by Cora Reilly
When the cups were filled with coffee, I set one down beside Aria, who’d assembled two bowls with fruit and cereal. Taking a sip from my coffee, I slid my arm around her waist from behind. Aria leaned back at once, the back of her head resting on my sternum as she peered up at me.
“You look happy and relieved,” I said quietly.
She bit her lip with a small laugh. “I am.”
“Why?” I asked in a low voice. I couldn’t stop touching her and only barely stopped myself from burying my nose in her blond hair.
She sighed. “Promise not to be angry?”
I frowned. “That’s not something I can promise, but trust me when I say I have a hard time being angry with you.”
Aria smiled. “I’m just relieved that it’s over.”
My eyebrows climbed my forehead. “You realize we’ll have sex again.”
Aria giggled, nudging me with her elbow. “I know. But I’m relieved that you finally made me yours…” Her voice dipped, her eyes flitting down to my nose in embarrassment.
That made two of us, but coming from Aria it sounded as if she’d survived a painful medical treatment, not sex. My confusion must have been plain as day, because Aria continued without prompting. “I was so scared because I wasn’t sure what to expect, scared of the unknown, especially because I wasn’t sure if you’d be gentle with me…but now I know I don’t have to be scared of being with you.”
I cupped her face and kissed her. “You won’t ever have to be scared of me, Aria, not in bed and not outside of it. I’ll always be gentle with you.”
I was utterly fucked.
The elevator binged. My eyes darted to the clock in the fridge. Point noon. Romero was on time as always. I stepped back from Aria, straightened and took another sip from my coffee. When the doors to the elevator slipped open and Romero stepped out followed by my pain in the ass brother, my face was back to my emotionless mask. Aria watched me, then took her own coffee and walked over to the barstool. Her gait was slightly off and, of course, both Romero and Matteo noticed. We had been taught by years as Made Men to notice the slightest shift in demeanor of others because it usually meant danger.
Aria noticed their attention and turned bright red, her eyes darting to me, then quickly down to her hands clutching the cup. A smirk curled my lips. She was too fucking cute when she was embarrassed. Romero narrowed his eyes in confusion, but Matteo gave me his fucking shark grin. “I see you finally took a stroll through undiscovered land,” he said.
Aria set her cup down with a clang, her expression falling in open horror.
I was going to kill Matteo. “Why don’t you keep your fucking mouth shut?” I growled. Seething, I regarded Romero, trying to gauge if he’d understood Matteo’s stupid comment. Romero’s expression was carefully blank, but he wasn’t fooling me. He knew exactly what Matteo meant, especially considering Aria’s behavior. Damn it.
“Will you have breakfast?” Aria asked into the tense silence, nodding towards the bowl with cereal.
“No time,” I snapped, regretting the sharpness in my tone when Aria jumped. My anger wasn’t directed at her. Fuck. And in front of Romero and Matteo, I couldn’t even make it up to her. I walked over to her, barring her from view with my body, then bent down. Matteo and Romero would only see me acting all possessive and kissing my young wife after I’d claimed her. “We’ll have dinner tonight,” I murmured in her ear, lightly rubbing her lips with my thumb before I pulled back.
Aria gave a small nod. My expression was stone when I turned back to Romero and my brother. Matteo looked like he was close to bursting out laughing. One day I was going to drown him in the Hudson river.
With a last glance at Romero, knowing I’d have to confront him later, I stalked into the elevator. Matteo leaned beside me and, the second the door closed us in, his mouth pulled wide. “Aria finally allowed you to pop her cherry?”
I glowered.
He shrugged. “Come on. The way she acted it was so obvious you’d dipped your cock into virgin waters.”
“Careful,” I warned.
He shook his head with a disbelieving laugh. “No sharing naughty tidbits. Protective husband mode. And waiting for your virgin bride to be ready before you claim her. If I didn’t know you, I’d say you have a soft spot for your little wife.”
“Why don’t you scream it from the fucking rooftops or, better yet, announce it to our goddamn father so he can use Aria to keep me in check? He’ll think I’m growing soft, or that I care about her, and we both know he’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“And do you?” Matteo asked carefully.
“Do I what?” I growled, all my defenses shooting up into place.
“Care for her. We both know there’s no way you’re going soft. You’re a brutal fucker.”
Staring Matteo down was futile. Everyone else would have cowered under the force of my anger, but he held my gaze. The elevator doors slid open and I staggered into the parking garage. Fuck this shit. This marriage was supposed to bring peace and keep the fucking Outfit off our backs, not turn me into a fool.
“I take it that’s a yes,” Matteo said from close behind me.
I turned and gripped his shoulder in a hard grip. “This isn’t a fucking game, Matteo. I don’t want people to think they could use Aria against me, so keep your mouth shut for once.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. “You do care about the girl. Do you—“
“Just shut up, all right?” I said, losing my patience.
Matteo gave a sharp nod, surprising me. “You know I won’t tell anyone you’re being a decent human being to your little wife.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You as good as told Romero that I haven’t fucked my wife until last night.”
“You know Romero, he won’t tell a living soul, probably not even the ghost of his father.”
Trusting people with my secrets, especially if they held the potential to destroy everything, wasn’t something I liked to do, but now I had to rely on Aria, Romero and Matteo to keep their silence.
Matteo hit my shoulder. “Stop being a pussy. Everything’s going to work out. People fear you too much to even consider the possibility that those sheets were faked. You are the Vise.” His grin made me sigh, but the knot in my chest loosened. “And now tell me, how was it?”
I gave him a look. “I’ll pretend you didn’t ask that.”
“I can ask again.”
I went around my car and got in.
“Give me at least some pointers for when I’ll have to deflower Gianna!” Matteo bellowed then laughed.
I gave him the finger then revved the engine and drove off. He could take his fucking bike.
Matteo kept trying to extract information from me about my night with Aria all day, but he eventually gave up when I ignored him. Threats and anger only spurred him on. When I returned home that night, Aria and Romero were sitting outside on the roof terrace, playing cards.
I motioned at Romero to come inside and he did so at once. “I want a word with you.”
Romero nodded, his expression carefully blank. I was fairly sure he knew why I cornered him.
“It’s about what Matteo said this morning. You know me, but some people might not understand that I’ll kill every fucker who takes me for weak.”
Romero shook his head. “I didn’t hear anything.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Cut the bullshit. You’re one of my best men. You know exactly what Matteo meant.”
“I’ve never been a fan of the bloody sheets tradition. A man shouldn’t have the goal to make his wife bleed.”
“But it’s our tradition and you know why.”
Romero inclined his head, then he met my gaze. “I always respected you, Luca, and for treating your wife the way a woman should be treated, I respect you even more. You’ll be the best Capo the Famiglia has ever seen.”
I didn’t say anything. Romero had always been the man I trusted most beside Matteo and Cesare, and one day I’d give hi
m the recognition he deserved and make him Captain. Fuck tradition in that regard.
I waited two days even though it almost killed me not to touch Aria, but I could tell how tender she still felt after her first time, and I didn’t want to make it worse acting like a fucking horny bastard. That evening, we sat outside on the terrace and enjoyed the warm summer air.
I absent-mindedly stroked Aria’s side, my thumb grazing her rib, feeling calm and at peace, and trying to remember if I’d ever felt anything close to it.
“I never thought I would like New York.”
I peered down at her in surprise. “You like it?”
She gave a nod. “It’s almost peaceful up here.”
“If you ignore the honking,” I said.
She laughed. “It’s not that bad. I really love the view, and it’s not like I ever lived in the countryside. Chicago is busy as well.”
“I’m glad you’re coming to terms with my city.”
“Your city,” Aria said, a smile in her voice, looking up at me. “It’s strange to think that you’ll be ruling over the East Coast, that I’ll be the wife of a Capo.”
I found it far stranger that I was sitting on my terrace with my wife as if it were meant to be like this. “With your beauty, you must have known from an early age that you’d be given to a man of power.”
Aria pursed her lips. “I knew. People never stopped telling me so, but I never thought I’d be given to a future Capo. An Underboss, yes.”
“I hear a few Outfit members would have preferred you at Dante’s side,” I said, my voice tense with possessiveness.
Aria laughed. “The Golden Couple rumor.” She shook her head. “You and I were already engaged when he was looking for a new wife.”
“Would you have preferred marrying him?” I couldn’t keep the jealousy from my voice.
Aria blinked and then she burst out laughing in earnest. My own mouth pulled into a smile watching her. “No,” she got out. “He always terrified me with his coldness.”
“Good,” I murmured as I pressed a kiss to Aria’s temple. She lowered her head to my shoulder.
“Did you have anyone in mind for marriage before me?”
“No,” I said without hesitation. “I never cared about marriage. I knew I’d be given someone from a high-ranking family.”
“Not very romantic, is it?” she whispered.
“Mafia isn’t really a place for romantic notions.”
Aria was silent for a moment. “But this feels romantic.”
She was right. I didn’t have any experience with romance, but this moment felt right.
I kept stroking Aria’s side. Her breathing deepened slowly and, for a moment, I thought she’d fallen asleep, but then she shifted and peered up at me. She leaned forward, kissing me gently. I cupped her cheek and sought her mouth, tasting her. Our kiss was slow and deep, our tongues sliding over each other without hurry. Soon Aria began rocking her hips almost imperceptibly, and my cock stood to attention. “Let’s go inside,” I rasped. Aria nodded, biting her lip. I caught the hint of anxiety behind the apparent need.
“No sex,” I promised.
I lifted her into my arms and carried her inside then upstairs into our bedroom, where I lowered her on the mattress and covered her with my body. My lips found hers once more and I kissed her until she rocked her hips up against my leg. Slowly, savoring every second of uncovering inch over inch of her skin, I pulled down her pants then lifted her shirt over her head. The lacy underwear allowed me to see her pink nipples and the enticing golden triangle between her thighs. “Fucking gorgeous,” I groaned before I lowered my head and sucked her breast into my mouth.
Aria gasped, squeezing her legs together. I took my time with her breasts, sucking and nibbling before I helped her out of her bra. Then I bent over her panties and parted her legs. I pressed a kiss to the delicate fabric over her folds. Aria moaned softly. I kissed the same spot then a bit lower. Soon Aria’s panties stuck to her pussy with her arousal. I hooked my index finger in the garment and tugged it aside, revealing her pink lips. They were still slightly red, tender and sore. I sucked one lip into my mouth, earning a delicious gasp.
Dragging the panties down her legs, I trailed kisses over her skin. Then I pushed to my feet and got out of my own clothes. Aria watched me with hooded eyes, her legs closed, still shy about presenting herself to me. “Let’s try something new,” I told her.
I stretched out on my back and Aria frowned. “Kneel over me. Then I can lick you and you can blow me.”
A fierce blush stained Aria’s cheeks at my words, but she knelt and straddled my chest. Gripping her hips, I hoisted her closer to me so that her pussy was spread out before me like a delicious treat. Aria was a bit stiff, probably from self-consciousness about being exposed like this to me. But good lord, she didn’t need to be. The sight of her pink lips and her perfectly shaped butt was like a fucking shot of pleasure straight into my veins.
Aria giggled. “You twitched.”
“Because my mouth waters just imagining tasting your glistening lips, principessa.”
Her pussy clenched and I couldn’t help but smile smugly, knowing that my words had turned her on. Aria loved it when I talked to her even when she was still very quiet.
I cupped her ass cheeks then leaned forward to feast on her, dragging my tongue over her slit, parting those pink lips. Aria moaned then lowered her head and took my tip into her mouth, sucking lightly. I groaned against her.
“Your stubble scratches,” she whispered, then moaned again when I took a long lick.
“You want me to stop?”
“No,” she gasped. I used the friction of my beard to tease her clit and Aria gasped again. Soon she arched back, presenting her pussy to me. I parted her and stroked my tongue lightly over her tender opening until she softened. Then I gently eased my tongue into her. I began to fuck her with my tongue as my thumb rubbed her clit. Fuck, I couldn’t wait to sheath my cock inside her again. I thrust my hips upwards lightly into Aria’s warm mouth. She was already so much better at this, trying to match my thrusts, and squeezing my cock with her fingers.
Aria tensed when she finally came, thrusting her pussy into my face, and I squeezed her ass encouragingly, loving to see her loosen up. She stopped sucking my cock as she moaned and helplessly shivered on top of me. Rubbing her back and ass, I rasped, “Turn around, principessa. I want to look at you when I come in your mouth.”
Aria climbed off me then knelt between my legs, her cheeks flushed, both from her orgasm and my words. She gripped me then lowered her mouth back to my throbbing dick. I groaned when I watched my thick tip slip past her pink lips. Aria’s hair curtained half of her face, and I pushed it aside to see her. “Look at me,” I ordered.
Aria’s eyes flashed up, her cheeks turning pink. I guided her head gently to show her the angle and pace I wanted. She averted her eyes again and I didn’t push her, knowing it would take time for her to grow bolder. Soon my thrusts became jerky until I came with a groan. Aria’s moves became uncoordinated as she tried to swallow around my tip. She pulled back and hesitantly licked her lips. I was still cupping her head and, like she’d done before Aria tilted her head, pressing it against my palm. She crawled up to me and I pulled her against my chest. “Am I getting better?” Aria asked with a small laugh.
My brows drawing together, I peered down at her, but she wasn’t looking at me, instead at the hand tracing my stomach.
“Better at giving me head?” I asked with a chuckle.
Aria nodded. “I know I wasn’t any good the first few times, and I’m probably still not very good, but I want to get better…”
“You’re perfect,” I said, sliding my hand along the curve of her body.
Aria gave me an indignant look. “I’m nowhere near perfect.”
“Aria, I didn’t expect you to be some kind of sex goddess when I married you.”
“You resigned yourself to a life of mediocre sex,” she said with raised e
yebrows.
I chuckled again. “That’s not what I said. I knew you’d have to learn, and you do. I’m fucking glad that you’re not a prude who doesn’t want to try new things.”
“Okay,” she said, growing soft in my embrace once more. I stroked her arm until her breathing evened out, her body falling into sleep with a small twitch. Falling asleep in someone else’s arms or just in their company required a level of trust I could hardly grasp. Aria had no trouble making herself vulnerable in my company. Then again, it wasn’t as if she was any less vulnerable when she was awake. She was at my mercy asleep or awake, and she knew it. I trailed my thumb down her arm then over her hips and the soft skin of her belly. With a small sigh, she pressed even closer to me, her fingers curling over my hip and holding onto me.
In moments like this, it seemed a lifetime ago that I’d slept without Aria at my side.
CHAPTER 21
Cesare waited for Matteo and me in front of our warehouse. He’d called me ten minutes ago to tell me that the Russians had attacked the building.
“The Doc’s still trying to patch one of them together,” Cesare said, his dark eyes bloodshot as he led me inside the gym. The smell of blood and vomit drenched the air.
My eyes took in the scene before me. Blood covered the floor and the walls. It looked as if the Russians had sprayed it all over the place on purpose. I stalked past the dismembered bodies and toward Doc and his assistant, a young woman from a soldier family. I counted two dead men but, when I arrived beside the Doc, I was surprised that it weren’t three. I got down on my knees beside my soldier. He was a recent initiate, not even of age yet. I still remembered his induction about two years ago. I wasn’t sure what the Doc was trying to do, because little of his body was intact. The Russians had broken every single bone in his legs and arms from the look of it before they’d skinned his limbs and cut open his belly. “Nico,” I said firmly.
The boy’s swollen eyes focused on me briefly before they fluttered shut again. I glanced at Doc, who shook his head. “It hurts…” he cried.
