“I know, and I’m not mad at you at all. None of this is your fault, Sis. You did everything that you could to save me. You did more than I’ve ever imagined you’d do. Going against Tino for me was…” Brave, epic, so incredibly sweet and loving and beautiful…and risky. The muscles around my heart slowly contracted. “Is he gonna hurt you?”
She swallowed, and then she bit her lip on a smile, blushing. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Oh, that. I forgot how kinky my little sister was.”
“You should try it some time. There’s a strange freedom in submission, especially when you trust your partner.”
I closed the distance between us and held her arms. “How could you trust him?”
“Tino and I have been through a lot. At first, I didn’t see the reason behind what seemed to be the horrible things he’d done before I married him, but then I realized everything he’d done, each choice he’d made for me, was for my own good, was because he loved me and wanted to give me the best.”
“He almost killed you. Twice.”
“Almost. But he never did. He could have easily pulled the trigger, but he stopped because he truly loved me. And when the time came, he took a bullet for me, Nicky.” Tears threatened to spill her mascara and smear her face. “I never said he was a saint. Tino is a dark man. He has his demons, but has it ever occurred to you that so do I? So do you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“How fucked up we are, Sis.”
My hands fell off her arms, and I averted my gaze. I couldn’t argue with that.
“You and I have serious issues, Nicky. Living in denial for years, pretending to be normal would never make them go away. A woman like meneedsa man like Tino, one who isn’t afraid of the darkness, one who would do whatever it takes to protect me, one who knows when to take the lead, to push me to my limits and show me my truth with no judgment, one who understands and embraces every single urge and desire I have, one who is so fucking powerful he can replace the marks the monster left on my soul.”
“Wow. Tino does all that for you?”
“Yes. And, despite everything, I think Dom can do all that for you, too…if you let him.”
“I see. Well, Tino must have a magic dick to make you forget he was ready to take your sister’s life. Or was that another choice he would have made on your behalf for your own good?”
“No. And I didn’t forget. But if it’d ever come to that, I’d have confronted him, and he’d have never hurt you. Like I said, Tino is no saint, but with all his darkness, he has a sweet side.”
“Sweet? You truly believe that?”
“Yes. It’s the side that took care of me, of us, for years. The side that wouldn’t let him pull the trigger and take a bullet for me instead. The side that wouldn’t let him kill his own son even when the sicko deserved it. The side that would have never let him hurt you. It’s impossible for you to believe me now, but one day you’ll understand that when he threatened you, he was doing the same thing he’s been always doing with me.”
“And what the fuck is that?”
“Forcing you to make what will be the best choice you’ve ever made.”
“Marrying Domenico Lanza…will be the best choice I’ve ever made?” I chuckled. “Tino really has a magic dick that fucks all sanity out of your head, doesn’t he?”
She laughed. “That is…rather accurate.” She stretched on her toes. Even with heels she didn’t easily reach my ear. “I hear Dom has one, too.”
That he would have to keep in his pants, if he wished to keep it at all.
She pushed the few strands of hair flowing down one side of my face and smiled. Then she embraced me. “This was never how I imagined your wedding would be, but once it’s safe, you will have a proper wedding, a huge one, I promise. I made sure it’s in the agreement.”
Great. I’d have to go through this torturing charade not once but twice. It was in the agreement. The contracts that sold me to the Lanzas.
The terms had been read to me by the lawyers, and I’d been asked to put my own, too. How generous. But I didn’t give a shit about the wealth Tino did a marvelous job scoring for me despite mydishonorable behavioror the huge wedding my sister wanted to play at. Even when the lawyers read that Domenico and I, upon agreement, would take lovers, but would be discreet—yes, that was a clause in the fucking contract—and Domenico’s face hardened while he said, “No one touches my wife but me,” I didn’t bother disagreeing or asking for the same exclusive rights to him.
The only term I put down was to be allowed to have my degree along with any further education I’d ever want to have after and to pursue a career.
Domenico didn’t find a problem with the first part. The job part, though, seemed to be problematic. Except under rare circumstances and strict conditions, Mafia wives weren’t allowed to work. Again, I didn’t give a shit. They could have chopped me in pieces, and I still wouldn’t have signed my non consent to the one-way ticket to hell until they typed in my only condition. Domenico must have realized that because he didn’t argue much even though his boss didn’t seem pleased with the decision.
“Dom got their jeweler to send the rings by plane. I haven’t seen them yet, but he assured us—”
“Stop it.” I glared at her. “Please.”
