Defying Her Mafioso

by Terri Anne Browning

  “You are home,” Vito said as he stood, nearly as upset as his brother now. “Just because you’re marrying this boy doesn’t mean you are moving out of your home. I won’t allow it. You’re safer here, passerotta.”

  Gio grumbled something under his breath about the shoe on the other foot, but no one paid him any attention.

  Scarlett shook her head. “No, Papa. This is your home. Mine is with Ciro now. And I’m just as safe if not more so at the apartment.” She walked around the desk and kissed his cheek, softening the blow of her words a little. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He blew out a long, tired breath. “Okay, passerotta.” He gave me a hard glare. “Watch over her or I’ll kill you.” It wasn’t an idle threat. He was completely serious. I would have been stupid not to believe he meant it.

  I merely nodded. There weren’t enough words in any language that I could use to promise him I would watch over her until the last breath left my body. He already knew it anyway.

  Scarlett came back to me, holding out her left hand. My great grandmother’s diamond seemed to wink up at me before my own hand swallowed hers. I pulled her against me, brushing my lips over hers without caring that everyone was watching.

  “Let’s go home, vita mia.”

  Chapter 25

  Scarlett

  Everything was set. Mary was taking care of all the small details that still had to be wrapped up before the wedding, so all I had to do was sit back and relax.

  Or stay in bed with Ciro all day.

  He was indulging my need to have him stay in bed with me for most of the day even though he should have been working. With Dante still in New York, he was taking advantage and letting me keep him in our bed until late afternoon. If I knew I could have this every day for the rest of my life, I would beg my father to make Dante stay and pick someone else to deal with business in Chicago.

  There were only two more days until the wedding, and I was supposed to meet everyone at the dress designer’s studio so we could all do the last fitting, but I was taking my time. Ciro was making it hard not to blow it all off and stay in for the rest of the day. Fuck the dress and anyone else. I was about to explode for him, damn it. That was ten times more important.

  His lips pressed into the valley between my breasts as his fingers teased at my pussy lips, making me tilt my hips upward in a silent plea. I felt his cock flex against my outer thigh, his pre-cum marking my skin, silently telling me that he was just as far gone as I was and we hadn’t even gotten started yet.

  I spread my thighs wider, opening for him. His breath hissed out through his teeth as he dipped two fingers into my opening and felt how wet I was for him. “Already?”

  I licked my dry lips, panting hard as he fingered me. “Always.”

  Ciro growled and moved so fast my head felt like it was going to spin off as he got to his knees and flipped me onto my stomach like I weighed nothing at all. His calloused hands gripped my hips, lifting them until I was at the perfect angle to take him. He positioned the head of his cock at my entrance, but didn’t do more than push the head inside.

  He bent, pressing his lips to the small of my back, making my heart clench with love. Lower, my pussy was doing some clenching too. Ciro groaned and thrust his hips forward roughly. I cried out at the delicious invasion. I loved it when he couldn’t control himself. Loved that I was the one making him lose it.

  One arm wrapped around my waist, trapping me against him. The other lifted higher, squeezing and massaging one breast and then the other as he pulled back and thrust deep and hard once again. My head fell to the mattress as that quickly I lost all thought except for how good this man felt inside my body.

  All too soon my release was rushing up on me and I tried to pull away, not wanting to come yet. Ciro wouldn’t let me, though. His hands gripped either side of my waist, his fingers biting into my flesh as he thrust harder, faster. I cried out as his cock hit a spot that felt so good I forgot how to breathe for a few seconds.

  With a curse, Ciro released one hand on my waist and grabbed my hair, wrapping it around his wrist so he could pull my head back until he could kiss me. His tongue thrust into my mouth just as roughly as his cock was my pussy. His sweaty chest rubbed against my back, helping our bodies slide against each other as he changed the angle.

  “Fuck, Scarlett. I can’t get enough,” he rasped at my ear.

  There wasn’t enough air in my lungs to tell him it was the same for me. I’d never be able to get enough of him, of this.

  The hand still on my waist tightened and he shifted, falling onto his back and taking me with him while still keeping our bodies connected. My hair fell over his shoulder and his teeth sank into the tender flesh just under my ear, driving me mad with a need that would never burn out. He flattened his hand against my lower stomach, trapping me easily in place as he lifted our hips off the mattress and thrust into me from behind.

  “Oh, God,” I whispered as my release started to build. My thighs clenched, but he forced them to stay apart as my entire body tried to lock up with the force of the building orgasm. “Oh, God,” I whimpered.

  His hand moved lower, his thumb finding my clit and flicking over it twice before pressing down hard. The entire room exploded with a kaleidoscope of colors as I came apart for him. “Ciro,” I cried, my head thrashing from side to side on his chest. “Oh, God, Ciro. Please.”

  “Say it, vita mia. Say the words you know I ache for.”

  Even in my mindlessness I knew what he wanted. He always wanted them when he was close to the edge of his own release. I gave them to him. “I love you,” I screamed as he thrust faster, taking my pleasure to a whole new level. “I love you,” I said again. “I’ll love you forever.”

  “Fuck,” he bellowed as I felt him thicken even more inside me and the first hot shot of his release filled me. He didn’t stop until I’d taken every last drop and then his hips fell onto the mattress, his arms folding over my stomach as he gasped for breath. “I love you,” he said against my ear before he kissed my neck.

  I turned onto my stomach, still lying on top of him. I was exhausted, but my body felt like it was glowing. I laid my ear over his heart, counting the crazy-fast beats as it slowly found its way back to normal. We were both covered in sweat, but the AC was quickly chilling our overheated bodies.

  Ciro stroked one hand down my back and over my ass, then back up again, his touch making every nerve in my body tingle even after the mind-blowing orgasm he’d just given me. We lay like that for a long while before I felt his entire body stiffen beneath me. Concerned, I lifted my head to look at him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He had that blank look on his face and my heart filled with lead. Why would he hide his emotions from me now?

  “Are you on the pill?”

  My brows lifted at that question. Had he just now remembered birth control? We’d made love at least a hundred times and he hadn’t thought about it until now? “No, of course I’m not,” I told him as I sat up. “There’s never been a reason to take the pill or any other birth control.”

  And I hadn’t worried about it once over the last fifteen days. He hadn’t mentioned it and I thought he just wanted to start our family sooner rather than later. I wasn’t against the idea so I hadn’t questioned his not using anything to protect us. I wanted a family with him. I wanted his child growing inside me.

  The look that crossed his face was there for only a second before it was gone, but I’d seen it. Had I ever seen Ciro Donati scared? No, not even the night I’d been hurt. He’d been shaken, yes, but if he’d been scared he’d hid it well.

  He jumped out of bed in a single fluid move, leaving me sitting there with my heart filling heavy with dread. What was happening? “Ciro—”

  “You’re already late for your fitting appointment. You should get ready. My mother will be waiting,” he called over his shoulder as he started for the bathroom.

  A lump fille
d my throat at his dismissive tone, but anger started to boil in my veins. I was confused and hurt and I didn’t understand anything that was going on right then. We’d gone from making love, to holding each other, to him turning into a complete stranger in only a matter of minutes. All because I wasn’t on the pill?

  “What’s going on, Ciro?” I demanded as I jumped out of bed and followed him into the bathroom. “What just happened?”

  He kept his back to me as he turned on the shower. “Nothing.”

  “Bullshit.” I grasped his arm in both of mine and tugged him around to face me. His eyes were blank, his face set in neutral lines that didn’t tell me anything he was thinking. That hurt more than anything. He was shutting me out. “If you don’t want a baby right now, tell me. I can see the doctor.” Even though I hated them, I would go and get put on the pill. We were still young; we didn’t have to start our family immediately.

  Unless I was already pregnant.

  “I don’t want a baby.” His voice was cold, empty.

  I nodded, still confused, but I nodded anyway. “Okay. So I’ll get on the pill and we can talk about having a baby in a few years.”

  His eyes became more hooded. “I don’t want a baby. Ever. I don’t want kids, Scarlett.”

  I stepped back, feeling like he’d just slapped me. I’d never thought of not having kids. Maybe they hadn’t been forefront in my thoughts, but I’d always wanted them. I’d always wanted to be a mother and when I’d pictured myself with a baby on my hip I’d always seen this man as its father. “Why?”

  Ciro shrugged. “I have my reasons.”

  Anger was a hell of a lot better than hurt. As it built I used it to push aside the pain that was filling my chest. “That’s not an answer, Ciro. Talk to me. I need to know why you don’t want kids.”

  “Because I don’t want to put an innocent little kid through having to face the fact that his father is a monster,” he exploded, and for the first time I took a step back from him in the face of his anger. Not because I was scared of him. I would never be scared of this man. He wouldn’t physically hurt me, ever.

  I stepped back because he’d thrown me completely off center with that admission. He wasn’t just angry, he was scared and hurting. Monster? I could see that it was exactly how he thought of himself. All my anger at him, all the hurt, evaporated as I began to understand why he was so set against becoming a father.

  I moved until I was only a few inches from him and laid my palm flat against his chest, right over his heart. “A monster couldn’t love me as much as you do, Ciro. You’re a good man and I love you completely.”

  His big shoulders drooped. “No, Scarlett. I’m just really good at pretending. Underneath all of this, I’m not even human. I’ve done things that would haunt a normal person. There is other’s blood on my hands and it’s tainted me until there’s nothing left but the part that loves you. I don’t have anything left over for anyone else.”

  My heart was breaking for him, but I was at a loss for how to make him see he was wrong about himself. Lifting my hand, I cupped his jaw. He’d dropped the walls he’d put up and was letting me see all of himself now. There was true fear in his eyes. Fear that he couldn’t love our child. That his baby might hate him. “I love you, and our child would love you too. I love you despite the things you might have done in the past.” He opened his mouth, and I pressed my thumb to his lips. “Despite what you might have to do in the future. Doing those things doesn’t make you a monster. Not in my eyes.”

  His arms wrapped around me and he lowered his head until his forehead pressed against mine. “Vita mia…”

  “I’m not going to beg you and I know I can’t convince you overnight, so I’m not going to argue with you about this. Not now, not ever.” I stroked my fingers over his hair and he shuddered against me. He closed his eyes. “All I need in the world is your arms around me. Us having a baby would only add to how happy I am, but I understand that you can’t wrap your mind around that right now.”

  “I might not ever be able to wrap my mind around it, Scarlett.”

  “Yes, I know.” I sighed and pulled back until our eyes met, needing him to see how serious I was right then. “That’s why I won’t ever bring it up again. You are enough for me, Ciro. Nothing else will ever make me as happy as being loved by you. I’ll go on the pill and we don’t have to talk about this again for the rest of our lives. But if you ever change your mind, I’ll be ready and waiting.”

  All the tension in him lifted and he lifted me in his arms. My legs wrapped around his waist and I met his hungry kiss. He was back to being the Ciro I loved wholeheartedly.

  I didn’t want to remind him that I could already be pregnant. Didn’t want to think about what would happen if I was in fact already carrying his child. I only wanted to lose myself in his arms again.

  Chapter 26

  Scarlett

  I was over two hours late for my appointment with the dress designer. Mary, Victoria, Nona, Allegra and Anya were already inside when I entered the studio with Paco and one of Ciro’s other men at my side. My father had sent a few of his own men with Victoria, Nona and Allegra. Mary’s usual guard was also taking up space at the door.

  It looked like Paco was going to be my shadow whenever I went out without Ciro, but I was okay with that. I liked him just as much as I did Desi. It was the other guy who gave me the creeps. I wasn’t a fan of Antony, and I never had been. Ciro wouldn’t let me go anywhere without at least two of his men, though, so I had to put up with the man.

  Victoria had asked me to make Anya a bridesmaid to even up the wedding party. I liked her and hadn’t hesitated about agreeing with my sister. The little Russian was just finishing up her last fitting when I walked through the door. “You have got to be the only bride in the world who doesn’t give a shit about her wedding.”

  I shrugged. “It’s not about the wedding for me. It’s about the man I’m marrying. All that matters is that he becomes my husband. As simples as that.” I took a seat on the loveseat beside Allegra, who was sipping at champagne along with the other women.

  Paco took up post behind me, but Antony stood right beside me, making me feel uncomfortable. Hell, he was kind of clingy. I moved closer to Allegra. “Paco, tell your man to stand by the door. He’s breathing on me.”

  “Door,” Paco commanded with a bite in his voice.

  I didn’t give the other man another thought once he moved away, but Anya watched him for a long moment before excusing herself to go change out of her dress.

  Mary and Nona had been busy whispering back and forth to each other across the room and didn’t even notice that I’d arrived until Mary turned around. “There you are,” she said with a beaming smile. “Are you ready to try the dress on for the last time before you marry my son?”

  A shot of excitement ran through me. Two more days and I was going to be Mrs. Ciro Donati. How could that not make my heart skip a beat and make me almost giggly with excitement?

  “I can’t wait,” I told her honestly as I got to my feet.

  Twenty minutes later, when the final pearl button was in place, I stepped in front of the mirrors in the front of the studio. With my veil on and my hair pulled back in a messy version of the hairstyle Victoria had been adamant that I have for the big day, I couldn’t help gasping at the sight of my reflection. I’d never felt so beautiful in my life as I did right then.

  Behind me, all the women had gone completely quiet and I turned to see what their reaction was. Nona had tears in her eyes, while Mary openly wept. Victoria and Allegra eyed me with appreciation and a little envy. It was Anya who was taking in everything with a critical eye, and finding nothing lacking.

  “You’re so beautiful,” Mary told me as she stepped onto the small platform where the seamstress had told me to stand earlier so I could see the dress from every angle in the trio of mirrors. She hugged me carefully, trying not to mess up my dress in any way. “I can’t believe you
’re going to be my daughter-in-law in just under forty-eight hours. It’s more than I could ever ask for Ciro. I know the two of you will be happy together.”

  I tried to smile for her but wasn’t sure I completely pulled it off. I wanted to make Ciro happy, wanted our life together. But despite telling myself not to worry about it, I couldn’t keep my mind off the fact that I could possibly be pregnant right then.

  Would he want me to get rid of it? Would he hate me because I couldn’t? Would he stop loving me?

  I pushed those thoughts away as soon as they entered my mind, and pretended that I didn’t have a care in the world as Victoria and Allegra stood to gush over my dress and how good I looked in it. My sister didn’t buy it for even a second, though, and when the seamstress took me back to the dressing room to help me change, Victoria came with me.

  I tensed up, as the little woman undid the hundred pearl buttons, dreading this conversation with my sister. I felt her gaze on me grow more assessing with each tick of the clock on the wall. By the time the seamstress was done, my neck was beginning to ache with how much effort it was taking to keep from looking at my twin.

  “I’ll help her from here, Diane,” Victoria told the woman, who gave her a bright smile and excused herself.

  She stepped up behind me as she started pulling the dress open, her eyes trapping mine in the mirror. “Did you and Ciro have a fight?”

  “No. We’re fine.” I let the dress fall to my waist, leaving me only in my strapless white bra. Reaching up, I pulled the clips from my hair and shook out the long red tresses.

  “Then why do you look like you’ve had your heart ripped out and stomped on?”

  I gave up trying to hide the truth from her. There was no use in trying anyway. Victoria was part of myself. Lying to her just wasn’t possible. Not when she was in the same room with me anyway. “Ciro doesn’t want kids.”