Chapter 132 How Did Your Day Go?

Chapter 132 How Did Your Day Go?
Massimo’s blue eyes darkened the instant they landed on his wife standing behind his desk, the old photograph clutched in her delicate fingers. 
Eloise stuttered, her cheeks flushing with guilt as she quickly bent to retrieve the fallen photograph. “I didn’t mean to snoop. I promise. I came in looking for you and you weren’t here and I—I just…”
Massimo crossed the room in three powerful strides, stopping directly in front of her. His towering frame cast a shadow over her smaller one, the rigid set of his jaw and the dangerous tension in his shoulders making her pulse race.
Eloise studied her husband for a long moment, then glanced down at the image in her hands. “You didn’t change much,” she said softly, tracing a finger over the younger version of him.
Massimo’s gaze flicked to the photograph, his expression unreadable. “I got taller.”
Despite the tension, a small smile tugged at Eloise’s lips. She looked at the image again, her heart aching. 
“Luca did.”
A humorless smile touched Massimo’s mouth. “No. He was a prick then too.”
Eloise’s eyes drifted across the faded family portrait. The five of them stood together like any ordinary family, yet looking at it now, it was impossible to imagine the bloodshed, betrayal, and pain that had followed.
“It’s strange seeing all of you together,” she murmured.
Something dark and painful flickered across Massimo’s face before vanishing. “That was a long time ago.”
Her gaze lingered on the youngest boy, the one with the slightly watermarked face. “And him?”
Massimo followed her eyes. “Nico.”
“Nobody ever talks about him,” Eloise said quietly.
“There’s not much to say.”
She looked up at him. “What happened?”
Massimo was silent for a long beat, then he spoke. “I hadn’t seen him since Agatha took them away.” His voice remained detached, almost clinical. “Then word came that one of her safe houses had been attacked. The place burned.”
Eloise’s stomach tightened. “Nico died?”
Massimo nodded once. “That’s what they found.”
“He looks so young,” she whispered, staring at the boy who couldn’t have been older than twelve.
“He was.”
“Are you sure?”
A shrug lifted one broad shoulder. “Agatha identified the body.” He reached for a file on his desk, clearly trying to close the subject. “Either way, it never mattered.”
Eloise frowned, but Massimo's attention was already on the paperwork. “Nico followed Luca everywhere. If Luca told him to jump, he’d ask how high.” 
A cold smile curved his lips. “Luca was always the instigator. Spent half his childhood trying to make my life miserable. Nico just went along. When something went wrong, Luca’s fingerprints were usually all over it.”
Eloise carefully slipped the photograph back into the folder, her mind spinning. Of course Luca was the dangerous one. He had orchestrated kidnappings, betrayals, and that bomb on Massimo’s birthday. Everywhere she turned, she found Luca’s shadow.
She looked up and found her husband watching her intently, those piercing blue eyes burning with something far more immediate.
“So,” he said, his voice deceptively calm, “how was your day, Cara?”
Eloise met his gaze, unconsciously biting her bottom lip. “It was… it was fun.”
Massimo’s eyes flared with heat at the sight of her teeth sinking into that plump lip. He began to stalk toward her slowly, like a predator cornering prey. Eloise did her best to remain still, but her body betrayed her, instinctively retreating.
“Fun?” he repeated, his voice low and dangerous. “What exactly did you do that was so… fun?”
Eloise stuttered, continuing to move backward as he advanced. “Someone was really nice and showed me around campus. I got my student ID and—”
“You spoke to a boy.” It wasn’t a question.
“He was just being helpful, I just—”
“You let another man put his hands on you.”
“Massimo—”
In one swift motion, he dragged her flush against his hard body, trapping her within the powerful cage of his arms. His scent enveloped her completely.
“I told you your ass would pay for every boy who looks at you,” he growled, his voice rough with possessive fury.
“Massimo, you cannot possibly be serious—”
His large hand moved brazenly between her thighs, cupping her pussy possessively through her clothes, fingers pressing firmly against her. Eloise gasped, heat flooding her core instantly.
“Now add snooping to the list of offenses,” he murmured darkly, turning her around so her back pressed against his chest. He kept one hand possessively between her legs while the other tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his burning gaze. “Hmmm. So much to be sorry for, little bird.”
Eloise’s breath came in shallow pants, her body trembling with a volatile mix of fear, arousal, and love. She could feel the hard length of his cock pressing against her ass.
Massimo’s lips brushed her ear, his voice dropping into a velvet threat. “You walked around that campus today, letting other men look at what’s mine. Smiling at them. Laughing with them. And then I find you going through my things.”
His fingers pressed harder against her core. Eloise whimpered, her hips instinctively rolling against his hand despite herself.
“I think it’s time I reminded you,” he whispered, nipping at her earlobe. “Time I took you downstairs to the playroom and punished this sweet, beautiful body."