by C. M. Steele
“That’s interesting, because we know that’s not true. He pays you well because you’ve got him skimming from us, but that’s not it. It’s not why I’ve asked you here. You created a mess we had to clean up. We offed a beautiful woman named Mariana because she saw something she shouldn’t have.”
“She’s dead? Fuck. I’ve been on the hunt for that bitch. She stole my money and didn’t pay it back like she promised.”
“Wait, are you the one who pretended to be her boyfriend to my contact?”
“Oh, you mean your cop friend who tried to get her back for you? You should know your officer buddy is under internal investigation. Did you know that?”
“Bullshit.”
“Don’t believe us, but he’s in the middle of ratting you out to the cops to save his ass.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“No? We have our own connections, and he’s crossed too many lines that his people took notice of.” I slip on my gloves quietly. I might be a big guy, but I’m stealthy.
“I can’t believe it.”
“Well, that’s tough because it’s true.” I toss a rope around his throat and then Dom ties his hands with a zip tie. I loosen my grip just one inch to let him breathe.
The next words out of his mouth force my hand. Torture it is. “It’s all because of that stupid bitch. She couldn’t do a single thing right. I wish you would have let me hit that before you took her out. She was a fucking virgin.” I lose control and strike him in the face.
Grabbing his face forcefully, I say, “I didn’t kill her. She’s mine, and the fact that you threatened her, insulted her, and then tried to find her means you crossed a line with me that’s not acceptable.”
“Come on. Take it easy. She’s just a piece of ass, and you cost me a good two hundred thou on her virginity.” I lose it and bash him in the face with my elbow.
“Enough, Nero. Do what is needed. Goodbye, Mr. Gordon. May God have mercy on you because Nero here will not.” I lead the fucker out of the house with a gun to his head.
“Come on! We can work this out.”
“No, we can’t.”
“I can give you information on anyone. I have it all.”
“Start talking.” He does. And for an hour all the way back to his club, which has had a sudden power outage and has been evacuated for safety, he spills his guts about more than his activities. I have enough information to sink several public officials who are aiding this piece-of-shit bottom feeder.
“We’re here in your club. It’s time to get out.”
“What about my car?” This fool thinks I’m going to let him go. Nothing but death is good enough for this bastard.
“Relax, your car is right here.” Tony D. pulls up beside us. “I’d make sure all your shit’s there because Tony’s a bit of a klepto,” I lie. I just want his fingerprints all over his vehicle before I kill him. He climbs in and I know he’s looking for his gun, but that’s gone.
“Looking for this? Come on, now. Did you think he’d leave you with a weapon to shoot us with?”
“Get inside the club. We’re not done discussing everything you’ve given me.”
He does so like a fool, but the place has been set up for just what I need. Sliding a mask over my face, I welcome the several junkies just in time to do their part. My work is done forty-five minutes later, and we do our best to remove any traces of our presence. Tony D. takes off the fat suit he donned for his role as Gordon.
“Damn, that felt disgusting.”
“Now, it’s getting late, and I have to check in with Dom.”
“You mean so you can get home as fast as possible so that the newest edition to the Bianchi family is well cared for.”
“Damn right.”
Once I brief Dom on everything, I creep back to my house. It’s already two in the morning, but I need to check on my queen. Did she get pissed and trash the place? I go inside, and everything is as good as it always is. I see the apple pie she made just for me. Dom told me that she’d gone out of her way to bake for me. Fuck, I have to make it up to her. I picked up the ring yesterday and I’ve been itching to give it to her, but right now probably isn’t the best time. I go upstairs and into my bedroom, changing out of my clothes and hopping in the shower to wash away the filth from today.
Slipping on some boxers and a tee, I go to check on Mariana. Opening her door, she isn’t in her bed. It’s still made. “What the fuck?”
I grab my phone and call Luigi. I don’t give a fuck how late it is. “Where is she?”
“She?”
“Yes. Where is Mariana?”
“I don’t know. She was there when I gave her your message.”
“How was she? Did she fucking freak out or something?”
“No. Not that I remember. She seemed calm. Do you need to go on the hunt for her?” he grunts, clearly asleep.
“I need to find her right now.”
“Shouting down the house works.” She yawns, looking like she just woke up.
“Never mind, Luigi.” I end the call and turn my attention to her. “Where the hell were you?”
“I fell asleep in the library.” I pull her into my arms to calm my racing heart. “Did you just get out of the shower?”
“Yes. I thought you left.”
“You thought I left, so you showered?”
“No. I showered and then came to say goodnight to you and you were gone.”
“Sorry.”
“I’m going to kiss you right now.”
“Okay.” I lose control and slam my mouth onto hers, walking her backward toward her bed. I lift her up and put her in the center of the bed. Parting her legs, I grind my cock on her mound. “I missed the fuck out of you, angel face.”
“I missed you too.”
“Marry me.”
“Yes.” I slide the ring on her finger. “Thank you, bella mia.” I grind my hips forward as I kiss her lips. She wraps her legs around my waist, rocking her pussy against my shaft and the pleasure’s instant and too much to handle.
Freezing, I pull her legs off my body. “But I can’t.”
“Can’t what?”
“We need to stop, or I’m going to fuck you right here, right now.”
“Okay. Let’s stop.” She nods, kissing my chin and jaw.
“Okay,” I agree even though I continue to kiss her and the second we come up for air, I lift her blouse over her head, revealing her perfect tits to my eyes. My hands massage one sexy breast while my mouth sucks on her fucking pebbled nipples. I grip each one and lavish attention back and forth, unable to quell the panic that sets in my bones. She can’t leave if she’s carrying my baby. I kneel and grab her shorts, tugging them off, taking her panties with them.
“Nero.”
“Mariana,” I utter in reverence. Her hands go to the hem of my shirt and she helps me pull it off. “I can’t stop. Please tell me you understand.”
“I need you, Nero.”
“This is forever, Mariana. I’m not going to ever let you go.”
“I love you, Nero.”
“Please say it again,” I beg her as I play with her soaked pussy.
“I love you,” she moans.
“I love you so damn much.” I kick away my boxers and line my cock up with her wet slit and slowly push my way into her tight channel. Claiming her as mine feels too damn good to care about breaking my promise and taking her innocence with mine.
She’s going to be my wife anyway. Her thighs flex as she presses her feet into the mattress, arching for more. We fuck wildly like the newbies we are until I can’t hang on any longer. Pinching her clit, I take Mariana with me, falling hard over the edge and shooting my load deep inside her womb.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that so soon.”
“Don’t worry. Your aunt and Aria’s mom are already planning our wedding.”
“Are they?”
“Yes.” I chuckle and ask, “Do they know I’m not waiting weeks to marry you?”
“Yes. They said they only need a week.”
“Good. Very good. Now, Mariana, I need you to know something.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s hard to discuss. See. I’ve never…”
“I know. They told me about the Bianchi men and their promise. I’m sorry I made you break it.” She cradles my face with her soft hands, I kiss her palms and then kiss her lips.
“You didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do. In fact, all I want to do is repeat it all again.”
“Maybe in the morning?” she suggests.
“I’m suddenly very sleepy,” I say; my orgasm wiping me out. I pull out of her tight warmth with my cock still quite hard and covered in a mixture of her blood with our releases.
“Are you leaving me?”
“Never.” I scoop her up and carry her to where she belongs.
We enter our bedroom and I close the door, locking it before leading her to our bed. “What are we doing here?”
“We’re gonna sleep,” I promise.
“But this is your bedroom.”
“It’s where you should have been to begin with, but I was afraid of how much I wanted you even though I didn’t think you felt the same way.” We slide under the covers, and she rests her head on my chest.
“I’m yours, Nero.”
“Let’s sleep.” I reach over to the nightstand and grab my phone. I quickly send Dom a text, even though he’s probably asleep. Rule’s broken. Wedding in a week, no later. Love you all.
Congrats. About time. I’ll tell Mama to get on with it. Goodnight.
Chapter Ten
Mariana
Waking up in Nero’s arms is the best feeling in the world. He holds me as though I’m the only thing that matters, so when I snuggle in closer, he tightens his grip. I kiss his bare chest and whisper, “I love you.”
“I love you, amore mia.”
“You’re awake?”
“Yes. Good morning.” He kisses my forehead before climbing out of bed. “I have to be out of the house in twenty minutes. If you call and I don’t answer, it’s because my phone will be powered down. I promise to call and if it’s an emergency, let Tony D. know and he’ll summon me.”
I snap my fingers and shake my head. “Damn technology, hindering criminal activity.”
“Actually, angel face, I’m going to my normal, legal nine to five, but I have half a dozen meetings this morning. If you need, I can give you my assistant’s number.”
“Assistant? As is in female assistant?”
“No, angel face. Carson isn’t a woman nor is he into men at least that I’m aware of, so you have nothing to be upset over. Besides, I’ve given myself only to you.”
“True.” It’s crazy how my heart skips a beat every time I think about it.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me I must get ready for my boring regular office job.”
“Wow, so not all vicious killer… pity.” I roll my eyes and spin onto my side with a little too much attitude, but as the bed shifts, I know I’m in trouble. Nero pounces on me with a growl. “Keep that shit up, and I’ll kill that pussy again.”
“Fine, I suppose I could behave for just a bit. I can’t promise all day, though.”
“Well, that’s okay, but you know the women will be here to make wedding plans, so you’ll be too busy to be trouble.”
“You never know what I can achieve.” I wink, and he slams his mouth to mine.
We kiss wildly before he pulls away with his dick rock hard and jutting out, tenting his boxers. I want to crawl to him and service him on my knees. I lick my lips, and he frowns. “Later, I’m going to make you pay for all the bad things you do, including looking at my cock like you’re starved.”
“I’m famished, but I suppose it can wait.” He hisses before slamming the bathroom door shut. I giggle as the shower turns on. My poor man. I love it.
An hour later, Nero’s gone and the ladies enter. I meet Aria’s mom and immediately fall in love with her. She’s wonderful, and so we go about planning the wedding, both disgruntled mothers begrudgingly hating that they only have a week.
“If we had more time—”
“We don’t, Mama. Stop giving Mariana a hard time. We can do this easily. Look what we did for mine with less than half a morning to prepare.”
“We had some stuff already at our disposal,” Mrs. Bianchi says.
“It doesn’t have to be special. It’s not like I’m going to know most people there, and I frankly couldn’t care less about this whole thing.”
“My dear girl, I’m sorry that you had a lousy go this past couple of years, but we want you to have something to remember.” Mrs. Bianchi sighs, patting my hand.
“How Nero and I met is one hell of a memory.”
“Yes, but it’s not one you can share,” Aria admits.
“True. What really matters is the dress and flower arrangements. Everything else can be generic, plain. Okay?”
“We can deal with that, I suppose,” Mrs. Bianchi says, shoulders slumping.
The rest of the afternoon is spent looking at gowns and having companies schedule visits with the ones I like the most. Purple is the color that I want splayed around all the white. After that, I frankly don’t care.
By the time they all leave, I’m completely drained so I grab a pop and a bag of popcorn and turn on the television.
Scrolling the channels, I hit FOX32 which has the news on right now. The image on the screen draws my attention so I listen in:
Owner of a local strip club dies inside his club, which has been permanently shut down due to illicit activities. Mr. Gordon was just about to be arraigned on kidnapping, prostitution, and human trafficking when his staff found his body this morning. Included in the raid was a local officer who also moonlights at the club as a bouncer. No one knows who else will be added to the crimes, but we believe that Mr. Gordon got off easy.
Any news on the victims of the trafficking? No news yet, but the police tell us that they have been taken to safe locations including local area hospitals.
I stand in awe. My boss owned a strip club and did all those things?
So that's what Nero was doing last night. I might be a bit sadistic because I find his brutality sexy. Having somebody to protect me is a completely new and welcomed feeling. My heart flutters, knowing that he needs to care for me.
I love him more and more, and that scares the piss out of me. The fear of abandonment is strong within my soul. I hope there’s no way they can tie it to him or anyone in the Bianchi family.
"What's wrong?" I spin around to see Nero staring at me, trying to guess what the matter is.
He closes the distance in long strides, looking sexy as hell in his dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. With a kiss to my lips, he pulls me down onto his lap as he sits on the sofa. “Tell me, angel face, what’s going on?”
"They just found my old boss dead, and he was a bigger sleazebag than I knew."
"Yeah. I told you I'd take care of it." He cups my chin, running his fingers along my jaw before replacing them with his mouth. Embracing the tenderness, I almost forget about our conversation. The sneaky bastard.
Nudging him slightly with a tone of anger in my voice, I ask, "Is that why he was at Domani’s yesterday?"
"You knew of that?" He pales and then straightens his spine.
I wrap my arms around his neck and play with the edge of his hair. This man is so gorgeous I steal another kiss before explaining what happened. “Yes. When Domani called Aria, we were all going to go over there. It wasn’t until we pulled up the driveway that I noticed the car. I had to get out of there, so I asked Luigi to bring me back. Please don’t be mad at him for not saying anything. I begged him to keep quiet.”
“I’m not mad at all. He’s a married man. He knows when to keep his mouth shut and when not to. The only person I’m upset with is myself. I’m sorry that I didn’t think about that factor. I swear, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable i
n any way.”
“Thank you, but knowing he’s out of my life forever makes me feel incredible. Does that make me bad?”
“Not at all. You were in danger with him alive.”
“Thank you for slaying my dragons.”
“No one will ever come between us.”
“How about we have nothing between us?” I ask, kissing his throat.
“Sounds like a great idea.” With a growl, he scoops me up and stands.
“Wow.”
“Where are we going?”
“To our bed, where I plan to worship you until we’re too tired to move.”
Chapter Eleven
Nero
It’s our big, special day and I’m thrilled to fucking hell that it’s here, although I have to say I’m pissed about last night. They took my wife away from me because I’m not supposed to see the bride before the wedding. I snarled and barked, but I lost in the end. Killing people with my bare hands is my specialty, but dealing with a bunch of angry women is a dangerous place to be.
“It’s almost time, Nero. Calm yourself.” Dom hands me a drink which I finish in one gulp.
“Easy for you to say. You’re already married.”
“And you have already bedded yours, so it’s not like you’re anxious to have your first time,” he reminds me. It’s not meant to be a dig, but that doesn’t help my already anxious mood.
“No. I fucking miss her. It’s the first time that I’ve spent the entire night completely away from her. I don’t like it.” It’s stupid for me to panic, but the thought of her deciding I’m not good enough plays in my head with every passing second.
A knock on Domani’s office door alerts us that it’s time. I take a deep breath and open it, knowing she’s ready to come to me and easing some of that anxiety. My angel face is going to be legally and eternally mine. There are no words for the rush of emotions that come over me. We exit into the large garden area where Father Falcone waits for Domani and me.
After shaking his hand, I take my place and wait for the music to usher in my bride. Zio has granted himself the honor of walking Mariana down the aisle since she has no one else. The patio doors open, and I’m doing my best to stay still as she begins her approach.