“She was otherwise distracted,” Primo said, moving out of the closet.
There was something in his tone.
“Distracted how?” I pressed.
I regretted it when he turned on his heel, giving me a devilish smirk.
“You fuck your housekeeper?” I asked, only just realizing that I might not only have to sleep with this man, but also endure his relentless cheating.
God, my pride. It would be in tiny pieces.
I didn’t tolerate cheating. Ever. It was an immediate cause to dump a guy.
Not only because they’d betrayed me and my trust and the relationship we’d started to build, but because he’d made a fool of me as well.
That, well, that wouldn’t stand.
But what choice would I have here?
None.
I would have none.
“I fuck whoever I want,” he said, shrugging. “But if you must know, I don’t fuck her. She just sucks me off on occasion.”
Gross.
“That is not going to happen again,” I informed him, chin raising, back straightening, hoping I could at least fake the strength I wasn’t feeling.
“Is that so?” he asked, watching me.
“You’ve made a fool enough of me,” I told him, hoping my jaw didn’t look as trembly as it felt. “I will not have you doing that to me too.”
“You think you can tell me what to do?” he asked, stalking forward, towering over me, making me need to crane my head up to keep eye contact. “Just who do you think you are?” he asked, tone low, threatening.
But if I backed down now, I would be backing down my entire life. I’d rather not live at all than live like that. Bowing and kowtowing to this monster of a man.
“Your wife,” I said, clenching my teeth to keep my lips from quivering.
His hand rose at my side and it took a lot of strength not to wince, to jerk away.
But he wasn’t going to strike me.
No.
Instead, he grabbed the back of my neck, fingertips digging in.
“That’s right,” he agreed, nodding. It was a borderline painful pressure, and the gesture was unmistakably possessive. Which I didn’t want. Not at all. But there was a weird tightening between my legs at the feeling regardless. “Now get dressed, so we can make it official.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Primo
I wasn’t the most moral of men. Anyone would tell you that. My sins were as dark a shade as they came in. But I had some beliefs in life, shit I held sacred.
Like family.
Like the Family.
Like taking care of my neighborhood.
And the sanctity of marriage.
I had no delusions when it came to the situation. Isabella’s consent to the marriage had been coerced. She didn’t truly have a choice in the matter. No halfway decent person would save themselves by sacrificing ten or twelve others. That wasn’t how things worked.
It also meant that she hadn’t exactly agreed to fucking me either.
And I might be a bastard in many—if not most—ways, but I didn’t rape. That was one place where I drew a line.
I wasn’t going to force myself on Isabella.
I trusted that in time she would learn to feel a connection toward me. And the physical part of the relationship would start.
But because I believed in the sanctity of marriage, in the vow you made to not only your partner but God, it meant I couldn’t fuck around anymore.
I had a feeling my balls were going to be blue before I got any relief.
But that was the choice that I’d made.
It was also why I’d gone ahead and let the housekeeper suck my dick that morning before the plan was officially in motion. It was the last release I would get for a while that wasn’t done by my own damn hand.
That shit I’d said to Isabella had just been to see how she would react.
I wasn’t disappointed.
Sure, the motivations might have been selfish, not wanting other people to think she was someone not worthy of the respect of her husband, but I liked to hear the possessiveness in her tone.
Even if it had nothing to do with me.
I figured that one day it might.
“Is that the flowers?” I asked, coming down the stairs to see Terzo standing in the kitchen with a box on the counter.
“I haven’t opened it yet,” he said as I made my way into the space. “Why are you bothering with flowers anyway?” he asked.
Young.
And therefore a little bit stupid.
“Because she will be my wife,” I said, pulling the top off the box to reveal the peach peony bouquet I’d ordered. Because when watching Isabella while planning the whole situation, I’d noticed she only ever picked up peach peonies to keep at her apartment.
“But it’s not a real marriage.”
“It will be a real marriage,” I told him. “It might not be traditional, but it is real. And because it is real, she will be afforded at least the smallest of gestures that convey how seriously I take the institution. So my wife will have a bouquet. Just like she has a dress and shoes and a ring.”
“I’m not getting married,” Terzo said, shaking his head.
“That’s exactly how you should be thinking at your age,” I agreed. “Until you are mature enough to give marriage the consideration it deserves. Are our brothers almost ready?” I asked.
“They are waiting downstairs.”
“Good. And the church is ready?” I confirmed.
“The priest is waiting.”
“Good,” I said, going through the list in my head, not wanting to miss anything. “Do you have the other box?” I asked, watching as my brother shook his head as he reached into his breast pocket to produce the black jewelry box. “I could get another best man if you have a problem,” I reminded him. “I’m not short of any brothers to choose from.”
Aside from Terzo. And Due.
Who was hopefully being sodomized with cacti in hell.
Love and loyalty were never given blindly. There were always rules. There wasn’t such a thing as unconditional anything in this world. And there shouldn’t be. Everything should come with conditions. Everyone should have lines that others are not allowed to cross.
I don’t care if you’re my soldier, my best friend, my brother, or my damn son. If you messed around with kids, I would disembowel you without hesitation. I was genuinely pissed off that I didn’t get a chance to confront Due myself over his actions. That was something that never should have needed to go before The Commission. I would have gladly taken care of it myself had they approached me with their information.
That was the whole point of this alliance. They would feel comfortable coming to me with issues now that I had one of theirs in my life and world. All this moving behind one another’s backs shit would stop.
“The fuck is taking so long?” I grumbled, checking my watch when it felt like an hour passed. She only had a dress and shoes to get into. It’s not like she had makeup to put on or anything.
In fact, I decided I liked her even better without it. She’d wiped away all the evidence of it from earlier. Which made her face seem more open. More, I don’t know, vulnerable and readable.
I was going to go right ahead and not mention that to her, though. If I did, she would probably wear makeup day and night, even to sleep, just to spite me.