“Monogamy.” The annoying man chuckles. “No need to add complete to it. But we are in complete agreement.”
Steeling my nerves, I ask the question which this whole confrontation led to when he demanded me to sleep in his room. “And would that arrangement start today?”
He reaches out and cups the side of my face. His thumb is slowly stroking my cheek. “I’m taking what’s mine on my wedding day.” His mouth inches slower and right next to my ear he adds on a husky whisper, “I might bury my face between your legs before then to get a taste of how sweet your pussy is...but my cock won’t come near you until you’re mine in name, Rina.”
Rina. That’s the second time he called me Rina. No one has used that short version of my name. Cat? Sure, lots of times. His lips catch my earlobe and his teeth sink in slightly before letting go, making me gasp and a rush of heat flares between my legs.
“Fine.” I try to make the single word come out as a snap but I swear it falls from my lips all breathless and needy.
“Good girl,” he murmurs and takes his warmth and spicy scent with him as he steps back.
Great. You can train for any moment of your life. Prepare with details, theory, reasons, and mindset. Yet, when the moment comes to put everything into motion...the visual before you suddenly shifts into unknown territory. That’s where I find myself right now. How can this man be the same as the strong, mafia men I’ve grown up around and yet be oh so freaking different?
Smooth, thick, black hair. Muscled yet lean appearance. A voice deep enough to rip out your soul while his eyes hold you captive. His eyes are a rare mixture of colors. A ring of brownish green flowing to blue. But the hard stare within gives a warning of frost.
He’s dangerous. I’ve heard what his skilled hands can do. He likes knife play and can torture men for days. He doesn’t shy away from violence but he’s also honest and fair to his soldiers and capos.
His uncle was the one who gave me all the added information along with a file on him filled with information on his background along with details of the two guys working closely alongside of him.
Arturo, who is the underboss, and Leandro, his consigliere. There were a few more papers with information about his capos but I skimmed over them since I will be meeting them soon enough and I’ve always been more of a people watching person to see for myself what their character traits are.
Besides, Clemente’s uncle, Giuseppe shared many stories about those who stand out, making me confident enough to get more details once I meet them and spend more time here. You can learn a lot more from observing every single twitch on their face closely, or how they hold their shoulders, hands, even if it’s for a few minutes.
It’s exactly what Clemente is doing with me now. Watching me closely, trying to unravel secrets my body might reveal. Our moment is broken when Arturo and Leandro stroll into the room. Clemente slowly drags his gaze away from me and faces his two friends.
“Leandro, Arturo. You two stay right there. No shaking hands or getting your mouths and dicks near my woman.” Clemente’s laid-back statement makes me involuntarily snort.
Crap. Way to keep myself in line. I did mention the whole training thing and using it in real life situations really is challenging when this man doesn’t act like normal ones I grew up with.
Clemente shoots me a wicked grin and holds out his hand for me to take. At this point my role really starts. A role since I need to give an outer appearance a solid consistency to uphold status. Not just look the part as a wife.
My future husband holds power. Power people he’s surrounded with are very aware of. They will fully focus on him and this allows me to observe them freely and unnoticed in return. Me being the wife and just the piece of eye candy who warms the boss’ bed, it doesn’t raise suspicions but I can relay my findings to Clemente, which helps him in return.
So, yes. I take my role very seriously and deliberately keep some of my abilities from Clemente. Even if this is all for him and I fully commit my life to him, I would like to prove myself at some point where he sees my worth as a loyal and trustworthy partner.
If he would just stop pushing my buttons while being an asshole. Strangely enough, these things didn’t pop up during my training. You can talk through different situations, learn how to deal with outbursts and conflicting emotions but reality throws curveballs that either hit you in the face or gut you no matter how good at dodging you are.
“You’re no fun,” Arturo grumbles at the same time I slide my fingers over Clemente’s palm and let him pull me close.
My body reacts to the heat of his hands. Mainly the one sliding to my hip and I’m very much aware of the involuntary shiver running through me and how Clemente notices my reaction to him. He gives my hip a gentle squeeze and directs his attention to the two men in front of him.
“We have fun different ways. Most of the time it involves torture, the kind with blood and ripped apart bodies,” Clemente states. “Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of you two? We had a meeting set tomorrow morning if I remember correctly since I cleared all meetings for the day to spend with my fiancée. Whom I’m about to give my ring to and you two are most definitely intruding on our moment.”
A ring. How could I forget the simple formality of accepting his ring? Any woman would want to see the bling on her finger to show off. Ugh. My head is all over the place. Not to mention I just got off a plane and feel icky.
“Clemente,” I address him in a sweet tone. “Why don’t I let you talk to your men while I head upstairs to freshen up? We can do the ring formalities when I’m all showered and fresh.”
“Why don’t you just stay right here and learn about the kind of shit your future husband has to deal with on a regular basis?” Clemente replies.
I’m surprised by his suggestion since his uncle clearly said Clemente wasn’t a man who would allow a woman to mess with his business without complete trust. But he did mention he was a man who quickly adapts to any situation thrown at him and would grab hold of anything that would benefit him.
In this moment, I have no idea if he’s serious or just playing with me. I press my palm against his chest to shift and face him while he keeps me pinned to his body. His features don’t give me a hint of his intentions and I aim my gaze to the other men.
“I like her suggestion, boss.” Leandro shifts uncomfortably.
And this movement, along with the way his eyes are locked with Clemente, suggest there are pressing matters to discuss. Matters they don’t want to talk about in front of me. Which absolutely serves them right. I arrived mere minutes ago, a stranger in their midst.
My suspicions are confirmed when Arturo adds, “We don’t want to bore her with pressing business we need to get a handle on sooner rather than later.” His eyes shift to me. “Sorry, Caterina, but this involves safety reasons for everyone. We can’t get into much details and need to act now.”
I give both men a gentle smile. “Thank you for your honesty. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Why do we need to act now?” Clemente questions and digs his fingers into my hip to keep me in place.
“Rumors of a second illegal gambling event hit our ears,” Arturo states.
“When?” Clemente snaps.