Page 26 of Read This Before the Villain falls in Love with You

"Too bad for both of us," she huffs, though she doesn't let go of my clothes.

I shove her back hard against the rough bark of the olive tree. Wood groans behind her spine as I trap both of her wrists above her head with one iron fist, pinning her with crushing, unyielding weight. Her chest heaves against mine, nostrils flaring as she stares into the darkness of my eyes.

"Luca," she gasps, her head tipping back against the rough bark as my chest presses against hers.

My grip holds her wrists secure against the bark. "I am listening."

Her lips part as she catches her breath. "If you kiss me right now, I will make your life a nightmare."

I tilt my head down. "I can live with that."

"This is a terrible idea," she whispers against my skin.

"I don't care," I tell her, and shut her up completely.

I crush my mouth down onto hers with vicious, unhinged hunger. I bite into her bottom lip until I taste the sharp copper tang of blood, invading her mouth when she gasps with a ruthless, claiming dominance. She whimpers against my lips, her body arching involuntarily into my hips as my free hand digs into her waist with bruising force.

When I break the kiss she's breathing harder than I am. Her mouth is red. She looks furious about how much she liked it.

"That," she breathes, planting both hands against my chest to shove me back, "was way out of line."

My thumb wipes away the bead of red on her lower lip. "This is my house, Blake. I do what I want."

Her eyes flash with fury, dark and wide, her throat working as she glares up at me.

"Touch me like that again," she warns, trying to sound fierce even while her voice shakes, "and I'll break your nose."

I brush a stray strand of dark hair away from her temple. "You can try."

She lets her head fall back against the rough bark. "I won't just try, Moretti. I'll make you regret ever dragging me out of London."

I let her wrist go. She doesn't move away. She just stands there under my olive tree looking like she might either slap me or climb me, and for the first time in ten years the war in my head goes quiet enough to hear something else.

Enzo's voice drifts down from the terrace, way too loud. "Matteo owes me fifty bucks!"

"I'm putting him on night shifts for a year," I mutter under my breath.

Nora drops her forehead against my shoulder with a groan. "I hate your whole family."

My hand rests against the small of her back. "Join the club."

My hand tightens on her hip as I lean down to her cheek. "Get used to it, Nora. Because you're not going anywhere."

Chapter 9

NORA

Dinner at the Moretti estate is less a meal and more a contact sport with cutlery. I am seated between Matteo and Enzo, which feels like being parked between two unexplored ordinances who share a blood type and half a working brain cell. Luca sits at the head of the table like he invented silence for a living. Nonna has already threatened me with second helpings I never requested. Sofia keeps shooting me soft looks that say she is rooting for total chaos. Adrian stands near the doorway pretending he is a remarkably armed piece of furniture. My strategy is simple: play along, keep them entertained, and find out where they put my phone so I can call London and map my way out of this fortress.

Matteo sports a fading yellow bruise along his cheekbone from whatever dumb tactical decision landed him in my orbit. He points his fork at me like a loaded microphone, grinning like an idiot.

Matteo aims his fork between me and the head of the table. "So, Blake. Real question. Are we going to talk about that little moment before dinner, or are we acting like you didn't almost kiss our fearless boss?"

I slice right through a roasted pepper. "I was testing his reflexes. He failed completely."

"And if you value your front teeth, Matteo, you'll go back to eating your pasta."

Enzo snorts on a mouthful of Chianti, coughing so hard his knuckles hit the mahogany. Matteo's jaw hangs slack, his fork freezing mid-air while Sofia muffles a squeal behind her napkin.