Born in Blood Collection Volume 1 - Cora Reilly Page 0,211

gun?” she asked in that voice caught somewhere between girl and woman.

Had Gianna asked that question, a myriad of inappropriate replies would have been on the tip of my tongue, but Liliana was a bit too young for them. What a waste of opportunity.

“No, you can’t,” Aria said before I got the chance to come up with a reply fit for younger ears. Always so proper, that girl. Thank God, Father had chosen her for Luca and not for me.

“You shouldn’t be here alone with us,” Gianna muttered, her eyes moving from Luca to me. Damn it. She was something else, really. “It’s not appropriate.”

Luca didn’t seem too impressed with her. It was obvious that she grated on his nerves, already something she and I had in common. “Where is Umberto? Shouldn’t he be guarding this door?” he asked.

“He’s probably on a toilet or cigarette break,” Aria said.

I almost laughed. What kind of idiots worked for Scuderi? Things in Chicago seemed to follow very different rules. I could tell that Luca was on the verge of an outburst. He’d been on edge for days, probably because his balls were bursting. He’d fucked Grace far more often than usual to bridge the time before he could fuck Aria.

“Does it happen often that he leaves you without protection?” he asked.

“Oh, all the time,” Gianna snapped, then rolled her eyes at her sister. “You see, Lily, Aria, and I sneak out every weekend because we have a bet going who can pick up more guys.”

Big words for a girl who’d never seen a cock in real life. From the look Luca gave me, he thought the exact same thing. Gianna really didn’t know anything about my brother if she thought it was a good thing to taunt him like that.

Luca stalked toward his little fiancée who flinched as she always did when he acted like a berserk. “I want to have a word with you, Aria.”

Gianna jumped to her feet like a tigress determined to protect her young. “I was joking, for God’s sake!” She actually tried to get in between Luca and Aria, which was a fucking bad idea. Before Luca could lose his shit, I grabbed her wrist and dragged her away.

Gianna’s blue eyes flashed with fury. I’d been wrong. Her face hadn’t gotten rid of all of her freckles. This close up I could see the soft dusting of freckles on her nose, but somehow they made her look even more beautiful.

“Let go of me, or I’ll break your fingers,” she hissed.

I’d love to see you try. I released her with a grin that seemed to enrage her only further if the narrowing of her eyes was any indication.

Luca started leading Aria away. “Come on. Where’s your bedroom?”

Gianna’s gaze flitted between Luca and me. “I’ll call our father! You can’t do that.”

Of course, Luca didn’t give a fuck. Scuderi would have given Aria to him years ago; he definitely wouldn’t care if Luca sampled her goods a few days before the wedding. The door fell shut and Gianna stalked toward it. I gripped her hand again before she could piss off Luca even more. This girl really didn’t know what was good for her. “Give them some privacy. Luca won’t rip Aria’s clothes off before the wedding night.”

Gianna shook me off. “Do you think that’s funny?”

“What are they talking about?” Liliana asked.

The door to the suite swung open and Umberto stepped in, sending a glare my way. The old man still hadn’t forgiven me for insulting his wife three years ago.

“Gianna, Liliana, come here,” he said sharply. I cocked one eyebrow at him. Was he worried I’d hurt them? If that were my intention, they definitely wouldn’t be standing next to me unscathed. Romero rolled his eyes behind Umberto’s back as he stepped in behind the man, and I smirked. Of course, the old man caught it and his fingers moved a bit closer to his knife holder.

Do it, old man. It’s been too long since I had a good fight.

Liliana obeyed at once and walked toward her bodyguard. As expected, Gianna stayed beside the door to her sister’s bedroom. “Luca dragged Aria into her bedroom. They are alone in there.”

Umberto started to head toward the door but I blocked his way. Romero was close behind him. Not that I would need him to stop the old guy. Umberto tried to stare me down. He was at least four inches shorter than me, and no matter how good of a