I swear she says, “There’s still time since you’re not my husband yet.” Before she slips into the bathroom.
I quickly change into sweatpants, a shirt, and some sneakers. She stalks back into the room and comes to an abrupt stop when she notices my appearance.
“Put on your gym clothes and join me.” The words are a harsh order but there isn’t one outer twitch that indicates she’s offended or angry.
Instead she quickly grabs some clothes, and to my dismay she heads into the bathroom again to change. I’d rather have her stripping in front of me the way she showed me a glimpse of her body like she did yesterday. I guess that’s only reserved for when she’s pissed at me.
The corner of my mouth twitches at the thought. I never was one to enjoy a doormat, and the more time I’m around her the more I think she’s perfect. And she just got here yesterday, so that’s promising, right?
She follows me downstairs and into a large room I transformed into a gym. Every corner gives the opportunity to do different things. One is filled with mats for stretching, the other is where the weights are, the one across from it holds three treadmills and the last one is my favorite, it’s a ring where I like to spar with Leandro and Arturo. Most of our talks and decisions don’t occur in my office, they happen right here.
“What’s your normal routine? Or is it only yoga?” I head for the mats to start stretching.
She follows, loosening her muscles right alongside of me. “Mattia and I work out every day. Yoga, going for a run, weight training, and self-defense.”
“Self-defense,” I echo. “You won’t be working out with Mattia again.”
“What did you do?” she asks with a tone as if I didn’t return to our bedroom yesterday because I was too busy with killing Mattia.
“Relax,” I grunt. “He’s still breathing. I did arrange for him to have different workouts from now on.” And give her an all-knowing smirk.
CHAPTER FOUR
Swallow your pride
— Caterina —
The smirk on his face should be illegal. It’s a mixture of sinister promise laced with challenge and a hint of sex. It’s the kind I’ve heard about in the audio books of all the erotic novels my grandmother made me listen to.
Okay, she made me listen to the first one and I kept going since I actually liked those stories but ultimately switched to romance, enjoying the way authors could sweep me away into their world. Dreaming of the kind of relationship I would never have, though a woman is allowed to dream, right?
A shiver runs through my body due to the mixture of his smirk along with the thoughts of said romance books. A mafia boss, ruthless, with the body of a god and falling for the woman the second they are hooked into an arranged marriage. Get your head out of the clouds, Caterina. It’s never going to happen. My own mind shooting me a reprimand is enough to shift my mood.
I hit him with an annoyed look. “Mind expanding on your statement? Let me in on whatever is making you grin like a loon?”
“Mattia greedily accepted the offer I gave him, involving cock entertainment. Arturo took him to one of the whorehouses and made sure he lost his virginity. So, you see, he’s going to be enjoying other ways to exercise. And keep his mind and his cock away from you.” Again, with the self-assured smirk.
Asshole. If he thinks that affects me in any way, he’s absolutely wrong. If anything, I’m relieved. “Good. About time he got some distraction. It will help him to get over his feelings for me.”
Clemente stops stretching and tilts his head to assess me.
I roll my eyes. “I’m not blind, Clemente. I might be oblivious to sex, but I have a good and working head on my shoulders. I enjoy audio books while I’m cooking, exercising, or cleaning. And I have a very straightforward grandmother who doesn’t shy away from anyone. She was the one who reprimanded him a few months ago when she noticed the looks he gave me. Looks I didn’t notice but became aware of the second she told me. But like I keep repeating myself, I don’t have any other interest in anything other than the man I was trained to be with.”
And that would be a self-absorbed smirk he’s wearing right now. I repeat, asshole.
“Women in the mafia world use the word ‘raised.’ You repeatedly use the word ‘trained.’ Is this because of the whole self-defense training part?”
I give a slight shake of my head, reach for my ankle and bring my nose to my knees. Holding the pose for a moment I slowly slide back up to face him. “No. I like to think my dedication is different. Being raised in this mafia world involves acceptance. Being trained revolves around commitment, dedication, honor, and determination. There’s a huge difference.”
For the first time his eyes fill with respect and admiration and it’s all aimed at me. Yet, I blink and it’s gone.
“Get in the ring,” he says with a snap. “Let’s see what you got.”
Apparently, I’ve got nothing when I land hard on my ass for the fourth time in a row. It doesn’t do my ego any good if this asshole keeps smirking at me. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I train with Mattia every chance we get and can tackle him to the ground at least once or twice during said trainings. But Clemente? I haven’t even so much as landed one punch on his body.
“Widen your damn legs, Rina,” he growls.
The man isn’t even out of breath like I am.
“I am,” I growl right back and smack his hand away.
Asshole. He’s mentally unstable if he thinks I’ll accept his hand to pull me up after he keeps kicking me down.
“It sucks, doesn’t it?” Clemente chuckles. “Mattia has been pussyfooting around you. It’s not what you need. Now, again, come at me and this time widen your stance for impact and keep your eyes on mine. Your body language rats you out, it lets me predict what your next move will be.”
A growl of frustration rumbles low in my throat. I know he’s right, but it’s a bitter pill to swallow when I already think he’s an asshole. But he’s an asshole who is helping me to get better, that’s some form of progress between us.
“Your sister won’t be happy if I have to cancel because I’m too sore,” I tell him, in an effort to distract him while I throw a punch and try to plant my knee into his groin right after.
He easily blocks both and this time, he grabs my knee and pulls me flush against his body. His lips are right next to my ear when he whispers, “I couldn’t care less about the meeting you two have planned. Especially since it was last minute as my sister’s housesitting plans were cancelled. And even more because I know Gracy intends to talk about your bachelorette party.”
I give a low hum of approval. “Maybe we’ll vote about how many male strippers she’ll order.”
He roughly shoves me away to look me in the eye, finally allowing me the space I need to bring my knee up. He clearly isn’t expecting it and for the first time I watch how he sinks to his knees and falls on his ass while cupping himself.
Sweet. Victory. Now I’m the one wearing a self-assured smirk, though it doesn’t last long when he quickly flashes up and launches himself at me. He brings me down to the ground with him. My hands are pinned above my head and he’s straddling me, keeping me immobile with the weight of his body.