by Sam Crescent
That was exactly what he needed to hear. She’d given her indirect permission. Now that fucker was as good as dead. Klaus had to contain his excitement, holding his bride close.
He didn’t want her sad. They had to move onward, not focus on the shitty days—even if last night was up there on the list.
“You’re going to need to take a shower now,” he said.
“Why?”
He looked down between them, and as she realized what he referred to, she wrinkled her nose. Klaus was covered in sweat, his tank top soaked through.
She giggled, and it was a beautiful sound. When had Isabella’s happiness become linked with his own? He was falling in love with his wife. It wasn’t something he was accustomed to in their world, but he welcomed it. They’d be a real family, and their children would be raised with love.
First, he had to make sure they were safe.
That meant destroying the Lastra empire.
****
Isabella heard the water turn off in the shower. Klaus had jumped in after his workout. Even covered in sweat, he looked edible. After a session, his muscles were hard and defined. He was an animal in the gym. He was in better shape than men half his age.
What she didn’t like was his guilt. She felt it, heard it in his voice. It was her father to blame, not her husband. Klaus would do anything to protect her, and he had protected her. It wasn’t healthy dragging around the heavy chains of guilt.
She opened the bathroom door. He was just toweling off, his body glistening. A male work of art. Isabella glanced down at his flaccid cock, and as if the simple glance was a switch, it began to thicken.
“Bella?”
“You’ve taken me so many times. Tasted me. I want to do the same.”
He raised an eyebrow. Before he could complain, she got to her knees on the lush bathroom mat.
“What do you want to do, Bella? Don’t play games with me.”
Talking dirty didn’t come naturally to her as it did to Klaus. “I want your cock … in my mouth.”
He smirked now, stalking closer. With a firm hand, he held the back of her head and immediately guided her mouth to his now full erection. He was well-endowed. “Open, Bella. Take your man.”
She accepted him in her mouth. His dick was hot and smooth, like silk over steel. She swirled her tongue around the thick head, and he groaned.
“Don’t bite, baby. Take it all.”
Having Klaus at her mercy, watching his body stiffen with need, was an aphrodisiac. She sucked him, holding the root of his cock as she bobbed her head over his length. Over and over, she savored him, giving him as much pleasure as he gave her on a daily basis. He became rougher, guiding her head. His growls seemed magnified in the enclosed bathroom, echoing off the walls.
His hands fisted in her hair, the sting only spurring her on. Klaus needed this release, needed to understand she didn’t blame him for what happened last night.
“I’m going to come, baby.” His voice was rough, the sound settling between her legs. He moved to pull away, but she wouldn’t have it. She wanted to taste him, to swallow him down.
Isabella wasn’t naïve enough to think men didn’t care one way or another. She wanted to give this to Klaus, to show him how much she loved him. His body tensed and his cock grew even harder before he ejaculated down her throat. The saltiness mixed with the tart flavor. His erection pulsed on and on, his hands still securing her head.
When he finally pulled away, she looked up at him, still kneeling on the floor.
“You’re incredible.” He helped her up to her feet, then hoisted her onto the stone counter.
“I love you, Klaus.”
The look in his eyes said it all. He brushed the hair off her face, staring at her with pure adoration. Her heart fluttered.
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said. “I was reluctant about an arranged marriage, especially with a Lastra girl. But I couldn’t have chosen a better wife. I’ll love you until the day I die.”
She hoped that wouldn’t be sooner rather than later. Klaus’s heart beat with revenge, and she knew it, silently condoned it. She had to have faith in her husband. He had a reputation for a reason, and she had to believe she’d be safe every time he left their home.
“I wish we were normal.”
He smirked. “No, you don’t.”
Maybe he was right. She wanted them safe, wanted her father to stay the hell away from them. But she loved her bad boy. Loved his tattoos, his scars, his hard-earned muscles. She wouldn’t change anything about him.
“I have to go to work for a few hours. You need to stay home.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What’s going on?”
“Until this blows over, I won’t have you in harm’s way. You’re marked. I won’t lose you.”
Isabella could argue, but he was right. She nodded her agreement.
He kissed her, softly and thoroughly. She reopened her eyes as he pulled away. It was time for him to get ready for work, and that meant hours of worry, wondering if he’d come home. She wished they could be on their honeymoon again, an endless fantasy where they never had to return to reality.
Isabella was in the kitchen making oatmeal on the stove when Klaus came down the stairs in one of his custom suits. Her body continued to react every time she saw those broad shoulders and that powerful frame in a suit. She still remembered the first day she met him at her family home. At the time, she’d wanted to hate him, but deep down, she’d been lovesick after just one look.
His cell phone rang and he answered.
“Really? That’s good. We can use that to our advantage. Don’t let anyone else know, understand?” He pocketed his phone, but his face was stoic.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Klaus tapped his fingers on the counter. “Your father thinks you’re dead.”
“What do you mean?”
“Renzo did some digging. They’re saying I fucked up. That you’re dead because I couldn’t protect you.”
She didn’t need another single detail. Her father was so easy to read. He wanted Klaus humiliated. Wanted the entire underworld to point fingers because he couldn’t protect his own wife. Meanwhile, it was her own father who’d planned her death. Planned this entire outcome.
The mix of rage and betrayal waged war in her heart and mind. She wanted her father dead, but then she thought of her mother and brothers. How could she live with herself? Then again, her father was a heartless bastard and didn’t deserve a family. He’d single-handedly ruined her life, making sure to tear down her self-esteem every chance he got.
He thought she was dead. Thought his plan worked since none of his men returned alive to say otherwise. Did he sleep well? Did he have regrets? Or was her death just another day in the life of a mafia kingpin?
“He got what he wanted,” she said. Isabella hadn’t realized how much of a trance she’d slipped into until she smelled her oatmeal burning. She snapped back to the present and turned off the stove. Her breakfast was ruined, but her appetite had already disappeared.
“We’ll use this to our advantage. Don’t use the phone. Don’t even go near the windows. I want everyone to believe you’re dead.”
“What are you going to do?”
“He wants to rub this in my face, to try to make me feel like a pussy for not saving my own wife. He won’t be able to resist a face-to-face.”
“Klaus, I don’t want you hurt. He’s crazy. If he’d kill his own flesh and blood, imagine what he’d do to his enemy.”
He scoffed. “Baby, I’m not afraid of your father. I’m afraid of myself. What I’m capable of.”
She gently grabbed his black silk tie, smoothing her fingertips down the length. “You’re the mafia monster,” she whispered.
“So they say.”
“But you’d never hurt me…”
“Never. Bella, I’ll be coming home. When I do, I want you naked on this counter. We should be focusing on making bab
ies, not staying alive.”
“You’re right. I want a life with you, the whole white picket fence. Will that ever be possible?”
Just envisioning little dark-haired children running around the house made her heart swell. She wanted everything she’d never had—love, family, security, traditions, and happiness.
“I’ll keep fucking you until you’re ripe with my child. Then we’ll start again. I can’t wait to see your body grow.” He slipped his hand along the swell of her stomach, then cupped her pussy. She gasped, dropping her weight into his hand.
He chuckled.
“Please, Klaus.”
“Tonight, I’ll give you what you want.” He kissed her temple. “I won’t be long.”
She felt the hard ridge of his cock in her palm. He felt so good pressed tight to his slacks, and she knew exactly how he could make her body thrum.
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
He kissed her one more time, backing away. “If I don’t leave now, I’ll never get out of here.”
Isabella had a bad feeling and almost begged him to stay home. But they couldn’t avoid their problems. If they didn’t face them today, they’d be waiting for them tomorrow.
“Are you protected?”
“You have to ask?” He opened both flaps of his suit jacket to show he was fully strapped with weapons. Seeing him draped in firepower only served to turn her on more. That wasn’t her intention.
“Be safe, Klaus.”
She watched him leave. After what happened yesterday, maybe she should be terrified to be alone again. But she trusted Klaus. He’d have this house with more security than Fort Knox. And she was used to drama and gunfire since she was a child. It didn’t faze her like it would most people. If it wasn’t for their warring families or the contract on her head, they’d be a perfect match.
Isabella opened the top left drawer in the kitchen and looked at the handgun without touching it. She’d found several hiding places in the house from when she first moved in. It was the same way in her old family home.
Although she wasn’t uncomfortable with guns, she’d never fired one herself. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to pull the trigger. Klaus had a long kill list. Isabella wondered if those deaths haunted him some nights or if he was truly as cold-blooded as the stories told.
Chapter Nine
Klaus had expected taking out her father would be difficult. But Carmello Lastra clearly had a death wish. Renzo climbed into the passenger side of the car.
His brother hadn’t gone too far and knowing he was by his side did make Klaus feel better. Not that he couldn’t take care of himself, but if something were to happen, Renzo was the only one he trusted.
Renzo had proven over the years that he didn’t want the role of being a capo. All he cared about was killing the enemy and fucking as many women as he could.
“Do you think you should be driving?” Renzo asked.
“I don’t care if I should or not. I’m getting to Lastra. That fucker thinks he’s taken from me. I can’t give him the satisfaction.”
“Tell me again why you’re not going to embarrass him at say, a public event? His daughter’s dead in his mind. Why not show up like that? It will certainly bring a lot of questions.”
“Because that will humiliate him and it will put Bella’s life in danger. I’ve already made that mistake once. I want to protect her. I don’t want to hurt her any more than she already is.”
“I can’t believe this fucker hasn’t been taken out already. Has he got lady luck on his side, or something?” Renzo asked.
He had something on his side, but it wasn’t lady luck. Whatever kept Lastra alive, that was going to end tonight.
Pushing his foot on the gas, he drove through the streets and was about to head to Lastra’s property when his cell phone rang.
He handed it to Renzo. “Take that.”
Renzo turned the speakerphone on and in the next second, he heard his father.
“Klaus, you have to turn around.”
“What?” He pressed on the brake, bringing his car to an abrupt stop.
“I heard the news, Klaus. I’m so sorry.”
“What news?”
“About Bella. The entire outfit knows.”
Klaus looked at Renzo and shook his head. “Dad, Bella’s not dead. She’s very much alive and she’s back home.”
“You cannot kill Carmello Lastra. I know you too well. That’s exactly where you’re heading, isn’t it?”
This wasn’t the information he wanted to hear right now. All he wanted to do was kill the son of a bitch who thought he could take out his wife.
“Dad, I don’t have time for this.”
“Why can’t he kill him?” Renzo asked.
“Renzo, you’re with him?”
“I was with him after his home was attacked. He’s gone too far. Lastra has to die. There’s no other way.”
Klaus listened to the stretch of silence on the phone.
“Look, I know you think you’re doing the right thing and you’re well within your right, but what you need to do is be smart about this.”
“Smart?” Klaus asked. “The fucker put a hit out on our name. You expect me to play it smart?”
“I expect you to play it exactly how it’s meant to be. You know the games that need to be played. You take Lastra out tonight, it will be your head tomorrow, and Bella will be put on the block to be sold. Seeing as you acted without authority, her life will be hell. Do you want that?”
Klaus gritted his teeth, so fucking pissed off. “I am well within my rights. This is my wife we’re talking about.”
“And there is an order, Klaus. A hierarchy. You know this. You think Lastra isn’t waiting for you? You think he doesn’t know you’re coming? What he doesn’t know is your wife is very much alive. Let me make some calls. I can make this work for you.”
With all the troubles his father had caused him, he failed to see how the man could now begin to make this easier for him. He’d been the one cleaning up his father’s messes.
“I can do this,” Klaus said.
“No. That’s an order. I know you don’t think I can handle this, but let me show you that I can. I’m not out of the picture yet and I have no intention of bowing out yet. You want your revenge? Do it when you can come out the victor. Don’t put your life and your wife’s life in jeopardy.”
“I’ll think about it.” Klaus took the cell phone from Renzo and turned it off. “Fuck!” He slammed his fist against the steering wheel.
“It’s good we don’t like this car,” Renzo said.
“I’ve got to kill him.”
“I know.”
“I can’t let this slide.”
“I know.”
“Will you stop saying you fucking know?” he yelled at the top of his voice. Renzo merely smiled. “I will shoot you in the fucking face.”
“Good for you, but it’s not going to stop what you need to do. If you didn’t believe Dad, we’d be in Lastra’s house right now, making him pay. We’re not. We’re here, waiting. You know Dad is right. There are always two ways to do this. One puts you on top. Don’t you want that?”
Klaus rubbed at his temples. He needed a level head, but it wasn’t something he was known for. Killing and asking questions later was usually his MO.
“I suggest you go home and fuck your wife. Let Dad handle this, and then you’ll get to exact your revenge. With Lastra believing she’s dead, for the next few days, you’re all safe.”
“I don’t give a fuck about myself.”
“This won’t make you a coward. You’ll still be considered one of the strongest men around. People will still fear you.”
“They believe I let my wife die.”
“And you’ll have to live with it for all of two minutes,” Renzo said. “Think.”
“I don’t want to fucking think. I want to kill.”
“Go and fuck. Go make babies. I’m sure Isabella would rather you be home fuckin
g her than out here killing her father. There is a time and place. You know it. It’s why we’re here right now, talking.”
“I hate these bullshit politics.”
“Look, Klaus, I’m with you no matter what. You want to go in there, kill Lastra, I’m right here on your side. If you don’t, and you want to wait, I’m on your side. I’ll protect Isabella for as long as I can, but you know when the outfit makes a decision…”
He did know and it pissed him off.
Klaus tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. His thirst for blood hadn’t eased. It was getting stronger with every passing day. All he wanted to do was fucking murder Lastra, to watch him scream, to have him beg him to stop.
He’d torture him for hours.
Right now, he didn’t have hours. He had to play it smart and calm the fuck down.
“Call the old man back,” Klaus said.
He spun the car around and headed back toward his home. If Isabella had done as he asked, she should be naked, and he needed that.
“Klaus?” their dad said.
“Lastra’s alive. Make whatever deal you need to. I want Isabella’s life protected at all costs. No one can know she’s alive until we’re ready to make it so.”
“I’ll call you back as soon as I’m done.”
Renzo hung up the cell phone.
“Are you okay?” Renzo asked.
“I’m fine. I need you to stick around until he calls back.”
“Will do, but I don’t want to hang out with you screwing your wife.”
He burst out laughing. “I won’t have you in my bedroom. You can take any room in the house but not that one.”
Renzo laughed.
Klaus didn’t feel better. He’d stopped relying on his father a long time ago. He was the one who was in charge, but there was no denying his father was still the head of the house. If anyone was going to listen to reason, it would have to come from his father.
Arriving at his home, he sat behind the wheel, feeling like a fucking prick.
“You didn’t fail tonight, Klaus.”
“I didn’t kill that son of a bitch.”
“We’ll get him. You know we will.” Renzo slapped him on the arm.