MATTEO
"FUCK ME, DADDY!"
The scream ripped through the bass-heavy silence of the private booth…followed by the ugly, wet rhythm of skin meeting skin. Luca. Of course. The filthiest one always had to advertise his conquests to the room.
I dragged a hand down my face, leaning back in my chair as the sounds of their animal coupling grew louder, more insistent. Typical, pathetic noise.
"I'm guessing the strategic meeting's concluded," I muttered, glancing at Alessandro and Marco. Both were too far gone to care…Alessandro half-drunk, slouched and pawing at his blonde, while Marco was half-buried in some dancer's surgically enhanced cleavage.
If we were a normal family, I'd be forced to haul their sorry, spoiled asses home to Mother. But we weren't normal. We were Riccis. And in this bloodline, you learn early: everyone saves themselves from the wreckage.
"Fuck this," I sighed, standing. The night was a waste of expensive time.
I walked toward the VIP room, knocking once…a sharp, impatient rap…even as I heard Luca grunt and the girl's shrieks hit a fever pitch.
"Luca, I'm gone," I said flatly, keeping my voice low.
"So soon, brother?" he called back, his voice muffled, thick with lust and cheap cocaine.
"I'm all yours, daddy! Fuck me harder!" the girl shrieked, the sound bouncing off the padded walls…a crude soundtrack to our business.
"Yeah," I exhaled, my jaw tightening in disgust. "I'm definitely leaving."
Luca chuckled darkly, a wet sound between thrusts. "You need to get fucked, Matteo. Loosen the hell up! Being in this family is already insane…you might as well enjoy the perks of the crown, brother!"
"Try not to drive home," I said, already walking off. "I'm not cleaning up your inevitable traffic homicide again."
"No promises!" he yelled, followed by another loud, strained groan and that maniacal laugh echoing behind me.
I pushed through the thick, sweating crowd of the main floor. Leaving the club was always a workout; every woman in sight seemed to think grabbing my arm or my jacket was her winning lottery ticket. Their cheap, desperate perfume mixed with the smoke and stale alcohol, suffocating me.
But then… I froze.
That scent.
Sin.
It hit me like a rush of blood to the head…something rare, sharp, and utterly unforgettable. It was the scent of danger masked by clean linen. My primal instinct gripped me. I spun, scanning the entrance as a girl walked past. It was too dim to see her face, but the scent was a physical lure, a hook in my gut.
"Sin," I muttered under my breath, moving fast, slicing through the bodies.
I caught up, my hand gripping a shoulder…only for the girl to whirl around, gum snapping aggressively between her lips. She was pale, cheap, and definitely not the one I was hunting.
She eyed me up and down, her irritation melting instantly into something hungry and transactional the moment she realized my watch was worth more than her rent.
"Well damn," she purred, her eyes raking over the cut of my suit before her hand trailed down my chest in a practiced, slutty move. "You want me, Daddy?"
I barely registered her touch. My focus stayed on the air…on that lingering, intoxicating trace of perfume. It was faint now, but it was absolutely there.
"Your perfume," I murmured, my eyes narrowing, pinning her to the spot with a look that made her breath hitch. "It's… different."
The girl blinked, confused, sniffing her own wrist. "Oh, the fancy bitch outside gave me some," she said casually, still chewing that damn gum.
My brows lifted. "The… bitch outside?"
"Yeah." She grinned, utterly crass. "She looked expensive as hell. Smelled like it, too. I thought she was too pretty and had too much attitude, so I was gonna pop off on her. But she gave me a spray of this expensive shit, so I let it go. I wouldn't mind getting my tongue on her, though…she was that fine."
My blood ran colder than a marble slab.
"When did you see her?" I demanded, my voice snapping like a whip.
"Like, a minute ago. She was right outside the service entrance."
I nodded once, my decision made. "Thanks."
I started to leave, but she caught my hand, pressing her body against my back, already grinding her hips against me. "Nothing for me, handsome?" she asked, batting her lashes and pushing her chest against my arm.
I tilted my head toward the corner of the room. "You see those idiots?" I gestured toward my brothers…Luca now out of the booth, surrounded by two more girls, and Marco openly throwing bills like confetti.
"Go to them," I said, my voice heavy with dismissal. "They'll give you more than you can handle. They're easy."
Her eyes lit up with greedy excitement. "Really?"
"Really. Go get paid."
She scurried off like a stray cat toward the noise, towards the easy money and the easy men.
The moment I stepped outside, the air felt different—cooler, quiet, dangerously heavy. I scanned the parking lot. Empty. No trace of her.
But the perfume still lingered…faint, teasing, a direct challenge. It felt like she was somewhere close, hidden in the shadows, watching me.