Page 54 of The Mafia's Captive

“I know how it looks.” I take another tentative step towards her. “I know it looks bad, but I really wanted to tell you. I just didn’t know how.”

“Do you expect me to believe that?”

I don’t know what to say. I’m angry at Nico for telling her. I’m angry at myself for not. Maybe if it had come from me at first, she wouldn’t have reacted like this. I say the only thing I can think of at the moment. Something I’ve never said to anyone in my life. At least not sincerely until now. “I’m sorry.”

“I need to be alone.” It’s as if she didn’t hear me.

“I can’t let you do that.”

Her eyes widen, and her face changes from shock to hurt to hate. I almost want to take it all back, but I can’t. I’m afraid I will lose her. She has tried to run away before and there’s nothing to stop her from doing the same thing now and especially in a foreign country. Not to add the new intel I got from Sal, which could mean that Saccone might know that I have her. “Can you at least give me five minutes?”

“Fine.” Reluctantly, I walk out of the room and stand outside the door. As soon as I’m out, I hear her sobbing. The sound is low and muffled, but loud enough for me to hear. It grips at my heart. I harden it. All of this is water under the bridge. She might think my plan is to kill her while her father watches, but in truth I don’t know what I want to do.

After what feels like five minutes, she comes out of the room looking stoic and resolved. If she hated me before, she despises me now.

♠

We return to the reception in silence. Everything has changed between us and it’s palpable. Even Nico, who was still standing outside the villa, looking apologetic when we come out, can sense it. Corina has said nothing to me since then and I have found nothing sensible to say. Our fractured state is a mirror image of the wedded couple. Gio looks angry and so does his bride. I don’t know what happened when we were away, but whatever it is, seems to have soured the mood of the festivities even more.

Gio’s gaze meets mine, and he smiles slightly as he leads the bride to the center of the area between the tables for their first dance. They look great together and move to the music in sync you’d think they’ve been dating for years. After a while, the floor is opened to all the other couples and I turn to Corina. “We should probably dance.”

I expect her to scream, say something snarky, retort. But she stands up silently and we make our way to the floor. We move to the sound of the music along with other couples. Even with the tension between us, I want to pull her away from the crowd and make love to her. She, however, is deliberately gazing away from me, focused on the spot above my right shoulder. I know she can feel my hardness. It’s apparent and yet she’s so rigid it’s as if I’m dancing with a plank. There is something about her lack of reaction that makes me want to provoke her into saying something. Anything.

“We have to say something to each other. People are staring. Soon they’ll begin wondering why we aren’t talking.”

“I doubt anyone cares whether you talk to the woman you came with.” Maybe before. Maybe if it was someone else, but things have changed. Even Vannucci noticed I cared for Corina.

“I,” it’s difficult to say out loud, but I feel like I’m losing her, so I say it, “care about you.”

For the first time since we started dancing, she looks directly into my eyes. Is she trying to assess if I’m telling the truth? I stare right back, open like a book. Her face changes, her features softening, and for a moment I think I have melted the ice and my heart warms up, but then she looks away.

“What about your girlfriend?” she says.

I frown. “What are you talking about?”

“I didn’t think you were going to deny it, but I guess that’s one way of doing it.”

I’m dumbfounded for a second, trying to figure out what or who she could be referring to. Ever since she came into my life, I haven’t thought about anyone but her. I say the only thing I can think of to assuage her fears. “The only woman in my life right now is you.”

“So the girlfriend you visited that time after the birthday party does not exist?”

Fuck. Of course. “Did Bruno tell you about this?”

“Surprised that I know something that isn’t filtered through the walls you’ve built around me?”

“So it came from Bruno. If you should know, Leah is a friend of mine and that’s it.”

“Dante and Leah have a nice ring to it.”

I’m about to bite back when I realize something. She wouldn’t be bringing this up if she wasn’t feeling anything. Hope swells inside me. “Are you jealous?”

“What? No!”

“It’s okay to feel something for me. I feel something for you too.” I lower my hand to her waist and draw her closer to me, letting her feel my cock, “This,” she tries to wriggle free, but I hold her firm, “is how I’ve felt ever since we’ve been together and you’re the only person who’s done this. No one but you has ever made me feel like this. And no, I did not fuck Leah that night. In fact, I went there wanting to sleep with her.”

“Oh, so you admit it?”

“Wanting to sleep with her in an effort to wipe you out of my mind, but I failed. I didn’t even touch her. I couldn’t. I wanted no one but you. Iwantno one but you.”

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