Bound by Duty

by Cora Reilly

I flushed. “No, he mentioned once that he couldn’t get one up with women.” The words rushed out of me.

  “Who was his lover?” he asked casually, but I knew better than to trust his outward disinterest. His eyes revealed a hint of his fervor to get an answer from me. I had a feeling that he was trying to use my emotional state against me but I wasn’t that easily thrown off my guard.

  I shook my head. Frank was still alive and still very much not a member of the Familia. If Dante found out that Antonio had dated an outsider… I didn’t even want to consider the consequences. He wouldn’t stop until he found the person and I knew exactly what would happen to Frank then.

  “I can’t tell you. Please don’t make me.”

  Dante touched my upper arms without any pressure. “If it’s someone from the Familia I need to know, and if he isn’t…the Familia comes first. I need to protect all those setting their trust in me.”

  He would kill Frank, and maybe even have him tortured first to make sure Frank gave away the names of all the people who knew about Antonio.

  I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if that happened. I wanted to close my eyes against Dante’s piercing gaze but I knew it would have been a bad idea. “I can’t tell you. I won’t. I’m sorry, Dante, but no matter what you do, I won’t give you a name.”

  Anger flashed across Dante’s face, fiercer than yesterday. This was real fury and for the first time it was directed at me. What had Bibiana said? Dante didn’t tolerate disobedience. “You’ve lived a sheltered life, Valentina. I’ve had hardened men say the same to me, and in the end they gave up all their secrets.”

  “Then do what you have to do,” I snapped, pulling away. “Cut off my toes and feed them to me. Beat me, burn me, cut me, but I’d rather die than be responsible for the death of an innocent man.”

  “So he’s an outsider.”

  I stared at him agape. That’s what he gathered from my outburst? God, he was good at this. He hadn’t even hurt as much as a hair on my head and had already got information out of me. “I didn’t say that.”

  But it was too late. Dante smirked. “You didn’t have to.” His eyes were keen and eager. He looked like someone on the hunt. “If Antonio took his lover home, I assume you’ve met him and know his name and can describe him to me.”

  I pressed my lips together, glowering at him. Not in one million years would I tell him what he wanted to know. I’d already said too much. I’d have to be more vigilant in the future.

  Dante came closer again. He touched my hips and despite everything, the simple touch sent tongues of fire through my belly. I wanted him, maybe more than ever before. What was it that made dangerous men so irresistible?

  “Aren’t you loyal to me?” he murmured. “Don’t you think you owe me the truth? Don’t you think it’s your duty? Not only because I’m the Boss of the Outfit but because I’m your husband.”

  “And you owe me a decent wedding night. As my husband it should be your duty to take care of my needs. I suppose we both will have to live with the disappointment.”

  His mask cracked. Without warning, he gripped me and whirled me around so my back was pressed against his chest.

  “I’m a patient hunter, Valentina,” Dante said in a low voice that I could feel all the way to my core. “You will tell me what I want to know eventually.” His hand slid down my side to my thigh, lingering there for a moment, making me hold my breath in anticipation and confusion. He pushed up my nightgown as he stroked his way up to my panties. I shivered and pressed myself even harder against his chest. The crisp fabric of his shirt rustled at the contact. It was a strangely erotic sound. Dante slipped a finger under the lacy fabric of my panties and brushed my folds. I whimpered, already wet and aching from our argument and his closeness. I wasn’t sure why he was suddenly touching me or what had brought on that change of mind, and I didn’t care as long as he kept touching me. He dipped his fingers between my lower lips and his breathing deepened. “You want this?”

  “Yes,” I hissed, rubbing myself shamelessly against his hand, but his other arm came around my waist and held me fast. “I want you, Dante.”

  “Tell me what I want to know.” He stroked his fingers slowly back and forth. The slow sensual assault was making me breathe heavily. I was already so close. My body had waited too long for this. My legs started to shake and I threw my head back against Dante’s shoulders. “Don’t you want me?” I panted, instead of what he wanted to hear. His finger brushed my clit as if in answer, and I came apart with a small cry as ecstasy exploded through me. Dante’s arm around my waist kept me upright, strong and unyielding, as I trembled under my climax.

  “I do. That’s the problem,” he growled. Suddenly, he let me go and stepped back. I gripped the window sill to stop myself from falling to the floor. I whirled around, my pulse still pounding in my veins, but Dante was already on his way out of the room.

  What had just happened?

  CHAPTER NINE

  Dante didn’t come to bed that night. I waited for a long time, unable to fall asleep, too confused by what had happened. He’d admitted he wanted me, had touched me, but then he’d pulled back. Why? When I woke the next morning, his side of the bed was untouched, and when I walked into the dining room thirty minutes later, his newspaper lay discarded beside a clean plate.

  Worried, I approached his office. It was silent behind the door but that didn’t mean anything. I knocked, then entered without waiting for a reply. I didn’t want to give Dante the chance to put up his defenses. Maybe if I caught him by surprise again we’d get somewhere. Dante sat behind a black wood desk and narrowed his eyes when I entered his office for the first time. Maybe he felt like I’d encroached on his personal space again by entering.

  My eyes settled on the silver picture frame on his desk. A picture of his smiling first wife. It sat in the middle of the desk as if he’d hastily put it down when I’d opened the door. There weren’t any other photos in the room.

  My stomach lurched violently. Trying to hide my hurt, I met his disapproving gaze. “What are you doing here?”

  “This is my home too, isn’t it?”

  “Of course it is, but this is my office and I need to work.”

  “You always do. I wanted to see if you were alright.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t I be?

  “Why? Because you acted very strange yesterday. One moment you’re touching me and the next you can’t get away fast enough from me.”

  “You don’t know anything about me, Valentina.”

  I interrupted him. “I know, and I want to change that, but you keep pushing me away.”

  Dante stood and ran a hand through his hair. “I never wanted to get married again. For good reason.” Again he made it sound as if this marriage had been my idea, as if I had had any say in the matter.

  “I didn’t ask you to marry me!” I had enough. I turned on my heel and stormed out of his office, making sure I slammed the door as hard as possible. It was a childish thing to do. I could hear it open again and Dante’s steps behind me. He caught up with me and grabbed my wrist, pulling me to a stop.

  “You have an impossible temper,” he growled.

  I glared at him. “That’s your fault.”

  “This marriage has always been for logical reasons. I told you that.”

  “But that doesn’t mean we can’t try to make it a real marriage. There are no logical reasons why we shouldn’t sleep with each other. You slept with prostitutes, so why can’t you sleep with me?”

  “Because I was angry and I wanted to fuck someone. I wanted it rough and hard. I wasn’t looking for closeness or tenderness or whatever it is you want. I took whatever pleasure I wanted, and then I left. What you’re looking for, I can’t give you. The part that was capable of it died with my wife, and it won’t come back.”

  “You don’t know what I want. Maybe we want the same thing.” My voice was a bare whisper.

  He scoffed. “I can see in your eyes that
it’s not true. You want to make love, but I can’t give you that. I do want to possess you, want to own every part of you, but not for the reasons you want me to. I’m a heartless bastard, Valentina. Don’t try to see anything else in me. The business suit and emotionless face is the thin layer covering up the fucking abyss that’s my soul and heart. Don’t try to glimpse beneath it, you won’t like what you find.”

  I was too stunned for a comeback. Instead I watched him return to his office.

  ***

  I spent the rest of the day considering my options. Dante didn’t want emotional attachment. He didn’t even want tenderness. Rough and hard, that were the words he used for the sex he’d sought from prostitutes. He was right. It wasn’t what I wanted, but over the years I’d learned that sometimes you had to settle for the lesser evil to reach some form of happiness. I wanted to have sex with Dante, maybe not the same way Dante did, but who said I wouldn’t like it? And he hadn’t exactly said that he’d be rough with me. He’d only said that I shouldn’t expect fluff and loving gestures from him. I could live with that, couldn’t I?

  I wanted to be desired by him. Maybe that would be as good as being loved by him.

  It was almost time for dinner but I was hungry for something else as I undressed quickly in our bedroom before I could change my mind and slipped a bathrobe on. I couldn’t walk naked through the house.

  My stomach fluttering with nerves, I headed downstairs and toward Dante’s office. I knocked, and this time I waited for him to call me in as I didn’t want to start this seduction attempt with a fight, even if our argument in the bedroom yesterday had been a huge turn-on for me. He opened the door without a word. His cool eyes slid over my body. I wondered if he could tell that I was naked beneath the thin material of my bathrobe.

  “Can I come in?”

  He stepped back and I walked in. I could hear the door close and then Dante strode past me and turned to me with an inquiring expression. “What’s going on?”

  “I made up my mind.”

  “About what?”

  I opened my bathrobe. “About us. About sex.”

  Dante’s eyes darkened. Clenching his jaw, he shook his head and began to turn away. “You should leave.”

  “Don’t turn your back on me. Look at me. I think I deserve at least that small decency, Dante.”

  Tension radiated off of him when he turned around to me. He didn’t move closer but he was looking at me. For once, he didn’t pretend I was invisible. His blue eyes wandered over my exposed body.

  My nipples hardened in the cool air of his office but I didn’t close my silk bathrobe, despite the overwhelming urge to cover myself against Dante’s cold scrutiny. His gaze lingered on the apex of my thighs slightly longer than on the rest of my body and a small burst of hope filled me. How much control did he have? “Am I your wife?”

  His brows drew together. “Of course, you are.” There was the hint of something I couldn’t place in his voice.

  “Then claim your rights, Dante. Make me yours.”

  He didn’t move, but his eyes slid down to my erect nipples. His gaze was almost something physical, like a ghost touch on my naked skin, but it wasn’t nearly enough. I wanted to feel his fingers between my legs again, wanted to feel them on every inch of my body, wanted to come until I lost track of all my problems.

  I wasn’t above begging. I knew I almost had him, could see in the tight set of his shoulders, in the unhinged look in his eyes. I wanted to have sex tonight. “I have needs too. Would you prefer if I found a lover who relieved you of the burden to touch me?” I wasn’t sure I could go through with it. No, I knew I couldn’t go through with it, but this act of provocation was my last option. If Dante didn’t react to that, then I didn’t know what else to do.

  “No,” he said sharply, something angry and possessive breaking through his perfect mask. He pressed his lips together, jaw locked, and walked toward me. I shivered with need and excitement when he stopped in front of me. He didn’t reach for me but I thought I detected the hint of desire in his eyes. It wasn’t much, but enough to embolden me. I bridged the remaining distance between us and curled my fingers over his strong shoulders, pressing my naked body against his front. The rough material of his business suit rubbed deliciously against my sensitive nipples and I let out a small moan. The pressure between my legs was almost unbearable. Dante’s eyes flashed as he looked down at me. Slowly he wrapped an arm around me and rested his palm flat against my lower back. I wished he’d move it lower. I didn’t think I’d ever been so desperate for someone else’s touch, not even when I had to listen to Antonio fuck Frank in the room next door.

  Sweet triumph flooded me. Dante wasn’t ignoring me now.

  I tilted my head up to look into his face. Whatever desire I’d thought I’d seen was gone, his walls up and impenetrable. I stood on my tiptoes, desperate for a real kiss, but Dante’s hand on my back tightened and he didn’t angle his face down, making it impossible for me to brush my lips against his. He didn’t want me to kiss him. I couldn’t take this anymore. I’d thrown myself at him naked, had offered him my body and myself, and still he refused me. I wrenched away from him, feeling dirty and cheap. Avoiding his eyes, I whirled around, clutched my bathrobe closed and hurried out of his office. I crossed the lobby and ran up the stairs. This was it. I wouldn’t try again. I’d have to accept that Dante didn’t desire me enough, that he wouldn’t sleep with me for whatever silly reasons he’d listed until it was absolutely necessary to produce an heir.

  I stumbled into the bedroom and flung myself on the bed. For a moment, a rush of despair and sadness gripped my body, but I didn’t let it win. I’d survived a marriage with Antonio. I could survive a loveless marriage with Dante. Some day I would have beautiful children I could love and who would love me back and until then I could deal. I wasn’t the first woman in our world who had to live with a cold bastard as a husband, and I definitely wouldn’t be the last. At least, I didn’t have an abusive asshole like Tommaso as a husband. That had to count for something.

  And I would just have to take care of my other needs as I had done in the last few years. I rolled onto my back. I was still angry, still embarrassed and disappointment, but I was also still aroused. I closed my eyes and slipped my hand down my body and between my legs. I began stroking myself, imagining it were Dante’s fingers teasing me again, remembering the brief flicker of desire in his eyes that I’d probably imagined. My breathing came faster as I caressed my sensitive nub. I was getting closer. A moan slipped out of my lips, and there was a sharp intake of breath.

  My eyes flew open and I stared at Dante; he stood in the doorway, hand on the door handle and eyes on me. For once they didn’t look cold. God, how long had he been watching me?

  I jerked my hand out between my legs, mortification slamming through me like a wrecking ball. I clutched my bathrobe against my chest and scrambled for the edge of the bed. I couldn’t stay in a room with Dante, not after what he’d just seen. I’d embarrassed myself enough today, but Dante barred my way, suddenly in front of me. His tall form loomed over me. I threw my head back to meet his gaze. They were more animated than I’d ever seen them. He looked almost angry. “No,” he said quietly.

  I wasn’t quite sure what he meant. Then he leaned over me until I lay flat on my back again and he towered above me. His jacket fell open and encased me to both sides like a soft prison. I searched his face. I could feel myself getting more aroused from his proximity and the look on his face. He braced himself on one arm and brought one knee between my legs, forcing them apart.

  My heart pounded in my chest. Would he finally do what I’d been waiting for? For a long time he only glared down at me, and I almost expected him to pull away again but instead he cupped my breast and I arched my back up with a needy moan. His eyes slid down to his hand, and he pinched my nipple, harder than I’d anticipated. Pleasure cursed like lightning through my body all the way down to my center. I needed him to touch me there, needed i
t more than food, than water, than air. Dante pinched and tugged my nipple, his eyes dark and intent as he watched me. I’d caressed my breasts a few times over the years, but it had never done much for me, but Dante’s firm touch sent sweet tingles through my core. He leaned down, the rough fabric of his jacket brushing my side, and captured my nipple between his lips.

  I arched up with a mewl, pressing my breasts against his face, but Dante’s hand gripped my hip and held me down. He sucked my nipple hard again, making arousal pool between my legs. I squirmed, tried to rub myself against his knee still wedged between my thighs, but his hand kept me in place. Not being able to move as I wanted to wasn’t something I’d ever considered something I’d find sexy, but boy had a I been wrong.

  Dante bit down lightly on my nipple, his teeth lightly scraping my sensitive skin, and I almost came. I’d already been so close before. He released my nipple, which was red and hard from his attention. His eyes on my face, he trailed his hand down my side. I couldn’t look away from his beautiful cold face, mesmerized by the heat in his eyes. There was something dark and feral and angry in them. He hooked his fingers under my thigh and pulled my legs further apart. I trembled with anticipation. “Tell me now if you want this,” he said in a low voice. How could he even doubt my desire for him?

  “I want this.”

  “Good.” He drew my other nipple into his mouth with a dark smile and flicked his tongue over it as he slid two fingers over my mound and pressed down on my clit. Spears of pleasure shot from my core and through my entire body. It felt as if I was coming apart at the seams as my orgasm rocked through me. I rocked my hips desperately. Dante watched me calmly as I shivered beneath him, his fingers still pressed against my sensitive nub. Slowly I came down from my high. I was embarrassed that I’d come this fast, when he’d barely touched me, but I lifted my chin defiantly despite my embarrassment. If he hadn’t let me wait for so long, I wouldn’t be this easily aroused.

  Dante released a long breath through his nose, his jaw flexing. Then he eased his fingers between my folds. His nostrils flared as he slowly pushed two fingers into me. My muscles tightened around him and I sucked in a quick breath at the foreign intrusion. It wasn’t painful, only slightly uncomfortable. I’d occasionally put one finger into me but never understood the appeal. This however was amazing. Dante lowered his gaze and watched his fingers as they moved in and out of me. It felt incredible, better than I had ever made myself feel. His steady motion made me pant.