by Sienna Blake
I watched as an emotion flashed across Roman’s face too quick for me to discern what it was. He was a Tyrell. On their side, not mine. Once he opened the door, who knew what Abel and Roman would do to me. His earlier bluff to rape me, kill me and make my body disappear flashed through my mind.
I was so screwed.
* * *
The Scent of Roses
____________
Sienna Blake
The game becomes deadlier as the lies get bigger. Risks will be taken, loyalties will be tested, but will Roman and Julianna take the biggest risk of all… giving into their hearts?
Inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, this is a retelling for mature audiences. Don’t enter the Underworld if you’re scared of the dark.
For Kathy,
Without you this series would not be what it is.
____________
“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet”
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~ Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare
Act II, Scene II
1
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Julianna
In all my nightmares of how my life would end, I never expected it would end like this. Trapped in the apartment of my mortal enemy, an apartment I walked myself into. Weaponless. And wearing a stupid red dress.
Why did I ever come here?
Abel banged on Roman’s apartment door again, making it thunder against my back and into my body. “Roman, open up!”
Roman’s fingers tightened on me. Any second now he would open the door and feed me to the monster. It’s what he should do.
In my mind’s eye, Abel’s face glared back at me from his arrest photo I’d found among the files of the Tyrells’ known associates. I’d recognized him instantly as Scarface from the graveyard. The one chasing Roman, the one I had mistaken for Roman’s father. I knew Roman must hate Abel, or at least dislike him. But not enough to help me.
Stolen glimpses of crime scene photos of women who had crossed the Tyrells flashed in my mind. Dresses torn, skin slashed into ribbons, bodies violated over and over again before they likely begged for death. I doubted anyone would ever solve my murder.
Roman lifted his hand towards the door. This was it…
Instead Roman pressed a finger to my lips, making me flinch. I stared at him, my mind a tumble. He wanted me to stay quiet. Was he…helping me? His features were impassive except for the pinch of his mouth and a hint of wildness in his eyes. He was afraid. For me?
Of course it wasn’t for me. He feared for himself. It wouldn’t look good for him if he was caught alone and half-naked with a lady cop in his apartment. His loyalty to his family would be immediately put into question. With these kinds of families, loyalty and trust meant everything.
“I know you’re in there,” Abel yelled again. “You little shit,” he added in a lower voice. There was the sound of a keys jangling. Roman’s eyes widened. He grabbed me around the waist, picking me up as if I weighed nothing, and strode across the living room, his feet barely making a sound against the tiles. I could barely breathe. I didn’t dare protest or make a sound; I just had to trust that whatever he was doing was going to save my ass because it meant saving his own.
The key sliding into the lock sounded like a saw going through wood. The lock clicking open sounded like the cock of a gun.
Roman dropped me on the bed in his room and flipped me over to my stomach. He grabbed a hand around my hips and yanked me back so I was on my knees at the edge of the bed, my hips in the air. He growled in a low voice. “Play along if you want to live.”
What?
The front door banged open. I heard Roman’s towel drop to the carpet. He shoved my dress up to my waist and pressed against me, the backs of my thighs were flush against him. Holy shit. He was naked. And hard.
My cheeks flushed as I remembered the last time Roman and I were in this position.
“Roman?” The bedroom door creaked open. I muffled a small scream into the mattress. “Jesus Christ,” Abel muttered.
My cheeks flared when I realized what he would be seeing. Roman naked and my ass in the air. At least he couldn’t see my face. Just play along, Jules. You might get out of here alive.
Roman let out a small snort. “Get out, dog. I’m busy.” As he spoke he ground his hips against my ass in a slow, lazy way as if he were fucking me. His hard cock slid along the front of my panties, rubbing at my clit. I let out a moan. There was no need to “play along” there. Despite myself, I lifted my ass and pushed back against him. I wanted more of that delicious friction. I heard a low curse coming from Roman as his cock pulsed between my thighs. He wanted this as much as I did.
“Your father wants you,” Abel said, cutting into my thoughts. What the fuck was I thinking? Had I completely lost my mind? Abel, Giovanni’s “butcher,” was still here. I was still in danger, and all I could do was wriggle around on Roman’s dick like a horny teenager?
“I’ll come after I’m finished,” Roman said.
“I’m to bring you to—”
“Get the fuck out, dog. You’re killing the mood.”
“Maybe your lady friend would—?”
“She is not for you.” Roman’s fingers dug into my hips and I let out a small squeal. “Now get out before I fucking throw you out.”
I could feel the tension heating up the room like a suffocating steam.
“Fine,” Abel finally acquiesced. “But you are to go to your father’s as soon as you’re done.” The door to the bedroom creaked behind him.
“Yes, father dear,” Roman muttered.
The front door slammed shut. I let go of the breath I’d been holding. That was so close. Too close.
Now I was alone again. With a naked Roman. In his bed. I could feel his cock along my aching core—God only knows how he managed to stay hard this entire time: his hips still pressing up against my ass, making all those delicious feelings from that night slam through my body. Just one thin strip of lace separated us from total bliss. I pushed back against him.
Roman launched off me as if my skin was suddenly burning him. I spun to face him, sitting on the mattress, clutching my dress, still unbuttoned from earlier, to my chest. “Roman?”
He glared at me, then strode out of sight. I yanked my dress back down over my legs and buttoned up the front as I followed Roman out of his bedroom. He was standing in front of his large TV, remote in his hand, still gloriously buck naked, although his erection had softened.
“What are you doing?” I asked, coming up behind him.
He didn’t answer. His shoulders seemed to tense as I drew to his side. He turned the TV on, flicking through the channels until a black and white view of a stylish lobby showed onscreen. That lobby belonged to this building. I flinched as Abel strode out of the elevator. It must be the security live feed. Roman flicked the channel again, this time showing the front of the building, another live feed. We were both silent as we watched Abel get into a black SUV passenger seat; it then peeled away from the curb.
Roman turned off the TV and threw the remote onto one of the cream leather couches. I instinctively took a step back as he slowly turned to face me, fury rolling off him like hot waves, his beautiful features twisted. For a moment, I felt a shiver of real fear zapping down my spine. “Leave.”
“I haven’t—”
“Leave now. Don’t ever come back here again.”
I blinked back a sting at the back of my eyes. He blamed me for almost getting caught.
You were the one who decided to waltz right into enemy territory unannounced.
“It’s not my fault he showed up,” I said limply.
Roman strode right up to me until our noses were only inches apart. “Leave before I call the police.”
The irony of his threat wasn’t lost on me. I gritted my teeth at the surge of bitter rejection that flowed through my veins. “This conversation isn’t over.”
His eyes narrowed. “Yes, it is. If you want to talk to me from now on, call my lawyer. Now. Get. Out.”
I couldn’t bear his glaring at me, his eyes now glistening with fury instead of desire. I turned before the tears could betray me and ran for his door. My heels clacked heavily against the marble. I came here to help him. Instead I screwed it all up. Why did I even think I could change anything? Why did I think I could convince him that I could help him?
“Julianna,” I thought I heard him calling, his voice softer and pained. I didn’t stop to find out whether it was real or just my imagination.
2
____________
Roman
She had some balls, I’d give her that. Coming into my apartment dressed like that, wanting…hell if I knew what she wanted.
She wanted you.
No, she wanted to play on my connection to her. She wanted to use me against my family, against my father. Don’t forget who she is—a cop. Don’t forget who she thinks you are—the criminal. She had a job to do. She came to my apartment to do it.
Why did she flush when you got near her? Why did her pupils dilate? Her breath deepen? Her nipples harden?
She was a good actress. That was all. Besides, she could want me and still want to put me away.
Sitting down on the park bench, I stretched my long legs in front of me and leaned an elbow casually across the back of the bench. On the other side of the bench sat my cousin Benvolio, but I didn’t turn to him. I didn’t even look at him. To anyone who might be looking we were two strangers enjoying the sunny weather. I stared at the ducks across the pond as they fought over bread being thrown to them by an overenthusiastic boy, his mother clinging to his elbows to keep him from falling in. My mother used to take me to this park. We used to feed the ducks together. Happiness used to be that simple.
“What have you got for me?” I said in a low voice.
“Julianna Capulet,” Benvolio began in a matching low voice. “The only daughter of the current Chief of Police Montgomery Capulet and deceased Prosecutor Abigail Capulet. Awarded top marks at her police training academy, including an award for marksmanship. One of the youngest to ever make detective, six months ago. Her and her partner, Luiz Espinoza, have been working together since then at the twelfth precinct. Her partner is loyal to her father; they worked together at one point. Rumor has it that Daddy hand-picked Espinoza as her partner to keep her out of trouble and to report back on what she’s up to.”
I flinched. “Her father’s spying on her?” I thought I had problems.
“Not spying exactly…but keeping an eye on her.”
I doubted Julianna knew about this. If she did, she wouldn’t stand for it.
Look at you, thinking you know the lady cop so well.
“She’s well liked, well respected,” Benvolio continued, “has a reputation for keeping her nose clean. I suppose with who her daddy is, that’s not a surprise.”
“Tell me more about this partner, this Espinoza guy?”
“He’s in his mid-thirties, never married, no kids. Also a spotless record. Him and Julianna are close, if you know what I mean.”
Only then did I glance over and catch the smirk on his face. My stomach tightened. “No,” I said through gritted teeth, “I don’t know what you mean.”
“They’re fucking, man.”
The idea of her being with anyone else, the idea of anyone else touching her, was enough to make me vibrate with fury. I wanted to rip this bench out of the ground and beat the shit out of Benvolio for daring to suggest that she was fucking someone else. “How do you know that?”
“That’s the word on the street. And you know what they say, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
Julianna and Espinoza. My mind flashed to them sitting across from me at the interrogation table. Had they been sitting closer than they should? Where were his hands? Could they have been on her leg?
Why the fuck did I care?
I studied this unfamiliar biting feeling coursing through my veins. The answer smacked me in the face. I was jealous. I didn’t get jealous. I heard a growl and realized it was coming from me.
“You okay, bro?” Benvolio asked.
I shoved my emotions down and forced my face into a cold mask. Later I’d go bash the shit out of a bag in my private gym. For now, I had to keep my shit together. I couldn’t let Benvolio get even a whiff that I cared about who Julianna was fucking. “What about her friends?” I barreled on like nothing was wrong. “What does she do outside work?”
“As far I can see, her work is her life.” Benvolio was staring at me out of the corner of his eye. “If you’re thinking of approaching her with a bribe, it won’t work. It’ll cause you more trouble than it’s worth. Besides, they don’t have anything to pin Vinny’s murder on you.”
I snapped my head towards him. What the hell was he doing? He should know better than to say anything incriminating out loud, especially in a public place like this. I narrowed my eyes at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know anything about Vinny’s murder. Neither do you.”
Benvolio’s eyes widened, then he nodded. He stared around us, as if looking for anyone who might be listening. “Yeah, right. We know nothing about nothing.”
I almost rolled my eyes. Benvolio was like a squirrel, great at ferreting out hidden nuts of information, but he had a brain the size of a nut.
“If that’s all you’ve got, then I have somewhere to be.” I got up and left him sitting on the bench, my head a fucking mess.
What the hell was wrong with me? I was getting jealous over a woman. Not just any woman, but Julianna fucking Capulet.
My enemy.
3
____________
Julianna
Stupid stupid stupid.
I shouldn’t have gone over to Roman’s apartment unannounced, dressed in his favorite color, wearing matching underwear. What did I think he was going to do? Pull me into his arms and confess his feelings for me? Beg me to run away with him again?
I was so stupid. He’d made it clear; he didn’t want anything to do with me. Once he made sure I wasn’t going to tell anyone about our clandestine affair, he was done with me. Our connection was all in my head.
“Capi,” Espo’s voice called. I straightened at my desk and whipped my head around towards the direction of his voice. Espo was ambling towards me with a smirk on his face and a long white box in his hand. “Got something delivered for you.”
He slid the box on my desk. I stared at it and frowned. There was no card. No note. No indication what it was or who it was from. “What is it?”
“Beats me. Courier delivered it. No return address.”
Our station’s policy was to scan every parcel that was delivered here, which meant that at least it couldn’t be a bomb or anthrax. Still, you could never be too careful. There were some weirdos out there. I picked up a pen and used it to flip open the lid. I was not expecting what I saw.
In among the delicate white tissue paper was a single long-stemmed rose.
Who could have sent this to me?
I extracted the rose from the box, careful not to pierce myself with its thorns. It was a deep blood-red, silky and perfect.
Espo sniffed, reminding me he was standing at my side. “You got a boyfriend I don’t know about?”
Roman.
I shook my head as I shoved that cursed name aside. He kicked me out of his apartment. He told me never to speak to him again. Why the hell would he send me a rose?
Maybe it was some kind of warning? A threat?
If it were a threat, shouldn’t the rose be destroyed? At the very least there would be a threatening note.
“Come on, Capi. Don’t hold out on me.”
I fingered a silky petal before lifting the rose to inhale its full sweet scent. “I don’t know who sent it, I swear.”
Espo let out a whistle. “Capi’s got a secret admirer.”
A secret admirer? Bu
t who?
* * *
That night, with my room smelling like the rose I’d set in a vase upon my bedside table, I found myself standing at my open window, my eyes instinctively searching the shadows below for any sign of Roman Tyrell. He’d entered my apartment through the window before. Maybe tonight…
Don’t be so stupid, Julianna. I slammed the window down even though the night was warm, turned off the light and slipped into bed. I had to get him out of my head. I had to stop believing that I could help him. I had to stop imagining he wanted me to.
A small beep alerted me to a new text. I grabbed my phone and frowned. It was almost midnight. Who would be texting me now?
Unknown: Are you awake?
I stared at the phone number attached to the message. I didn’t recognize it. Perhaps Christian got a new number? I texted back.
Me: Who is this?
There was a pause before my phone beeped again.
Unknown: Somebody who shouldn’t be talking to you.
My stomach clenched as the image of a certain dark-eyed man rose in my mind.
Me: Roman?
Unknown: So we agree. We shouldn’t be talking.
It was Roman. He messaged me to tell me we shouldn’t be talking?
Me: What do you want?
Roman: Did you receive my gift?
I blinked hard. It was Roman who sent me the rose? I stared at my phone. I wasn’t sure what I supposed to say. Thank him. Swoon. Demand an explanation. All the above.