15. Dario #2
Scanning the room, I spot Leonardo near the center.
He’s drinking wine and pretending to be enraptured by something Bianca is telling him, but his eyes keep darting to Mia.
His expression isn’t like the others. It’s the same pouty look a kid gets when someone else has a toy he wants to play with.
I saw it on Leonardo’s face a lot when we were younger.
He’s still the same spoiled little shit he was back then, and when he notices me staring at him, his jaw tenses before he looks back at Bianca and gives her a fake smile.
Giuseppe’s daughter wisely took my advice and hasn’t so much as looked in our direction, but it doesn’t take long for her brother to find me.
“It’s good to see you, Dario,” Francesco says, leaning in to kiss my cheek. The future don of the Santoro family is a few years older than me, but unlike Leonardo, I know he’s going to do his father proud when he eventually takes over.
“It’s good to see you too, Francesco.” Keeping my arm around Mia, I say, “I’d like to introduce you to my wife. This is Mia.” I smile down at her, ridiculously proud to call her that and impatient to make it real.
Mia extends her hand for him to shake. He takes it with a smile. “It’s very nice to meet you, even if you have made a liar of me.”
“I have?” Mia asks.
Francesco grins at her and then points a finger at me. “I always swore he’d never marry. He had his pick of all of Calabria, my sister included,” he adds with a friendly laugh, “and he refused them all. No one could tie him down.”
Mia looks up at me and winks, making my cock twitch as I debate whether or not I can get away with pulling her into a corner again.
“I guess he was just waiting for me.” She looks up at me, and I’m not buying the innocent look she’s giving me for a second. In a sweet voice, she says, “I mean, when you were busy dodging women and refusing to be tied down, I was what? Three? Four?”
Francesco nearly chokes on the drink he just took while I slide my hand down, smacking her ass hard enough to draw attention before palming the stinging cheek. Her eyes flare and her bottom lip lightly parts from the top. Her face is a perfect mixture of shock and arousal.
“She keeps me on my toes,” I say, giving her a wink.
Francesco laughs and raises his glass. “To beautiful, feisty women. The world would be a much sadder place without them.”
“Amen to that,” Sandro says, cutting in with a grin. He sets his empty wine glass down when a waiter walks by holding a tray and then looks over at me. “Don Esposito would like a word. He’s sitting near the godawful oil painting of our host. Excuse me, I mean the painting of Apollo .”
Francesco laughs at my brother’s sarcasm while I look over and give Carlo a nod, letting him know I’ll be right over.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she’s safe,” Sandro says, already taking Mia’s hand and leading her toward the dance floor. I lean down and give her a quick kiss.
“Don’t leave his side, amore mio, ” I tell her.
“I won’t,” she promises right before Sandro pulls her away from me.
I know she’s safe. I know my brother would give his life to protect her and that Sasha is watching every second of this from some hidden corner, but I still wait a couple of seconds, watching until she and my brother are on the floor, and he’s spinning her around and making her laugh.
“Damn, you’ve got it bad,” Francesco says. “I honestly never thought I’d see the day.”
“Me either, but you’re right. I do have it bad.
” If he’s surprised by how easily I’ve admitted to it, he hides it well.
Most men in our line of work don’t marry for love, and they sure as fuck don’t remain faithful after they’ve said I do , but I never wanted that.
It’s part of the reason why I never wanted to marry.
I can’t stand cheating, and before Mia, I never wanted to commit myself to just one woman for the rest of my life, but now I can’t imagine ever being with anyone else.
I excuse myself from Francesco and make my way over to where Carlo is waiting. He gestures for me to take the seat beside him, and when I’m sitting, he says, “I see your brother is still the same.”
There’s an amused tone to his voice as he watches Sandro spin my wife around the dance floor. The classical music that’s playing isn’t really conducive to it, but he’s making it work, and it’s making Mia laugh, which is all I care about.
“He is,” I agree, watching him give her a gentle dip that accentuates the lines of her body in a way that makes it difficult to think about anything other than how badly I need to be inside her again.
After a few seconds, Carlo says, “I won’t keep you long. With a wife as beautiful as that, I know you’re a busy man, but I wanted you to hear it from my own mouth that I had nothing to do with the hits on your men.”
I turn my head and meet the old man’s eyes. They’re just as sharp and cunning as they ever were, but there’s no deceit in them. I watch as he scans the room, stopping when he finds Leonardo.
“His father would be appalled,” is all he says before he looks back at me. “My family will stand with your family. You have my word on that.”
“Thank you, Don Esposito. Dominic will be happy to hear it,” I tell him.
“Dominic’s a good man. His father would be proud to see what his son has accomplished. Antonio was a good man, and I considered him a friend.”
“I know my uncle felt the same about you. He had a lot of respect for you, Don Esposito,” I say.
He reaches out and pats my forearm. “You’re a good man, Dario. I know you’ll handle this the right way.”
I’m confident we’re on the same page and that we both agree the right way means Leonardo ends up rotting six feet under, but Carlo confirms it when he says, “His younger brother always had a better head for business anyway. Paulo should’ve made sure everything was handed down to Franco instead of his older brother. ”
“Leonardo would’ve really loved that,” I say, making Carlo smile.
“I would’ve paid good money to see the look on that little fucker’s face.” He sighs and takes a drink of wine before saying, “We can’t all have sons that make us proud.”
I have no idea what to say about the son who continually disgraces Carlo and loses a small fortune every year from a gambling habit that he refuses to get help for, so I don’t say anything.
He and I sit in silence for a few minutes, both of us watching Mia and Sandro, and when she gives me a cutesy wave, Carlo gives a soft laugh.
“You’re a lucky bastard,” he says.
“I couldn’t agree more,” I tell him.
“Go have fun with your wife, Dario.” He’s still staring at her when he adds, “And know that every man here would give his left nut to switch places with you.”
I look over at him, unsure if I should be flattered or pissed. He must see my inner debate because he grins and pats my forearm again.
“Take it as the compliment it was meant to be, Dario.”
I nod and give his hand a quick squeeze before I stand. “It was good seeing you, Don Esposito. Dominic will be happy to hear you’re doing so well.”
“Send my regards to him and his family,” he tells me before I walk towards the dance floor.
When Sandro sees me, he grins and spins Mia again before dipping her low.
“You’ve had your fun,” I tell him.
“Have I?” He laughs and tries to dance her across the floor and away from me, but I grab her hand and pull her into me instead.
“I think you’ve touched my wife enough for the night,” I tell him in Italian.
He just gives me one of his huge smiles, and before he walks off, he whispers near my ear, “I think I’m behaving myself incredibly well considering I have yet to bring up the fact that your wife has both her nipples pierced.”
“You just did,” I tell him.
Shaking his head, he steps back with a laugh. “That’s not me bringing it up. That’s just me casually mentioning how well behaved I’m being. I have questions, a lot of them, and I will be asking you later.”
He’s barely walked five feet from us before finding another very willing dance partner. With a grin, he pulls her close and then disappears behind another dancing couple.
“Everything okay?” Mia asks. “With Don Esposito?”
“It’s fine, amore mio . He just wanted to let me know that his family is with us. Now we just need Leonardo to make his move and expose himself.”
“And then I get to take him down,” Mia says with a grin.
I lean down and kiss her. “And then I’ll step in and take care of him,” I correct.
If we were anywhere else, she’d be giving me a very loud earful about what I’ve just said, but since she can’t at the moment, I smile even bigger and press her closer to me, spinning her in a small circle to avoid another couple.
“This is nice, isn’t it?” I ignore the glare she’s trying to hide. “If it makes you feel any better, I was just informed that every man here would give his left nut to be with you.”
I can tell she’s surprised, but she covers it by giving a lazy look around the room. “That does make me feel a little bit better, especially since I’m sure all the women would give their right tits to be with you.”
“That is quite the compliment,” I agree. “Too bad for them I only want you.”
Her hands clasp behind my neck right before I feel her fingers run through my hair. “And I only want you,” she whispers. The heat of her breath hits my neck, and my body responds immediately, reminding me that I didn’t get to release my frustration like she did .
“There’s my little hopeless romantic,” I tease and then nip at her ear.
“Can we leave now?”
“Anxious to get me naked again? You just lost your virginity last night, sweetheart, and you’re already addicted to my cock.”
“If your ego gets any bigger, you’re going to explode.”
I smile and kiss her right below her ear, feeling the shiver that runs through her body and loving every second of it. With my lips barely touching her, I ask, “Is Leonardo staring at you?”