ARIA Romero and I had been driving around New York for almost two hours. I was beginning to get nervous, and Romero’s grip on the steering wheel grew tighter with each passing moment. This was not just a Family meeting, otherwise Luca would not have taken these kinds of precautions. My gaze was drawn to the Flatiron Building as we stealthily passed it in traffic, trying to distract myself from my growing panic, in vain.
“Luca is strong, Aria,” Romero assured me again, but his words did not allay my fears. He had managed to completely dishevel his brown hair by running his hands through it so often, and his obvious sign of nervousness made me even more nervous in turn.
Two hours.
What if he didn’t come back to me?
Romero’s cell phone beeped and he pulled it out, his eyes cast to the screen before returning to the windshield and the tension slipped away. He smiled.
“It’s okay. We can go home.”
I dropped into the seat, pressing a hand to my lips as I closed my eyes to fight back tears of relief. When I opened them again , Romero was looking at me with a hint of surprise, but then turned back to the front.
“Why?” I asked softly. “Why are you surprised?”
“Few thought you would handle being married to Luca well.
Many think you will celebrate his death,” she said cautiously.
“And what do you think?” I asked.
He shrugged his shoulders.
“Romero, I think I deserve the truth.”
“When I first saw you, when you were only 15 years old, I felt pity for you. Don’t get me wrong. I respect Luca more than anyone else. He is my Chief, but I have been fighting alongside him for years. I know what this life does to people, I saw what Salvatore Vitiello did to Luca and Matteo. Luca was born and raised to be Chief.”
“I know what he is,” I said firmly. “And I love him.”
Romero turned a small smile on me, his brown eyes kind. “I know. When you took that bullet for him it became pretty clear, but he still surprises me sometimes.”
“Me too,” I admitted with a small laugh, because a few months ago I was still one of those people who thought becoming a young widow would be the best thing that could happen to me.
“He would do anything for you, you know?”
I frowned. “Not if it hurts the Family.”
Romero’s lips curved into a wry smile, but he said nothing.
Darkness lurked in Luke’s eyes when he returned from meeting with the Family in the late afternoon. I was reading a travel magazine about southern Italy on the couch in the living room, but I rushed toward him as soon as Romero disappeared in the elevator, threw my arms around his waist, and buried my face in his chest. I smelled blood, but underneath was Luca’s comforting musky scent. Luca held me close for a few moments until I drew back to look at his face.
“Are you okay?” I asked him in a breathless voice.
He said nothing, just stroked my hair. Smiling, I took his hand and brought it to my lips, kissing his knuckles. When I drew back, I noticed the dried blood that had collected in the thin lines between his fingers. I stiffened before I could control my reaction. I had seen blood before. On Luca’s shirts and body, and on every inch of the villa floor after the Bratva attack, but this came unexpectedly.
Luca grimaced and pulled his hand away.
I searched his eyes. “What happened?” When it was clear that he was reluctant to tell me, I grabbed his hand again to show him that a little blood didn’t bother me and approached him. “Please tell me. You can trust me.”
“I don’t want to soil you with the horrors of my life.”
“Your horrors don’t scare me. I am here to help you face them .”
He did not seem convinced, but answered anyway:
“I had to make a bloody statement at today’s meeting.”
“Bloody statement,” I echoed him. I had heard that term before.
“Did you kill one of your soldiers?”
He lifted his other hand and ran it down my cheek to my throat, then over my shoulder. “So innocent,” he whispered darkly.
I pursed my lips. “Not so innocent anymore, thanks to you.” It was meant in a sexual sense, to lighten the ‘mood, but Luke nodded, his eyes flickering with remorse.
“I still remember the first time I saw you. Fuck, you were a child.”
“I wasn’t that young, Luca,” I contradicted him. “And you’re only five years older than me. You make it sound like a creepy old man.”
“Even on our wedding day you still had that childlike innocence . You were protected, sheltered. You were pure, and I was anything but pure. Maybe I’m not that much older, but I’ve done so much, seen so much.”
I wasn’t sure if he was talking about the things he had done as a Made Man or as a wanted bachelor. I knew he had been with many women. One look at the press and that became clear to me. And I wasn’t sure where he was going with his words. “You never seemed bothered by my lack of experience…”
“I’m not. You know how possessive I am. I should have killed every man you’ve been with in the past, so it’s lucky I’m the only one.”
I let go an exasperated breath, but I could feel his mood lifting slightly. “How many women have you slept with ? You had your first when you were thirteen, so you had ten before we got married.” I had been thinking about this for a while, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer, but I knew it would distract Luca from whatever demons the encounter had conjured.
Luca’s expression closed. “It’s not important. It’s the past.”
“But I’d like to know.”
“It doesn’t matter if there were a hundred or a thousand before you, because now there is only you, Aria,” Luca said firmly.
I sighed. Maybe he was right, but I couldn’t let it go so easily. “A thousand?” I urged him, opening my eyes wide.
He smiled. “Nice try. Let’s just say I got what I could .”
“And you got a lot,” I concluded.
“It’s not important,” he murmured before kissing me. I knew it shouldn’t be, but I couldn’t help but wonder if a man used to being with so many women could ever be satisfied with just one, especially one who had learned everything she knew about sex from him.
AIR The mid-October sun kissed my skin as we disembarked from our private jet parked at the Palermo airport. While the weather in New York had been gray and rainy, sun and warmth welcomed us in Sicily.
I lifted my face, relishing the touch of the sun’s rays on my skin. To prepare myself for the warmer weather, I had worn my orange maxi dress with the gradient effect and the gold belt that accentuated my waist, as well as my favorite low gold sandals.
Luca’s hand tightened around mine and I cast him a sidelong glance, finding him frowning menacingly at our driver who had been eyeing me. I tugged on his hand and he focused on me as the frown faded. “You’re too beautiful.”
“Right,” I said with a laugh. “Let’s go. I want to see the yacht.” That, and I wanted to get away from the driver before Luca decided to relieve him of some limb.
A driver was waiting for us next to a white Maserati SUV when we left the airport. “He is a soldier from the Sicilian Family. My great uncle is Capo.”
I opened my eyes wide. “Oh, really? Have you met him before?”
“Twice. He wasn’t at my father’s funeral because he was getting a pacemaker put in at the time. He’s over seventy years old, so at some point his grandson Alexander will take over.”
“Not his son?”
“Dead. Killed by the Camorra. They rule Naples and Campania.”
“Oh. What about the Camorra in the United States?”
“They keep to themselves in the West. Benedetto Falcone is the craziest there is.”
We arrived at the car. Our driver, a tall guy about Luca’s age with dark hair and beard, shook his hand and introduced himself as Alessandro in Italian. Luca looked surprised, then said in fluent Italian, “I didn’t recognize you.
It’s been a while. I didn’t expect my great-uncle to send his own nephew to greet me.”
Alessandro bowed his head. “A sign of respect, Luca, as honorable men.” He turned to me and his eyes ran the length of me, obviously surprised before he met my gaze and spoke to me in accented English. “It is an honor to meet the golden-haired woman who brought the truce between the Outfit and the Family.”
I almost snorted.
Luca’s watchful gaze settled on the other man. “She is also my wife.”
It annoyed me that they spoke English to me, expecting me to be incapable of speaking Italian. Maybe I was famous for my beauty, but I had finished school as valedictorian and could have gone to any Ivy League college I wanted if I had not been who I was.
I smiled despite my annoyance and said in flawless Italian, “I didn’t bring the truce, Luca did because he is the best Chief New York has ever seen.”
Both men looked at me dumbfounded, and I raised my eyebrows at Luca. An expression of appreciation flashed across his gaze before he turned his attention back to Alexander. “Is my uncle expecting a visit today?”
Relief crept into my bones as Alexander shook his head. “He knows you will want to enjoy your honeymoon with your wife. But before you leave for New York, he would appreciate a meeting.”
“Sure,” Luca said. We climbed into the car after Alexander had helped Luca load our luggage into the trunk.
Luca and I sat in the back, which Alessandro didn’t seem to mind. I had a feeling Luca wanted to keep an eye on the ‘other man, so I was glad when Alessandro dropped us off at the dock and drove away. Luca pushed our two suitcases down the long dock to a black and white yacht, and not as small as I had expected. Luca helped me onto the boat, then hoisted our luggage onto the deck.
“Do you know how to drive that thing?” I asked.
Luca smiled. “Yes. It’s like driving a car.”
I doubted it. He led me to the lower decks, which were the epitome of luxurious elegance with parts of the ceiling made of glass to allow a view of the sky. The furniture, walls and carpets varied in color from white to cream with some darker wood elements. The seating area and dining table were built for at least eight people.
Luke kept moving until we reached the master bedroom with its own private bathroom. The king-size bed had a cream-colored canopy and mirrors above the headboard and at the top of the canopy. I walked over and looked at the mirrors, half embarrassed, half curious.
Luca was looking at me with his arms crossed and a hungry expression on his face. “I can’t wait to see your gorgeous body from every angle when I’m inside you.”
My cheeks burned. I wasn’t sure if I liked the idea of being watched like that and, even worse, watching myself.
Luca came up to me and stroked my cheek. “Still innocent.”
I frowned. It wasn’t exactly like that. I simply wasn’t enthusiastic about having my body presented at every possible unfavorable angle. “I’m not sure I need to see that much of myself.”
Luca laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed, Aria.
Shit. I almost killed the pilot, the ground crew, and Alexander because of their lascivious looks, and you’re embarrassed about that body.” He gestured to me.
“Just because others don’t see my imperfections doesn’t mean I don’t see them either.”
She laughed again. “Perfection everywhere, Aria, trust me . I have seen so many naked women, and all of them would give their left kidney to be half as beautiful as you are.”
“You have to say it as my husband,” I said, but I was beginning to relax despite the mirrors. What did it matter if I wasn’t happy with the way I looked as long as Luca thought I was beautiful?
He touched my waist and leaned toward my ear. “I don’t have to do anything. It’s the truth. Now come, before I throw you on the bed and show you how fucking hot you are for me.”
That would have suited me just fine, but I followed him to the upper deck and then to the elevated cockpit. “Wow,” I said.
Luca smiled. “Wait a minute. I have to let go of the moorings.” When he returned a few minutes later, he got behind the wheel and started the engine. I watched in fascination as he pressed buttons and checked all kinds of displays I had no idea about. Concentration filled Luca’s face as he drove the yacht out of the harbor and into the open sea.
“We can stop pretty much anywhere we want and have the place to ourselves.”
I liked the idea, I loved it, especially the thought of having Luca all to myself.
LUCA I could tell that Aria was as excited about having the ocean and secluded beaches to ourselves as I was . I wanted to fuck Aria on the beach, in the ocean, on the sundeck, and under that big mirror. All of those would be firsts for Aria, and my cock hardened just thinking about it .
Her brow furrowed. “What about the food?”
Perhaps our minds had not wandered down the same dark paths. I had to stifle a smile. “I asked my family to fill our refrigerator and cupboards with food.”
“So we have to cook?”
Aria’s concern made me lose my mind. I burst out laughing. Aria had as much talent for cooking as I did. She was definitely not like the Italian wives of the past.
“We’ll starve or get food poisoning,” she said, shaking her head.
“We’ll figure it out, and I’m only hungry for one thing anyway,” I said quietly, pulling Aria against my body.
“For now. We’ll see how you feel after a few days without decent food.” She pressed herself against me, her soft breasts rubbing against my ribs, and I decided to quickly find an anchorage. When we reached a small cove, I dropped anchor before Aria and I went to the kitchen.
We prepared a green salad and filled our plates with ciabatta, pecorino, olives and Parma ham before moving to the sundeck, sitting on the lounge furniture and watching the sun set over the ocean.
Aria sighed. “This is incredible.”
The most incredible sight of all was the golden halo the setting sun created over Aria’s head. She put a piece of bread in her mouth, then swallowed it with embarrassment. “You have a strange look on your face.”
I shook my head and ate a few slices of ham. Eventually, my hunger for food was replaced by another, so I put the plate down, leaned forward and slipped my hand under the hem of her dress. Aria’s lips lifted as she stuffed another mouthful of cheese into her mouth. She was still shy about seducing me, but by now she rarely looked away. I pushed my hand higher, along the soft curve of her knee. Her eyes scanned the surrounding cliffs.
“It’s just us,” I assured her. I would not risk anyone seeing what was only my privilege to see. She put down her plate and moved closer, allowing my hand to reach even higher. I accepted the invitation and slipped my hand between her thighs, stroking her soft skin with my fingers. She sighed softly, her eyes full of desire as she leaned back on her arms, her head tilted back, her hair falling like golden silk over her shoulders, brushing against the skin of the sofa. Too fucking gorgeous to be described in words.
I dragged myself higher and brushed her wet folds. My eyebrows rose. “No panties?” I croaked, my cock twitching.
Even in the dim light I could see Aria’s blush. “I got rid of them before dinner.”
I groaned. Fuck, she was getting better at this. I rubbed the fingertip of my thumb over her clit and she pressed against me with a snap of her hip. With my free hand, I lifted her dress, revealing her skinny legs and pussy. I knelt down and grabbed her ass with my palms before pulling her to my waiting mouth.
Aria moaned. “Yes, please,” she mewed, and fuck, I almost came in my pants. She still wasn’t blunt, and for her to say anything was fucking unbelievable. I knew she liked it when I licked her, and I fucking loved it as much as she did.
In the past I had rarely had oral sex with women, I had preferred to fuck them hard or get my cock sucked, but with Aria having her pussy in my mouth it was heaven. I would never forget the amazement on her face when I had licked her for the first time.
I adored her with my lips and tongue, and I waited until she was almost passed out before I slipped a finger inside her. That was how she liked it best. Just one finger to drop her over the edge as I sucked her clit, and as usual I was rewarded with her cries of pleasure and her sweet juices. Fuck.
I loved the taste of her.
When her breathing slowed, I pulled back and kissed her knee before straightening up. Aria looked at me with lust-filled eyes. “Take off that dress, princess. Let me see your perfect body.”
She stood up, lifted the dress off her head and let it fall to the floor. She stood completely naked. What kind of imperfections did she see? None.
I circled her waist and pulled her closer to taste her nipples before letting go and quickly getting rid of my clothes. She clamped her hand around my cock but I shook my head. “I want to fuck you, Aria. Kneel on the couch.”
She hesitated but then did as I asked.
I positioned Aria so that she was kneeling on all fours in front of me. It was a position we had not yet tried. She had been bent over on a couch, but this was new and I loved the view of her ass that I had.
I lined up when I noticed the tension in Aria’s spine and felt her pussy tighten against my tip. I wasn’t sure what had caused her reaction; I stroked her back, but she didn’t relax. She was too tense for me to enter her without causing her pain. “Air?” I groaned. My balls were about to burst.
She did not react, but now her shoulders rounded and her breathing changed. Was she crying? I belted her waist, lifted her up and turned her around. Her eyes snapped up to me. She was not crying, but her expression made it clear that she was angry about something. “Sorry,” she said softly. “Can we try another position?”
“First tell me why you stiffened up? What’s the problem if you’re on all fours?”
She lowered her eyes, which was a fucking bad sign.
“It reminded me of the day I saw you with Grace.”
Fuck. I felt like the biggest asshole on the planet. I leaned down as I lifted her chin. She met my eyes, looking fucking vulnerable. “Aria, I told you that’s in the past.
There is no other woman for me. Only you.”
“I know. I don’t know why I can’t get over it.”
I wasn’t sure what to do with her pain, so I kissed her. Pulling back, I whispered, “Let’s go inside. I’ll make love to you in our bed.” When she hesitated, I took her cheek and brought our faces closer together. “You are the only woman I have ever made love to, Aria.” If my soldiers could hear me now, I would have to make an even bloodier statement to win back their respect.
Yet when Aria’s expression softened, I did not regret my words. She followed me to the lower deck and to our bedroom. She was silent, and when I had her lie on her back on the bed and grazed her pussy with my fingers, I could tell she was not as aroused as before. Her eyes were closed, either because of the mirror or because she was trying to hide her emotions from me. I lay down beside her and stroked her cheek. She opened her eyes and the pain was gone, so she was shy of the mirror. I could do it .
I nodded toward the mirror above us and she followed my gaze. Her delicate body seemed fragile compared to mine, her pale skin too perfect against my scars and hard muscles. Her eyes focused on the small scar on my shoulder. Trust me, Aria would have been annoyed by that little blemish on her body, which wasn’t even a fucking blemish because it was proof of her love. I set out to distract her and rekindle her arousal. I took her breast with my hand, then wedged one nipple between my index and middle fingers and slid up and down. Aria lowered her gaze.
“No, princess. I want you to watch my hands worship your body.”
She looked up and never took her eyes off the mirror . Her breathing stopped as my hand moved lower.
“Open your legs,” I ordered her, and she did so. I parted her folds with my thumb and middle finger, uncovering her clitoris. She arched her hips and I pressed my index finger down and began rubbing small circles. Her labia opened as she rocked her pelvis. Soon she was as ready as before. I drew back and climbed between her legs before pulling her closer, spreading her legs even wider and lifting her ass. Her eyes were still fixed on the mirror and I could have come just by the look of need and fascination on her face.
“Yes, love, watch my cock claim your pussy.”
She trembled with desire as I pressed the tip against her opening and thrust into her narrow channel. Her body welcomed me, yielding to the pressure, and the sight of my cock buried deep inside her made my balls clench. I held her hips as I pushed into her at a slow pace. I had been slow and gentle with her since she had been hit, and I didn’t mind, but today I wanted more. However, after Aria’s reaction on the terrace, I didn’t want to push her.