Chapter 8 Defining What Matters #2
Santino gave her hand a careful squeeze.
“Not the way you mean the word, no.” He waited a moment, until he could see she was trying to translate what he’d said.
But he didn’t make her ask. “The Guerra family is larger than its bloodline, beautiful. We’re a mafia family.
And those of the Guerra blood sit at the top, which means that right now, I am at the top. ”
Reiko’s lips parted, her confused eyes still wide and her grip on his hand tightening. “Mafia?” she repeated on an exhale. “I … I don’t follow.”
He let his lips twitch. She did, she was just most likely hesitant to accept it or to put the words in her head out into open air.
But her physical reaction was proof enough that she had the right idea.
“Most of what I do is not above-board, Reiko,” he said calmly.
“And it would be my preference to leave you out of the specific details of that work, even if only for your peace of mind. But what I do is dangerous—it’s violent, underhanded, and absolutely against the law.
And that, beautiful, is why we didn’t give a shit about walking away today.
” He paused, head tilting as he briefly debated on how much to elaborate, and finally shrugged.
“Well, that, and in all the ways that matter I basically own this city. No one in any position of authority will be laying a finger on me or mine.”
She tried valiantly to distract him with her half-contained tits as she drew a heavy breath, her chest rising with the movement. Seconds passed while he allowed her to reflect on his words.
Finally, Reiko said, “So, that man is dead … but no one’s going to come knocking on my door tonight and accusing me of running from a crime scene? Or worse?”
For the strangest moment, Santino was torn between wanting to laugh and fighting a resurgence of fury at the visual her words painted.
He pulled in a hard breath, pushed both down to manageable levels, and used their still-clasping hands to tug her closer.
She wasn’t prepared for the action and toppled forward against him wonderfully.
He let her chest lean fully into his, the fabric of her bra an elite type of torture, and cupped his free hand around the back of her neck to hold her in place.
“No one comes for you, Reiko. No one with any sense of self-preservation will try. Idiots who lack that and try anyway answer to me. And that is a message that’s already spreading, beautiful. So you don’t have to worry.”
She blinked at him as her face burned with another alluring blush. “What do you mean, already spreading?”
He grinned at her choice of phrase, dipped his head, and teased her lips with his tongue.
The salt from her tears lingered on her skin, but he didn’t care.
He’d consume all of her. Until then, he retreated enough to explain properly.
“The most powerful man in St. Louis put himself between you and an active shooter in a public space today, then whisked you away in his car. I guarantee that’s getting around.
No dumb beat cop’s gonna come knocking on your door, because my good buddies who employ them would never allow it. ”
He felt her throat move with a hard swallow. “That’s … a lot.”
He dipped his chin. “It is.”
Mafia.
It wasn’t like Reiko didn’t know what the word meant, or what the general history of it represented.
But it was certainly a word she hadn’t spent a whole lot of time thinking about, let alone weighing her opinions on.
She knew ‘mafia’ was another word for ‘organized crime.’ It was similar to the yakuza in that way, though she was sure their customs weren’t all the same.
And again, it wasn’t as if she were an expert on the yakuza, either.
Santino continued to hold her tight against him, his grip firm and steady, but not bruising. Never threatening.
How many times had he threatened to kill her father?
A gasp escaped her before she could catch it. “You were serious.”
He arched one pale brow and hummed, the sound vibrating up his chest. “Probably, but you’ll need to be more specific, beautiful.”
She licked her lips. Was she angry at the notion? Scared? What was the feeling suddenly coursing through her? “When you said you wanted to kill my father….”
The trace of amusement vanished from his face, his blue eyes hardening. “Yes, Reiko. On that especially, I was very serious. He doesn’t get to walk away and live fucking carefree after everything he’s put you through.”
Her heart beat faster. She’d never considered herself an advocate of violence, but this felt … heavier. What he was offering was so much more than mere violence. She clutched the hand he’d kept between hers with a desperation she couldn’t define. “Is it really worth it? Am I really worth it?”
His eyes narrowed. “Reiko—”
“What if I have to leave? What if I have to move away because I can’t find work close by?
” Why was that what she was worrying about?
Surely there were more important things.
“What if I— What if I learn something you don’t want me to learn, or you get tired of me, or I can’t be the perfect, quiet housewife and I ask too many questions?
” He had said he didn’t want her to know things.
And if her sudden case of runaway-mouth was any indication, she suspected she’d struggle with that eventually.
Santino huffed out a breath and silenced her rambling with a firm, deep kiss.
He swept his tongue through her mouth, kissed her like he was devouring her, then finally let the kiss soften until they separated.
He somehow had both her hands pressed flat to his chest by then, his singular one locked behind them.
“The only place you’re moving is out of that apartment and into this house with me,” he said roughly.
“Employment is optional. We’ll be married soon, anyway.
And any job you do choose to take, I need to ask you to let me vet first. I won’t play games with your safety.
” He leaned in and pressed his lips to the spot between her eyebrows.
“I won’t get tired of you.” He pulled back again, enough to meet her gaze.
“Ask me any questions you need, anytime. I said I would prefer not to tell you details, not that I’d refuse.
If you would feel better about us by moving forward with both eyes wide-open as to the shit in my life, I’ll give you that.
But you should know, before you ask for it, that some of it’s pretty ugly.
That’s all I was trying to spare you from. ”
“So”—her fingers curled against his skin—“we wouldn’t have mountains of secrets between us? I’d be allowed a voice?”
“No secrets,” he said on a growl. “And anyone tries to silence you, I’ll slit his goddamn throat.”
There were undoubtedly other things that mattered. In the back of her mind, Reiko knew she would think of more questions. Just as she was sure most women would be running for the hills at the next available opportunity. But she couldn’t bring herself to care.
For the first time ever in her life, someone was treating her as if she had value.
Her smile came far too easy. “I don’t actually remember agreeing to marry you.”
He matched her smile with that grin he wore so well. “I believe I mentioned you wearing my ring.” He leaned forward and his voice dropped to a low, blood-singeing timbre. “Signing my name.”
She angled her head upward, the raised chin position that usually represented defiance this time bringing her just a bit closer. “I never said ‘yes’.”
His lips brushed against hers, just a whisper of contact. “You never said ‘no’.”
“We barely know each other.”
His thumb stroked along the back of her head. “It’ll take at least a couple of months to pull together your dream wedding. We’ll be experts in each other by then.”
A small, short-lived giggle bubbled up from somewhere in her chest. “You’re ridiculous.”
He groaned and swept his tongue across her lips. “I need more of that,” he said. “Laugh for me. Every day. I need that sound every day.”
She flushed even as a self-conscious, compulsory laugh slipped free. “I can’t exactly do that with your tongue down my throat.” Not that she was complaining. Why was he not kissing her already?
“I’m happy to put my tongue other places.” As if to prove his point, he used the hand in her hair to tug her head back and swept his tongue over her skin from the underside of her jaw down to the hollow of her throat.
The next burst of laughter his response had earned melted into a moan.
He’d released her hands, freeing himself to hold her better and allowing her the freedom to touch him in return, and his wandering lips had just grazed the top swell of a breast when someone pounded firmly on the door.
Reiko tensed immediately. She wasn’t in denial about what his staff surely assumed they were doing in there. Suddenly she was, however, painfully aware that she would be seeing much more of his staff and she had made quite a horrendous impression.
Santino stiffened for a moment, something like a growl vibrating through him, before he straightened them both to an upright position and tucked her flush against his side. He turned his head toward the door as it cracked open.
“Apologies, Boss.” The voice belonged to Armando. “Corinna is on the phone for you.”
Santino grunted. “Is there a problem?”
Corinna? Reiko was sure that was a woman’s name. But she also realized this was a perfect testament to her point that they hardly knew each other. It was also an excellent douse of cold water to her stupidly overheated, distracted blood.
“I believe she heard about Nico and was concerned about you, sir,” Armando replied.
Santino blew out a breath. “Tell Mamma I’ll call her back shortly and not to worry.”
Reiko blinked, not hearing Armando’s exit and barely processing when Santino loosened his grip. “Your … mother?”
Santino flashed her a grin. “Sorry, beautiful. Sometimes she still hovers. The incident with Nico’s going to make waves in the family. I should’ve expected someone would call.”
His mother. The half-developed pit of anxiety uncoiled and she felt herself flush over her own stupidity.
Yet, she smiled. He’d said family was important in his world.
She was used to seeing other people’s family matter to them.
But it felt different, thinking she might one day be included in that.
Even if on the periphery. “You should call her back and put her mind at ease,” she said.
“Come to think of it, I imagine you have other things you have to handle because of that … incident.”
Santino frowned. “Are you running away?”
Reiko shook her head before casting her gaze around the room.
She actually wasn’t sure where he’d tossed her shirt, and it took her a moment to spot.
At least it wasn’t hanging like a cliché off of a light somewhere.
Before getting up, she said, “I’m not running, or panicking.
I just realized you can’t ignore the world all day, and if we’re serious about all the things we talked about”—she drew a steadying breath, the words feeling heavier as they prepared to fall off her tongue—“I need to give my landlord notice, and work on packing.” Not that she had a lot, but among other things, she also didn’t have boxes.
Santino blinked at her for a beat, and then his face split in half with a wide smile.
“I don’t like the idea of you leaving so soon, but if you have to, I can accept this reason.
” He reached over, dragged her back onto his lap in a complete contradiction to his words, and kissed her.
The kiss was wet and hard and full of promise.
Full of all the things they’d both had on their minds only minutes earlier.
Then he retreated and cupped her face between his palms. “I’ve assigned a man to keep watch on your apartment at all times, and there will be another following you when you go anywhere without me.
This is for your protection. None of these men will ever need to enter your apartment except in emergencies.
If they act shady, or offend you, you tell me.
If you get scared or anything happens, you call me immediately.
I don’t care what time of day it is or what you think I’m doing that day.
If you need something, I will be there. Understand? ”
It took her a good thirty seconds to process enough of his words to comprehend what he was saying. At which point, her mouth fell open again. “You’ve already assigned someone to just, what, stake out my apartment? They’ve got to be hating you a little bit for how boring that must be.”
Santino tipped his head back and laughed, his arms lowering to loop around her abdomen.
“No, beautiful. They’re loving me for the easy job.
Trust me. And yes, that part’s done. Your personal escort will be your chauffer home, so you’ll meet him.
You’ll get his number.” He bumped her forehead with his. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
Her heart seemed to settle at his gentle words and she smiled. “Okay.”