92

MILLIE
Gio’s fingers tightened around me, steering me away from his brother and leading me towards the staircase that ascended to the second floor. My lips parted to voice my thoughts, yet a warning squeeze of Gio’s hand stifled my words. It was a silence that encapsulated the weight of what needed to be said, a conversation meant for his ears alone.
We stepped into the bedroom, a space fraught with tension. Once again, I attempted to breach the barrier between us. “Gio-”
The door slammed shut, the sound resonating like the finality of a verdict. In an instant, he pulled me against him, his forcefulness stealing my breath as my body collided with his unyielding frame.
Had it not been for my months-long commitment to Gio through marriage, his fierce scowl would have sent me cowering. However, the profound love we shared bound me to stand my ground. The assurance of our mutual affection compelled me to hold onto trust, even in the most challenging moments.
“Where is Harper?” His voice rumbled with a deeply rooted anger, sending shivers down my spine as I caught the undertones of fury.
Defiance surged within me. “I won’t divulge that, no matter what you do.”
Suddenly, he pressed a kiss to my throat, effectively pinning me against the closed door. His actions seemed contradictory to his earlier words. “Don’t say that,” he uttered, lifting his head. His countenance had shifted; an impenetrable barrier now masked his emotions. His gaze bore into me, and in an instant, my wrists were ensnared above my head. His grip bordered on the edge of pain, causing me to wince involuntarily. A joyless smile twisted his lips, and his eyes transformed, guarded and analytical. It was as if he was evaluating me anew, calculating something beyond my reach a disconcerting sight.
Dread coiled in my gut, not only of his potential actions, but a more distressing fear emerged the fear of losing him. A gnawing concern crept in, suggesting that I had forfeited the trust of a man who had never allowed himself to confide in anyone as deeply as he had in me.
With a somber nod, Gio acknowledged this shift. “That look in your eyes, I’ve encountered it countless times in the eyes of others, but it’s been absent in you for a while.”
His thumb pressed into my wrist, each beat of my pulse reverberating against his touch. My attempts to break free were futile, his strength far outweighing mine. I attempted to decipher the emotions behind the facade he had erected, but this time, I found myself unable to do so.
“I’m a young Capo, Millie,” he began, his voice tinged with complexity. “Younger than most of the senior Underbosses. Many of them are itching for my downfall. They lie in wait, hungry to exploit any hint of vulnerability.” His head tilted, obscuring his intentions from view. I strained to catch a glimpse of the man I thought I knew, but his facade was impenetrable this time. “Don’t become that vulnerability.”
Struggling against his grip, I found myself trapped, his unyielding hold unwavering. His physical strength was insurmountable, and I finally resorted to narrowing my eyes at him. I was not one of his soldiers, nor was I a weakness to be exploited. “I’m not a weakness,” I retorted, my voice a mixture of defiance and frustration. “Release me and cease this cruelty.”
He growled, the frustration palpable in his tone. “I’m not being cruel to you. Millie, you haven’t witnessed the depths of my cruelty. What you’re seeing is but a fraction. If you believe this is the extent of it, then you don’t truly know me.” He shook his head, a mix of emotions clouding his gaze. “You’re a vulnerability I can’t afford. And I could change that so effortlessly. It wouldn’t take much to coerce your secrets from you. Not because you’re willing to give them up, but because I possess a skill for dismantling people. Breaking you would be all too easy.”
Throughout our months of marriage, he had endeavored to shield me from his business, but I wasn’t naive.
“I understand,” my voice was barely audible.
He wouldn’t even need to raise a hand to achieve it.
“You don’t understand, and that’s the crux of the issue. I’ve inflicted burns, beatings, and wounds. I’ve strangled and drowned individuals. I’ve committed every unspeakable act that resides in your nightmares, Millie. Harper’s location could be in my grasp in less than a minute.”
Indeed, I knew. Glimpses of his true nature had been revealed in his dealings with others the bloodshed, the darkness that flickered in his eyes. I was acutely aware of the kind of man he was. Yet, despite it all, a profound love tethered me to him. A love that surpassed the horrors I’d witnessed. Against all reason, my body relaxed within his unyielding grip, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by Gio. His brows furrowed, sensing the internal struggle within me.
“Then, Gio, you must do what your heart commands,” I whispered, the words escaping my lips with an unwavering certainty. I could speak them without a moment’s doubt, for deep within me, I held the unshakable belief that regardless of his fury or the darkness that enshrouded our world, Gio would never unleash harm upon me. My trust in him was profound, an unspoken bond that connected us in ways words couldn’t capture.
A joyless smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he leaned in, his thumb exerting a subtle pressure against my wrist. “Millie, your true emotions surface, betraying your facade. I recognize the fear that lingers within you.”
My body may have harbored trepidation, but my heart remained unyielding. “Yes, I confess my fear,” I admitted, allowing vulnerability to grace my words. “Yet, it’s not the pain that frightens me, nor is it you.” It was a falsehood, for the idea of pain held a formidable grip on my apprehensions, a truth we both tacitly acknowledged. Nevertheless, I continued, “What terrifies me most is the notion that your trust in me might erode, that I’ve irreparably shattered the most precious bond in my life, inflicting wounds upon the one I hold dearest.”
The intensity in Gio’s expression could have sundered worlds, a tempestuous storm of emotions swirling within his gaze. He released me abruptly, as though scorched by contact, and pivoted towards the bathroom. A sense of caution urged me to stay put, yet against my better judgment, I trailed in his wake. Within the confines of the bathroom, he stood gripping the washbasin, his reflection a portrait of smoldering resentment. His steely gray eyes blazed with a furious fire. Upon spotting me in the mirror’s reflection, his hands shot up, wrenching the basin from the wall in a violent gesture. “Curse you, Millie. Curse this love of yours. Curse it all,” he spat out, the basin meeting a shattering demise upon the floor. My steps inched closer, the magnetic pull he had on me proving irresistible.
“You’re rendering me a damned fool,” his voice seethed with raw intensity.
Then, as though guided by an inexorable force, he surged toward me, his towering presence overwhelming. His grip found purchase on my hips, lifting me effortlessly until my back met the cool embrace of the tiled wall. His body pressed into mine, and his lips crashed down upon mine in a fervent, bruising kiss. The taste of blood lingered, an enigma whether it stemmed from my lips or his, yet its origin faded in insignificance. His tongue laid claim to my mouth without clemency, a possession I ardently reciprocated. His fingers dug into my thighs with a fervent grip as he held me aloft, fingers parting the fabric of my skirt and tearing away my undergarments. The sound of his belt’s unbuckling and the zipper of his pants lowering formed a discordant symphony, preceding the forceful thrust that engulfed me in a single, unrelenting motion. A gasp was stifled by the fervent press of his lips. There was no customary pause, no allowance for my body to adjust; instead, he set forth with a rhythm of unyielding intensity, his hands claiming my flesh possessively, his mouth unrelenting in its ardor. In this union, I surrendered, utterly and unconditionally. I clung to his sinewy form, the amalgamation of ecstasy and ache merging as Gio propelled us to realms of fervor hitherto unexplored.
His breaths came in ragged pants, his eyes ablaze with a tempestuous rage as he neared the precipice. The kiss, a tumultuous whirlwind of emotions, ceased, his gaze ensnaring mine with an unwavering intensity, baring his soul in that searing exchange. His love remained unaltered. He was still mine, the fear of losing him dispelled.
In an instant, his muscles tensed, his very being coiling as his essence expanded within me. A guttural growl tore from his throat, his head descending in a cascade of dark strands. My face found solace in the curve of his neck, and tears welled as I clung to him, the staccato of his breaths and the erratic cadence of his heartbeat echoing in my ears. His earthy scent enveloped me, a potent elixir of raw masculinity. With a sharp exhalation, Gio’s tension ebbed, his muscles relaxing under the tender touch of my hands. Gently, he withdrew, a twinge of discomfort causing me to wince. He lowered me to the ground, our gazes locking in an unspoken communion. His eyes descended to his own form, a faint trace of pink staining his flesh. His countenance was an enigma, a mosaic of regret, sorrow, and ire. Sinking to his knees, he pressed his forehead to my abdomen.
“Curses, Millie,” his voice came rasped, the words heavy with self-reproach. “I vowed never to inflict pain upon you.”
“It’s nothing,” I murmured, a fragile reassurance.
He shook his head, and for a suspended moment, we remained suspended in that tableau: his brow pressed against me, my fingers entwined in his raven locks. “I am your husband and your Capo,” he declared, his voice a tapestry woven of command and supplication, before his lips grazed the tender expanse of my abdomen, his gaze of stormy gray locking onto my own. “Never betray me again.”
Within that injunction lay both a directive and a plea. I recognized the limits of his endurance, his love’s capacity for forgiveness and understanding finite. He was a predator, a maelstrom of contradictions; he was mine. “I won’t,” I vowed, the words woven with fervent determination and a silent hope that I could safeguard that promise.