Lonzo: Book 1 (Tycoon Series Book 1) (8 page)

She was jerked into wakefulness when the car came into a halt. The driver got out and opened the door for her.

The imposing facade of the
castello
stood before her when she got out. Lights artfully illuminated the stone structure. It was like a scene out of a fairy tale—the manicured gardens, acres of vineyard on one side…even a draw bridge was present!

She followed the chauffeur inside after he got her bags from the trunk. She saw a woman standing in the entryway of the castle waiting for her arrival.

The woman was middle-aged, with dour features but really tall…almost the same height as her.

“
Buon giorno
. I’m Constanzia. I was asked by the
contessa
to take you to your room,” the woman said in heavily-accented English.

She smiled at the woman but she didn’t smile back.

Okay. Maybe she’s feeling pissed because I kept her up
, she thought.

“Is everyone already asleep? I hope I didn’t wake anyone up,” she asked. She hoped none of Mel’s grooms’ relatives waited on her. God, she never wanted to impose on anyone.

“No,
signorina
. You didn’t wake them up. Come, follow me.”

She continued to smile as she followed the woman upstairs, until they reached the third level of the
castello
, where all the guest rooms were located.

Jordana’s eyes feasted on the wonderful antiques and priceless heirlooms as they passed the staircase and the long hall.

It was not too hard to imagine being a princess in this place.

They stopped at the corner room of the left wing. The woman fished an old fashioned key from her pocket and opened the heavy door.

“Signorina, this will be your room…” Constanzia spoke as she switched on the lights.

“
Grazie
…” she thanked the woman as she studied the room. It was so large that it was almost triple the size of her entire bedroom in the States. Its centerpiece was a massive four-poster, queen-sized feather bed.

The pleasure must have shown on her face, because the
majordoma
remarked, “I’m glad you liked the room. We’ll send your food in a while and bring your luggage up. May I suggest you take your bath for the meantime?”

“Yes, that will be splendid. Thank you so much,” she replied. The
majordoma
nodded and silently closed the door of the guest room.

She explored the room further when the woman left. A silver coat-of-arms of the Romolini family was prominently displayed at one wall. Everything here—from the furniture to the decor were priceless antiques. She was almost afraid to touch them.

She went on and opened the bathroom and marveled at the sunken tub in pink Italian marble, with matching gold luxury fixtures.

This might be a guest room but it was more… even for someone like her who was no stranger to luxury. It was a room fit for a princess.

She suddenly felt sticky and worn from all the traveling she did. She gingerly closed the door of the bathroom with the very intent of taking a long, warm and reviving bath before going to bed.

Yes, for tonight, she’d imagine herself a princess.

Lonzo briefly closed his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose.
The throbbing which started while he was at the pre-wedding dinner was now a full-blown migraine attack. He should’ve excused himself earlier and escaped back to his room.

His headache was further aggravated when he read the messages sent by his management team.

As expected, more troubles at Gruppo Milanese, the biggest of which was the burgeoning labor problem. Neglected for a long time by the Agnellis, the employees were very suspicious of his management team and the changes that he wanted to institute in the company. The union was antagonistic and threatened to go on strike.

Lonzo can’t wait for this wedding to be over and done with so he could step back in the ongoing negotiations. It was going to be a hard and arduous process. Those reforms had to be implemented for him to steer the company back to its feet. Somebody’s gotta give.

Agnelli’s underhanded tactics were making things doubly difficult.

The asshole was keen to destroy him in the media—orchestrating rumors that once GM was back in the black, he’d break the company and sell it bit by bit to the highest bidder. He was painted as a heartless bastard who cared nothing about the workforce, except for his bottomline.

They were inciting fear in the hearts of the employees.

He intended to put an end to Agnelli’s allegations.

For one thing, he had no intention of selling Gruppo Milanese. Lonzo recognized the company’s significance to Italy, both economically and historically. It was after all, one of the oldest conglomerates in the country. Unlike the Agnellis who treated the company like a cash cow, he had big plans for the organization—to diversify and make it a global powerhouse.

And he was arrogant enough to know he was the only one who could do that feat. His track record spoke for him. He was considered a Warren Buffet in the making by Wallstreet. He was gifted with the Midas’ touch when it came to making money.

But money was never his motivator. It was the exhilaration he got from big challenges. He always liked the challenge of restructuring dying businesses and making them profitable again. He saw possibilities in rubbish long before others did. With the volatile and tumbling markets, he had seen opportunities. He was into non-traditional investments, like renewable energy, even before it became
du jour
in business circles.

He had always believed that the future lies in the hands of the brave. He liked taking risks. So far, all his risks paid off. And he grew his assets further, thanks to his highly dynamic management style.

He wasn’t the selfish bastard he was often portrayed to be. At least in the business sense.

He smiled despite himself.

Let his rivals hate. He would bury them one by one once his visions for GM were fulfilled.

He answered several emails, instructed his management team to prepare for an executive committee meeting when he got back and also to arrange for a town hall so he can talk to the employees directly to allay their fears. He would answer their questions and repudiate what their former employers were slinging at him.

It was time they heard it straight from the horse’s mouth.

By the time he closed his laptop, he had delegated and accomplished his tasks for the day. Unfortunately, the throbbing of his head had now escalated into a massive mother of all fucking migraines.

He was about to call it a night when he heard a knock on his door. He went to see who it was.

It was Constanzia. He remembered asking her for a glass of wine on his way up here.

He thanked the
majordoma
before shutting the door. He took several pain relievers from his overnight bag.

He swallowed the pills and washed it down with the glass of red wine. He took off his clothes and went under the bed covers. The pills and the wine did its magic. Within minutes he was in a deep slumber.

The mouthwatering smell of roasted lamb chops
, couscous and raspberry mousse greeted her when she was done with her bath. The food tray was probably left by Constanzia, she thought. She sat down and tucked in, not realizing until then how famished she was. She remembered that she didn’t eat anything during the flight because she was so tired she preferred to doze off.

Not surprisingly, she finished the entire meal in minutes before capping it off with the dry, red wine which came with the tray.

When she stepped out from the bathroom earlier, she had noticed that her luggage was already neatly unpacked and organized, including the champagne-colored Carolina Herrera gown which she would wear as her bridesmaid dress tomorrow.

She thought of calling Leandro again. She really hated it when they had disagreements like this. But as she stood up from the bed to retrieve her phone, she felt lightheaded and lethargic all of the sudden.

Must be the tiredness because of the long-distance flight, she thought before lying on the bed and succumbing to an unusually deep sleep.

Lonzo didn’t exactly know what it was
that pulled him out of his deep slumber.

It took his brain a while to register the soft, naked body pressed at his side.

Then it hit him.

Naked?!

He wrenched his eyes open, the heavy fog of sleep instantly gone. He was able to make out the shape of the female despite the dimness of the room.

The rational part of his brain urged him to wake and question her. How the fuck did she even get inside his room?

He was about to shake her when the woman stirred.

His thought processes came to a stop when he saw her face.

Pure, unadulterated lust struck him. This morning’s semi-arousal gave in to a full blown woody the more he took in her glorious form.

He had bedded throngs of beautiful women. But nothing came close to this creature.

Bellissima
. No, she was…
perfetta
!

From her long, cascading silky hair down to her dainty toes.

A siren. All naked and available…waiting for him to make a move and sample what she was offering.

Pure temptation.

While he…he was merely a man.

He knew...once would never be enough to quench this need to posses her in every way possible.

The thought staggered him.

What the fuck is wrong with you, Vitale? Since when did a woman ever lead you by your dick, huh?!

Then he saw her pink tongue wet her full lips.

Since.

Right.

Now.

“Who are you?” he managed to rasp. He was dead sure she was sent here by the Agnellis.

She didn’t respond. She slowly smiled, her delicate hand went on to touch his chest.

Her touch was live wire.

It jolted that primal part of his DNA makeup, the one that made him want to go all caveman on her.

“Lover...” she whispered.

He lost the inner battle.

“Please…” she whimpered.

Who she was, her agenda and how she got in here... all of that can wait. He'd question her later and double whatever she was originally offered.

At the moment, he was so ravenous for her, it defied logic. So be it. Control be damned.

His hands began exploring. She mewed like a kitten when he touched her face. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

He bent his head to taste her plump lips when she abruptly turned to her side. To his amazement, she appeared to have gotten back to asleep! He groaned in frustration. He couldn’t believe what she just did.

No! She wasn’t asleep. She was just playing him.

The minx.

He easily got bored with submissive women, he liked them feisty and sassy. And she was definitely one. A cocktease.

He smiled wolfishly.

He usually had little time for games. But he’d indulge her this once.

Then he’d show her that he was not one to be trifled with.

But first things first…time to wake up sleeping beauty.

Jordana was having a weird dream.
She was in a labyrinth, looking for a way out. When she was about to give up hope, she saw a footpath filled with mist. She went toward it.

The mist cleared and she saw a gate that would lead her out of the maze.

She walked cautiously. She was about to reach her way to freedom, when without warning, powerful arms held her back. The force was enough to rip the diaphanous gown she wore and left her naked.

Trembling and holding her tattered garments about her, she faced the person who held her.

A man wearing a black cloak held her…and with the lack of light, she can’t see his face.

She squealed in protest as the stranger pulled him into his arms.

She opened her lips to scream bloody murder but stopped when he placed his big hands on her breasts and started to knead and pull at the sensitive tips.

She moaned instead, unable to stop her body from responding to the stranger’s dark caresses.

One of his hands moved from her left breast and started its unerring journey downward.

She almost stopped breathing from the sensory overload but it was nothing compared to the gush of warmth that came through her when he parted her folds…

She could feel her body beginning to wake up from the overwhelming sensations. It all felt too real.

She still kept her eyes closed.

Was she really naked on a bed, lying on her side?

Impossible.
It was just a wicked, erotic dream
, she told herself before lulling herself to sleep again.