Chapter 6
Elena
“Ican’t believe you’re both due within a week of each other.” I gaze at Ravenna’s and Arianna’s rounded bellies. The last time I saw them, they had much flatter stomachs. Now they’re carrying the next generation. It’s surreal.
Arianna sighs. “Yeah, only eight more weeks to go. This baby boy’s getting heavy.”
“How do you think I feel carrying around twins?” Ravenna grouses, though I know she’s thrilled to be carrying on our tradition of twins. I wonder if they’ll be identical like us.
“So,” Ravenna changes the subject, “why is Maximo insisting you stay with him when the threat to you is gone? Do you have any idea what he’s up to?”
“Does he have to be up to something?” Arianna asks, sipping sparkling water.
Ravenna pins her with a look. “Mafia men always have an agenda.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
They both stare at me expectantly.
“I honestly don’t know. He’s been acting strange from the moment I arrived.” A faint blush heats my cheeks when I remember the party last night. “My bedroom in his apartment is all pink. The walls are lined with bookshelves. It’s like… he had it designed especially for me.”
They exchange a loaded glance. Ravenna asks, “Has he said anything about his intentions toward you?”
“No. Not directly. I mean, he had me accompany him to a party last night. Enzo Casella’s birthday.
And when Enzo started flirting with me, Maximo totally made it sound like we’re nearly engaged.
But he could have done that to make sure Enzo backed off and left me alone, because I wasn’t liking the attention.
I don’t think Maximo actually has romantic feelings towards me. ”
Arianna leans forward. “Are you sure? That sounds like the kind of thing a possessive man would do. Especially one who has every intention of marrying you.”
My stomach swoops and dives. I feel sick. But also oddly… thrilled that Maximo would have that level of interest in me. Then reality slaps me in the face.
Does Maximo intend to trap me here with him? Why now? He’s had four years to convince me to date him, but I barely saw him in all that time. It doesn’t make any sense for him to go from aloof to possessive in the span of a few months time.
I shake my head. “No. He doesn’t want me like that. I think he’s just being overprotective so that he doesn’t ruin his reputation or something. I’m sure he’ll deem me safe enough to let me live on my own soon.”
Which brings me to… Say it. Say. It. Goodbye—it’s not that hard. My mouth is suddenly dry and I reach for my water.
“Well, if he becomes too overbearing just let me know.” Ravenna rubs my shoulder.
“I’ll have Cian deal with him. I’m just so happy to have you home.
All that time you spent in Italy, it felt like a piece of me was missing.
Now you’re back and I’m the happiest person alive.
You’re going to be a wonderful auntie to my babies. ”
Guilt gnaws at me. I can’t do it. Not today. I can’t say goodbye right now and break my sister’s heart. Maybe I should wait until after the babies are born. I should at least see them, hold them, kiss them before I have to leave.
Leaving feels like it’s so much more complicated now. It’s not fair to Ravenna or her kids. Can I really let them grow up without me? I mean, they don’t need me, but I am their only aunt. And I’m my sister’s twin. We used to be inseparable. Can I leave all of this behind?
I have time to figure it out. There’s no pressure to decide right now.
I smile at my sister. “I’m glad to be home too.”
I’m in the car, the driver and my assigned bodyguard for the day in the front seats, when my phone pings with a new text.
Fishing it out of my bag, I glance down to find Maximo’s message, which immediately irritates me.
It’s time to set some boundaries with him.
Especially since I’m staying longer than I originally intended.
Maximo:
Dinner tonight. 6 PM. Rooftop. Wear the new dress in your closet.
Elena:
I’m not agreeing to anything unless you say please.
Maximo:
That word isn’t in my vocabulary.
Elena:
Then you’ll be dining alone.
Maximo:
You will be having dinner with me tonight.
Elena:
No.
Maximo:
I think you meant to type Yes. Having issues with autocorrect?
Elena:
Nope. I actually mean No. I will not be having dinner with you.
Maximo:
Be a good girl and do as you’re told.
Blushing, I stare at the message on my screen. He’s so… bossy. Telling me to be a good girl is only going to backfire on him.
Elena:
I never said I was a good girl. I don’t like doing as I’m told.
Maximo:
The choice is yours. Either be a good girl, or else I’ll have to punish you for being a naughty girl.
That gives me pause. My thumb hovers over the mobile keyboard. Why did my entire body just flush? I can’t possibly enjoy the thought of Maximo punishing me for being bad. I’ve never been a bad girl in my life. I have constantly strived to please the people around me.
Maybe that’s why the idea of being naughty and punished is so appealing?
I don’t know, and I can’t dwell on that thought for too long. Maximo is everything I don’t want in a man. He’s the epitome of what I’m trying to escape. I can’t be tempted by him.
The rest of the ride to his penthouse, I debate with myself. Do I be good and show up for dinner like he commanded? Or do I take a risk and see if he’ll follow through on his threat? I squeeze my thighs together as heat pulsates in my core. I’m playing with fire here and I know it.
What is up with me? I’m not bold, but… maybe I want to be? Maybe I’m tired of big, tough guys telling me what to do and I want to push back for once in my life. Would that be so bad?
Pushing my pink-framed glasses up my nose, I ponder that thought.
I’ve always fallen easily in line, done everything expected of me, and where has it gotten me?
I’m the only one of us Pontrelli girls who isn’t settled in life.
I’m still running from my past. I don’t have a clue where I fit in the world, I just know it’s not here. Not long-term.
My rebellious, risk-taking sister and cousins have all found the lives they want.
Sophia will be graduating college next year with her Art History degree, Ginevra’s living in Paris and going to culinary arts school, and Arianna has a thriving event planning business of her own.
Ravenna’s always wanted to be a mother and she’s having twins.
Where is my happily ever after? More importantly, does it really involve me being a reclusive writer in sunny California?
That’s so far away from the family I love.
But it’s also far, far away from my haunted past. I’m not sure which is more important to me and I hate the fact that I can’t just choose my family and be happy with that choice.
My biggest fear is that it will happen again—and next time, I won’t escape those iron bars. Next time, the person who takes me will want me dead.
When we arrive at Maximo’s home, I still don’t have any answers. Just a lot of swirling thoughts that are bringing on a headache.
But I’m still annoyed at Maximo for thinking he can boss me around and I’m just going to be a good girl and take it.
I manage to avoid him as I make a beeline for my bedroom, and lock the door behind me. With my back to the solid surface, I heave a relieved sigh. This is my sanctuary—for now. I’m safe in here. For now.
Curiosity draws my gaze to the closet. He said he left me a dress to wear. What does it look like? Is it another Skye Adair Couture design?
Is that all he was doing in my bedroom while I was away? What gives him the right to be in here at all? This space belongs to me for as long as I have to stay here.
I tear my attention away from the closet, unwilling to let him get under my skin, and go in search of my laptop.
It’s in the drawer where I left it. Plopping on the bed, I open my writing program where I keep my current work in progress.
I’m in the middle of the third and final book of my epic Romantasy trilogy, though I’ve only published up to the end of book two, leaving my readers with a brutal cliffhanger.
I’ll start giving them chapters from book three soon.
It’s my favorite romance genre to read, and one day I decided to try writing a story that I wanted to read but couldn’t find.
The plot started out very personal with a trapped princess in a dangerous kingdom.
Then over time she gained her freedom, found her magical powers, and in this final book her long-time enemy turned lover and she will get their happily ever after.
How can I write about this character pulling her life together and saving her kingdom when in my real life I don’t have half the nerve she does? Who knows. But it’s my escape. My way of dealing with reality is to escape it from time to time.
Well, maybe tonight I’ll take a page out of my own character’s book and refuse to cooperate with Maximo. You can’t be the heroine of your own story if you let everyone else try to take charge of your life. And he definitely qualifies as my personal villain right now.
I spend the rest of the day writing a couple of chapters.
My hungry fans are really not happy about the cliffhanger I left them on last week.
I need to give them the next bit really soon—even though it also ends on a cliffhanger.
I just hope I can figure out the ending because so far I’m not entirely sure where it’s going.
Once I’ve finished with that task, I peruse property in the three cities I like in California. I know purchasing a home can take a while, even with an all cash offer. So the sooner I start really looking, the better. That’s much easier to do now that I’m back in the States.
Though as I do, guilt eats away at me, spoiling the fun of it.
How can I willingly turn my back on my family and disappear forever?
It’s not fair to them. I’m just not sure how to make everyone happy, and give all of us what we need when our needs are so conflicting.
I hate the idea of having to choose between my own happiness and the happiness of my family. It’s not fair.
My phone chimes at ten minutes to six in the evening. It’s Maximo. With a sigh, I swipe the screen to read his text.
Maximo:
If you’re thinking of being a bad girl and not showing up for dinner, I will have to punish you, bellissima.
I sit with this threat for half a second, my ire rising, before my fingers are tapping out a haughty reply. One much braver than I’d ever speak to his face.
Elena:
Oh yeah? How are you going to punish me?
Maximo:
You don’t want to know all the ways I’ve considered punishing you. Just be good and come to dinner.
Elena:
I think you’re lying. You would never touch me in anger.
Maximo:
Who said I’d be angry?
Elena:
You only punish people when you’re mad at them.
Maximo:
You don’t understand, cara mia.
Elena:
Explain.
Maximo:
You have five minutes. Be here or else…
Elena:
Empty threats won’t get you far.
Maximo:
Don’t push me. Four minutes.
Elena:
I’m not coming. Good night.
His typing bubble appears and vanishes several times. Chewing on my lower lip, I watch the screen, way too invested in what he’s typing. My heart hammers against my ribs. A giddy feeling of rebelliousness has me all floaty and anxious. Finally his text pops up.
Maximo:
You want to know how I’ll punish you? First, I’ll come into your bedroom while you sleep and handcuff you to the bed so you can’t escape me. Then I’ll bury my face between your thighs and devour your sweet pussy until you’re begging me to let you come.
My breath hitches. This is not at all what I expected. He can’t possibly be serious. This is… this is pornographic. Like something I’d write in my book. But that’s fiction, he can’t possibly be threatening me with sex.
Scandalized, I continue reading. I can’t tear my eyes away from the screen as his texts pop up one after the other.
Maximo:
You’ll beg and beg, but I won’t let you come. I’ll bring you to the edge over and over. You’ll whimper. You’ll plead. You’ll be willing to do anything for that blissful release.
Maximo:
When you think you can’t take another second of it, I’ll leave your room. But your hands will be restrained so that you can’t touch yourself and finish.
Maximo:
I hope I’m making myself clear. You can either spend all night frustrated, or you can be a good girl. Get dressed and meet me on the rooftop. Now.
My lips part in shock, heart racing, but I scramble up from the bed and go into the closet. I’m not going to call his bluff. Maximo strikes me as the type of man who is good for his word.
As I enter the closet, I can’t get the image out of my head of Maximo’s full lips tasting my pussy as he gazes up at me with lustful eyes. My imagination is far too vivid. And for reasons I refuse to consider, I might not be as opposed to him in that position as I should be.
Does this mean he’s attracted to me? Or is he going for a shock factor and it means nothing?
My chest tight, pussy throbbing, I quickly dress for dinner. He’s won this round, but I’m sure there will be others.
For now, I can tell him to his face how disgusting his threats are, and how I will never let him near me like that.
Maximo might be the most handsome man I’ve ever met, but I will never fall for him.
Though I have a feeling this is going to be like playing games with the Devil himself. What have I gotten myself into?