Bound By Love

by Reilly, Cora

  ARIA

  Afterwards, as we lay curled against each other in our bed, I asked, “Would you have noticed if I hadn’t told you I was a virgin?”

  Luca gave me a strange look. “It would have been hard not to notice.”

  “Perhaps I could have hidden it.”

  Luca kissed my throat, chuckling. “No. Believe me.” He pulled back, gray eyes searching my face. “Why are you even asking such a question?”

  I hesitated. Gianna didn’t want anyone to know, and if I told Luca about it, he might let it slip. Gianna would be furious if Matteo found out because of me, even if I still doubted she could hide it from him, and Luca had only confirmed my suspicion.

  Luca let out a laugh, and I knew he’d figured it out himself. He knew me too well, and he was too good at reading people. “Gianna?”

  I looked away, trying to think of a way to get Luca off the trail.

  His head got closer, corners of his mouth tipping up in a grin. “Don’t tell me she didn’t get laid while she was running around.”

  I tucked up against his side and frowned. “Gianna isn’t as bad as you make her out to be, regardless of her temperament.”

  Luca’s body vibrated against me as he succumbed to actual laughter. That low, deep laugh always sent tingles down my spine, and few people ever got to hear it.

  His eyes half-closed with obvious amusement, he asked, “Are you serious? She’s still a virgin?”

  “Yes,” I said, but as my eyes found the alarm clock on the nightstand, revealing that two hours had passed since I’d last seen her, I amended, “She was. I don’t know the current state of things.”

  Luca laughed again. I really wasn’t sure what he found so amusing. “Matteo is going to be in for a surprise. Oh hell. I’d love to see his face when he finds out.”

  I swatted his chest. “Be serious. I’m worried he’s going to hurt her.”

  “Of course, he will. He’s been waiting to fuck her for months and he’s going to have her tonight. If she doesn’t tell him he’s her first, he’ll take her like he would any other woman.”

  Luca was doing a bad job trying to ease my worries. I really hoped Gianna had changed her mind and told Matteo that she hadn’t done what he and everyone else thought she had.

  “What was the purpose of running and ruining her reputation if she didn’t even have fun? Trust your sister to fuck it all up.”

  I’d asked myself the same question. Gianna had been so eager to run away, to make her own decisions, to escape from the shackles of an arranged marriage, but in the end she’d hardly gotten anything out of it. Perhaps she should have tried to come to terms with her marriage to Matteo from the start. I was wary of Matteo, but I knew he would have tried everything to win her over. Now I wasn’t so sure anymore. “If I’d done what Gianna did, what would you have done?”

  Luca’s expression darkened but he was careful not to let me see the full force of his emotions, so I knew it was bad. He pushed the strap of my nightgown off my right shoulder. “You didn’t,” he said as he planted a kiss on the top of my shoulder. “I’m glad you’ve always only been mine. Every little inch of you has always been mine alone, and that won’t ever change.”

  I rolled my eyes at his possessiveness. It thrilled and annoyed me equally. With him being Capo, possessiveness was to be expected. He ruled over the East Coast, over hundreds of men, practically owned them and his territory; of course he wanted to own me as well, wanted to control me. It wasn’t always easy to make him see me as an equal, to have him rely on me, and not expect unquestioning obedience. It was a struggle I still hadn’t won completely, but we were on a good path.

  What annoyed me more than his possessiveness was him not giving me an answer to my question. His tongue slid over my shoulder, then up to my collarbone. It made it hard to concentrate, but I was determined not to let him distract me like that again.

  “Stop worrying about your sister. She can handle herself. And Matteo knows how to make a woman come.”

  He wasn’t taking this seriously, nor me either. I sat up, leaving Luca no choice but to stop his kisses, and hoping the higher vantage point would give me an advantage. Luca rolled on his back, relaxed, as his arm eased around my waist. I knew his mood would change soon. “I don’t want to stay at home anymore. I want to do something. I want to be useful.”

  Luca’s dark eyebrows climbed his forehead. “You are useful to me.”

  “How?” I challenged.

  Luca smirked, and that was the last straw. I escaped his grip and slid off the bed. “Regardless of what you think,” I muttered as I reached for my bathrobe, “my sole purpose in life is not to be pretty and warm your bed.”

  Luca was quick to react, swinging his legs out of bed, sitting up and snaking his arm around my waist to pull me back against him. I tried to resist but he was way too strong. I let him pull me flush against his body so I was peering down at his tense face, but my body didn’t soften in his embrace. I needed him to see how important this was to me. Since Gianna had run I had done a lot of thinking. I knew I’d grow depressed if I stayed holed up in the penthouse.

  “Aria, you are my wife. When you married me, you knew your options would be limited. This life will always be a golden cage. You need to be protected from the Bratva and other threats.”

  “If I went to college, that wouldn’t pose an additional risk, Luca. It’s not like the Bratva is going to attack campus. What you mean is that you prefer to have me where I’m not surrounded by other people, especially men.”

  Luca’s lips thinned, his arm muscles twitching. “Yes,” he said in a low voice. “I don’t trust men around you. Every guy with eyes in his head is going to want a piece of you. You are fucking gorgeous.”

  His compliment did nothing to appease me. I’d heard those words all my life, from everyone around me. My beauty was all I’d ever been known for. It was why I had been given to Luca in marriage. “I’m surrounded by Romero and Sandro and other men all the time.”

  “They are my men, and they know the consequences of touching what’s mine,” he growled, eyes filled with the promise of violence. “They would never dare to even leer at you, but outsiders aren’t bound by our rules. I would kill them for touching you like I would my men, but that would only be after the deed was done because they don’t know who you are. They might risk touching you.”

  “You know what’s funny?” I said, my hands coming up against his chest to push away, but again he didn’t give in. “You never once considered my reaction to their advances. I don’t care if a Made Man or an outsider makes a move on me, because my reaction would be the same. I would refuse them and tell them that I’m married, because I’m faithful. You’re in contact with women all the time and I don’t run around worried that you’ll be touched by them, even though I have more reason to be distrustful considering what happened with Grace.”

  He became rigid. “It’s not fair to hold that against me, Aria,” he murmured. “I made a mistake. Back then our marriage existed only on paper, and I never even thought about anyone but you after that. I’m faithful. No other women will ever change that.”

  I sighed. I shouldn’t have brought Grace up. She brought back memories I didn’t want to relive and like Luca said, she was a thing of the past. Luca had never given me reason to doubt his faithfulness again. “Why can’t you trust me around other men?”

  “I trust you, but I don’t trust them, and while I am capable of refusing advances, you are a small female who wouldn’t stand a chance against a male opponent.”

  “We’ve been working on my self-defense skills. I’m getting better,” I said, but really, it was still a long shot before I’d be able to fight off an attacker half Luca’s size. Besides, in the last six months we’d hardly found the time to train at all, because Luca had been busy taking over Matteo’s work as well. “And not all men are ignorant to the meaning of ‘no.’”

  “One asshole is enough,” Luca said.

  “Romero coul
d be at my side, as he is when I go jogging or shopping.”

  Luca searched my eyes. “What would you want to study anyway?”

  “I thought about it for a while. It needs to be something useful for the Famiglia. I can’t really work in the outside world. The only way for me to have a job is if I could be part of our business, and that limits my choices. I doubt you’d be happy if I became a chemist and produced our drugs.”

  Luca’s mouth loosened, and his embrace became less of a cage. “That would be interesting, no doubt.”

  “I thought perhaps I could get a bachelor’s in accounting. That way I can do our books.”

  Luca nodded slowly. “An accountant—that’s something even the old-fashioned family members might be able to accept.”

  “Does that mean I am allowed to go to college?”

  Luca sighed. “If it makes you happy, you can get a degree, but Romero will have to be at your side at all times, and I don’t want word to get around that you are attending college. You know how wary my family still is regarding my capability to be Capo. My uncle Gottardo thinks he should be doing the job, and my aunts would love to see their husbands or sons in my position. I can’t kill them all, not without being provoked. That wouldn’t bring me my men’s respect, so I will have to keep them silent as best as possible.”

  “We don’t have to tell anyone about me getting a degree. Romero won’t tell anyone. I won’t even have to tell Gianna right away if you worry she might let something slip.”

  Luca stroked my hair from my face. “That’s probably for the best. Your sister is a ticking time bomb at the moment. Let’s only keep Romero in the loop.”

  “So you’ll really allow me to do it? When can I start?”

  “Whenever you want.”

  “The application deadline for NYU’s business program is January 1st. I could try to get my application in by then. I’m not sure if I’ll get everything I need, though, but I could try…” I trailed off.

  Luca pulled me down so I straddled his lap. “If you want to get into NYU, you will get in, Aria.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder. I’d have thought he’d fight me more about this. Getting a business degree and becoming an accountant for the Famiglia wasn’t my dream job. If I’d been raised in a different family, I might have chosen to become a teacher or social worker. I wasn’t sure, but I knew a business degree would be most useful in my position. When I pulled back, I caught the hint of concern on Luca’s face before he masked it and I promised myself I’d show him that me doing something outside the penthouse, me getting a degree, wasn’t a risk for our marriage or his position as Capo.

  “With your hair and given our presence in the newspaper, people might recognize you,” Luca said.

  “And that would draw unnecessary attention,” I concluded. “How about I wear a wig? It worked for Gianna.”

  Luca frowned. “You and her together are a dangerous combination.”

  I leaned closer and pressed a kiss to his tense mouth. “Don’t worry. This time you’ll know everything. So what do you think? A wig. Perhaps you’ll like me better with brown hair.”

  “No,” he said, twisting a strand of my hair around his long, strong fingers. “Your hair is perfect. Like spun gold, nothing can come close to it.”

  I laughed. His fascination with my hair was almost cute. I’d lost count of the times he’d played with it.

  “A wig might work. Luckily, Romero is good at staying in the background and he hasn’t been in the public eye.”

  “It’s still months before I could even attend college. We’ll figure out everything then. If they accept me.”

  “They will,” Luca said without a doubt. I knew my grades had always been top-notch, but I had a feeling he would have his ways to get me accepted even if they weren’t.

  chapter 9

  LUCA

  “I have a bad feeling about today,” I said as I steered our car toward the Bardonis’ town house. Bardoni had been close with my father, one of the reasons why Matteo and I couldn’t stand the asshole. He was my Captain, not a good one, and his son was a fucking coward.

  “Because of Gianna and Matteo?” Aria asked with a small frown. “I know you’re worried because he took off her ankle monitor but she won’t try anything today.”

  I wasn’t worried about that. Since Matteo had caught Gianna a couple of weeks ago, they had either been fucking or fighting. And things had been fucking tense in the Famiglia because my uncles weren’t the only ones who thought making Gianna part of the Famiglia was a bad idea. I shared their opinion but couldn’t say so outright, not only because it would make me look weak to doubt my decision, but also because of Matteo and Aria.

  “Bardoni thinks his son should be Consigliere and because of Matteo’s decision to marry Gianna, some forces in the Famiglia agree.”

  Aria bit her lip. “I hate that you are having so many problems because of Gianna’s flight.”

  “I will silence my doubters eventually, but it’s a pain in the ass,” I said. Another bloody statement was inevitable at some point.

  Aria huffed out a laugh when we pulled up in the Bardonis’ driveway. “What is that?”

  I followed her gaze toward a massive angel carved out of ice that had been set up in the front yard. The entire yard sparkled in white and gold. “Bardoni likes to impress,” I muttered.

  Aria raised one pale eyebrow, and I squeezed her hand briefly before I got out of the car and dropped the pleasant expression.

  I opened Aria’s door for her when Matteo pulled up with his Porsche behind my Aston Martin.

  Aria sighed as she regarded me.

  “What?” I asked quietly.

  “Sometimes your expression scares me. I prefer the way you look behind closed doors.”

  I touched her back. “I know.”

  My eyes settled on Bardoni and his wife. Both were beaming at us, fucking fake smiles on their faces. I nudged Aria lightly and she followed me toward my Captain. He shook my hand before he took Aria’s and kissed it. He helped her out of her coat, his eyes darting toward her chest for the briefest moment. I leveled my gaze on him and he quickly stepped back, and turned his attention toward Matteo and Gianna.

  “Come on,” I said to Aria, touching the exposed skin of her back, and led her into the living room. My eyes did a quick scan of the guests—the majority were soldiers from New York but I recognized a few men from Philadelphia, among them Cassio. As I made my way toward him with Aria at my side, I said under my breath, “That’s Cassio Moretti.”

  “Son of Mansueto Moretti, Underboss of Philadelphia,” Aria finished with a smile. “I remember him from our wedding, Luca. I have a good memory. I know most of the men in this room, and the women too.”

  I nodded. Sometimes I forgot how clever Aria was, but I had seen her grades when I’d prepared everything for her application to NYU.

  Cassio straightened when he spotted me and I extended my hand for him to shake. Then his eyes moved on to Aria, respectfully. “It’s an honor meeting you again.”

  “The honor is all mine, Cassio,” she said with a sophisticated smile, looking up at my soldier. “How’s your wife doing? I heard she gave birth to your first child a few days ago.”

  I had forgotten about that. I gave Aria’s hand a light squeeze to show her my appreciation.

  “She’s recovering,” Cassio said, then his eyes moved back to me and I could tell he had business to discuss.

  Aria smiled, catching the silent message. “I’ll go talk to Mrs. Bardoni for a while.” She turned around and left, giving me a stunning view of her naked back.

  Cassio cleared his throat, his eyes on me, and I finally tore my own gaze away from Aria. “My father’s health isn’t improving. He can’t take care of business anymore.”

  “I will announce you as Underboss of Philadelphia in our next meeting.”

  Surprise crossed Cassio’s face. “I thought perhaps you wanted to give the posit
ion to one of your cousins to…”

  “To what?” I asked in a sharp voice.

  He met my gaze. “To appease your family.”

  I smiled darkly. “My family will bow down to my command if they know what’s good for them. You are loyal, and I prefer to reward loyalty than favor someone because of their blood.”

  Suddenly Gianna appeared at my side and gripped my forearm. I leveled my gaze on her, caught off guard by her closeness.

  “Luca, can you please come with me for a moment?” she asked in the most civil voice she’d ever directed at me. My body went into high alert at once.

  “Excuse me,” I told Cassio, who nodded and stepped back.

  Gianna didn’t loosen her grip as she led me out of the living room.

  “What the hell is going on?” I asked suspiciously. I didn’t trust the redhead one bit.

  “Matteo needs your help,” she whispered, her eyes darting to a door down the corridor.

  “Fuck,” I breathed. “Get back to the party and find Aria and Romero before people get suspicious about us being gone together.”

  She pursed her lips. “As if I would ever have a quickie with you.”

  “Don’t worry, the idea of fucking you excites me just as much.”

  I turned my back on her and headed for the door she’d indicated.

  “Matteo?” I growled, already losing my fucking patience though I didn’t even know what had happened. Knowing Gianna and Matteo, it couldn’t be anything good.

  Matteo opened the door and waved me in.

  “What do you want? Gianna didn’t say anything,” I began when I spotted Bardoni behind his desk with Matteo’s knife buried in the underside of his chin. “Oh fuck.”

  Matteo shrugged. “Bardoni had an accident.”

  I couldn’t fucking believe his nerve. He’d killed one of my Captains in his home, as if I needed more problems than I already had. “Fuck, Matteo, what did you do?”

  “If you ask me, I think good old Mr. Bardoni killed himself,” he said.

  I walked around the body. Few people killed themselves by shoving a knife up their throat. “It’s because of Gianna, isn’t it? Bardoni did or said something that annoyed you and you lost your shit. I knew the girl would bring nothing but trouble.”