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37
Karma
"What do you think?" I turn toward him. "I am leaving you."
"Not having much success, are you?" He prowls over to me, pauses on the ramp near the motorboat which has begun to drift away from the ramp. "Come back to me," he orders. "Now."
"No." I shake my head, "No, I will not."
"And you?" He glares at Luca. "I trusted you," his jaw hardens, "my brother, my second in command... The man I believed in all these years."
"Excuse me while I play the violin for your woes." Luca laughs.
"Who got to you, Luca?" Michael tilts his head, "This is not you. This bitter, cynical man, who is betraying me... This is not the brother I know."
"You don't know me very well then, do you?" Luca's lips turn down in a sad smile, "You only ever saw what you wanted; you always believed that you knew what was best for all of us."
"What are you talking about?" Michael frowns, "My entire life, to date, has been devoted to protecting all of you."
"If only that were true," Luca says in a low voice, "and you accuse Nonna of turning a blind eye when he beat up mother."
Michael stiffens, "What are you talking about?" He leans forward on the balls of his feet, "What did he do to you, Luca? Tell me what happened."
"Don’t worry about it,fratellone," Luca's lips twist. "You just worry about how you're going to explain how you let your wife run away from you."
Michael's shoulders stiffen. The skin around his eyes tightens. He glares at Luca a second longer, seems about to say something, then changes his mind.
"Why are you doing this?" He widens his stance, "Turn back, and I'll forget any of this happened."
"I think not." Luca's lips curve, "Not when I am enjoying the sight of the powerful Capo, reduced to begging his woman to stay. If you're not able to keep her, how are you going to take charge as the Don? Clearly, you are not fit to succeed him."
"So that's what this is about? Power?" Michael folds his fingers into fists at his side.
"When is it not about power?" Luca chuckles, then glances toward me. "Oh, I forgot, you think yourself in love, don't you? You think she is the woman who came to redeem you? Too bad, she doesn't feel the same way."
I stiffen, wanting to tell him to shut the hell up, but I don't. He's wrong, though. Michael isn't in love with me. All he wants is to possess me, own me, use me, then discard me. But I'm not going to correct him. Not when he's doing a damn good job of keeping Michael occupied while we wait to re-start the goddamn engine again.
"I would have done anything for you, my brother." Michael lowers his chin, "I would have given up anything for you."
"So, if I had asked you to hand over the title of Capo to me, would you have done so?"
Michael stiffens. A nerve pops at his temple, but he stays silent.
"Thought not," Luca murmurs. "Don't kid yourself,fratellone.All these years, you've kept me close just to keep track of my movements." Luca, shakes his head, "No brother, if I had told you how I truly felt, if I'd even breathed a word of the fact that I wanted to be Capo, you'd have killed me—"
"Or not," Michael folds his arms across his chest, "and now we'll never know. Either way," he nods toward me, "let her go. She isn't part of whatever power games you want to indulge in."
"I beg to differ," Luca smirks. He wraps his arm around me and I shoot him a confused glance. What the hell is he up to? And after he told me that he’s not interested in me in that way.
On the ramp, I sense Michael tense. "Get the fuck away from her," he says in a voice so hard, so cold, that a shudder runs down my spine. My thighs clench and my belly flutters. Shit, I should not find his anger such a turn on. I should not find the possessiveness that laces his voice so damn sexy. I should not allow myself to turn to him, fix my gaze on his as I lean into Luca and murmur, "I don’t want you, Michael. I want him."
Michael's nostrils flare.
Next to me, Luca's muscles bunch. But he must understand that I am playing along with him, for he hauls me closer. "You heard her." I can hear the smirk in his voice as he addresses Michael over my head, "She’s not with you anymore."
"She’s. My. Wife." Michael’s voice whips through the space. The pores on my skin pop. My toes curl. Oh, my god. Michael Byron Domenico Sovrano in a rage…is, surely, one of the most erotic spectacles I have ever seen. It’s definitely one of the scariest.
Why the hell does everything about this man turn me on…even as I am trying my best to leave him? I squeeze my thighs together, lift up my chin, "Your wife?" I snarl. "Is that what you call kidnapping me and forcing me to marry you?"
