Page 44 of His to Break

His praise warms me to the core, but a second later, I feel like he doused me with cold water.

“So tell me, what else did your brother say?”

I jump off his lap like he scalded me. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Leo gets to his feet and tucks himself back into his pants. He looms over me, fully dressed, while I’m standing here naked. The imbalance makes me feel exposed.

“What’s the matter?” He reaches out and curves a hand around my cheek. “You knew I wanted the truth from you.”

“And you got it.” I step back from him. “My brother came to me. I told him you were right for me. Fuck, I’m an idiot for thinking there’s something good here.”

“Vinnie.” His gaze softens.

“No, spare me the puppy dog eyes, Leo. What I felt just now, that was…” I can’t find the words to describe the dizzying heights I reached. “And you were just trying to knock me off balance so you could question me.”

Leo shakes his head. His expression conveys regret and I’m sure there’s an apology on the tip of his tongue. I don’t want to hear it. Whether he meant to get me drunk on sex and interrogate me in a moment of weakness, I’m not sure, but I’m hurt that he’d use my body’s responses against me.

“I’m using the guest room tonight.” Spinning on my heel, I storm off across the room. “Do not come near me.”

When I get to the room I was locked away in before I married Leo, I throw myself onto the bed and curl into a ball. Confusion swirls in my mind. Did Leo ruin everything, or did I just overreact? My emotions are running wild. I take a deep breath and consider why I’m so upset, and then it hits me. I’m falling for my husband and I have no idea if he’s even capable of feeling the same way about me.

CHAPTER 18

Leo

I could never claim to be an expert on relationships, but when Vinnie told me to stay away from her last night, I knew it would be best to comply with her wishes. My instinct was to barge into the room and fuck her until she got over her anger with me, but I knew that wouldn’t work. She was too upset to be brought around by a couple of orgasms.

Perhaps I was an asshole, making her come so I could catch her in a moment of weakness, but I needed to be sure she’s not concealing anything from me. Trust is not something I give easily. I want to put faith in my wife, but we’ve not been together for long enough. The workings of her mind are a mystery to me. Vinnie seems keen to make a success of our marriage, but I can’t understand why. No woman should be so enthusiastic about marrying a complete stranger. I may not have forced her into a union with me, but she was pushed into it all the same. Perhaps one day she’ll wake up and realize she’s made a huge mistake.

Fuck! Vinnie is bringing out insecurities I didn’t know I had. Wanting her to be the real deal, for her to actually fall in love with me, is making me vulnerable, and it’s not a state I enjoy.

Though I’m used to occupying my bed alone, I missed Vinnie’s presence last night. I tossed and turned for hours, driving myself nuts, as the desired sleep eluded me. Eventually, I quit trying and got up. Leaving Vinnie in peace in the guest room, I grabbed a quick breakfast in the kitchen with Benny. I kind of like the guy. He’s guileless. I wanted to question him, to find out if he knew what Vinnie and her brother talked about, but I doubt my wife would have approved. So, I just told him to make sure she ate breakfast and reminded him about the dinner for my family tonight.

It might have been better to cancel. I picked my phone up more than once during the day to do just that, but calling off the dinner party would have caused concern about the state of my marriage. I don’t want my mother, in particular, bombarding me with questions. Hopefully tonight Vinnie will be eager to present a united front and will let last night’s unpleasantness drop for now. I don’t want anyone getting a whiff of discord between us.

When I got home after a long day dealing with issues in the clubs we own, I was pleased to see the effort Vinnie’s put in to making tonight a success. The dining table looks amazing. She’s put a narrow white cloth down the center of the table and there are vases of pink and cream flowers dotted along it. The silverware and placemats are new and I don’t recognize the crystal wineglasses either.

I experience an unexpected pang of longing when I consider the effort she’s put into making everything look good. Domesticity has never appealed to me but I like the idea of Vinnie taking care of our home. It must speak to some primal urge inside of me.

I check my watch and see there’s only fifteen minutes until my family are due to arrive. It’s time for me to stop avoiding Vinnie. Fuck knows why I’m being such a coward about it. I’ve taken down men with families without a moment’s pause, yet the thought of causing her pain makes my stomach ache.

I walk along the corridor to the room where she slept last night, assuming that’s where she’ll be. When I knock on the door, there’s no answer. I quickly look inside and discover she isn’t there. Heading to our bedroom, I find her in the closet. She’s struggling to zip up the back of a black silk dress.

“Let me help.”

I take it as a good sign when she nods and lifts her hair out of the way for me. I step closer and slide the zipper up. Then I bend to kiss her cheek. Looking up, my gaze meets hers in the mirror. There’s a sadness in her eyes that I know I put there, and it kills me. Vinnie breathes in deeply and offers me a conciliatory smile. Placing my hands on her shoulders, I turn her to face me.

“You look beautiful, principessa.”

“Thank you.” Her eyebrows draw down as she studies me. “Is that what you’re planning to wear?”

I’ve got a fairly standard outfit of black pants and shirt on. There’s not much variation in my wardrobe.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing except for the mustard stain.” Vinnie prods a spot on my chest. “What was it, a hotdog?”

Shit. Glancing down, I find there is a tiny yellow blob on my shirt. “Pastrami sandwich.”

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