Chapter 30
____________________
ENZO
Food and drinks float around the living room as we mingle downstairs. I catch her flirtatious gaze in the corner of my eye, making it difficult to concentrate on the story her Uncle Jacob is telling me about his son’s most recent jet-setting adventure.
My dick is completely drained after fucking her again in the shower and my back aches from the scratch marks she left behind. Eventually we had to tear away from each other and go back downstairs. If her family knows we were fucking, they didn’t say anything. Although Dom keeps trying to catch my attention, probably to get the details on what transpired.
Those are memories I’ll keep to myself though .
Part of me still can’t believe she took that step forward. I know what a big deal it was to her, essentially surrendering, a show of vulnerability and complete trust. Our relationship is slowly evolving into something real. I just hope we stay like this.
Nodding at whatever Jacob just said, I excuse myself and make my way over to my wife. She’s been occupied by her sisters all since we came down — Calista has been attached to Anastasia’s side ever since they made up and Isla is eager to spend as much time with her older sister before she’s shipped away to Ravenswood again.
It’s strange thinking about the place where I first met my wife.
Maybe I’ll offer to pick up my new sister and brother-in-law when the semester is over?
I’ll drag Anastasia along, though she’ll probably fight me the entire way. We’ll arrive early — just enough time to hide away in the church ruins and relive some of our happier memories together, preferably the ones where she’s naked.
My gaze drifts to Demetri who swings back his drink, vodka disguised as water though I’m sure if his mother wasn’t on her pain meds she would be able to tell. His father is too enamored by his wife to pay any attention. His eyes are fixed on her like she’s the sun itself, as she laughs with one of her brothers .
To my surprise, the glowering boy I’ve yet to hear speak crosses the room towards me. He takes my glass and downs the contents, ignoring my irritated stare. “Macallan neat? I didn’t think you had it in you to drink it straight.”
His voice is deeper than I expected but he’s still just an eighteen-year-old kid. “Did no-one teach you that it’s rude to steal another person’s drink?”
“They did. I just chose to ignore them. Life’s best played when you’re free of restrictions but I’m sure you know all about that, having tricked my smartest sister into believing you to be a pauper’s son and getting her to fuck you.”
My face falls and I’m about to grip him by his collar and wrench him out of the room until I notice the mass of people around us.
He looks unbothered and leans in. “Yeah, I wouldn’t do that if I was you. My family hate betrayal and finding out that you broke my sister’s heart once upon a time might just dissolve that newfound trust they just placed in you.”
I grit my teeth and remind myself that Anastasia would be very upset if anything happened to her little brother. “What the hell do you want, kid?”
“First of all, don’t call me kid.” He spits out. “It’s demeaning, especially when my IQ is higher than yours. And secondly, I don’t want anything but your guarantee that you won’t hurt my sister anymore than you already have. She deserves to be happy and you’re going to make damn sure that she is.”
Shit. Demetri Romano is something different.
There’s a darkness inside of him but not like his parents or his sister. It’s something more corrosive, almost as if it’s been eating away at his soul since birth.
It’s probably best to keep on his good side. “Don’t worry, I plan to make your sister very happy. What happened before…we’re working through it.” Curiosity gnaws at me. “How did you find out?”
A sharp laugh escapes his throat, tapered by a slight hoarseness that comes from smoking. “I know all the dirty secrets hidden beneath the cracks of this family — including yours and I know I said I didn’t want anything but that might change in the future. Just so you know,”
He hands me back the empty glass before leaving — probably in search of his not-so-better half, Nero. Those two are gonna cause some fucking trouble in the future.
I abandon the glass and finally find my wife, passionately engaged in an argument with Calista. That familiar fire blazes in her eyes as I snake one arm around her small waist .
She sets that wrathful gaze on me now instead. “How’s your hand?” I know there’s a small part of her that enjoyed slicing my skin open. Is it weird that it turns me on?
“It's a little sore, maybe you should kiss it better?” She scoffs, leaning into my touch.
Calista offers me a sheepish smile, slowly inching away from us. “Okay, so I’ll leave you two alone—”
“Not so fast.” My wife snaps her attention back to her sister. “Calista, I don’t trust him.” Clearly I’ve stumbled on something I’m in now way equipped to help with. I attempt to pull away but Anastasia sinks her nails into my arm, keeping her tight hold on me.
“You don’t even know him.” Calista argues. “And besides, he’s…nice.”
Nice? If Anastasia ever used nice for me as a selling point I’d have her committed.
“I met Germy once and trust me, it was enough.”
I snort. “Your boyfriend is called Germy?”
Calista shoots her sister a look, though it’s nowhere near as dangerous as Anastasia’s. “No, it’s Jeremiah and he’s not my boyfriend. He just a friend.”
“A creepy obsessed friend which is why you can’t move in with him.” Anastasia bites out, her cheeks flushing with frustration. “What if he tries to touch you up whilst you’re asleep? Or watch you in the shower? Or something worse and I can’t be there to help you.”
“You don’t have to help me. I’m twenty-one years old, Stasia. When are you going to learn that I can take care of myself? You’re not my mom, you’re my sister so be supportive the way I’ve been about you two.” Although Calista’s right, I know her words inflict more pain in my wife than she wants to let on.
Calista seems torn between her love for her sister and her need for independence. She looks at me, desperation clear in her eyes like a thick sheen, but all I can do is shake my head, knowing it’ll take time to heal for Anastasia to accept.
“Anyways, I should get going. My friend Mica is having a gallery showing and I promised to help with the set up.”
Calista turns, about to leave when I nudge Anastasia. She stares up at me. I give her a pointed look and she sighs. “Wait, Calista.” She drops my hand, stepping closer to her sister. “How about you message me a night you’re free and the four of us…” I watch her visibly swallow down her disgust. “Hang out at your…new apartment.”
“Really?” I’m not exactly a fan of spending any time with a guy my wife refers to as Germy, but if it makes Anastasia happy .
“Sure. I’ll give him a chance.”
Calista squeals excitedly, hugging Anastasia. “Thanks! I’ll text you.”
I watch her leave and my wife turns back to me, a smile gracing that beautiful face. “See what happens when you listen to my advice.”
She scoffs, but her smile drops when she sees the crescent-shaped marks in my palm. “Fuck, I’m sorry.” Quickly, she picks up my hand and rubs her thumb over the indents. “I didn’t realize I was digging in that hard.”
I drag her chin up to look at me. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I want your pain, Anastasia. I’m here to take it from you when it proves too much.”
Swallowing hard, she takes a moment before she nods and reaches up to kiss me. The moment her lips brush against mine, the rest of the world fades away and all that exists is me and her.
I pull away, tugging at her bottom lip. “Can you find out more about Jeremiah? I don’t trust him with my sister.”
“Of course, but can I ask you exactly what this bastard did to deserve your hate mi amore?”
She smooths out my collar and leans up to wipe the lipstick off my face. “He’s just creepy. Always hanging around my sister, all touchy feely when he doesn’t need to be and he’s the one who convinced her that in order to be a successful artist she needs to struggle which is why she moved out.”
“Fair enough. Consider him on my bad list too.”
“You know, we’re married now. That means my enemies automatically become yours, no explanations necessary.”
I laugh, the whiskey I’ve been drinking making it come out deeper. “Of course, Mrs Mancini.”
“Ugh Romano–Mancini.”
“Semantics.” I mumble, before smashing my lips into hers again. She moans, tugging on my neck to deepen the kiss. Smiling against her lips, I groan as I force myself to pull back. “I have some urgent business I need to finish at the new offices. See you at home later?”
“I love that you’re starting to see it as home. “Me too.”
It’s only been a few weeks since I moved into her apartment but slowly it’s becoming our own. I gave in after a long tedious argument but Dom moved into my old place so in the end it worked out well.
I’m grinning as I reach my car, thinking of all the new possibilities for tonight with Anastasia finally trusting me again. Handcuffs are a definite, some ice play or perhaps a butt plug if my tongue performed its job well enough .
My phone starts to vibrate in my pocket. I stop to pull it out, sighing as I read the caller ID. Even though I’ve forgiven my mother in some aspects, I’m still not ready for hour-long calls to discuss my week. That kind of relationship would have to be something we rebuild.
I decline the call but my phone quickly starts to ring again. She could be in trouble…or worse.
Hearing laughter behind me, I glance over my shoulder to find Demetri and Nero hiding out behind the house to smoke pot. Thankfully they haven’t spotted me yet, so I take the opportunity to quickly slide into my car.
I’m not taking any chances with that little psychopath.
I answer the phone this time, watching the boys disappear into the shadows. “What’s wrong, Ma?”
“Have you told her yet?” I groan, half-tempted to end the call but the catholic son inside of me knows I couldn’t disrespect her like that.
“There’s nothing to tell.” I bite out.
“Enzo,” She chides like I’m a boy again. “You know it was him.”
I sigh hard, burying my face into my hands. “There’s no proof Ma. It’s just speculation. ”
“A speculation that could cause more hurt than is necessary. He sent me something. I wanted to tell you yesterday but you didn’t answer my calls.”
“What did he send?”
“A clip. The butterfly clip your father gifted me on our wedding day. It went missing after the wedding and I could never find it, I just assumed it must have dropped out somewhere. Then yesterday it was mailed to me — blood stained. It’s him, Enzo. I just know it and now he’s taunting us. The longer you drag this out, the more pain it’ll cause.”
She’s right. She always is. “You’re moving in with Dom, Ma. If he knows your hotel address, then he can hurt you. Pack and I’ll call him to pick you up.”
I hate this. I hate lying to Anastasia.
I’m a fucking coward for letting it go on for this long but I’m scared of destroying everything we’ve built between us, all the affection and the promises that have been made. She’s been a saint to forgive me, but this time I fear she'll be the one to walk away from us.