Chapter 39 – Vincenzo
It was a mistake to come here.
When I received the message from my brother that he was taking the women to dinner, I decided I’d had enough separation and gave in to the temptation to see my wife.
Deciding to skip breakfast with her the other morning, I’d stayed away.
While every fiber of my being begged me to go to her, I kept my iron control in place and resisted the urge.
I’d spent the days watching Amanda from a distance, letting her have the space I knew she needed.
But now I was done.
The buzz of customers enjoying their lunches created a chaotic cloud over our table. The presence of my brother and his wife added another layer of distance. I bent the fork as I stabbed the last bite of vegetables.
I just wanted to talk to her.
To be a person around Amanda.
The low lighting back here and the dancing votive candle on the table didn’t let me see her clearly.
Her presence felt muted. And the noise? The ruckus of glasses and plates, the boisterous laughs, and amicable conversation?
It suffocated my thoughts so that I couldn’t breathe air into the things I wanted to say.
And even if I found the words, the pent-up energy vibrating from the beauty was full of angst and turmoil.
She was a ship who’d been thrown off her course by a storm and now was subject to the strong current she was unable to escape.
It didn’t matter how many ropes I’d thrown; she had to decide when to take one.
“As soon as the mural dries, you can come help me set up the nursery,” Nicole offered her sister with a bright, beaming smile.
“You’ll have to ask my warden,” Amanda grumped, voice strained. “His prisoner probably isn’t allowed to leave like that.”
Anger sliced through me, tearing open old scars and fueling the beast inside, who bellowed with rage.
Cristiano went still—too still. Even Nicole realized her sister was being careless. Their eyes flicked to me, waiting for an explosion.
I dabbed the corners of my mouth with the napkin. “Cris, settle the tab. We’re leaving.”
Amanda crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not done.”
The tension at the table pulled taut. My brother angled his body, ready to block his wife from the danger.
I pointed to the salad Amanda had done nothing but pick at. “Are you going to finish that?”
“Probably,” she responded, tipping up her chin.
The whole meal, I’d wanted to haul her onto my lap and force the food into her stomach, even if it was better suited for rabbits than for humans. Right this second, hauling her onto my knee took on an entirely different meaning. Her smart mouth begged me to spank her.
My fingers itched to feel her flesh. Oh, how it would sting!
“Eat.”
At my harsh command, diners at the next table shot glances in our direction. Don Morelli would throttle me if I caused a scene here. Better to leave before temptation got the better of me.
“I’ll eat when I’m ready,” Amanda said hotly.
“Oh, come on, Amanda,” Nicole protested. “You can’t let the crap Carole says about food get into your head.”
Amanda scowled at her. “She hasn’t made a comment about my body in years.”
“Really? There weren’t jabs made at your rushed wedding a few weeks ago?” Nicole arched a brow. “I know our stepmom. I know the bullshit she spews.”
That snippet of conversation told me all I needed to know. It was a piece of the puzzle that was the last ten years clicking into place. If I had been around, if I had protected Amanda….
I’m here now.
I stood abruptly. The chair scraped across the worn wood.
Cristiano’s jaw flexed, but not as violently as mine.
My whisper was harsh and full of a terrible promise. “Get up, fiore, before I spank you so hard you won’t be able to sit for a week.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” she breathed, but her eyes widened a fraction.
“Try me.”
Coming to her senses, Amanda gave in. Her lips flattened as she leaned over to hug her sister and murmur something. Whatever Nicole said in response sent a peal of rueful laughter tinkling from my pretty flower.
Amanda rose and began walking toward the back hallway.
Smart girl, she remembered where I always parked in the gravel lot beyond the alley.
She walked quickly, but her strides looked effortless and breezy as those long, toned legs ate up the floor.
If only she was in a decadent little dress, I could see them better.
Every pantsuit she owned was destined for the burn pits.
I stepped in behind her, placing my hand on her lower back.
The touch was meant to guide, not possess.
It took restraint not to pull her close, to dominate her.
But those pretty hackles were raised, and it was time for the tension of the last few weeks to be released—or risk explosion.
I felt the heat of her skin through the sleeveless top she wore. Catching the door, I held it open.
Amanda didn’t look to acknowledge the gesture. Didn’t thank me for it. “How long will you lock me up for this time?”
Fury rolled off me in waves. Prison. That was what she thought? She had no fucking idea….
A server pushed out of the kitchen, and Amanda jumped to the side to avoid a collision that would have been a marinara nightmare. I walked past them both, daring the employee to spill on me.
At the back door, I stopped short. My fingers squeezed the metal knob, finally finding something that wouldn’t break under the force of my touch.
Amanda’s heels clipped down the hall toward me. “What’s the matter? Forgot something?”
A ragged breath filled my lungs. The smell of citrus cleaner and something smoky from the kitchen concealed the scent I longed to inhale. Jasmine would have calmed me. Moonlight would have been a balm for the angry red wound gaping in my chest.
She nearly bumped into me, expecting me to move. “Come on, take me back to my cell.”
Porca miseria, she knew exactly what she was doing. That hadn’t been an accidental barb at the dinner table. I shouldn’t have expected the lawyer in her to use such careless language.
Fine.
If she wanted to argue, I was game. “Maybe I’ll tie you up. Take away your last shred of freedom. You won’t even be able to lie down without my express permission. Is that what you want?”
“Is that what you want?” she taunted.
The walls of the empty hallway began to close around us. It was too narrow. Too dim. Industrial lights buzzed overhead. Eight years of terror choked me. I might be free, but the memories would haunt me to my deathbed.
“You can’t keep me locked in your house like a pet,” Amanda added, not sensing how thin of ice she walked on.
The words stuck in my throat, but I forced them out. “I’m keeping you alive.”
She scoffed. “No, you’ve found a way to keep me close. Tell me, Vincenzo, do you really think the drive-by shooting was an assassination attempt?”
My breath hitched. She figured it out. That devilishly clever mind worked out the logic.
An admission slipped out before I could stop it. “Every time you walk away, I—”
My voice was fucking shaking.
Rage.
Fear.
Longing.
“Just don’t,” I ground out.
Her laugh was incredulous. “Don’t what? Call out your manipulative bullshit?”
“Don’t say another word,” I warned, voice low.
Amanda never listened. The rebuttal was soft, her words velvety and packed with danger. “We’re ancient history, Enzo.”
And yet, she was the one threatening just yesterday that I shouldn’t take a mistress.
Hot and burning cold.
Brutal and terrifyingly beautiful.
How was a sinner like me to survive against such odds?
“Why are you so angry tonight?” I barked.
In the silence, my heart thumped once. Twice. Five times before she spoke.
“I have to help my sister, and you’re the monster standing in my way.”
There it was, a drop of truth. Fucking finally.
I whirled around. She jumped, but I was already moving. I took another step, closing in. She scrambled away until her back hit the wall. I bent, putting our faces inches apart.
Those eyes were the deepest of blues. Two brilliant sapphires, wide and dark.
“Maybe I’m a monster because you went to my brother instead of coming to me—” I stabbed my thumb against my chest.
Amanda jolted. Her mouth popped open, but the response cracked in her throat, fracturing and fraying as the wheels of her mind turned.
“He told you,” she managed to gasp.
“You should have told me.” Those words were shards. They echoed the pain swirling in my chest.
“Why?” she scoffed. “Because we used to date? As kids?”
This woman! This infuriating goddess made flesh, whom I had no business touching, yet fought with every breath to call mine!
“You drive me insane,” I growled, words tumbling out in a rush.
“You think I don’t notice every time you look at me like you want to bite?
Why are you fighting this? Why put on a show for the world?
You really think you can convince yourself that you don’t want me? I know you, Mandy—you ache for me.”
Because I ache for you.
We were so close. Our chests nearly brushed. With each quick breath, hers was a hair’s breadth from contact.
Her eyes? They were wild. “You think that’s what this is? That I’m trying to seduce you?”
“You know you don’t have to try,” I bit out. “I’m here, whenever you want to come down off that high horse of yours.”
She let out a derisive snort and lifted her chin. “You wish.”
And you lie! My molars threatened to crack under the strain. I took another careful breath, practiced the words in my head to keep from saying something I would regret. “That’s exactly what you want.”
Her laugh was broken, humorless. “I haven’t been pining for you to come back and save me—”
I lifted my arms, bracing them beside her head. My fingers clenched tight to keep from reaching for her.
“I’m here now, Mandy.” Just let me in!
She flicked a nervous glance at my balled fists.
“You’re scaring me,” she whispered.
My breath hitched. My chest felt like she stabbed me. How could she think that? I would rather be torn apart by wild animals than….
Well.