It had been a couple of weeks and the sex was getting better every time we did it. I had the feeling that Luca was holding back a little longer, but I didn’t care. Sometimes I wondered if maybe he needed to make ‘love gently as much as I did after all the stress he had to deal with Bratva.
Making love? No matter how much I tried to ignore my feelings, I knew I loved Luca. Maybe it was natural to fall in love with the person you were married to, the person you shared intimacy with. I wasn’t sure why I had fallen in love with Luca despite my best intentions before our marriage not to let him into my heart, I just knew I had. I knew what men like Luca thought about love. I had not told him about my feelings, although a few times those words had been on the tip of my tongue after we had been in each other’s arms, sweaty and satiated after sex. I knew Luca wouldn’t respond, and I didn’t want to make myself vulnerable like that.
I watched the sun set over New York from my position in the armchair on the rooftop terrace.
Romero was inside reading a sports magazine on the couch. Sometimes I had thought about asking Luca to interrupt Romero’s constant presence. Nothing could happen to me in our penthouse, but then I couldn’t go through with it. I would have felt more lonely without Romero in the apartment, even if we hadn’t talked much. Marianna returned only around lunchtime to clean and prepare lunch and dinner, while Luca was absent most days. I had not yet met any of the Familia women for coffee. After Cosima’s betrayal anyway, I had little desire to meet other members of Luca’s family.
My phone vibrated on the coffee table. I grabbed it, seeing Gianna’s name flashing on the screen. Happiness burst in my chest. We had spoken only this morning, but it was not unusual for my sister to call more than once a day, and I didn’t care.
The moment I heard her voice, I sat up, my heart pounding like crazy in my chest.
“Aria,” he whispered, his voice thick with tears.
“Gianna, what has happened? What is going on? Are you hurt?”
“Dad is handing me over to Matteo.”
I didn’t understand, I couldn’t. “What do you mean he gives you to Matteo?” My voice trembled and tears were already burning in my eyes as I listened to Gianna’s heartbreaking sobs.
“Salvatore Vitiello talked to Papa and told him that Matteo wanted to marry me. And Papa accepted!”
I couldn’t breathe. I was afraid Matteo would not let Gianna get away with her rudeness toward him. He was a man who did not like to be rejected, but how could Dad have agreed? ” Did Dad say why? I don’t understand. They are already in New York. He didn’t need to marry you with the Familia too.
I got up, I couldn’t sit still anymore. I started pacing back and forth on the roof, trying to calm my racing heartbeat with shallow breaths.
“I don’t know why. Maybe Father wants to punish me for saying what I think. He knows how much I despise our men, and how much I hate Matteo. He wants to see me suffer.
I wanted to disagree but I wasn’t sure if Gianna was wrong. Father thought women should be put in their place and what better way to do that with Gianna than to tie her to a man like Matteo.
Behind his smiles lurked something dark and angry, and I had a feeling that Gianna would not have the good sense not to provoke him until he had lost his mind.
“Oh, Gianna. I’m so sorry. Maybe I can tell Luca and he can change Matteo’s mind.”
“Aria, don’t be naive. Luca has known all along. He is Matteo’s brother and the future Chief.
Something like this is not decided without his involvement.
I knew he was right, but I didn’t want to accept it. Why hadn’t Luca told me about it? “When did they make the decision?”
“A few weeks ago, even before you came to see me.”
My heart clenched. Luca had slept with me, made me trust and love him, and hadn’t bothered to tell me that my sister had been sold to his brother.
“I can’t believe him!” I whispered harshly. Romero was watching me through the window, already getting up from the couch. “I’m going to kill him. He knows how much I love you. He knows I would not have allowed it. I would have done anything to prevent the deal.”
Gianna on the other side remained silent. “Don’t get into trouble because of me. It’s too late anyway.
New York and Chicago shook hands. It’s a done deal and Matteo won’t let me escape from his clutches.
“I want to help you, but I don’t know how.”
“I love you, Aria. The only thing keeping me from slitting my wrists right now is the knowledge that my marriage to Matteo means I will live in New York with you.
Fear broke my heart. “Gianna, you are the strongest person I know. Promise me you won’t do anything stupid. If I hurt you, I couldn’t live with myself.
“You are much stronger than I am, Aria. I have a big mouth and a flashy swagger, but you are resilient. You married Luca, you live with a man like him. I don’t think I could have done that. I don’t think I could do that.”
“We’ll figure it out, Gianna.” The elevator doors opened and Luca entered our apartment. His eyes darted from Romero to me, his eyebrows knit together.
“He is here. I’ll call you tomorrow.” I hung up as fury burned through me. I hadn’t thought I could ever hate Luca again, not even for a moment, but in that moment I wanted to hurt him. I rushed in, my hands clenched into fists as I made my way toward Luca. He didn’t move a muscle; he merely watched me with calm attention. That calmness more than anything else fueled my anger. I wasn’t sure what he thought I was going to do, but from his reaction an attack was not evident. My fists hammered his chest as hard as I could. Shock flashed across Luca’s face, his whole body exploding with tension. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Romero take a step in our direction, obviously uncertain if he should do anything. He was my bodyguard but Luca was his boss. Of course Luca had no problem handling me. After a moment, he grabbed both my wrists with his hand. I hated that he could overpower me so easily. “Aria, what…”
He couldn’t finish because I pushed my knee upward and only his quick reflexes prevented me from reaching my goal. The sound of Gianna’s sobs echoed in my mind, making me lose whatever rationality I had.
“Go away,” Luca ordered abruptly. Romero did so without protest. Luca’s blazing eyes met mine but I was no longer afraid. I would die for Gianna. I tried another kick and this time touched Luca’s groin. He growled and pushed me onto the couch, my legs pinned by his knees and my arms thrust above my head. “For God’s sake, Aria. What’s gotten into you?”
I frowned. “I know about Gianna and Matteo,” I sputtered, then completely lost my mind and began to cry, great panting sobs coursing through my body. Luca let go of my wrists and leaned against the backrest so that I could move my legs. He regarded me as if I were a creature he would never understand.
“Is that what this is all about?” He sounded incredulous.
“Of course you don’t understand, because you have never loved anyone more than your own life. You absolutely cannot understand what it’s like to feel your heart break at the thought of the person you love being hurt. I would die for the people I love.”
His eyes were hard and cold as he stood. “You’re right. I don’t understand.” The cold mask was back. I hadn’t seen him directed at me in weeks.
I wiped my eyes and stood up, too. “Why didn’t you tell me? You’ve known for weeks.”
“Because I knew you wouldn’t like it.”
I shook my head. “You knew I would be mad at you and you didn’t want to ruin your chances of fucking me.” I didn’t even blush, though I never used the word.
Luca stiffened. “Of course I wanted to fuck you. But I got the impression that you enjoyed our fucking sessions.
I wanted to hurt him. He was so cold. Of course it was always about taking what was his, about claiming my body. He didn’t give a damn about me, or anyone else. “And you were afraid I wasn’t a good enough actress to fool everyone after our trick on our wedding night. I even fooled you. I gave an ugly laugh. “I made you think I really enjoyed myself.”
Something flashed in Luke’s eyes, something that made me want to take back my words for a moment, but then his mouth opened in a cruel smile. “Don’t lie to me. I’ve fucked enough whores to know an orgasm when I see one.”
I gasped as if he had hit me. Had he just compared me to his whores? I said the ugliest thing I could think of. “Some women even experience an orgasm when they are raped. It’s not because they enjoy it. It’s the way their body reacts.
For a long time Luca said nothing. His nostrils flared, his chest rose, and his hands were clenched into fists. He looked like he wanted to kill me on the spot. Then the most frightening thing happened, anger slipped from his face. His expression became emotionless, his eyes as smooth and impenetrable as steel. “Your sister should be happy that Matthew wants her. Few men can stand her gab.”
“God that’s exactly the reason, isn’t it?” I said disgustedly. “It’s because she told him she would never have his hot body that day at the hotel. He didn’t like that. He couldn’t stand that she was immune to his creepy charm.”
“She shouldn’t have challenged him. Matteo is a determined hunter. He gets what he wants.”
Still no glimmer of emotion, even in Luca’s voice. It was as if he was made of ice.
“Does he get what he wants? It is not hunting if he forces her to marry by asking my father for her hand. That’s cowardice.”
“It doesn’t matter. They get married.” He turned his back on me, as if to dismiss me.
Luca didn’t understand. He couldn’t. He did not know Gianna as well as I did. She would not have entered this union as quietly as I had. I rushed toward the elevator. “Aria, what the fuck are you doing?”
I was in the elevator before Luca could reach it and was going down to the floor. I walked out into Matteo’s apartment. Basically it was a mirror image of ours, except it wasn’t a duplex. Matteo was sitting in an armchair, listening to some kind of crappy rap music when he saw me.
He stood up, looking at me cautiously as he came toward me. “What are you doing here?”
I pushed my palms against his chest when he stopped in front of me. “Take back your proposal.
Tell my father you don’t want Gianna.
Matthew laughed. “Why should I? I want her. I always get what I wanted. Gianna shouldn’t have played with the big boys.”
I lost it and slapped him in the face. My stupid Italian temperament. I used to rule, better than my other brothers at least, but not today. He grabbed my arm, pushed me back so that my spine collided painfully with the wall and trapped me between it and his body. I gasped. “You are lucky to be my brother’s wife.”
The elevator made a sound as it stopped and opened. “Let her go,” Luca growled, stepping out.
Matteo quickly recoiled and gave me a cold smile.
Luca moved closer to me, scrutinizing my body before facing his brother. “You won’t do that again.”
“Then teach her some manners. I won’t let her hit me again.” Teach her manners? Her marriage to Gianna would end in total catastrophe.
Luca’s voice dropped an octave. “You will never touch my wife again, Matteo. You are my brother and I would take a bullet for you, but if you do it again, you will have to live with the consequences. They faced each other and for a moment I feared they would pull out knives and clash. That was not what I meant. I knew how much Luca cared about his brother, more than he cared about me anyway.
Matteo was the only person Luca trusted. For a while I thought I might have been that person, but if I had been, today would have been very different. I knew that his protection was a power play and not a matter of emotion. By touching me, Matteo had shown disrespect toward Luca, and obviously Luca could not let that go.
“I won’t hit you again, Matteo,” I shouted, even though the words tasted disgusting in my mouth. ” I shouldn’t have done that.”
Both men turned toward me surprised. Matteo relaxed his position. Luke did not.
“I’m sorry if I hurt or scared you,” Matteo said. I couldn’t tell if he meant it or not. He had lowered the mask of emotionlessness, just like his brother.
“You didn’t.”
Luca smiled, then walked over to me and pulled me against him possessively. Our eyes met and, as if remembering our previous words, his smirk disappeared and his lips tightened. He did not leave me, but his grip on me loosened.
I turned away from him, unable to bear his expression any longer, and faced Matteo. “Don’t get married, Gianna,” I tried again, and Luca’s grip on my life grew stronger in warning. I ignored him. “She doesn’t want to marry you.”
“You didn’t want to marry Luca either, and here you are,” Matteo said with his shark-like smile.
“Gianna is not like me. She won’t come to terms with an arranged marriage.
Luca dropped his hand from my waist.
“She will become my wife the moment she turns eighteen. No power in this universe will stop me from making her mine.
“You disgust me. You all do,” I said. With that said, I returned to the elevator. Luca did not follow. He didn’t even look at me to see if I was going back to our apartment. He knew I wasn’t going anywhere. Even if I still wanted to run, I couldn’t. My heart belonged to him even if he didn’t have a heart he could give me in turn.