Page 121 of Scorned Obsession

“What? Are you ashamed of me?”

“No.” I grappled for an excuse that wouldn’t make Sandro wary of Dad. “Sam is here and she’s sharp that one. She will ask why you’re dressed to go out at night when it’s bright as day.”

He patted my cheek. “Nice save. But I have something better to distract everyone and maybe win your dad’s approval.”

“You don’t have to prove anything.”

He walked into the bedroom and picked up his suit jacket from the floor. His hand went into his inner pockets and extracted my rings. “I sent Sticks back to get these.”

He slid them on my finger like he did the first time.

The giant diamond blinked at me. It was a gorgeous ring, but I hadn’t determined if I wanted to change it.

As if reading my mind, he said, “We can pick another one if you want.” He dragged me into his arms. “In case it hasn’t sunk in yet, I’m not intimidated by your family. And they sure as hell are not going to scare me off. The second day after we said our vows, I realized I couldn’t let you go.” He cupped me between my legs, and I gave a tiny gasp that sounded like a moan. “And incasethishasn’t sunk in yet, I’m going to kill any man who thinks he can get in here.”

I pushed his hand away because I didn’t want to be squirming with how much I wanted to jump Sandro’s bones in front of my family. “Behave. Let’s get through breakfast first. And remind me we need to talk about your penchant for wanting to kill someone for simply looking at me wrong.”

He sighed. “I know.”

But I realized his sigh was because he’d gotten hard. I gave him another seductive come-on.

“No,” he groaned, then he walked away from me and returned to the bathroom.

“Such a waste of a hard-on though,” I called after him.

Sandro

Great. I was sitting with Bianca’s family, in the middle of breakfast, having the hard-on from hell. I probably should have beaten one out in the shower. But Bianca’s teasing about sucking me off had fired up my all-consuming need to have her in every way, every hole, and every position.

I paused.

No lightning strike of guilt split me in half at my crass thoughts about her. Good. My conscience and carnal urges were finally in sync. I’d held back long enough.

I glanced at her. Bianca looked away from her conversation with Sera and Ivy and awarded me a quick smile. Then she found my hand under the table and gave it a squeeze.

“I hear you’re going house hunting,” Cesar asked casually from the head of the table.

There was less hostility coming from Bianca’s family, and even if I would say the reception was barely lukewarm from the men, we were halfway done with breakfast without overturned tables and chairs.

“We are,” Bianca chirped. “But we’re not sure what part of Manhattan yet.” She gave our linked hands another tug.

“We’re checking into a hotel so I can take care of business and she can be close to you.”

“And is this business going to be dangerous?” Cesar asked.

He didn’t mince words, but I expected nothing less. “There’s always danger, but I have people to watch her.”

“Are the De Luccis caught in the middle of a war between you and the Albanians?” Matteo asked in a tone as casual as his dad’s.

“I’m looking into it,” I replied. “So far, the public thinks it’s between the De Luccis and the Rossis.” I’d seen the breaking news on theManhattan Tattler. “Let the public believe that while I figure out for sure if it’s the Manhattan Albanians.” I wasn’t about to share the information about Kaz Doku. Not until I had evidence his loyalists were involved. “But since the news of my marriage to Bianca is headlining, it might be a good idea to present a united front. That way, the people who started the fire and shot up Jabbin’ Java know they can’t play us against each other.”

Sera gave a small laugh. “Luca texted me last night and said we East Coast mafia have so much drama.”

Laughter went around the table, and I bit back my own smile. That livened up the atmosphere in the room. I got the De Luccis’ worry. I was in charge of a struggling crime family. But I had to be smarter than my predecessors or suffer a short reign like they did.

At the top of my agenda was building bridges with organizations who shared the same vision.

With all the secrets I shared with the De Luccis and Chicago, strengthening our alliance made sense. Luca and I were linked from knowing the secret behind Frankie’s death. Nico, Ivy, and I were connected by Joe Rossi’s assassination. The inner circle would tighten. The core family.

---