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My ass ached. I wanted to reach back and touch my ailing skin, but I kept my hands firmly planted becausemyEnzo wasn’t the one who just gave me that lashing, and I didn’t know if whoever he was would make good on his promise. I shouldn’t have pushed him. I knew Enzo would be overwhelmed after trying to worm his way back into the graces of people his business relied heavily on.
And what wouldn’t help him gain grace was me.
ChapterTwelve
Enzo
Iran my hand along my revolver’s slick metal as I cleaned it. The scent of gun oil filled the room. Atheist whined. “Shhh,” I whispered as I wrapped a cloth around the barrel and rubbed it. It was much more sensual than I intended it to be, but I loved that damn gun. Atheist whined more forcefully at the door, and his sounds made me remember everything all at once.
Gia. The lashings. Making her stand like that until I came for her. I groaned, stood up, and checked the camera feed on my phone. She was squatting to take the weight off her arms, her hands still planted on the chair. Her dark hair flowed over her shoulder as her head dropped. I felt a pang of guilt. But just a quick one.
I left my room, comforting Atheist with a quick pat before I closed the door. My mind raced as I headed toward her room. She’d be pissed, and rightfully so, but I quite enjoyed seeing her obey for once in her fucking life. She’d submit to me any day during sex, but it wasn’t true submission. No. Suffering through the ache of her hands and her arms was submission.
It was respect.
How she acted now would determine if I gave her the same.
I walked into the room and her head shot up, her back straightening, but she wouldn’t look at me. I stepped closer and looked down at her tired eyes. Her hands trembled. I wanted to reach out and comfort her.
“Release,” I said as I stood behind her head, rubbing my hands slowly from her shoulders down to her trembling wrists.
As soon as I gave her the word, her hands flew from the chair and she swung her elbow back and hit me in the dick.Fair.She ran to the bathroom, leaving me kneeling over the chair myself, trying to calm my anger. I wasn’t surprised. I should have known she’d take a shot at me the moment she could. I shouldn’t have served her my balls on a silver platter. I groaned. When I heard the water running in the bathroom, I stood tall and pretended there wasn’t an ache in my nuts.
Gia came back into the room, her skirt pulled back into place, and curse words flew from her mouth as she rushed past me. “I’m leaving,” she said, no argument in her tone.
“You aren’t going anywhere, Giovanna.” I matched the sternness in her voice. I was as sure she’d be staying as she was sure she’d be leaving. “There’s nowhere for you to go. You’ve burned every bridge besides mine.”
“Fuck you.”
I pressed her against the wall, my hands on either side of her head. Fury glimmered in her eyes. I loved it. “It doesn’t feel good, does it? To be hurt. See, I always knew you’d hurt me. You’re a Silvani, after all. I should have known that love wasn’t enough for two people like us. Hell, we might not even be capable of it. But I knew I wouldn’t hurt you. Not like you thought I would. I might hurt this...” My hand jutted between her legs with a rough touch that made her gasp. “But I wouldn’t have fucked around on you. I was fuckingobsessedwith you. There was no room for another woman, not even for a night.” Silvio always cheated on my mother, and I vowed to never be that person. I never wanted to step a foot in the path Silvio came from. I forged my own. Her accusation of infidelity stung deeper than she realized.
She leaned in and kissed me, and I let myself kiss her back for a moment, bathing in the sweet taste of her lips. When her pelvis tilted against my touch between her legs, I tugged my hand away. No, she wouldnotget what she wanted. Even if I wanted it, too. I needed to take my frustrations out on her body, but I couldn’t forgive her. Not yet. I pulled away from her, and she whimpered as her lips chased mine.
“No, we ain’t doing this,” I said. When she reached for my pants, I grabbed her wrists in one of my hands and pinned them above her head. It only made her bite her lip, wanting more. I wiped at my mouth. “We ain’t doing this. I can’t keep you a secret, you know? You’re coming to dinner with my brothers tonight, and I need you to not be so...you. Be someone who doesn’t seem like they could have killed Silvio. Maybe a bit meek. A little ladylike.”
“No promises,” she said. “If you aren’t going to fuck me, let go of my damn wrists.”
I released her hands, and she dropped them to her sides and shook her head. I stepped away from her. “I’ll have a dress sent up.”
* * *
Dinner was going exactlyhow I expected. Sammy and Marco sat at the table, their faces red and angry as their eyes locked on Gia, who calmly took a drink of her water. Their glares burned through me, but they didn’t seem to bother her. She couldn’t care less if they stared.
“Marco—” she began, but the fierce snap of my brother’s words nipped her sentence back.
“I have nothing to say to you, Ms. Silvani. I know you aren’t his enemy, but you aremyenemy.”
“It doesn’t have to be like that.”
I kneed her beneath the table, trying to shut her damn mouth. She’d only fuel him. He hadn’t drawn a gun on her yet, so dinner was goingbetterthan I expected at that point.
Sammy stabbed at his steak with aggressive motions that flung drops of red-tinged grease off his plate. There was silence except for the clang of forks against the ceramic. Over the soft groan beside me as Gia took a bite of her steak, her hand slipped beneath the table and between my legs. My lips tightened.
She better fucking not.My eyes leaped between my brothers, but they kept their eyes down as they ate.
“This is so...damn...good. My compliments to the chef,” she said. The flirty tone in her voice even made Marco look up from his dinner. Her cloth napkin fell to the floor, and she kicked it further beneath it. “I’m so clumsy,” she said as she squatted down and crawled beneath the table. “It’s really dusty under here, boys. You guys should get one of those little robot vacuums. It would take care of all this for you.” She spoke nonsense as her hands worked down my zipper and button. I tried to kick her away casually, without making a scene. She pulled me out of my boxers and kept her hand on my dick as she swiveled out from beneath the table. She kept herself angled just right as she scooted her chair closer to me and sat down with a huff. “Anyway, what were we talking about?” Gia looked around the room.
“More wine?” our waiter asked as I emptied my full glass into my mouth. I leaped as he approached, trying to keep him from seeing my dick and Gia’s soft hand wrapped around it. I handed him the glass, pushing it across the table and away from my lap. He filled it with the deep red liquid and pushed it back before leaving through the double doors.
