Page 32 of Sinner's Vows

I lean against the doorjamb, watching the scene in front of me. Portia, despite the gun in her hand still pointed at Ariana’s head, has clearly shifted into mother-mode. Ariana is sitting on the bed, but she’s dressed in something borrowed, her blond hair brushed into a thick ponytail, and she has sandals on her feet. All very simple, but so feminine, it makes my dick twitch. Fuck it.

“Thank you, Portia,” I say, shoving my hands into my pockets. This is literally the last thing I need. Everything seems to spin more and more out of control the harder I try to keep this mess contained.

“No problem, Nicky. I thought you wouldn’t want her at the clinic anymore, so I got her to dress a minute ago in some of Rosalia’s old things I had on hand. I opted for a dress so there’s no pressure on her wound.”

“Good, that’s perfect.” Only a minute ago? Portia is solid. Naked women don’t flee, and Ariana’s skimpy hospital gown was issued on purpose.

“I’ll leave you to it.” She slides the safety on then tucks the gun into her apron pocket, touching my arm as I twist to make space for her to leave the room. “There’s some fresh ravioli if you feel like it.”

“Next time, thank you, Portia. This situation?—”

She just nods. She already knows exactly what’s going on. It’s after all only a three-person grapevine between Ariana and what happened here. Burley, Matteo’s bodyguard, was at the shootout, and he is married to Rosalia, who is Portia’s daughter…and here we are. We might work on a need-to-know basis, but that’s why we’re a close-knit family.

“Portia,” I say to her as she heads towards the kitchen. “We have some questions.”

“I know. But honestly, Dominic, I know nothing about that time and what happened after your mom left for the hospital to have the baby. I didn’t even know it was a little girl. In retrospect, I should have guessed, because they didn’t speak about it. With you boys, Don Scalera couldn’t stop talking about how great it was that your mom was giving him son after son after son.”

She gave him an army, and yet, he never stopped beating her. I sigh with a nod, effectively dismissing her. Portia won’t lie, not to me of all people. That she even went as far as calling me Dominic and not by my nickname just goes to show she doesn’t want to step out of line here.

I’m left alone with Ariana staring at me from where she’s sitting, hands clenched in her lap.

“Come on.” I hold out my hand. “Let’s go.”

“Where?” she asks, her voice uncertain.

“Somewhere you can’t pull the shit you just pulled,” I say, not for a minute wanting to give her the impression I’m not pissed. What she’s done isn’t on, and if she were one of my team—one of us, a Scalera—there would have been serious consequences for knocking her bodyguard into the next realm, woman or not. As it is, I feel her actions shouldn’t go unpunished. We’re after all here to protect her, and this is how she thanks us?

As she stands, I take her in.

Fuck.

She’s wearing a white summer dress, one of those medieval things with the fabric rucked at the bodice and a tiered hem that ends in a ruffle just above her knee. It has two runs of corset laces in the front, aligned with her breasts, which is probably why Portia chose it in the first place. Rosalia is dainty but curvy, and everything of hers would be baggy on Ariana, who is taller but slim.

Matteo’s last words to me—about how I’m the perfect person to seduce a woman to the point where she reveals all her secrets—conjure up all types of unwelcome images. My hands sliding down her sides, over her hips and catching those little corset bows to pull them loose, one by one, and then watching how the dress gives and those little puffed shoulders slip off to reveal her breasts.

I look away with an inward groan and nod towards the back door. “Come on, I still have shit to deal with today.”

She says nothing, and as she comes closer, I take her wrist in my hand and squeeze it softly but in warning.

“Don’t do that again, Ariana. I don’t have time to hunt you down in Boston, but if I have to, I will. And it won’t be a pretty sight when I finally find you.”

A soft tremor runs through her, and she drops her gaze from where she held mine for the duration of my reprimand. Instead of holding on to her wrist, I slide my hand to hers and gently wrap her fingers with mine. She doesn’t protest, and I lead her all the way to the car, where I open the back door and help her in. She settles in the passenger seat, and I take the safety belt, run it over her chest, and buckle her in.

Her face is close, her breathing shallow and warm over my skin where it flows. I meet her gaze, and for a moment, I’m spellbound. Her lashes are long and lighter without mascara but still accentuate the crystal blue of her eyes. My eyes run down the perfect slide of her nose and land on that full mouth with lips made to stretch around a cock.

“Are you going to tie me up?” she whispers, a tremor in her voice. “And lock me up? In a dark room? For weeks?”

I lean away and out of the intimate space of the back seat, forcing myself to keep my cool. “You know, you have a lot of questions for someone who hasn’t answered a single one of mine, so…”

She sucks her bottom lip, and I swear she wants to kill me slowly. “So?”

As I reach for my phone to talk to my team who are still inside the clinic, I give her the only answer she deserves. “So you’ll have to wait and see.”

18

ARIANA

I glance up and down the street from where I’m strapped in. Earlier, it was empty. Now there’s an army of vehicles locking this one in. Men are on standby, watchful. Good grief. All of this for me?

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