“N-no, I’m not,” she whispered nervously.
“Good,” he said as he lowered his lips to hers. He kissed the corners of her mouth gently at first and then he wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her up against him.
Her breath mixed with the woody scent of matured wine filled his lungs as she let out a huff of air parting her lips involuntarily. That was all he needed, her approval. He slanted his lips against hers and swept his tongue along het bottom lip and into her mouth. At first take, it was as if her jaw was locked, but as his tongue kept teasing hers, she relaxed and she returned his kiss. He slipped his other hand under her long tresses of hair and cupped the back of her neck as he deepened the kiss, drawing out a soft moan from her. This was more potent than he expected he suddenly realized as his body responded to hers. Should he go all the way now, or slowly draw her into his world, hook line and sinker?
Unable to think straight with the urgency of his arousal soaring to new heights, he dropped his hands to her hips and effortlessly lifted her unto a barrel. But the moment he did this, she protested and tore her lips away.
“This isn’t right, I hardly know you,” she uttered breathlessly.
“Bello, we are two adults, what are you worried about?” he asked, circling his thumbs on the inside of her knees where he stood between her legs.
“Louis, please let me go,” she pleaded but made no attempt to move.
“This is your no, when you really mean to say yes?” he asked teasingly as he tried to kiss her again, but she turned her head away.
“I-I’m not ready for this,” she said and pushed his hands away, “I’ve never…”
“Never, what?” he asked curiously as he tilted her chin up to look into her eyes, “Kissed in a winery?”
His arousal was painful and he was trying really hard to keep this as light hearted as possible. Usually he had more control than this.
“Kissed? No, I mean… ugh,” she huffed and shoved him away from her then slid off the barrel, “I don’t make it a habit of having sex with men I hardly know,” she spat out and fixed her dress, “what would you think of me if I were to throw myself at you like a whore?”
This was the closest thing to a cold shower he could have asked for. Did she genuinely think that giving of herself will put her in the same class as a cheap whore? He cursed himself mentally but remained composed, and despite his raging desire he smiled and reached for her hand, then turned it over and kissed the inside of her wrist.
“I suppose we should start to work towards that second date then,” he said and then let go of her hand.
“Come, I’m sure everyone is wondering where we disappeared to.”
That was the quickest Samantha ever sobered up. One moment her head was spinning with wine and the next Louis was kissing her. And it was not just any kiss. It was the type of kiss that made your toes curl and your knees buckle. But everything was happening too soon. She came here thinking it would be a visit, hardly expecting to meet such a man like Louis. Not to mention one who would consider her worthy of his company.
Back home she was always the odd one out, with her friends landing all the hot guys. She was the designated driver who didn’t drink, didn’t fool around and made sure everyone got home safe and sound. She was also last on the picking list when it came to the men in her circles.
She followed Louis back to the Villa and tried to make sense of it all, but with him in front of her, larger than life, it was near impossible. The way his muscles flexed under his white dress shirt when he walked was simply hypnotizing, not to mention the way his back tapered down to his waist. He was the epitome of Anteros himself, the Italian god of love and passion. And she was in serious trouble.
Chapter 6
The week flew by and every day Belinda spent in Louis’ company she slowly warmed up to him. Some days they would casually spent time together; steal a chaste kiss or two. Other days, she would merely sit by and watch how he ran the business. On those days, she saw a different side of him, one she wasn’t sure she liked. He was demanding, refusing to take no for an answer. Although she did not quite agree with his methods, she respected him. Besides, soon she will go back to New York, to her own restaurant doing what she loved.
She was seated on one of the sofas on the terrace waiting for Louis to fetch her and take her into town when her father came to sit beside her. Again, she noticed the somber expression that made him look years his age.
“Papa, I’m worried about you, you don’t look well,” she said as she shifted closer resting her head on his shoulder.
“I’m perfectly fine, you fuss like your mother,” he said and took her hand in his.
Belinda laughed and kissed his cheek, “I am a chip off the old block. Someone must see to it that you are happy and healthy.”
“I’m a grown man,” he said and there was a brief silence, before he spoke again.
“Louis is a good man,” he started and she instantly knew where this was heading.
“He’s a fine man, just a pity he’s all the way out here.”
Her father turned to her and took both her hands in his, “Belinda, I’m not getting any younger; I wish that you will marry before my time passes on earth.”
Woah where did that come from, she wondered as she studied her father. He can’t possibly consider her marrying Louis. Her life was in New York and even if Louis was marriage material, she would never give up El Pescore.
“Oh papa, that’s utter nonsense. You are still as strong as a stallion. And the day I marry and have children you will be there to witness it in the flesh,” she reassured him.
“You and Louis get on well,” he said and looked into the distance as if he had more to say.
What was the sudden interest in Louis, and why did she suddenly feel a heavy weight settle in the pit of her stomach? She glanced across the lawn to where Louis was pacing up and down talking on his cell. This is just a fling, nothing more, she told herself and smiled at her father.
“We get on well papa, he’s a good man, but I just don’t think marriage is in his immediate future.”
Her father was silent and the heavy weight that slowly settled in the pit of her stomach now consumed all her internal organs including her heart.
Papa is just showing concern and sharing his hopes, she convinced herself, but this gnawing voice in the back of her mind kept asking her, what was really going on. She looked up and noticed Louis crossing the lawn towards them and as he drew nearer her father got up and kissed her forehead.
“I must go meet with Stefano,” he said then nodded at Louis then headed back into the house.
She was still looking at her father when Louis came to sit next to her and wrapped his arm around her, kissing the nape of her neck, “You look troubled,” he said nuzzling her neck.
“Oh no I’m fine,” she said smiling, “it’s just papa, he seems very depressed lately.”
“I’m sure he will be fine,” Louis said and took her hand, “if you want, I can talk to him.”
She laughed softly and shook her head, “No that won’t be necessary, I’m sure he’s just home sick.”
“That might be it,” he said and pulled her to her feet. “So are you ready to go to town?”
“Si, I’m ready!” she said laughing and just like that her mood shifted. Louis knew exactly how to make her feel better, and for a moment she wondered, what if…
Chapter 7
They spent most of the day in town, and Louis was not shy to flash his credit card either and he went out of his way to spoil her. Although she felt somewhat guilty, she simply convinced herself to enjoy it while it lasts. One more week and she will be back at the grind stone and this entire period of her life would be over.
“We’re just in time for dinner,” he said as they entered the house.
The rich aroma of sautéing onions, butter and roast beef filled the air and her stomach rumbled loud enough for her to hear it.
“Well my stomach has spok
en, I’m starving,” she giggled and led the way to the dinner table, but her appetite soon faded when she detected the somber mood that hung heavily in the air. She glanced at her father, then at Stefano, but neither of the two said a word. When Louis entered, he also suddenly became withdrawn and quiet. Maybe she was just imagining things she thought and sat down when Louis pulled her chair out for her.
Stefano mumbled something in Italian under his breath, which she couldn’t quite hear, but whatever it was, it clearly annoyed Louis. Did his father not approve of the fact that he spent so much time with her, she wondered briefly. But as the whispers became more urgent the mood catapulted into a driven force of negativity.
“I did not raise a coward for a son,” Stefano piped up loudly.
“I told you I will get it done,” Louis responded, and shoved his plate away from him.
She looked towards her father where he sat with a serious expression that troubled his face and she could stand it no longer.
“Excuse me, but what’s going on?”
“We will talk after dinner,” Louis said in an icy tone.
“No! We will talk now. This cannot wait any longer,” his father demanded.
What on earth was going on here? Just a few minutes ago, this place was buzzing with excitement, now it felt like the grim reaper was about to collect his souls.
“Now is not the time,” Louis said through gritted teeth as he stood up and glared at his father.
“No other time is better.”
“Enough!” It was her father who spoke aloud finally.
“Belinda, you will marry Louis in a week’s time,” her father ordered.
She looked from one to the other, trying to determine if she heard correctly.
“Excuse me?” she asked in a shrill voice, “did I hear you correctly?”
“You heard me, in a week you will marry Louis,” her father said flatly.
She could not believe her ears, her own father literally just ordered her to marry Louis. This cannot be happening, she thought as she desperately grasped for a response in the recesses of her mind.
“Papa, I don’t even know him, how can you expect me to do such a thing?” she said in disbelief, but this time Stefano stood up.
“This is not a request, your parents promised you to my son when you were just a bambino, and the time has come for them to be true to their word,” he said flatly.
“What?!” both Belinda and Louis exclaimed at the same time.
She glared at her father and then at Stefano. How could her father have made such a promise on her behalf? And as the initial shock subsided, anger and rage replaced that empty space in her soul.
“You cannot make me marry a man I hardly know! What about love and commitment where does that fit into the picture…” she started but just then Louis placed his hand over hers.
She whipped her head around and glared at him, “And you! You knew all about this arrangement, didn’t you?” she retorted and laughed incredulously, “this was all just a game to you wasn’t it?”
“Belinda…” Louis said, but she wouldn’t let him talk.
“All this time, charming me, kissing me, taking me out shopping, it was all a ploy for you to get me to marry you, wasn’t it?”
Tears were pooling in her eyes, but they were not because of sadness, they were filled with bitterness and anger.
“That’s enough,” Stefano roared as he shoved his chair back across the floor, “You will marry my son and that is final.”
She glared at Stefano with utter hatred, wishing she could scratch his eyes out, but then she caught a glance of her father’s worried gaze. Louis had also stood up and was trying to drag her away from the dinner table, but she would have none of it and she tugged her arm free.
“You’re acting like a bunch of hooligans, my god, this is not the mafia, what is wrong with all of you?” she cried out, but the silence she was greeted with was so deafening you could hear a pin drop. She looked at her father, then at Stefano and lastly, at Louis. All three with their eyes cast down liked accused criminals. And then it hit her. Impossible, she thought, they can’t possibly be a part of the mafia.
“Oh god papa, tell me it isn’t true?” she pleaded as the room started to spin. “Please papa, don’t make me do this,” she begged and before she could utter another word, the room went completely black.
Louis caught Belinda just as she toppled over and without as much as a glance at the two older men he carried her upstairs to her room. This was a bad idea from the start and right now he hated himself. He gently laid her down on her bed and instructed one of the servants to keep an eye on her and then headed back downstairs.
“Cosa stavi pensando!” he ground out as he confronted his father, “I told you I would handle this, I do not see the point of rushing such a decision.”
“The girl will be fine once she comes to terms with everything,” his father said callously.
“Why the sudden rush?” he demanded looking from his father to Gino.
“It is the only way we can strengthen our ties in the United States. With our families united, we’ll be the most prominent and the most influential family, a true force to be reckoned with,” his father stated.
“At the cost of your daughter’s happiness?” he bit out turning his attention to Gino.
“We have all had to sacrifice one thing or the other Louis; it’s a small price to pay.”
Unbelievable! He couldn’t comprehend how her father was capable of betraying his own daughter like that.
He looked at them for a moment then straightened up.
“From now on, you will both stay out of our affairs. To claim her hand in marriage would need a miracle, and I hope for your sakes that God will be kind enough to soften her heart, so I hope you visit confession before Sunday mass.”
Furious with his father, Gino and himself, he stormed out. He needed to figure out how he was going to fix this.
Chapter 8
The next day Belinda was packed and ready to leave. She wanted nothing to do with her father, and as far as the Angelinos were concerned, they could all burn in hell. She was not some possession to be put on auction for the next best bidder. She was a woman in her own right.
While standing at the window, waiting for a cab to arrive she replayed every single detail of the past week. What hurt even more than the betrayal of her father, was the fact that Louis had no affection towards her. All this time he simply baited her, just so that he could reel her in like a fish. She was nothing but a business deal.
There was a slight knock on the door, which she ignored, just like the knock from earlier that happened to be a servant bringing her breakfast, which had gone untouched. There was another knock, and when she didn’t answer the door opened slowly.
“Belinda, can we talk?”
Speak of the devil! She thought as she glared at Louis, she had nothing to say to him other than the fact that she hated him.
“I was not aware of the arrangement between our parents, you have to believe me,” he said and came to stand next to her, “that was a surprise to me too.”
She tried to tune him out and shifted her weight leaning away from him. Even with his betrayal, her body still reacted to his closeness and her heart cramped painfully. Her attraction to him just made her hate him more.
“Say something,” he said quietly.
She could sense that his eyes were pinned on her but just then, and much to her relief, she saw the cab arriving.
“I have nothing to say to you Louis,” she said bitterly and gathered her luggage. But Louis was quick to stop her from taking another step and blocked her way.
“You’re not the only one who has been forced into doing things you don’t want to do. And I am just as caught up in this mess as you are.”
She glared at him and dropped her bags to the floor, “Let’s get one thing straight, NO one on this god forsaken earth is going to tell me how to live my life, least of all tell me who I will a
nd will not marry. I am done with these games so I suggest you step aside.”
She was taken aback when Louis suddenly laughed incredulously.
“I’m glad you find this so amusing.” she scowled.
The one moment Louis was laughing, and the next he had a deadpan look on his face with his lips tightly pursed. She could see the tiny muscle flex in his jaw, and when he stepped forward and stood so close she could feel his breath fan his face, she felt scared for the first time.
“You do not choose your family in the mafia, you’re born into it tesorina, and once you are a part of them, everything you own becomes theirs. Your business, your home even your bambinos and trust me there is no way out of it. So if you want the brutal truth, here it is. We are getting married, whether you like it or not.”
Impulsively Belinda raised her hand to slap him in the face, but he gripped her wrist firmly and tugged her against him and with his lips pressed against her hair, he whispered, “La calma è la virtù dei forti – the calm is the virtue of the strong.”
He left her with those words, which at that very moment meant absolutely nothing to her. When she looked back out the window, she saw the cab driving out of the gates.
Chapter 9
Belinda spent the next two days locked in her room, refusing to talk to her father or to Louis. Her life as she knew it was over. She was part of the mafia now, and organized crime was going to be a part of her future. She supposed she was always a part of it, just ignorant of her role. She was surprised that no-one came to put a tracking bracelet on her ankle to track her every move, since she should be considered a flight risk. If she had it her way, she would be sneaking out in the dead of night to flee this god forsaken fortress.
She took her out her laptop and rested it on her lap, and while she waited for it to start up, she couldn’t help but wonder if they were screening her calls and internet activity. If they were, then tuff luck, she thought as she logged into her E-mail account. She had nothing to hide, and she sure as hell would not let anyone intimidate her.
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