Soulless Devil (Sons of Valentino #3)(12)

Walking back into the bedroom, I find the clothes that Romeo left on the bed. I bring the Columbia sweatshirt to my nose. I really need to stop this newfound obsession with smelling the guy. I throw on the sweatshirt, forgoing the boxers that are also on the bed. The shirt hangs down long enough to be a dress anyway. Picking up my clothes from the bathroom floor, I head out of his room and down the staircase. My hands shake with nerves.

What the hell do I say? Thanks for holding my hair back while I disgustingly vomited everywhere. Thanks for letting me sleep in your bed?

Which brings me to my next thought… Where the hell did he sleep?

By the time I make it to the bottom of the stairs, Romeo’s brother is waiting for me. “Luca, right? Thank you for letting me stay here. I’m really sorry for any inconvenience I’ve caused.” I can’t seem to make eye contact with him. My hands clench around the fabric of last night’s dress, which has my panties securely scrunched inside it.

“You’re not an inconvenience. How are you feeling?” he asks.

“I’ve been better,” I admit shyly.

“I bet. Come on, Romeo’s cooking you breakfast.”

“What? Why?” I blurt out.

“Good question—probably one you should ask him, though.” Luca smirks as he turns around.

I follow him into a small dining room. Sandra is sitting at the table; she jumps up when she sees me. “Oh my God, Livvy, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. Are you okay?” she presses, as her arms wrap around me.

“It’s okay. I’m fine,” I tell her.

Sandra releases me, her eyes roaming over my body. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Can we just go home now?” I ask her quietly.

“Good luck with getting lover boy over there to let you leave,” she whispers back.

My eyes follow the direction she gestured with a dip of her head. Romeo is in the kitchen serving up four plates of food. He looks up and his eyes pierce mine. He finishes what he’s doing and carries two dishes over to the table. “Come on, you need to eat. The doc will be here soon,” he says, nodding his head to the chair he’s now holding out.

“Um, you really didn’t have to do all this,” I say, sitting down.

“Just eat, Livvy. It’s only food. Don’t overanalyze it,” he grunts.

That’s the problem though. All through breakfast, I can’t help but overanalyze this whole situation. A million questions run through my mind. The main one being: why is he being so nice to me?

I eat as much as I can stomach. Which isn’t a lot. When I can’t possibly eat another bite, I lay my knife and fork on the plate. Romeo scowls at all the food I didn’t eat and I feel awful.

“I’m sorry. It’s not your cooking. I promise. I just can’t…” I let my sentence drift off.

“It’s fine,” he says, but I can tell he’s bothered.

I look across the table to where Sandra and Luca are sharing weird looks with each other, like they’re both in on a secret I’m not privy to.

When the doorbell rings, Romeo stands. “That will be the doc. Come on,” he says to me. I don’t think it was a request to follow him; it was more of an order. I should refuse to go blindly. But I want to get whatever this is over with, so I can just go home. Romeo leads me into the living room, returning moments later with an older man.

“How are you feeling?” the man asks.

“I’m good,” I answer.

“No, she’s not. She was throwing up and has barely eaten anything this morning,” Romeo speaks over me.

“Okay. Ma’am, I’m just going to check your vitals. Is that okay with you?” The doctor turns to me.

“It’s Livvy, and yes. But, really, I’m good,” I insist.

“How’s your head feeling?” the doctor asks. “After a dose of Rohypnol, it’s normal to have a bit of a headache.”

A bit? That’s an understatement. I don’t tell him this though. “It’s okay. Not that bad.”

He listens to my heart, checks my pulse, and takes my blood pressure before packing everything back into his bag. “You’re very lucky. Last night could have ended very differently for you. But your vitals are good. I suggest plenty of water, and to take it easy for the rest of today,” he says to me, then turns to Romeo with a firmer tone. “She’s fine.”

“Thanks for coming back, Doc,” Romeo says. The doctor nods and leaves the room.

“I’m really sorry for all this. I’m going to go home and get out of your hair.” I stand.

“You’re not in my hair, Livvy. I’ll drive you back to your dorm,” Romeo says. “Wait here. I’ll go grab my keys.”

“You don’t have to drive me. I can walk. Or get an Uber.”

Romeo stalks out of the room, shaking his head no. I really do need to leave, get home, and clear my thoughts. Everything about this man confuses me.





Chapter Seven





I dropped Livvy and Sandra back at their dorm building, giving the latter strict instructions not to leave the former’s side today. And to keep me updated if anything happens.

“You know, if you weren’t my brother, I’d shoot you to put you out of your misery right now,” Luca says from the passenger seat of my car.