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25
ARIES
Vito Santorini standsbefore us with his pack of dogs, hurling bomb after bomb at my girl. Pride swells inside my chest when she stands tall against him, her shoulders pushed back and head held high.
I always knew she was stronger than any of these assholes give her credit for. The need to protect her—possess her—rides me hard. But the difference is, I want her to know she’s strong and capable of doing anything.
We will be having words about her breaking her promise and running off without a plan, but it seems irrelevant in the light of this conversation. I have some very . . . creative . . . ideas on how to get her to understand we’re a team.
Her gaze spits fire as she stares down the boss of the Las Vegas mob. Her fucking father.
I had to readjust my cock when she told him to fuck off. Discreetly, of course, because I’m not a complete animal. Though I have an idea that I might be—for her. I think I might be a lot of different things for her.
I tap the barrel of the gun against my thigh, my patience thinning dramatically by the second. I don’t know how much longer I can sit here and watch this battle of wills. Not because my girl can’t hold her own, but because I’d rather just ruin Santorini and spare her another second of hardship.
I know the plan was always to eliminate Dad, but what does the world look like if we take them both out? It’s a moot question, really, because as I look around at my brothers and Dante, I know that none of them will take him out without her approval. Which she might never give.
When Vito gestures to the three guys walking toward us and introduces them as her brothers, I swear I see Matteo’s eye twitch.
Four guns are drawn before he finishes speaking. Dante keeps his gun by his side, his focus on Raven in front of him. She looks fucking magnificent in her deep blue dress holding a sleek black gun that I had the pleasure of strapping to her thigh earlier tonight.
“Alright. That’s enough for one night. We’re done here.” My voice is loud, echoing off the cement pillar behind us.
“Now, son—”
“I’m not your fucking son.” I smile at him, it’s a special expression I save for all the disgusting and depraved people I’ve collected secrets from over the years. “But I guess I’ll be your son-in-law soon enough.”
Raven sucks in a sharp breath, but Matteo doesn’t. Interesting. Guess it’s time for that chat with my brother. Dante slowly walks our girl backward, putting much-needed space between us. Hopefully, we’re headed toward our car, wherever the fuck that is.
“Madison? What’s he talking about?” Her mother’s shrill voice hits an octave I hadn’t heard since that time I vacationed in Miami with a bunch of secret society sorority girls.
My girl plays that shit off just right though. I’m sure she’s recalling the conversation we had after I ravaged that sweet pussy earlier. If I could eat her every day for the rest of my life, I’d die a very, very happy man.
“Are we trading secrets now, Aries?” A small smile curls the corner of her mouth upward, and I hate that I’m going to shatter her good mood.
I run my hands up her back, reveling in the way her skin feels against my fingers. The warm water adds another layer of sensuality to this moment, but I have no doubt that she’d exude sexuality in a shapeless brown dress.
“I have some things in play, Raven. Some things that no one knows—that no one can know.”
“I don’t want to keep secrets from them, Rafael.”
Her use of my first name clues me into her mood faster than her teeth dragging over her bottom lip or the way she freezes in my arms when she was loose and pliable before. I slide my hands into the hair at the back of her neck, cradling her head.
With effort, I let the shields that are all but permanent slide down. I show her my vulnerability which is something I haven’t shown anyone in years. “I need you to trust me, baby. I wouldn’t do anything that could hurt you.”
She licks her lips, her gaze bouncing between my eyes. “But what about Matteo and Dante and Leo? I don’t want them to get hurt either.”
I smooth her hair back and scan her face. Her freckles look fresher somehow in the sunlight, her eyes a bright, icy blue color. “I know, baby. I need you to trust me.”
She stares at me, and I try not to sweat under the pressure. I could roll out my plans without her, it would be difficult, but I could do it. But I don’t want to exclude her. I want her by my side for everything, and this is the first step in achieving that.
She hooks her arm around the neck and places a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth. “I trust you, Rafael.”
A shiver rolls down my back, a premonition or warning, I’m not sure, but it feels ominous.
My lips chase hers as she pulls back, and the sweetest noise hits my ears—her laugh. I swear to god, the sound of her laugh could make the angriest of men smile. There’s something so weightless and free about it. I’m fairly sure I’d do anything to keep it.
“I’ll send you the invitation to the ceremony, Sloane. But until then, I don’t want to see you,” Raven snaps.
