by T. O. Smith
She would be waiting a long time.
Besides, Salvatore never said I had to give him children right away, just that I would eventually.
If they never showed up, then oh well. Hopefully, I would be married to him long enough for them to rid the world of my family.
She turned to Vincent, and he scowled at his mother, though I could still see the love and respect he had for her. “Madre, I do not wish to marry.” He told her before she could open her mouth to say anything.
Salvatore chuckled as he wrapped his arm around my waist. “Welcome to the Bianchi family, mia bella." He told me softly.
My heart skipped a beat in my chest. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to belong to another family.
My last one had made me fearful of the word.
“Is dinner ready yet?” Jesup asked. “Because I smell your grandmother’s old spaghetti recipe, and it smells amazing.”
“It just finished.” Vincent stated.
Salvatore turned me towards the direction of the dining room. He pulled out a chair for me beside the one at the head of the table. I sent him a thankful smile and took a seat, watching as he took his at the head of the table after waiting for me to be seated. His mother sat across from me. “Oh, tesoro, I cannot wait to teach you the family recipes.” She gushed. “Have you ever cooked before?” I opened my mouth to speak, and then she sighed. “Oh, forgive me, darling. I forgot that you just got out of prison.”
I resisted the urge to smile. I loved her bluntness.
"Madre.” Salvatore snapped, clenching his jaw.
“No, it’s fine.” I assured him. He looked over at me, his expression softening when he realized I truly wasn’t bothered. I hated people that tiptoed around my time inside. His mother was refreshing.
“What did you go to the prison for?” His mother asked me, cocking her head to the side slightly.
I sighed. “I got charged with a number of things.” I admitted. “But what landed me there was absolute stupidity. I was doing a run with my brother - Robert. It was a set up. Another biker club was there instead of the one we were originally supposed to be selling to, and everything went to shit. One of the men managed to get his hands on me, and he stuffed a chloroform rag under my nose, knocking me out.”
I tapped my fingers lightly on the table, swallowing down the anger and hatred I had towards my family. With a calm voice, I forced myself to continue. “My brother didn’t fight for me - he left me behind. He just went on back home. Pops didn’t care too much either. I was held captive for a few days - the club trying to get some kind of information out of me, but I kept my lips sealed.”
I blew out a soft breath. “I managed to get my hands on one of the men’s guns, and I shot both guards who were standing watch outside of the room I was in, and I shot the president and vice president before I took off running.” Giorgia sucked in a sharp breath. “I passed out from dehydration and hunger about a mile from their club house. I was picked up there, taken to the hospital, and then once I was stable, I got locked up and slapped with every charge they could put on me.”
“Murder wasn’t on your report.” Salvatore stated, looking over at me.
I shrugged at him, though I also knew it wasn’t. “Guess no one reported that I killed four men.”
He suddenly reached over and cupped my chin, his thumb rubbing softly over my cheek. “You’ll never have to go through that kind of hell nor worry about that kind of betrayal any longer, mia bella.” He swore gently.
And just like that, he dropped his hand again and turned his attention to his father, striking up a conversation with him as if he hadn’t just made my heart beat extremely fast.
I was going to end up falling in love with Salvatore, and extremely hard and fast at that.
Which was another reason Salvatore was so damn dangerous.
✣ ✣ ✣
I groaned in protest at the sound of the alarm clock blaring on Salvatore’s nightstand. He instantly turned it off and sat up. I rolled onto my stomach, burying my arms under the pillow so I could bury my face in the crook of my arm.
It was too fucking early to be awake.
“Come on, mia bella.” Salvatore told me. I could hear the smirk in his voice. It was his damn fault that I was so fucking tired to begin with. The man was insatiable. “We have work today.”
“I quit.” I grumbled.
Salvatore laughed and slid out of bed, leaving me in the warmth and comfort of the blankets and mattress. I was almost back asleep when his arms came around me, lifting me from the bed. “Why?” I whined as I rested my head on his shoulder.
“Because you’re my PA, amore.” He reminded me. He stepped into his shower, using his hip to slide the door closed after us. The hot water ran over me, and I sighed, knowing I was waking up whether I wanted to or not.
“This is unfair.” I muttered.
Salvatore smirked at me as he gently set me on my feet. “You have an hour, mia bella.” He told me, stepping out of the shower.
I sighed, realizing he had already taken his shower without me while I was lazing around in bed. With an aggravated sigh, I hurriedly bathed and washed my hair. After scrambling around to get ready, an hour later I was down the stairs. Salvatore was already waiting on me, his car keys in his hand. “Ready?” He asked.
“Yeah, I think so.” I told him.
He shook his head with a small smile on his lips, obviously amused by the fact that I was certainly not a morning person. We rode the elevator down to the underground parking garage. When we finally made it to the office, it was well after nine, and we were both very late. I mean, I guess it didn’t really matter since he was the boss, but being his wife shouldn’t give me special privileges, especially since I had just started working here.
“Check my calendar for me.” Salvatore demanded, falling into his CEO mode. I nodded at him. “Let me know about any meetings that I have today. Any that I missed yesterday, I need you to call them and reschedule them.” He told me.
“Got it.” I let him know, making a mental note in my head.
We stepped out of the elevator, and Salvatore put his phone to his ear, striding into his office. I sighed and sat at my desk, pulling up the laptop on my desk to go into the calendar.
Around ten thirty, my desk phone went off. I answered it instantly. “Sasha Reids.” I answered, forgetting to use my new last name now that I was actually a Bianchi.
“It’s incredibly easy to get through to Salvatore’s employees.” Pops’s voice rang through the line, making the blood in my veins go ice cold. My hand tightened around the phone. “He really should put better security measures up if he plans on hiding my daughter from me. The receptionist who answered was all too willing to let me know you were in today.”
Fuck.
I forced myself to push aside the fear. I hadn’t been raised a fucking little bitch, and I did what I had to in order to survive. Rationality before fear – always.
“I see you haven’t changed.” I snarled softly into the phone. “Still hiding behind others?” I taunted.
“You always did have a smart-ass mouth, Sasha.” Pops snapped. I smirked. I had gotten under his skin. “I’ve told you numerous times that mouth of yours will only land you in a heap of fucking trouble.”
Yeah, trust me, I hadn’t forgotten the beatings.
“Why are you calling me?” I demanded to know, wanting to cut this conversation short.
“To warn you to get a divorce from Salvatore Bianchi, or I will destroy that entire family.” He warned me. I swallowed thickly. “I will make you watch me torture every single one of them before I slit your throat, daughter. Do not test me. You have six days.”
With that, He hung up the phone, and with shaky hands, I placed my phone back on the receiver. Then, I grabbed my trash can and threw up into it.
Now, I could give in to the fear.
“Ah, fanculo, Sasha, are you alright?” I heard Vincent ask.
I dry heaved a couple of mor
e times, not being able to answer him. A few moments later, I pushed the trash can aside and dropped my face into my hands, desperately trying to collect myself. “Mia bella, talk to me.” I heard Salvatore demand softly.
I looked up from my hands to find him kneeling in front of me, his eyes running over my features worriedly. I covered my mouth with my hand, not wanting him to smell my vomit breath. “Do you have some gum?” I asked quietly.
“Here.” Vincent said, pulling out a pack and handing me a piece. I quickly unwrapped it and shoved it into my mouth, chewing on it to get the taste and smell out of my mouth. “Alright, amore, I need you to talk to me.” Salvatore told me once he had given me enough time to get the taste and smell out of my mouth.
I spit the gum into the trash can and pushed it further away. “Pops called.” I informed him.
Anger flared in Salvatore’s eyes as he rubbed my thighs gently, somehow managing to keep me calm with his touch. “What did he say?” Salvatore demanded.
“I’ve got six days to divorce you.” I told him.
Salvatore shook his head. “That wouldn’t have made you physically sick, mia bella. What else did he say?”
Damn, he was good.
“That he was going to force me to watch him torture all of you before he finally killed me if I didn’t.” I admitted.
My stomach churned at the thought. I had been there numerous times when he had tortured someone, and just the thought of him possibly getting his hands on Salvatore or any of the Bianchis made me want to throw up again.
Salvatore spoke in rapid Italian to Vincent so fast that I couldn’t begin to understand what the words were, much less understand what he was saying. Vincent nodded and walked off back to the elevators. Before Salvatore could say anything more, a feminine voice spoke up, making us both look up to see a young blonde woman in a pale pink professional dress with matching heels striding towards us.
“I’m here to meet with - oh.” She said, her eyes widening at the scene in front of her.
“You don’t have an appointment.” I automatically snapped, jealousy rushing through my veins when I saw the way she looked at Salvatore - she looked hurt.
Salvatore stood up to his full height, but he didn’t leave my side. “Ashley, why are you here?” He demanded. “I fired you three months ago.”
Her face turned red - with embarrassment or rage I couldn’t be sure. She tilted her chin up defiantly. “I’m here to see if you could get in touch with Vincent for me.” She told him.
“And why do you need my brother?” He demanded to know.
She swallowed hard, opening her mouth to say something, but she obviously decided against it, closing her mouth right afterwards. “I - I’d prefer to just speak to him about this.” She told him.
“Well, I do not know where Vincent is.” He lied to her, though if I hadn’t known that he had just in fact sent Vincent somewhere to do something, I would have thought he was telling the truth. “You’ll have to wait until he calls you.”
With a nod, she turned to walk away, but Salvatore spoke up again, halting her in her tracks. “Are you pregnant?” He demanded.
“Salvatore!” I snapped, glaring up at him. I mean, I obviously didn’t like her, but that was rude as fuck.
“I am.” She told him quietly. My eyes widened in shock as I swung my eyes back to her. “I’ve told Vincent, but now I can’t get in touch with him. Normally I wouldn’t care, but someone has found out that I’m pregnant with a Bianchi baby.”
“My office.” He snapped at her. He grabbed my hand and pulled me up from my chair. “You too, mia bella.”
“Why?” I asked him. “I still have a job -”
He rudely cut me off, obviously not in the mood for someone to argue against him. “And you can do it from my office if you’re so desperate to work.” He told me.
I huffed and rolled my eyes, allowing him to tow me to his office. He sat me in his chair behind his desk and leaned over me, plucking his cell phone from in front of his laptop. He put it to his ear, and a moment later, I heard him speaking in rapid Italian again.
Ashley was sitting in a chair across from me, fidgeting with her hands. Salvatore tucked his phone back in his slacks pocket a minute later. “Vincent is on his way.” He informed her. “You two had a DNA test done?”
She nodded. “I know you and I always used condoms, but I still wanted to be on the safe side before declaring either one of you as the father of this child.”
Condoms.
Oh, fuck.
Salvatore seemed to read my mind as he snapped his eyes to me. He silently shook his head at me, letting me know we would discuss it later. I wasn’t worried about a baby, but when was the last time Salvatore had himself checked for STDs?
“So, why did you fire her?” I asked him, not giving a shit if she was still in the room.
He glared over at her, making her flinch back in her seat. “She knew I was part of the Italian mafia, and she used it to her advantage to get a job here. Vincent and I found out she was fucking your brother and feeding him information about what she heard and saw here.”
I snorted, looking over at her as Vincent strode through the door. He obviously hadn’t gone far. “Let me take a wild guess that Rob is the one that found out you’re carrying a Bianchi baby?” I asked her.
“H-how -” She stuttered, her face paling a bit that I knew so much so easily.
I shrugged. “Good guess.” I told her. “If I were Vincent and Salvatore, I’d boot you out on your ass, but that’s just me.”
“Not with a Bianchi baby at stake, mia bella.” Salvatore told me, shaking his head. “Otherwise, I really wouldn’t give a shit what happened to her.”
“What happened? The Reids turned against you, traditore?” Vincent snapped at her.
“Vincent, please.” She begged him. “I know I brought this on myself, but this baby did nothing wrong.”
“So, you want protection?” He asked, though by the tone of his voice, I don’t think he really wanted an answer from her. He held up his hand to her when she opened her mouth to speak again. “That’s fine, but you’re not going to like my form of protection, Ashley.”
She swallowed hard. “I figured as much.” She whispered.
Vincent turned to me. “Can you do me a favor?” He asked me.
I shrugged. “What is it?” Salvatore asked before I could as he protectively settled his hand over my shoulder.
He pulled out his wallet, handing me a black credit card. “I need you to go to the store and get Ashley some sweatpants and a tank top. Some house shoes should do her some good since she isn’t leaving my apartment for the next six months until this baby is born.” Ashley sucked in a harsh breath of air at his words. “Get her some body wash, some shampoo and all that other shit she may need. She’s stripping here, and the only thing she’s leaving with is what you two buy for her.”
“Vincent, this is outrageous!” She exclaimed.
I snorted. This was simple. At one point in my life, I had been forced to walk naked for weeks because my father thought I betrayed the family.
I had only been ten.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “You betrayed me and Salvatore by not only sleeping with both of us to try to turn us against each other, but also by sleeping with Robert Reids. You’re lucky I don’t shave your fucking hair off to make sure you’re not hiding anything there as well. That’s how much I don’t trust you, traditore.” He snapped.
Salvatore looked down at me. “Let’s go.” He told me. “I don’t want Ashley in my building any longer than she has to be.”
I stood up from my chair. Salvatore wrapped his hand around mine and nodded once to Vincent. “We’ll be back in an hour.”
Vincent nodded. “Feed mia sorella as well.” Vincent instructed, looking at me.
"Mia sorella?” I asked in confusion.
“His sister.” Salvatore informed me with a roll of his eyes. “Vincent already considers you a sister, mia bella.
You’ll just have to get used to the nickname.”
Yeah, well, I just hoped he didn’t betray me like my blood brother.
F I V E
I sighed tiredly as I stood under the hot water, allowing my muscles to somewhat relax under the steaming pressure. It had been a long day. The phone call had drained me enough as it was, and then to have to deal with Salvatore and Vincent’s ex and her drama with my family as well, I just wanted to sleep and try to put today in the very back of my mind for as long as possible.
I kept my eyes closed as I listened to the shower door quietly slide open, and I knew by the way my nerve endings curled in desire and anticipation that it was only Salvatore.
“You’ve been in here a while.” He spoke softly, his muscular arms sliding around my waist as he pressed his muscular front to my back, silently offering me his strength. “I was beginning to worry about you, piccolo."
A small smile touched my lips as I relaxed back into him. “Just enjoying the shower.” I quietly admitted, not wanting to ruin the moment by telling him what was going on in my head.
He pressed a gentle kiss to my shoulder, lightly nipping at the skin right after, drawing a soft moan from me. His arms tightened around me at the sound, and he gently turned me around to face him. One of his hands wrapped around the side of my neck, and he tilted my head back as his lips covered mine. I instantly curved into him, my hands gripping his shoulders as I went weak in the knees.
I gasped as he tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck so he could press hot, open-mouthed kisses to my skin, making my body shiver with anticipation, his name falling from my lips on a moan.
He nudged my legs apart with his knee, and his fingers slid against my slick folds. I cried out softly, and he sucked in a sharp breath, a soft groan falling from his lips.
“You’re so fucking wet, mia moglie.” He breathed, sliding his finger into me slowly.
