Chapter 5 The Beginning of an Obsession

Giovanni's POV...

The scent was still there.

Subtle but unmistakable - warm, sweet, and absolutely maddening.

It clung to the air, to my skin, like she'd left a mark without even trying.

And I hated it.

I stood in the living room of my penthouse, barefoot, a cigar in hand, hoping it would clear my head.

I had things to do.

The last thing I needed was to be distracted by a woman whose name I didn't even know.

The place was pristine as always - floor-to-ceiling windows, sleek marble, and dark wood - but the silence felt heavier than usual.

Or maybe that was just me. Maybe that was her.

Chi sei, bella? Who the hell are you?

She hadn't left so much as a hair behind. No phone number. No lipstick stain or anything. Just her scent - and the memory of her body wrapped around mine, her mouth against mine.

And maybe I was going insane, but I swore I could still feel her fingers dragging down my chest.

The chime of the penthouse intercom cut through the silence, followed by a notification on the iPad on the table beside me. I tapped the screen.

Luca.

Of course.

He kept ringing the damn thing, probably knowing full well I was in no mood for company. With a sigh, I pressed the command to unlock the door. The heavy click of the lock disengaging was barely a second old before Luca strode in as confident as ever.

If it weren't for being cousins, I'd have fired him for being too annoying already.

"Isn't it too early to be smoking, Cugino, or are you just intent on exhaling your remaining few years of life from your nostrils?" he greeted, voice laced with amusement as he kicked the door shut behind him.

I exhaled a slow stream of smoke, unamused. "You know what it isn't too early for?" I shifted, "Murder. Keep running your mouth hole and see if you don't end up with at least two bullets inside your empty skull"

He didn't say anything right away.

Instead, his gaze swept over the space-my space-and something about the way his brow twitched told me he'd already spotted what was wrong.

The armchair near the window was shifted just a hair out of alignment. The glass of whiskey I hadn't touched since last night sat on the table, an inch too far to the right. Even the edge of the rug was crooked.

I ground my teeth.

"Your OCD seems to be taking the morning off" Luca finally said, his voice dry.

"Very funny."

He made his way-uninvited-to my wine cabinet, bypassing the wine entirely and reaching for the whiskey. He poured himself a glass like he owned the place, and I watched it happen with the kind of patience only years of irritation could teach.

"And you look like hell," Luca said conversationally, swirling the glass in his hand.

Then suddenly his nostrils flared, his brows lifted, and a slow, knowing smirk spread across his face.

"Merda!" he said, leaning back like he'd just uncovered the world's greatest secret. "I take it back. You look like a man who's been... occupied."

His gaze flicked around the room, "You know, I was starting to worry about you, cugino. Forget me... our entire Cosa Nostra would have been worried about you.

Forty-four, all work, no play - I thought maybe you've lost your virilità"

He whistled low under his breath.

"But clearly, I underestimated you. You still have some life in you after all."

I took another drag.

Strange how a man can be feared by the entire city and beyond and his sex life would still be up for debate.

He gestured broadly, his face the picture of mock amazement.

"A mystery woman? And judging by that scent - classy. Refined." His grin sharpened. "Hai sempre avuto buon gusto"

"Geloso?" "Di te? Nemmeno una possibilità. I enjoy my peace, grazie."

He raised a brow. "But I have to admit - I'm curious. Who is she?"

"Curiosity," I said evenly, "is what gets men killed."

I stubbed out my cigar and sat upright.

"Enough about that. Get to your cause for being here" "Fine."

He sipped the whiskey, then grimaced.

"You've got a meeting with John Aurelius today at 10. He wants to go over the Riviera project again." I hummed in acknowledgment. Barely.

That project was one of the things I was looking forward to the most now but it was incredulously irritating working it out with Aurelius.

Not only was he insufferably tedious, dragging every decision into endless discussions like a man afraid of his own shadow, but he was also so far up his own ass with self-importance, I was amazed he managed to breathe. Letteralmente.

Luca kept going.

"Then there's the shipment coming in from Marseille-"

"Handle it."

He nodded like he'd expected that. "The Chicago deal's still waiting for your sign-off. And there's a problem with the accounts-"

I cut him off with a sharp wave of my hand. "Later."

He blinked. "Later?"

He set his glass down slowly, eyes narrowing. "Since when do you put off business?" "Since now."

I stood, my muscles coiled tense, still somewhat sore from last night.

"There's something else I want you to handle first" "What?"

I turned, leveling him with a look. "Find her." "Who?" "The woman who was here last night."

My voice stayed cool, even as something far less controlled twisted low in my stomach. "

Tall. Blue dress. Brown skin. Do it however you want but I want to know who she is" My eyes flicked to the side, where his glass stayed uncomfortably odd at the corner of the table.

"Check the security footage. Once you have her face, run a detailed background check - everything. I want to know who she is, where she lives, who she answers to."

My voice dropped. "And I want it soon."

For a beat, Luca just stared at me.

Then, with the slow, incredulous drawl of a man who thought the world had finally turned upside down, he said, "You can't be serious."

He picked the glass up again. Luckily before I had.

"Do you at least have her name?" My jaw tightened. "No." That earned me an actual laugh.

"You're telling me - you - let a woman walk out of here without getting her name?"

I narrowed my eyes at him before opening the drawer of a side table and pulling out my gun.

"You're still talking?"

He raised his hands, grinning.

"Now you want to kill me over a woman? Alright, alright. I'll find her. If that's what will keep you sane" He paused, and I could already see the next round of teasing forming.

"But you know - if you'd just married again like Zia wanted, you wouldn't have to hunt a woman down like a lovesick teenager-"

I flicked the safety off my gun.

"Shutting up." But the grin stayed.