Giovanni pulled back and smiled at her. Her lips were slightly parted, and he wanted to do nothing more than kiss them, but he held himself back. Now was not the time to kiss those luscious lips.
“He is happily married,” Valentina said.
He doubted it. The couple hated each other. Victoria and Leonardo Rossi were perfect for each other because of their complete hatred and cruelty.
He wasn’t going to allow Valentina to get close to either of them. The bastard hadn’t deserved her before, and the truth was, he’d been trying to find a reason for them not to marry. Valentina wasn’t like most women in their circle. She was sweet, kind, loyal, caring, everything their circle hated and saw as a weakness.
Leonardo would have broken her. He put on the façade for people, but Giovanni knew of the women he’d attacked and nearly killed in his vile rage.
Glancing over Valentina’s shoulder, he spotted Leonardo watching her. He had tried to convince his father not to allow this wedding to go through.
The moment Giovanni had been given the opportunity to have any woman he wanted, he’d picked Valentina without a second’s hesitation. Leonardo had said his selection was absurd. That no one should have Valentina. She was defective and to even attempt to have her was a mockery.
To get her, Giovanni had to question Rossi’s loyalty.
Of course, he didn’t hold the same opinion as his son. Even though the older man had terminated the contract between his son and Valentina, that didn’t mean he had turned his back on the woman.
He saw an opportunity, even if he didn’t completely understand Giovanni’s reasoning. It didn’t mean he was going to let her be out of favor any longer.
As Leonardo watched, Giovanni ran his hands down her back, the tips of his fingers teasing at the edge of her ass. The line of her panties ruffled the dress she wore, but he didn’t care.
Leonardo knew what he had lost.
As long as he was alive, he was going to make sure Valentina was alive, and as The Butcher, no one had ever succeeded in killing him.
No one had the stomach to face him.
Not even Leonardo Rossi.