A pain lodges in my chest, the hurt I carry around when it comes to him rising to the surface. “I’ve heard all that shit before, but you know what? You’re the boss. You can do what you want,” I throw back at him. It’s time to be a fucking man and stand up to his overbearing parents, take control of his life. He has most of this city running scared and yet his papa still controls him. It’s ludicrous.

His head drops. “I still answer to Enzo,” he grits out, anger dripping off his words.

“And what, he told you to be an ass to me? Didn’t think so. This is all you.” I shove him in the chest, pushing him away from me. I need space. He makes me feel crazy, with his half-assed excuses. I understand there is more at play here, but I also know he has more power than he’s willing to share.

In less than a minute, he’s ruined my good mood. I go to walk away, but in true typical Alessandro fashion, he has other ideas and grabs me by the hand, stopping me from leaving.

“You’re going to be my wife in a couple of days.” His sad eyes plead with me to understand the position he’s in, but if he won’t talk to me, I can’t.

“That’s just a title.”

“It means something to me. You mean something to me, Harley.”

“How am I supposed to believe that, Alex. Actions speak louder than words. ”

“Can’t you just trust me that everything I’m doing is for you? Our lives won’t be ruled by Enzo forever, but you need to trust that I’m doing everything I can for you, your brother, and my brothers.”

“I’m sure you are. It doesn’t change…” Before I can finish what I was going to say, he steals a kiss. Not just any kiss—an earth-shattering one that I feel all the way down to my toes. I don’t know if this is Alessandro Moretti’s way of showing me what I mean to him, but damn , I can feel it. He’s the most complicated man I’ve ever known. And because I’m so tired of fighting with him, I let myself melt into his kiss, wishing, just for a moment, that things could be different.