“I can make money on the dark web, and funnel that into our fund to fix what my stepfather broke,” Pablo says easily. “It’s not the end of the world. He just hasn’t wanted me to do that.”
“What about the enemies you’ll make of those who take over your father’s businesses?” I ask. I’m not going to give up on this. “I know how this works. Why would they leave you alive if you can’t get your wife to heel?”
“You’re not a dog. If we have to clean house in Michigan, we will,” Nico grunts, kissing me.
If he’s trying to shut me up…he’s doing a good job of it.
“I’ve wanted you since before I knew why. I could have married anyone, but I kept putting up with your father’s bullshit,” he confesses. “The photo he sent me was from when you were eighteen. I have no idea why he did that. I went back and forth until I finally saw you in person, and the arguments in my head fell away. I didn’t know why the sadness clung to you orwhy you moved so strangely,principessa. All I know is that you ought to be a queen, even when all that’s left is a pile of dust and ashes.”
“Fuck.” Verona collapses to the mat in shock, and the Domino men follow her. I’m not sure if they thought they were going to try to save me from whateverthisis, but I don’t see any need for it.
“I think you do romance pretty well,” I rasp, smirking as his green eyes sparkle with passion and tears. “I need to ride this out, husband. I still need time and space, but let’s see if we can make this work.”
“Grazie, mia moglie.”
He seals his thanks with a kiss that has my fingers burying themselves in his hair and writhing underneath him. The only thing that stops him is the angry gurgle of hunger from my stomach, to which he chuckles.
“I think we’ve rolled around enough,” he teases, easing onto his knees as he helps me up. I ignore the erection in his pants, while he ignores how aroused I am.
I’m not sure when the courtesy will end. I know something is building between us, and niceties aren’t going to help the growing inferno. Papa’s machinations are quickly unraveling, and we are going to burn down everything he’s built. I hope I get to toss the match on his empire.
Chapter Twenty-Three
NICO
I lied.The bond sickness is getting worse, and I bury my head in my pillow as my body is wracked with anxiety and a twisting pain in my stomach.
Breathing slowly, I grip my pillowcase so tightly, I rip it apart as I beg the pain to ease up. It feels as if I’m being torn apart. Every night, things get worse. I refuse to push Rosa. I know she needs the time, so I’ll give it to her.
I doubt this will kill me. Last night, I simply didn’t bother sleeping, and I found a way to be around her. It’s when I’ve been four and five hours away that the pain sinks into my body.
The phone rings next to me, and I reach out blindly for it as my brothers groan in the bed next to me. They’re all sprawled out, and I force myself to answer as I walk out the door. Who needs sleep? Maybe I’ll take the car and sit outside of Pack’s Mayor’s house like a stalker. Hopefully, the close proximity to her will help.
“Hello,” I growl into the phone without looking at who it is.
“How long are you going to continue this farce with my daughter?” Renzo asks.
“The wedding is a farce to you?” I snort. “You married your daughter off to her scent match without realizing it, old man. It appears the joke is on you. If you want to continue conversations about having access to my assets, it’ll have to be at another time. Bye now.”
Hanging up on him, knowing he couldn’t track that call because I wasn’t on long enough, I begin to pace up and down the hallway. When the phone goes off again, I put it on vibrate, annoyed that a man can’t get a little peace and ignore it.
I drop my head back and swallow down a scream when this continues for the next twenty minutes, until I finally step out onto the back porch to answer it.
“Hello.” It’s a number I don’t have programmed in my phone. It’s almost eleven at night, and I can’t imagine a spam caller deciding this is a good time to sell me a fucking vacuum cleaner.
“Nico, why are you ignoring my calls? Don’t you have Rosa’s new number programmed?” Pablo asks anxiously.
“Actually… I don’t. Are you alright?” I ask, forcing myself to breathe as I speak. I want to sound calm, not as if I’m dying. My heart is racing, my hands shaking, a goddamned mess is what I am.
“Do not play with me, amor. Our bond’s fucking screaming. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing I can’t handle,” I promise him. “I’m good.”
“Since when do we lie to each other? Rosa, wait?—”
Ah, am I being tag-teamed by my omegas? It’s nice to see that my wife cares enough to call. Ugh, pain has a way of turning me into an asshole, so I keep my lips clamped closed as I continue walking laps around the backyard.
“Husband. Talk to me.”
