“So when we first locked eyes in that spa, you didn’t feel it? The connection before any words were spoken. An intoxicating pull that felt like a spark of warmth in your veins. An instant desire the moment our eyes met, and when we finally touched…” I ran my fingers along her collarbone and watched the goosebumps appear in their path. “... it felt familiar. Like our bodies were made for each other. The chemistry is electric, almost dangerous.”
I held her gaze, watching how her irises sparkled like sapphires as they filled with lust.
“There’s heat and passion, but also a longing that feels thrilling yet safe. In that moment, your heart recognised mine before your mind could catch up. And you knew your life would never be the same. Because no one else will ever make you feel the way I do.” I leaned back against the bath, letting my words sink beneath her skin. “You didn’t experience that,Ribelle?”
She stared, a perfect frozen doll in her pretty dress. She took a slow sip of her champagne, then ran her tongue over her bottom lip, catching a drop. My already half-hard dick turned to steel in an instant.
“Nope,” she lied, staring me dead in the eyes.
“Shame. It’s a fucking glorious feeling.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You really expect me to believe this? That you think I’m your soulmate, and that you didn’t just marry me to piss off my father?”
“I won’t lie. Pissing off Piero was a bonus. But it’s not just your family who were against this. Mine weren’t thrilled either.” I shrugged. “I’ve made everything worse by marrying you.” I leaned forward and gently placed my hand around her dainty neck. Her pupils dilated as my thumb caressed her fluttering pulse. “But men like me don’t step aside and let another man take from them. We claim what we want. And I want you. No one was going to stop me.”
I could see the war raging in her pretty eyes. She didn’t want to believe me, but there was no hint of a lie.
“Men like you? Mafia men, you mean?” She raised an eyebrow, daring me to deny it. It was obvious she knew who I was and what I did, and I’d never lie to her. I might keep things from her until I knew it was safe for her to know, but I also needed to earn her trust in return. Risks had to be taken to achieve that.
“That’s what some might call us.”
She gulped but held my gaze. “Did Damiano try to stop you? Is that why you killed him?”
“No.” I leaned back against the bath, bracing myself for her reaction. “That’s not why I killed him.”
She drew in an audible breath, her eyes blown wide by my confession. “B-but you did… kill him?”
“Si.”
“Why?” she breathed, her hand trembling so much around her glass of champagne that she had to put it down.
“Because he deserved it. He was an ex-Leone soldier.”
Her brows pinched together. “An ex-Leone soldier? What’s that?”
“The Leones were my family’s enemies years ago. Damiano had worked for them as a dirty soldier, which meant he was recruited specifically to kidnap, torture, rape, or kill women. The jobs other men didn’t have the stomach for.”
Her lips parted as she stared at me, pure disbelief etched on her face. “You’re lying. My father would never hire a man like that as my bodyguard.”
“I’ll never lie to you. I don’t believe your father knew. Damiano had covered his past well. Someone helped him.”
“Who?”
I clenched my jaw. “I’m not sure yet. But I’m going to find out.”
She swallowed and looked down at her hands. “So you… killed him because he used to work for an enemy?”
“No,” I said so quickly that it made her glance back up. “I killed him because of what he planned to do to you.”
Her breathing became erratic as she stared into my eyes. I could tell she was torn between wanting to know and staying blissfully unaware of how much danger she had been in. Her curiosity won out.
“What did he plan to do to me?”
I rubbed my jaw and sighed. “Not nice things. I’m sure you can imagine. All you need to know is that he won’t ever hurt you. I made sure of that.”
“So you killed him? To protect me,” her voice choked with emotion, and I swore when I saw the fear in her eyes. I wasn’t sure whether it was fear of me or of what could have happened to her.
Honesty probably wasn't the best policy this soon, but it was all I had. She needed to know who I was if I had any hope of her accepting me. Many would think me foolish to put such blind faith in a woman who could easily run to her father and tell him everything, but mypapihad taken the risk with mymamma, and I was following his lead. I believed this was it. She was my woman. My queen. She needed to know all of me. The good, the bad, and the downright terrifying.
