SIN
My fingers hooked into the thin, treacherous silk of my strap. The fabric was a joke…a fragile, pathetic barrier between my skin and the hungry, judgmental stares of four men who dealt in blood and shadows. I didn't look ashamed. Shame is a cage for the weak, and right now, I felt like a god standing at an altar. I didn't flinch. I didn't rush. I let the silk glide down my shoulder with agonizing slowness, my eyes locked onto theirs, watching the very air leave their lungs.
With every millimeter of skin I paraded, a dark, heavy sense of power settled in my gut, thicker than the bourbon on their breath. The room went dead silent. Even Alessandro's practiced bravado choked out. These powerful men, these legendary killers, were suddenly stripped of their armor, reduced to wide-eyed idiots by the simple curve of a shoulder.
"So, what's the verdict?" I asked, my voice a low, steady purr that vibrated in the quiet. The dress was clinging to the swell of my breasts now, held up by nothing but the friction of my palms and their desperate prayers. One twitch, one breath too deep, and they'd see everything. "Do I need to get naked to prove I'm not wired, or are you all just enjoying the show?"
Alessandro's eyes flicked toward Matteo, his jaw tight enough to snap. No one else dared to breathe.
"You… you don't have to do this, sweetheart," Marco said, his voice cracking like dry parchment. He looked at Matteo for permission. Even the "nice" brother knew who held the leash in this family. Luca followed suit, his gaze sliding over my chest with a junkie's hunger before landing back on the center of the table. The silence was a physical weight now, thick with the scent of repressed lust and expensive tobacco.
"Should I keep going, sir?" I asked, a sharp, taunting smirk pulling at my lips as I locked eyes with Matteo.
His brow furrowed…not with heat, but with a cold, jagged irritation. He wasn't used to a woman who enjoyed being the center of a shark tank. He wasn't used to a prey that smiled back.
"She's not fucking stripping. That's my call, and my word is law," Alessandro barked, finally finding his tongue. "I'm the oldest in this goddamn family…"
His voice drowned into a dull hum in my ears. I didn't care about his protection. My world had narrowed down to the man at the head of the table. I watched Matteo, and he watched me, his eyes dark with a lethal intensity that made my skin prickle with a sick, delicious heat.
"Brother, you can't seriously want her to strip in front of us," Luca interjected, though his pupils were blown wide.
"I do," Matteo replied. No hesitation. No mercy.
I felt a genuine, wicked surge of amusement. Finally, a man who didn't bother to pretend.
"We see girls get naked every fucking day," Matteo said, his voice like stones grinding together. "This isn't new. It isn't special. So strip, or get the fuck out."
Alessandro slammed his fist onto the mahogany table, the sound echoing like a gunshot. "You're fucking insane, Matteo! You're just using your obsessive goddamn paranoia as an excuse to degrade her!"
Matteo didn't even acknowledge the outburst. He didn't look away from me for a fraction of a second. Then, his gaze shifted—sharp, cold, and utterly dismissive—toward Alessandro.
"You should've vetted your little slut better before dragging her into a family meeting," Matteo spat.
"Don't you fucking call her that!" Alessandro roared.
The table went still. The shock was palpable. I frowned, tilting my head as I studied Alessandro. Was he actually trying to defend my honor? How pathetic. To him, I was a porcelain doll to be shielded. He didn't realize I was the one holding the hammer.
Luca let out a soft, sharp laugh. "Oh, what's this? Is the big brother catching feelings?"
"Of course not," Alessandro snapped, his voice turning icy. "But no one calls a guest of mine a fucking slut. I brought her here. She might be from nothing, but she's under my protection."
I almost laughed out loud. Protection? I didn't need a shield; I needed a match to light this whole room on fire. And Matteo Ricci just handed me the flint.