AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I don't know if I’m trying to convince myself or bargain with myself. Either way, I go in search of a distraction.
“Giulio, when she gets settled, I want you to make a list of anything Emelia may need and have it ordered and delivered. Also, I want her tracker placed. Call the doctor.”
“Sir, I want to let you know that I mean no disrespect, but maybe you should talk to her first. This is a lot for her as well, and if you want her to respect you—”
I cut him off.“I appreciate you as my right-hand man, Giulio, but I will handle my woman how I see fit. Now, make sure she has everything she needs. I don’t care about the price. If she needs it, get it. Make her as comfortable as she can be.”
This comes out of nowhere.
She doesn’t need more than the basics, but there has to be some give and take if I want to gain her trust, so she can give me what I need.
I need a woman in charge. Being a mafia wife is a scary title to hold. They are constant targets, and in order to keep her safe, we have to have a solid relationship. And with how things are going, we have a long way to go. But most importantly, if I want to take down her father, I can’t do it without her on my side.
“Ready,” she announces, stepping out with her many bags in her hands.
“Giulio, bags,” I bark.
“I’ve got them. It’s no big deal.” She shrugs, and I shoot her a look.
“Giulio, get her bags. I don’t want her carrying anything down the steep stairs.” He grabs some, and I reach out and take two. She rolls her eyes but lets us have this victory. She must be just as tired as I am of fighting.
I lead the way. Giulio lets her go next, and he follows right after her. Loading up the car, I round the trunk and open the door for her to slide in. I take the driver seat, and Giulio takes the passenger. He and I make small talk, being sure to leave out any information too sensitive that she has no business knowing. I will not talk shop in front of Emelia, not while we are still enemies and at each other's throat, playing a childish game of tit for tat.
The drive back to my penthouse located in downtown Seattle is silent on her end. She doesn’t say a damn word. Maybe a clearing of her throat or a hushed yawn, but other than that, she is as quiet as if her presence were nonexistent. Makes me more curious to know if she is channeling her rage and preparing to hit me with it the second we’re alone in my fortress. Pulling into my spot in the parking garage, I peer at her through the rear-view mirror. She looks at me briefly, then back out the window.
“This is it then?” she whispers.
“Is this what, Emelia?” I ask her, my voice heavily laced in annoyance. I really don’t have the patience to deal with a bratty wife.
“Your place. I don’t need pity, Nico. I’m not a damsel.” She pauses, opening the door, and before she gets out, she halts, purposely making eye contact with me in the mirror. “As far as I’m concerned, this will be a step up from where I was. Especially if you follow your promise and I follow mine. I just expected the place to be bigger.” She shrugs, and my eyes narrow at her trivial remark.
Like I said, it is a back-and-forth game with her of who can hit with a lower blow.
A sly, confidence-boosting grin splays across her face. “For a man so powerful and strong, it seems… underwhelming.” She gets out and slams the door, and I grit my teeth. I so badly want to get out of this car, spank her, and place my hands around that thin, gorgeous neck, subdue her.
“Giulio,” I bark.
“Yes, sir.” He stops his movements at the back of the car where he is getting her luggage.
“Take her up. I need to be at the club. Meet me there once she’s settled.” My meeting will take place there, and I know if I go upstairs with her and she says one more wrong thing to me, I just may do something she won’t be able to handle.
“Yes, sir,” he repeats.
“What club?” she asks, coming to stand next to Giulio.
Oh, this will be gold. Cat-and-mouse games no longer. I’m the fucking monster, and she is the beauty.
“The sex club I own. I have to test out some of the new merchandise.”
Giulio shuts the back of the SUV, and I don’t miss the way she looks both angry and dare I say hurt by me throwing that in her face. She bared her weakness to me, and if she wants to attempt to play the puppeteer when she’s under my command, then I will take anything that can break her and use it at my will. I will exploit her insecurities. I will not be made a fool in my own home and, more importantly, in my outfit.
I run Seattle.
It fears me, and so will she.
The women dance and put on a show, while I survey the rest of the club from above. The meeting I had is finished, and I plan to have the rest of my day here in my upstairs office before my next meeting.
“Nico, baby.” A low rasp pulls me from my own thoughts. I see Kelara, the woman I hired a month back, stepped into my office without a sound. I have spent far too much time with her these past few weeks, and now she has grown overly clingy, like flies to fucking honey.
