Page 37 of Mafia Men Need Love Too
Her lips pursed of their own volition. “You’re supremely unhelpful.”
The expression on his face—or lack thereof—told her he didn’t give a fuck. That was kind of refreshing, too. He might not care if she lived or died, but he cared that Nico would care. It did her heart good to realize Nico had more than just loyal lieutenants in his mafia army. He had at least one true friend. “I’m glad Nico has you,” she admitted quietly.
“Maybe I’ll eventually say the same about you, princess.” Another cold, assessing once-over. “Not today. But maybe someday…”
“Rude!” she called after him as he wandered out of the aviary.
Chapter 21
It took about half an hour for Nico to transition from being sad about River’s rejection to being angry.
He’d never done a damn thing to make her fear him or think, for even a second, that he’d ever harm her in anger. He’d protected her at every turn, and what did he get for his troubles? A flinch, like he was no better than the petty street thug who’d tried to rob them.
His world was ugly and brutal and unfair, but damn it, he’d gone out of his way to shield her from the worst of it. He was marrying her to keep her safe, for fuck’s sake. He could’ve turned her over to Alexi and made his life a million times simpler, but no.
That’s what he got for trying to be a fucking hero. He should’ve stuck with being a villain.
Well, you did tell her she had no choice but to marry you, basically taking away every bit of control she had over her own life. Not exactly heroic, asshole.
Nico had no idea where that thought had come from. Some distant corner of his mind that wasn’t pissed off about the flinch, probably. And while the voice wasn’t wrong, it was most assuredly unwanted. He was in no mood for sharing the blame. The anger felt too…
Liberating.
That’s what it was. Liberating. Not worrying about scaring River or making her angry felt good. It was probably a good thing she’d seen what he was capable of tonight. She needed to know what she’d gotten herself into when she’d kidnapped him. Maybe a little healthy fear would help keep her from getting complacent with her safety.
Still, that flinch really—what was that quaint little phrase Tenley had used that one time?—chapped his ass.
Nico tossed his suit jacket onto the side chair in his bedroom. His tie followed. He might’ve lost a button off his dress shirt, too, but he didn’t care. He was too pissed off.
Taking his frustrations out on his clothes wasn’t helping, though. So, he stalked out of his room, down the hall, and into the elevator. He stewed in his anger all the way down to the first floor. He was sure he intended to head toward the gym where he could hit the punching bag until he was too tired to be pissed off anymore.
Which was why he was surprised when he ended up in the aviary, heart pounding, blood pumping, chest heaving with angry breaths, staring down his wide-eyed fiancée and her equally wide-eyed parrot.
“A-E-I-O fuck you,” Feather whispered.
A-E-I-O fuck you, indeed.
If only Nico were a little uglier.
That was River’s first thought when he stormed into Feather’s aviary, looking like he was spoiling for a fight. This whole thing would be simpler if he didn’t look like a pissed off Greek god who wasn’t sure if he wanted to kill her or fuck her.
His hair was standing up as if he’d furiously scrubbed his hands through it more than once. His once-pristinely pressed dress shirt was wrinkled, the first few buttons missing. Tie? Long gone. Jaw flexed, eyes flashing, anger rolling off him in waves…phew. Good thing she’d sobered up long ago or this would be a lot to process.
His intensity should scare her. The fact that it didn’t? Well, she supposed she’d just have to live with that.
If he let her, of course.
Feather—the coward—let out a weak squawk and hightailed it to the farthest corner of the aviary. River stood up but didn’t approach him or say anything. She figured it was safer to let him say…whatever it was he needed to say.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long.
He stabbed his index finger in her direction. “I haven’t done anything to make you think I’d ever hurt you.”
She nodded. “I know that.”
Nico didn’t seem to hear her, though. He was far too worked up for that. So, he raged on, saying, “My world is dark and ugly, and fuck, even I hate it sometimes. But I’d never do anything to let any of that touch you in any way.”
Another nod. “Yep.”
