Page 43 of Merciless Desires

“What are you not telling me?” I got up and blocked him from pacing. “What has he planned for me? Why did he say it would take my mind off you?”

“Because it will. You’ll have no choice but to forget me.”

“I will never forget you.” I pressed my palm to his cheek. “I want you to come back to Italy with me so we can be together. My father might be upset with you now, but once he calms down, he’ll see that you have feelings for me. He wants me to be happy. He’ll let us be together.”

“No.”

“Why are you giving up so easily? I would know if you weren’t attracted to me or didn’t want to be with me. This is something else. If you know what my father is planning for me, you have to tell me. I deserve to know.”

“There is something you need to know. It will explain why I’ve been so apprehensive. Why I can’t give in to my desire.” He pulled me close to him. “If you were anyone else, I would have given in to this temptation, but because I know what’s at stake, I can’t do it.”

“What’s at stake? Just tell me.” My patience grew thin. I came in here to have sex with Gio. I wanted to give myself to him in every way and make him understand that I would be his forever. I could be the woman he needed by his side. “What don’t I know?”

“Cin.” He pressed his lips to mine. “If I could find a way to stop this, I would.”

“Stop what?” I whispered as my stomach churned with anxiety. “What do you mean?”

I didn’t like the way he looked at me. The darkness in his expression spewed vibes of desperation and forced a hopelessness from within me.

“Tell me, Gio,” I pleaded. “So I can fight this with you.”

“You would, my fearless princess.” He twisted his finger in my hair. “You would go to battle without knowing the consequences.”

“For you, I would do whatever it takes.” I kissed him, unleashing more than desire for him. In that kiss, I wanted him to feel all of the fight I had inside me. “That’s how much I want you.”

“I want you just as much, and I’m doing everything in my power to have you, but maybe I do need your help.”

“I’ll do anything for us.”

“I know what your father is going to ask you to do, and it infuriates me.” He tightened his hold on my hair. “Not just because I already consider you mine, but because as possessive as I know I will be with you, I will always give you a choice. Your father doesn’t have that same respect for you.”

“What do you mean? I know he can be merciless and do what it takes to protect me, but he sent me to you for a reason. He trusts you, that’s why I know when I tell him I want to be with you, he’ll understand.”

“Cin, he’s negotiating with another family in Italy.”

“I don’t get involved in his business dealings. What would these negotiations have to do with me? With us?”

“In order to save his territory and to make him an even stronger threat, he’s arranging for you to marry one of the Calabrese sons.”

“What?” The churning in my stomach forced the bile to scorch my throat. “No.”

“You are being offered up in an arranged marriage.”

Chapter Thirteen

Gio

Fuck! I hated to tell her the truth about what her father had planned for her, but what choice did I have?

“That can’t be right,” Cin said. “You’re wrong.”

“I’m not.”

“You knew? This is what you’ve been hiding from me, why you said we can’t be together?”

“I suspected that was how he planned to get out of the impending mob war. He needs more territory, and if he joins forces with the Calabrese family, he’ll have a strong alliance. If you marry one of the sons, your father will unite two formidable families.”

“What about your family? He knows my heart belongs to you.”

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