A Debt To Pay (Leone Legacy #1)

Chapter 13

Luci

26 Days Until The Wedding

T he cold sheets mixed with the scent of citrus and amber slap me with the reminder of last night. I find the courage to open my eyes and peel the sheets back to scan the inside of my thighs. I see the remnant of what I let Alessandro do to me last night and crumble in tears.

“What did I do?” I rush into the bathroom, desperate to scrub away any evidence of his touch. Any logic I have is shoved aside when I’m in the shower, thinking that maybe if I take the hottest shower possible, it will erase last night. My skin is scrubbed pink by the time I’m out of the shower. I dress in the clothes I wore last night, ready to take the walk of shame back to my bedroom. What a joke. I’m referring to the metaphorical cage Alessandro stuck me in as my bedroom.

I keep my chin down as I open the door. I don’t get far before I run into the brick wall that is the man who’s assigned to watch me. Enzo, I think? He has this smug expression on his face and it makes me wonder if he knows what happened last night.

I look away, avoiding him as my cheeks heat. I really need to get out of this room. “I need to get back to the other bedroom. Will you move?”

“I’ll escort you back to your old bedroom.” He walks away as I process what he said.

“Wait! What do you mean my old bedroom? Who are you anyway?” Alessandro never fails to surprise or irritate me. At this point, I’m convinced it’s his default mode.

“You’re right, we’ve never properly been introduced. How rude of me. I’m Enzo and you can refer to me as your bodyguard, security detail, babysitter, friend, whatever. I’m here to ensure you’re protected with the ulterior motive of making sure I’m not shot out back like a cow that’s stopped giving milk.” He must see the confusion on my face as he continues. “I left the door unguarded, and you ran. According to Marco, if that happens again I’m fired, but according to Alessandro, if it happens again I’m dead.”

“That’s melodramatic. There’s no need for me to have a babysitter. I’ve learned my lesson that it’ll be more difficult to leave Casa di Leone than I thought. Now excuse me.” He moves aside only to snicker when I scan around, unsure of what way to go. Enzo interrupts me when I turn to the left, letting me know I’ve picked the wrong way.

“It’s this way. I’ll lead you back to the bedroom.” I’d love to ignore Enzo, but I need his help in this maze of a house.

“Well, okay. Only because I need to figure out this house for my escape plan.” The only problem is we both know the truth, which is that Alessandro will ensure I can never leave.

After the short walk to the other bedroom, Enzo unlocks the door with that stupid scanner, opening it for me. I am grateful that he stays outside because the second I’m alone, I break. My whole life has been derailed in the process of a few days since meeting Alessandro. The guilt of last night overwhelms me. I let a man I hate, a man I’m not married to lie with me. What makes it worse is that I enjoyed it. The weight of his body on top of me, the gentleness of his touch, and the pleasure that pulsed through my body. Tears of defeat stain my face.

I peel myself off the floor to see an outfit out on the bed and my phone light up on the nightstand.

Alessandro:

El helped me pick this out for you to wear on Saturday. Geno is coming into town on Friday and your family is joining us for lunch on Saturday. It’ll be a nice little family reunion for all of us. I expect you to behave. Pack up your things and get them moved into my bedroom by tonight. Your closet is to the right of the bathroom. Since I’m generous, I’ll give you free rein of the house and the property as long as Enzo or myself are with you. Tonight I expect you to be in our bedroom for me to enjoy. Have a nice day. -Alessandro

My heart hurts when I read the part about my family coming here for lunch. What do they think has happened to me? Nonno won’t believe I’ve suddenly fallen in love and am getting married. He has to be raising hell to try and find me. It will be nice to see them, though. I can finally get some answers from my grandparents about what happened all those years ago. On the other hand, meeting Geno makes me nervous. Is Geno as intense as Alessandro?

I inhale deeply, quickly blowing it out to settle my nerves as I pack my things. Maybe if I play Alessandro’s game, I’ll be able to plan my escape. Just because Alessandro saw me in a moment of weakness doesn’t mean I want to stay.

I’ve cleared out the closet of the items El picked and shove the cosmetics, perfumes, and other toiletries into a bag, setting them next to the other things, and groan. Wow, this is a lot of stuff. Who needs all these things? When I knock, Enzo scans and unlocks the door, his face appearing on the other side.

“According to your boss, I need my things moved to his bedroom, or should I say my new cage. Will you help me?”

“Absolutely.” He heads over to where my things are and drags the racks out of the room, leaving me with a couple of small bags.

Less than ten minutes later, everything is stacked in Alessandro’s bedroom and I spend the rest of the day organizing everything into the new closet and bathroom. I’ll play Alessandro’s game for now and maybe by this lunch, I can leave with my family.

Hours later, I miss the sound of the door opening while I’m trying to put everything away. At home, I have a step stool to reach high shelves. Here I’m left with jumping in an attempt to reach high shelves in the closet. Alessandro appears behind me, grabbing the purse, except when I turn around, his normally hard expression is softer as he sets it on the top shelf. “Th-thank you.”

We stand in silence until Alessandro caresses the side of my face with one hand and the other lands on the small of my back. He tilts my chin up as he gently presses his lips to mine. I push him away, the guilt of last night reappearing. “Alessandro, I can’t. We did a terrible thing last night. I went against my beliefs and I can’t do that again. I can’t—”

“Shut up, Luci, or I will shut it for you. Submit to me like you did last night and let me hear those pretty little sounds you make for me when you come. Let me mold your pussy to the shape of my cock.”

And I do. For the second night in a row, I lay with Alessandro, a man who is not my husband. I let him touch me, fuck me, and finish inside me. The humiliation of what we’ve done floods me as I attempt to cry quietly until sleep takes me.

I wake in the morning to the familiar smell of citrus and amber that I’ve started associating with Alessandro, noticing his side of the bed is cold and empty again. I begin my day with the shower of shame, hoping to rinse off his touch from my body. Once I’m done getting ready, Enzo knocks on the door.

“You and Alessandro are having breakfast together. I’m here to escort you downstairs.”

Getting up to follow him, I try to sound cool but end up saying the most awkward thing I could think of. “Well then, take me to your leader. Or whatever.” Enzo chuckles when he turns around, leading me downstairs where Alessandro is waiting for me.