Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 151410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Again, the face flashed before me. I chose to ignore it. My mind was fucking with me. End of story.
“We both know Aurora wants many things from you. A disappointing, quick fuck is not it.”
I raced backward, smashing the chair against the wall. My arms and wrists ached from the impact. Massimo watched, unimpressed. “I wouldn’t have—” I shut up. “Unlock these fucking cuffs. Now.”
Massimo pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the cuffs without a word.
“Did she tell you I fucked her?”
“No.”
“Did you see me fucking her?”
“No.”
I rolled my eyes. “Asshole. Being a genius doesn’t mean you know everything.”
“I know what happened because I wasn’t shit-faced and can read a situation.”
I flipped him off, done with his bullshit. “Where is she? I need to talk to her.”
“She spent the night at Carlotta’s, which was probably for the best, considering her state. If Fabiano had seen her, things would have gotten very unpleasant.”
“Take me there.”
“No. You need a shower. And Diego won’t let you in half naked. He’ll call your dad, and we don’t want that.”
I really didn’t care about Diego or Dad right now. I wanted to hear last night’s story from Rory. She wouldn’t exaggerate things or make things up. I could trust her recount, as long as my memory was a fucking elusive diva.
“I’m getting you home now, and then you can try to talk to her later if she lets you.”
I gave him a look. Aurora had never refused to talk to me. She wouldn’t now. Whatever Massimo had thought he’d seen was wrong.
So what if Aurora had lain beside me in bed? She had been dressed, and I was probably naked because I’d fucked someone else. No fucking clue why she’d cried. Maybe because she’d embarrassed herself by throwing up. She had a tendency to be a klutz around me.
I followed Massimo out to his car and got in. Alessio wasn’t around anymore. Massimo didn’t elaborate and just revved the engine and hit the gas.
The mansion was still quiet when we walked in. That didn’t mean no one was up, though. It was past eight, so Nino was definitely up for his morning swim. Massimo disappeared into his family’s wing, and I dashed toward my room. I wasn’t in the mood for a confrontation with Dad now. Though I doubted he’d ask questions only because I was half naked and stinking of vomit. He was used to a lot from me. Nothing probably fazed him anymore when it came to me.
I stumbled into my bathroom and shoved down my boxers. A familiar scent hit me. I’d always been sensitive to certain scents. They caught my attention and spoke to some part of me that scared many. Alessio joked I was probably a freak of nature with shark DNA. But I simply loved the scent of blood. Not just the scent. It’s texture, it’s warmth when it came out of a body. It’s color, both fresh and oxidized.
And now I smelled blood. I stared down my body and found my cock covered in a fine sheen of oxidized blood. My nostrils flared, and beneath the two dominating scents of vomit and blood, another scent caught my attention. I sank down on the edge of the tub, glaring down my body.
Aurora.
She always smelled of light. I almost gagged at my assessment, but that was the only thing I could think of when remembering Aurora’s scent. It was light, pure, good, innocent.
I ran a hand through my hair, then tugged hard at it. I needed my fucking memory back. What the fuck had happened last night? Fuck.
I showered for a long time, but my memory remained a black hole. That thought only reminded me of Alessio’s favorite comparison, and that dampened my mood further. Eventually, I stumbled toward my bed and fell face-first on top of it. Then everything turned black again.
When I woke next, it was afternoon. My headache was still there and so was the loss of my memory.
I stared up at the ceiling. Maybe I should call Greta. Every other woman in this house would guilt-trip me, but Greta never did. I also needed to talk to Aurora. I closed my eyes again. I wasn’t a runner. I didn’t run from anything, not even problems. I was the hunter, and I preferred it that way, but this damn thing with Aurora was something I wanted to run from. The problem was things like that didn’t just vanish into thin air. They festered.
My door creaked. Before I could sit up and open my eyes—I’d never drink and smoke that much again—something smashed against my face, and cold water spilled all over me.
I was wide awake immediately and catapulted myself out of bed. Giulio snickered, his fuck-face alight with mirth. Fuck, I hated kids, and he wasn’t even a small kid anymore. I ripped a Ninjutsu from the wall beside me—dozens of the spiked throw stars decorated my room, some of them several hundred years old—and hurled it at my brother. His eyes widened as he dashed away. The spikes impaled themselves in the doorframe after nicking the skin of his upper arm. Grabbing three more Ninjutsus, I chased Giulio.