by Cora Reilly
“Of course,” he said, tapping his fingers against the desk and watching me. He wanted me to ask him who she was, wanted to draw this out, wanted to see me squirm. Screw him. I pushed my hands into my pockets, meeting his gaze straight on.
His expression darkened. “She’s the most beautiful woman the Outfit has to offer. A real stunner. Golden hair, blue eyes, pale skin. An angel come down to earth, as Fiore put it.” I’d fucked so many beautiful women. Only last night I’d fucked Grace on every surface in her room. Did he really think I’d be awestruck because he’d found me a pretty wife? If it were up to me, I wouldn’t marry anytime soon.
“I hope you’ll enjoy breaking her wings,” Father added.
I waited for the ‘but’. Father looked too pleased with himself, as if he were holding something back that he knew I would hate.
“Maybe you have heard of her. It’s Aria Scuderi. She’s the daughter of the Consigliere and she turned fifteen a few months ago.”
I wasn’t quick enough to hide my shock. Fifteen? Was he fucking kidding me? “I thought they wanted the wedding to take place soon,” I said carefully.
Father leaned back, his eyes looking for a flicker of weakness. “They do. We all do.”
“I won’t marry a fucking child,” I growled, done with playing nice. I was sick of his games.
“You will marry her, and you will fuck her, Luca.”
I exhaled before I said or did something that I’d regret later. “Do you really think our men will look up to me if I act like a fucking pedophile?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. They look up to us because they fear us. And Aria isn’t that young. She’s old enough to spread her legs and have you fuck her.”
It wasn’t the first time I’d considered putting a bullet in his head. He was my father, but he was also a sadistic bastard I hated more than anything else in the world. “What does the girl say to your plan?”
Father barked a laugh. “She doesn’t know yet, and it’s not like her feelings are important. She’ll do what she’s told, and so should you.”
“Her father doesn’t mind giving his daughter to me before she’s of age?”
“He doesn’t.”
What kind of bastard was Scuderi? I could see how much Father enjoyed my fury.
“But Dante Cavallaro was averse to the idea and suggested to postpone the wedding.”
I nodded. At least, one person wasn’t out of their fucking mind.
“Of course, we haven’t decided yet what to do. I’ll let you know once the decision is made. I’ll be in the dining room in fifteen minutes. Tell Nina I want a five-minute egg. Not a second longer.”
I left, knowing I was dismissed. Matteo leaned against the wall across from Father’s office. I strode past him, trying to get a handle on the rage burning through my body. I wanted to kill someone, preferably our father. I went straight toward the bar area in the living room of the house.
“What did our sadist of a father do now?” Matteo asked as he fell into step beside me.
I glared. “He wants me to marry a fucking child.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? I thought he was trying to set you up with the most beautiful woman of the fucking Outfit,” Matteo said mockingly.
“They must be out of pretty woman over there, because they want me to marry Aria Scuderi, who’s fucking fifteen.”
Matteo whistled. “Holy shit. Have they lost their fucking mind? What did the poor girl do to deserve such a fate?”
I wasn’t in the mood for his jokes. I wanted to hit something—hard. “She’s the oldest daughter of the Consigliere, and she looks like an angel come down to earth if you believe Fiore Cavallaro.”
“So they marry her off to the devil. A match made in hell.”
“You’re starting to piss me off, Matteo.” I reached over the counter of the bar and grasped the most expensive whiskey bottle, which our father kept for special occasions. I brought it to my lips and took a deep swig.
Matteo snatched the bottle out of my hand and tipped it back, downing a considerable amount of the amber liquid before sliding it back over to me. We went back and forth like that for a while before Matteo spoke again. “Are they really going to make you marry that girl? I mean, I’m all for the kinky stuff, but fucking a fifteen-year old is too freaky even for me.”
“Her asshole of a father would hand her over to me tomorrow. That bastard doesn’t seem to care.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I told Father I wouldn’t marry a child.”
“And he told you to grow a pair and to do what your Capo tells you.”
“He can’t see why the girl needs to be older for the wedding. All she has to do is spread her legs for me.”
Matteo narrowed his eyes in that fucking annoying way he had when he was trying to figure something out. “And would you?”
“Would I what?” I knew what he meant, but it annoyed the living hell out of me that he had to ask. I expected that question from everyone else, but not him. He knew even I had certain lines I wasn’t willing to cross. Yet. Life could be a bitch, especially if you were in the mob, so I’d learned that ‘never say never’ was a motto to live by.
“Would you fuck her?”
“I’m a killer, not a pedophile, you stupid asshole.”
“Spoken like a true philanthropist.”
“Fuck you, and stop reading the fucking dictionary.”
Matteo grinned and I shook my head with a smirk. That fucker knew how to make me feel better.
Matteo had barely stopped talking since we’d gotten off the plane, and he obviously had no intention of doing so now that we were in the Scuderi mansion. I was seconds away from punching him in the throat. “Stop sulking, Luca. You should be happy. You’ll meet your fiancée today. Aren’t you curious how she looks? She could be butt-ugly.”
She wasn’t. Father wouldn’t let the Outfit cheat us like that. But I hadn’t found a photo of her on the internet. Scuderi seemed to keep his family out of the public eye.
“I’m surprised the maid didn’t follow us. It seems like a risk to let potential enemies walk through the house without supervision. Makes me wonder if this is a trap,” Cesare said as he kept looking over his shoulder.
“It’s a power play. Scuderi wants to show us that he isn’t worried about our presence,” I said as we headed in the direction the maid had pointed us toward.
I could hear people running our way. My hand went to my gun. Cesare and Matteo did the same as we turned the corner. When I saw what caused the commotion, I relaxed. Children were chasing each other, hurtling straight toward us. The boy managed to stop, but a young girl rushed toward me, her arms flailing, and crashed into my body. My hands shot out to catch her. She stared up at me with wide eyes as I held her by the shoulders.
“Liliana,” one of the other girls shrieked. My eyes snapped toward her, then her golden blond hair, and I knew who she was. Aria Scuderi, my future wife. She was the oldest of the bunch, but damn it, she looked so fucking young. I mean, it wasn’t as if I’d expected a grown woman, but I’d hoped it wouldn’t be so fucking obvious that she was only fifteen. When I was that age, I already felt and acted like a man. I wasn’t sure what I’d have done if Cavallaro and my father hadn’t agreed to wait until she was eighteen.
She was beautiful in a childish way, but there was the promise of breathtaking beauty under her young features. She was small but, with my size, most women were. In a few years when she’d become my wife, she’d be stunning. She’d better learn to hide her emotions better until then. She looked fucking terrified. I was used to people giving me that kind of look, but with women I preferred admiration and lust to terror any day.
“Liliana, come here,” she said. It was pretty obvious that she was trying to look strong and grown-up. She would have been more convincing if her voice wasn’t shaking and if there wasn’t that petrified glint in her eyes. I loosened my grip on her sister, who bolted toward Aria as if the de
vil were at her heels. Had these girls never met other men? Scuderi probably kept them in a golden cage, which suited me just well.
“That’s Luca Vitiello!” a redhead blurted and actually wrinkled her fucking nose at me. I wasn’t used to so much rudeness. People knew better than to disrespect me. Not Scuderi’s brats, however.
There was a hiss and the boy shot in my direction and actually attacked me. “Leave Aria alone! You don’t get her!”
Cesare made a move to interject as if I needed help against a midget.
“No, Cesare.” I stared down at the boy. His fervor was almost admirable if it wasn’t so futile. I caught his hands.
Aria crept toward me as if she thought I might snap her brother’s neck and then her own. Fuck, what had her family told her about me? They should have lied. I knew I had a reputation and I was fucking proud of it, but Aria didn’t need to know about it—yet.
“What a warm welcome we get. That’s the infamous hospitality of the Outfit,” Matteo said, as usual letting his fat mouth run free.
“Matteo,” I warned before he said more. These were children, even my future wife, and they didn’t need to hear his colorful vocabulary.
The midget was squirming in my grip, snapping and growling like a wild dog.
“Fabiano,” Aria said, her eyes darting up to me for a millisecond before she grabbed her brother’s arm. “That’s enough. It’s not how we treat guests.”
Despite her breakable appearance, Aria seemed to hold some power over her siblings. Her brother stopped struggling and looked at her as if she were the center of his world. “He’s not a guest. He wants to steal you away, Aria.”
Sorry, buddy, nothing about this fucking arrangement was my idea. And yet I had to admit that, after having seen Aria, I wouldn’t let her slip out of my grip for anything in the world. She was mine now. I regarded her as she smiled down at her brother with so much kindness, stunning me.
Matteo chuckled. “This is too good. I’m glad Father convinced me to come.”
“Ordered you.” Our father never tried to convince anyone. He ordered, bribed or blackmailed.
Aria had a hard time meeting my gaze; she was obviously embarrassed by my attention. A deep flush had spread on her cheeks. I released her brother, and she clutched him against her body protectively. She was so shy and terrified that I wondered if she’d dare to oppose me if I actually made a move toward her brother. Not that I’d ever do that. There was no honor in attacking children and women.
“I’m sorry,” Aria said feebly. “My brother didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”
“I did!” the boy shouted. Aria’s hand shot out and clamped his mouth shut. I almost laughed. It had been a while since a woman had made me want to laugh, even by accident.
“Don’t apologize,” the redheaded girl hissed. “It’s not our fault that he and his bodyguards take up so much room in the corridor. At least, Fabiano speaks the truth. Everyone else thinks they need to blow sugar up his ass because he’s going to be
Capo—”
I sent Matteo a look. That girl had the same bad temper as him.
After more bickering, Aria finally got her siblings to leave. I was glad to see them gone. They grated on my nerves. It was no surprise that Scuderi wanted to marry his daughters off as quickly as possible.
Aria squirmed when she looked at me. “I apologize for my sisters and brother. They are—”
“Protective of you,” I helped her out. “This is my brother, Matteo.”
Aria barely glanced his way, but she wasn’t really meeting my eyes, either.
I nodded to my side. “And this is my right hand, Cesare.”
She blinked. She looked like she would bolt if I took a step in her direction. “I should go to my siblings.” She whirled around and hurried away until her blond head disappeared from view.
“You’ve still got it, Luca. Terrifying girls left and right with your rough charm,” Matteo said.
“Let’s get going. Scuderi will be wondering what’s taking us so long.” Scuderi was the last person I wanted to meet, unless said meeting involved knives and guns and a bloodbath. I hated him without ever having met him. What kind of father married a girl like Aria off to a guy like me? She looked like an angel, and she was as shy and innocent as one, and I had absolutely no illusions what I was: a cold bastard on the best of days, and a monster the rest of the time. At least, she had three more years before I got the chance to destroy her life with my darkness.
There wasn’t enough booze in the world to make Scuderi and Fiore Cavallaro’s presence more bearable. I wanted nothing more than to slice their throats open and watch them bleed to death. Matteo shot me a sideways glance, probably knowing exactly what I was thinking. He wouldn’t hesitate a second if I asked him to pull his knives. Matteo was always ready to stick his knife into the next person who annoyed him.
“She’s a real beauty, Luca,” Scuderi said proudly. “You won’t regret your choice.”
There hadn’t really been a choice on my part, but I kept the words to myself. There was no use in starting an argument, especially with Father watching me like a hawk.
“She’s completely pure. She’s never allowed to go anywhere without her bodyguards. She’s only yours.”
I forced a smile. Not that I didn’t appreciate it. The idea that someone might touch Aria made my blood throb furiously in my veins. I felt fucking possessive of her. I’d never cared if the girls I’d had affairs with fucked other men, but with Aria I’d kill anyone who dared to look at her the wrong way.
“There’s nothing better than breaking them in,” Aria’s cousin Raffaele said. He was a head smaller than me. If tonight ended in a bloodbath, he’d be the one I’d kill last, so I could take my time with him. Let’s see if he’d still manage that ugly grin with my knife sticking out of his eye socket. Dante sent his soldier a hard look and Raffaele quickly glanced back down to his drink. It was the first time Dante had shown any kind of emotional reaction at all. His wife had died not too long ago.
Fiore was officially still the Boss of the Outfit, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Dante was the man who ran the show.
Someone knocked.
When the door opened and Aria slipped in, keeping her back to us, I stiffened. She didn’t look like the girl I’d seen yesterday. She was wearing a skimpy dress, revealing long, lean legs, creamy skin, and a nice butt. Damn it. When she finally turned, I found that the front was just as nice to look at. Then my eyes traveled farther up. Aria kept her head down, her eyes cast on the ground, and I could see her shivering in fear and discomfort. Something protective and furious reared its head in my chest, startling me. She was mine. How could her mother have let her walk around in this outfit? I’d bet my left ball that Aria hadn’t had a say in choosing that fucking joke of a dress. I’d fucked girls with skimpier dresses but this was my future wife, and she was only fifteen. Her parents should protect her, not treat her like this. She finally risked a peek up and met my gaze. For fuck’s sake, she looked like she wanted to cry. If I ever got the chance, I’d kill Scuderi and I’d fucking enjoy it. I put my glass down before I could fling it at the wall.
Aria’s eyes flitted around nervously. The other men in the room watched her with the necessary respect, but that fucker Raffaele was undressing her with his fucking eyes. If this were New York, I’d relieve him of the burden of ever seeing anything again. And maybe I’d do it anyway if he didn’t stop the leering soon.
Oblivious to Raffaele’s disrespect, Scuderi ushered Aria toward me. He looked at me as if he expected my jaw to drop to the floor because of Aria. She was gorgeous, and in three years I might appreciate her being dressed like this, but now it only pissed me off that Scuderi tried to make Aria look like some fucking sexbomb when she obviously hated it.
“This is my daughter, Aria,” Scuderi said with an eager look like a German shepherd waiting for his master to throw a stick.
Fiore gave me a self-satisfied grin. “I didn’t promise
too much, did I?”
Fuck you. “You didn’t.”
Aria’s little brother snuck up on her and slipped his hand into hers. My eyes went to her legs for a moment but I tore them away.
“Maybe the future bride and husband want to be alone for a few minutes?” Father said with a look I knew only too well. He probably thought he was doing me a fucking favor. I didn’t miss Aria’s panicked expression, or the way she practically begged her father with her eyes to forbid it.
Of course Scuderi didn’t. He’d probably let me manhandle her right in front of him as long as I didn’t steal her virginity before the wedding.
“Should I stay?” her bodyguard asked.
Relief flashed across Aria’s face. I had no illusions as to what I was, but in this room I was the one Aria had to fear the least.
“Give them a few minutes alone,” Scuderi said, and Aria froze. What did she think I was going to do to her? Ravish her on the sofa? Father winked at me. He obviously thought I was going to grope at my fifteen-year-old fiancée. He probably would have. Everyone started to leave until only the little boy was left, clinging to his sister protectively. I had to give it to the midget, he was the only one from the Outfit with an ounce of courage.
“Fabiano. Get out of there now,” Scuderi snapped, and the boy let go of Aria and sent me a scathing look before he left. I liked that insolent brat.
The door fell shut and Aria and I were alone. She peered up at me through her long lashes, biting her lip. Did she have to look so fucking terrified? I knew how I appeared to others, and for a petite girl like her, I probably looked like a menacing giant about to crush her, but I had absolutely no intention of hurting her, much less feel her up no matter how delicious she looked. I wasn’t that depraved. I’d never forced myself on a woman, and Aria was only a girl. My fiancée. Mine. Mine to protect.
To distract her from her obvious terror, I asked, “Did you choose the dress?”
She jerked, her eyes growing wide. Huge blue eyes, so full of innocence I felt like they could wash even my sins away. And that golden hair…fuck me, I wanted to touch it to find out if it was as silky as it looked.