Scorned Love: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Scorned Fate)

I opened the door to Bianca. Beside her was Trevor Hayes—one of the lead Arrows and former military.

“Hey—” I stepped aside. And as Bianca swept into the loft, my nose caught a whiff of something delicious.

“We bring sustenance,” she announced. Trevor carried the bulk of take-out bags stamped with the Eamonn’s brand logo. Eamonn’s was an Irish pub and restaurant started by the McGrath side of Bianca’s family. Ava De Lucci, their mother, was instrumental in turning their troubled restaurant-pub into a successful franchise.

“Please tell me you have Irish cheesecake,” I said.

Bianca went to the kitchen and put the bag she was carrying on my temporary kitchen table. “Of course.” Then she looked around. “When are you going to get furniture?”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” I brought out real plates. At least we didn’t have to use paper plates.

“Because you’ve got all this fantastic space?”

“I’m still trying to figure out my style,” I quipped.

“She’s trying to get rid of me.” Xander walked into the kitchen. “Something smells good in here.”

Bianca lifted the top two Styrofoam containers. “It’s not Friday, but I convinced the cook to make us fish and chips.”

“Oh my God, I love these.” My stomach grumbled. I had eaten nothing solid since this morning and reached for a crisp potato wedge, dunking it in their pub’s house-made tartar sauce. “You need to try this, Xander.” Sera introduced me to it. We both loved street food and this certainly qualified as it.

“I also brought beer,” Bianca said sheepishly. “I know you may not have it here—”

I made a careless wave. “Don’t worry about me—”

“And I appreciate it,” Xander deadpanned. “Ivy actually has an impressive selection of wine.”

“My motto is, since I can only have one glass, it better be worth it.

“Can I get you anything, Trevor?” The Arrow was quietly observing. I doubted he was simply being courteous or waiting for everyone to have their say. He was processing information. The security in the loft. Who was a bigger security risk, me or Xander? At least I could tell him for sure that the password to my alarm system wasn’t 1111 or my birthday. Despite my frivolous posts on social media, I was careful about these things.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll check around.” He shot me a polite smile. We hadn’t had many interactions, but I’d noticed he was an attractive man with short and shorn hair that was dark brown, almost black. Rugged face, clean cut. His biceps bulged around the sleeves of his T-shirt. He was wearing those cargo pants typical of military guys.

When Trevor left the kitchen, Xander leaned into me. “How about him?”

I glared at my cousin. “Don’t make it awkward.”

But as if to make it more awkward, Bianca said, “The guys are all over your fight tape.”

Nico would have seen it. Daniel told me he was acting Archer Prime while Matteo was on his honeymoon. I hadn’t heard from him at all. Not even a text message. Trevor had been my contact, and I’d received word from Dom as well since one of the New York Five Families was involved. According to Daniel, relationships between the De Luccis and Rossis had further deteriorated because the latter had been involved in Sera’s abduction.

“You make it sound like a sex tape,” Xander teased.

Bianca’s cheeks flamed. “Well…”

“Be honest now,” Xander pressed. He glanced over to where Trevor had disappeared into my bedroom. “What did he think?”

I nudged my cousin. “Cut it out. I don’t want to hear it.”

Lie. There was a part of me that wanted to know and an equal part that didn’t.

But by the way Bianca was rolling her lips, as if she was choosing her words carefully, Xander didn’t appear to be way off the mark. Men. So predictable, but my curiosity piqued in Nico’s direction. Did he still think I had no sex appeal?

Gah! That man didn’t deserve a brain cell of thought.

“We need to eat this before it gets cold. I’ll grab Trevor.”

Xander called after me, “Make it count.”

The Arrow checked my bedroom first and I found him at the balcony. I joined him by the railing. He glanced at me and grinned. “Nice view you have up here.”

“The best,” I agreed. “Now you see why I don’t want to move to Hell’s Kitchen, even temporarily. And…” I peered down to the streets. “Do you think the Scavo brothers would climb all the way up here?”

He burst out laughing. “No. Honestly, I don’t think they’d try anything.”

“They remind me of old-school mobsters who make their living intimidating shop owners,” I said.

Trevor leaned against the railing and gave me a scrutinizing look. “Is that your assessment of the situation?”

“That I could overpower them?”

“Yeah. You stepped in front of a gun.”

“They pointed it at my employees.”

“Why step in front of it?”

“I’m too high profile to kill.”

“First rule while I’m guarding you: Don’t put yourself between a gun and me.”

I folded my arms over my chest in indignation. “I really don’t need a bodyguard.”

“Those idiots underestimated you. They won’t be doing that again.”

“I know. What I mean is…this loft has top-notch security so you can go home to your wife.” What the hell? Was I fishing? “I’ll just text you when Xander and I have to go somewhere.”

“I don’t have a wife.”

“Girlfriend?”

“Nope. No boyfriend either. I don’t mind living here.”

“There’s no furniture.”

He breathed a chuckle. “I noticed, but I’ve slept in worse places.”

“Well, how about we discuss your schedule over fish and chips and beer?”

He grinned. And I tried to ignore how attractive that made him.

No falling for the bodyguard, Wu.

“Sounds good to me.”

The four of us picnicked in front of the widescreen television. We arranged pillows everywhere and it was quite cozy. It was also getting late, and I doubted Bianca was staying over. I also doubted she was going home alone. She was texting with somebody, and from what I’d gathered from her annoyed commentary, that somebody was Nico.

“Ugh, he should have just joined us here with the number of questions he’s been asking,” she muttered.

Number of questions. Interesting. Were they about me? As soon as that thought came to mind, I burned it to ashes.

“Is that Nico?” Trevor asked in an amused tone.

“Yes. It’s not like I was the one who pissed off the Rossi soldiers.” She winked at me.

“Is he saying you shouldn’t be around me?”

“Oh, not at all,” Bianca said. “He was just asking when he could pick me up. I can just Uber it back to Hell’s Kitchen. It’s not that far.”

“He’s probably worried that this place is being watched.”

“The Rossis won’t act unless they’re willing to pay the consequences,” Bianca said. “We’re on neutral ground.”

Trevor had explained to me that SoHo was controlled by another crime family, one who was neutral between the De Luccis and the Rossis.

“The Rossis could get around the rules if they wanted to,” Trevor said.

“The rule right now is…fuck…” Xander attempted to stand up and caught a cramp. Maybe I should think of buying furniture this weekend. He scowled at me as if his discomfort were my fault.

“I know. I know. Maybe I can get a couch set tomorrow with a pullout bed.”

“You’re going to stuff Mr. Hayes in a pullout,” Xander retorted. “Anyway, the rule is…Bianca and I are cleanup. Why don’t you give Trevor a tour of the loft so he can assess your needs…”

I shot my cousin a mortified look.

“Security needs.” Xander snorted a laugh that was still full of innuendo.

The tips of Trevor’s ears turned red. I would call that cute if the rest of him weren’t built like a tank. He and Nico must guzzle protein shakes twenty-four seven. Matteo and Nico appeared to be the same height, but Nico was bulkier. Sera said he was the gym rat between the two and kept dragging Matteo through grueling workouts.

Trevor got off the floor with no problem and gave me a hand up. “Why don’t you show me the rest of the loft and where to park my things?”

“Where are your things?” We started walking toward the two guest rooms on the opposite side of mine. There were four bedrooms in total. Xander took the one farthest from mine, probably to give me privacy.

“They’re in the car,” he said. “I didn’t want to assume too much. For all I know, you’ll kick me out.”

I breathed out a short laugh. I liked Trevor. He was comfortable and self-deprecating, and wasn’t as arrogant as someone I knew.

We entered the unoccupied room and the arrow of light from the hallway and the Manhattan nightlife illuminated the area. It had blinds at least to keep the room in total darkness.

An unopened box of things stood in the corner. I wasn’t even sure what was in it. The rest of my stuff that I hadn’t unboxed was in the bedroom closest to mine.

“Oh, wait. There’s another air mattress in the closet, but it’s just a full size. Xander took the queen-sized one, I can ask him—”

“I’m fine. I slept in foxholes when I was downrange.” He paused. “When I was deployed.”

“What made you decide to work for the Syndicate?” I opened the closet and squinted at the top shelf and I spotted the outline of the blow-up bed. I could feel Trevor behind me, and my heart rate quickened.

He was very warm.

Or maybe I was feeling very warm. This was Xander’s fault for putting ideas in my head.

“A Russian—”

“I think it’s that one.” I tried to reach up, and I hopped.

On my way down, my back smacked into Trevor and I landed on his feet. I went flailing, and he grabbed my waist.

We were in free fall.

He grunted as he took the brunt of my weight.

I twisted over his body, and pushed up on my arms, but I had trouble catching my breath in between gales of laughter and my pounding heart. “Are you all right?”

“Damn, Miss Wu, are you planning to take me down too?”

“You were—”

“Am I interrupting?” The newcomer was backlit. But the voice and the silhouette leaning against the doorframe were unmistakable.

Nico.

“Fuck,” Trevor muttered. The man beneath me remained unperturbed, but from our position on the floor, it was the wrong thing to say. My initial mortification at being caught in a compromising situation dissipated and self-righteousness settled in its place.

Even when I couldn’t see his face, Nico’s judgy expression sliced through the shadows, so I ignored his question. I smiled at Trevor, who caught on to what I was doing, and slowly and provocatively, slid off him and got to my feet.

“I hope I didn’t hurt you,” I said.

Trevor lazily rolled to his feet and grinned down at me. “Not at all. But you’re lethal, Ivy Wu.”

“Trevor,” Nico cut in, sounding like he was getting tired of being ignored. “A word.” He spun around and stalked off.

“Geez, what’s up his ass? Did he think I was attacking you?”

Instead of answering my question, he said, “I don’t mind sparring with you. What you did to those Rossi soldiers was pretty badass.”

“Hayes!”

“Christ.” Trevor raised his arm and gestured for me to go ahead.

Nico wasn’t in the kitchen. He was pacing at the far end of the loft waiting for Trevor to approach him. I’d seen Nico in suits, casual business wear, and gym clothes. I’d never seen him dressed similarly to Trevor. He had on a shoulder holster with no gun in it. It was over eight months ago that I’d learned about the Archer Syndicate. He probably had Archer business tonight. Nico floated between the financials and the paramilitary arm of the organization. I’d think he was fucking hot if he wasn’t such a dick.

I joined Bianca and Xander in the kitchen. They were both eyeing the two men.

“What did you do to Nico?” Xander asked in a tongue-in-cheek way. “He was fine when we sent him your way.”

“He found me on top of Trevor. On the floor.”

“What?” Bianca’s eyes rounded and her mouth fell open.

Xander himself was disbelieving.

“What? You told me to go for it.”

They crossed their arms. They were still staring.

“I kid. I kid.” My chest shook with laughter. “We were caught in a compromising position, but Nico had it all wrong.”

I decided to torture them some more and picked up a leftover chip, dipped it in sauce, and popped it in my mouth, chewing slowly.

“Are you going to explain?” Xander prompted with mock patience.

“I was reaching for the inflatable mattress on the upper shelf. Trevor was behind me and was going to do the gentlemanly thing and get it. I jumped for it and landed on his foot. We both lost our balance.”

Xander patted my shoulder. “I’m proud of you, grasshopper.”

“It wasn’t deliberate,” I protested and was going to defend myself further but the guys had finished their conversation.

When they entered the kitchen, Trevor’s face was sheepish and Nico’s was an unreadable mask, except the rest of his body language indicated he was still pissed.

“I’ll show you the third floor of De Lucci Transnational tomorrow so we can figure out logistics about how to move part of your operations there,” Nico said.

“I’m still not sold on moving the fashion week activities,” I told him.

“We’ll talk tomorrow.” He cut a glance at Bianca. “Ready to go?”

“I guess.” His sister seemed reluctant to leave and walked over to give Xander and me a hug. “I want a sleepover soon.”

She was too sweet to be related to Nico. “I’ll get on that furniture.”

“See you tomorrow, Xander.”

“I guess you’re tagging along to the site inspection.” He returned the hug and glanced at me. “We should hire her as a fashion assistant.”

Nico appeared to have had enough of his sister hanging around us. “Ten a.m. Don’t be late.” He pivoted on a scuffed boot and walked toward the exit, leaving Bianca no choice but to follow.

After they left, I turned to Trevor. “Did I get you into trouble?”

He ran a finger across his stubble. “Nah. It’s not you. Some other business put him on edge.” He smiled at me. “But it’ll be best if we get you there on time.”

Plans changed the next morning. Instead of Trevor taking me to the De Lucci Transnational offices before ten a.m., Nico showed up at my loft an hour early. The asshole didn’t even bring coffee.

“Where’s Bianca?” I’d just showered and was in my robe. A claw clip held my wet hair together and away from my face. Nico was in the corner, fiddling with the coffee machine.

“If I had known you didn’t have coffee, I would have swung by Jabbin’ Java to get us some.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Too far.” He got the coffee going and faced me. His disheveled appearance caught me by surprise. His hair was wet and fell ruggedly over his forehead. He hadn’t shaved and there were bags under his red-rimmed eyes. It was as though he barely squeaked in any sleep and used a quick shower to jolt him awake.

“Rough night?” I didn’t mean to sound waspish, but he was the one who set the tone for an irritable morning.

Nico didn’t respond immediately. He seemed frozen like a statue except for the way his eyes ate me up from head to toe and then back again. Delayed self-consciousness had me tugging the ends of my robe together. That snapped him out of his trance and a mocking smile curved his mouth.

“You can say that.”

“You didn’t have to leave your girlfriend on my account.” Not willing to discuss his sex life and wanting to make sure he knew I didn’t care, I repeated my question from earlier, “Where’s Bianca?”

“She had forgotten that she promised to go to the Brooklyn flea market with Mom. She texted Xander and they’re meeting at the workroom.”

“And why are you here?”

“Trevor is going with Xander. I’m taking you.”

And as if I was the only one who was clueless about the new plans, Trevor walked in. “I could use coffee.” The Arrow’s eyes strayed to my skimpily clad figure, but before I could determine if it was deliberate or he just wanted to say good morning, Nico blocked his view and told me, “Put some clothes on.”

Indignation flew to my head so fast, I leaned forward and shoved him. “Who do you think you are?”

He gripped my shoulders. “Easy there, killer.”

He twisted me around and nudged me out of the kitchen. I shrugged off his grip and marched a few steps ahead of him. When we reached the hallway, I spun around, hands clenched. “You’re testing me. You want me to kick your ass?”

“You wish.” His eyes stayed on my face, but when he closed the distance between us, he lowered his head and said, “Your sash is undone. I’m trying not to imagine you’re bare under there.”

My breathing snagged, and my eyes dipped to my front. My robe gaped, but it wasn’t more skin than I would show if I were wearing a dress with a plunging neckline. I lifted my chin defiantly. “I’m like a fence post with no sex appeal, remember? Has your opinion changed?”

“I wouldn’t test that theory, princess.”

Princess? And was that a threat?

He backed away from me, still keeping his eyes on my face, before he turned around and returned to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Xander knocked on my door. “Here.” He handed me a mug of coffee. “Nico said you need a mood adjustment.”

“Me? He was the one who sent me out of the kitchen as if I were Eve about to seduce a hapless Adam in the Garden of Eden.”

My cousin cocked his head. “Who’s Adam? Trevor or Nico?”

“Nico doesn’t even rate,” I mumbled. “Get out.”

I slammed the door on Xander’s face, but not before I saw his smirk. Aggravation threaded my nerves. I paced in random circles, all my centering exercises this morning shattered by the bane of my existence—Nico De Lucci. I was also trying to ignore that my nipples became sensitive under his regard and I flashed to what could have happened in that hallway. What if he had pushed me against the wall, slipped his hand in the opening of my robe and cupped a breast? What if that hand had gone lower? Unbidden wetness bloomed between my legs.

No freaking way. Nico doesn’t turn me on!

I gulped coffee, set the mug on the vanity, and stood in front of the mirror. I carefully shed the robe and let it pool around my feet. With my nakedness on display, I appreciated my lithe form. I lacked curves around my boobs and I had a small ass, but my torso was long and complemented the curve of my hips that were shaped by muscular thighs. My legs tapered to toned calves and slim ankles.

An ex-lover worshiped my legs. He marked them. I shuddered at the awful memory. My fingers tentatively traced three circular scars engraved on my inner thigh, a reminder of why I spent the past six years practicing martial arts.

But the scars were just part of the story. He destroyed my self-esteem. Destroyed my identity and built me into someone I wasn’t. Afterwards, he left me floundering, drowning, spiraling. It took years for my feet to touch the ground, stop my world from spinning, and build myself as an influencer with almost a million followers.

I understood Nico’s scathing comments about my appeal came from a place of concern for his sister. But it didn’t give him the right to use me for roadkill or collateral damage to his bulldozing, overprotective big-brother duties.

It was time to teach Nico De Lucci a lesson.

Trepidation seized me. Nico wasn’t just any man. There were rumors about his sex life. Hell, who could forget that he was with Olga the other night, although Bianca told me they’d been over a long time ago and he didn’t have a current girlfriend that she knew of. Maybe he’d been with a one-night stand. Did I even want him anywhere near me?

Didn’t mean I couldn’t drive him crazy. Payback was a bitch.