Chapter 10
Christiano
I shut the laptop I’ve been working on and lean back in my chair, a headache pounding behind my eyes.
Christ, I’m tired.
I’ve been busy the past week, and it’s not helping that Augusto is starting a fucking war with the Yakuza.
My phone rings, and it draws a sigh from me as I pull it out of my pocket. Seeing Ciro’s name, I accept the call. “Yes.”
“Sienna moved into an apartment in Manhattan,” he reports. “Alfio says she’s going to live on her own.”
What the fuck?
“Send me the address,” I bark before ending the call. A few seconds later, the message from Ciro comes through.
Getting up, I stalk out of the office, and when I leave the warehouse, where men are getting shipments of weapons ready so they can be sent to South America, Nico jogs to catch up with me.
“Where are we going?”
I show him the address, then say, “Sienna moved into her own place.”
Up until now, I didn’t have to worry much about her. I knew she was safe living with her parents.
But on her own, she’ll be an easy target.
We climb into the SUV, and during the drive, my temper threatens to spiral out of control. I hate that I have no fucking say in her life.
That stops today.
By the time Nico parks near the address, I’m too fucking upset to take in what the building looks like. I meet Ciro and Alfio in the courtyard.
When Ciro points to the second floor, I take the stairs up with Alfio right behind me. Reaching the apartment, I order, “Open.”
With me being the head of all the families, he has no choice but to carry out the command.
I watch with a world of fucking impatience as Sienna’s guard unlocks the door, and I memorize the code he enters into the alarm’s keypad.
As I step inside, I’m met with silence. I glance around the living room that’s bathed in a warm yellow light. Smelling Sienna’s scent, I inhale a lungful while I walk toward the hallway.
Hearing the soft pitter-patter of rain, I turn right, and when I enter a bedroom, I see Sienna sitting on the floor. She has her legs folded and her palms resting on her knees. Her eyes are closed, and she’s taking deep breaths.
As I stare at her, a calmness washes over me, and my headache’s potency lessens.
I drink in the sight of her light brown hair that’s piled on top of her head and held in place with a clip. Wisps frame her beautiful face.
Suddenly, her eyes pop open and go wide as saucers when she sees me.
“How did you get into my apartment?” she gasps while climbing to her feet.
I close the distance between us, and when I press a kiss to her forehead, I pause to take a deep breath of her.
Jesus, I needed this.
Slowly, I brush my lips over her skin until I’m close to her ear. “Did you really think you’d be able to keep me out?”
Jerking away from me, she levels me with a scowl. “You can’t just let yourself in.”
“I can do anything I want, princess.” Tilting my head, I capture her eyes. “You should know that by now.”
Her scowl darkens, and she hurries past me. “You have to leave. I don’t want you here.”
Not listening, I glance around her bedroom. The cream and pink bedding fit Sienna.
I’ll have to get used to seeing pink in my place once we’re married.
“Christiano!” she snaps.
I turn around to face her and find it fucking adorable that she thinks she can be intimidating.
“Leave,” she orders.
The corners of my mouth curve up as I walk toward her, and placing my arm around her slender shoulders, I guide her to the kitchen. “I’m hungry.”
“I’m not making you food.” The fight in her voice isn’t as intense anymore.
Opening her fridge, I take out a container, and looking inside, I see roasted chicken breasts. “I didn’t say anything about you making food.” I find mayo and bread, and as I slap a sandwich together, I ask, “Do you want one?”
Instead of answering me, she lets out a frustrated sigh and walks away.
“Baby,” I call out.
“What?” she snaps.
A wide smile curves my lips. “Do you want a sandwich?”
“No,” she yells. “I just want you to leave.”
I take a bite and chew while checking the contents of her cupboards. Satisfied she has everything she needs, I open the fridge again and grab a bottle of juice to wash down the rest of the sandwich.
Once I’m done, I find Sienna in the living room, pacing up and down. Her features are tense, and when her eyes dart to me, I see panic and fear.
Stopping near a couch, I shake my head. “What the fuck did I do, Sienna?”
Looking anxious, she begins to rub her palms over her upper arms, squeezing every other second until her skin is covered with blotches.
Recognizing the nervous tick, I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around her. I hold her very tight, and when a tremble moves through her body, mine answers with a shudder.
I press a kiss against her temple, and right by her ear, I whisper with a gentle tone. “Shh…It’s okay.”
Another tremble moves through her, and it takes a few seconds longer before she hesitantly pulls her arms free from between us so she can wrap them around me.
My body does its fucking best to engulf hers, and for a precious minute, I get to hold her and ease her anxiety.
Suddenly, I hear a muffled sob, and when my head snaps up, Sienna presses hard against my chest. She clings to me as if she’s afraid I’ll disappear the instant she lets go.
“Princess?”
Shaking her head, she smothers another sob against my shirt.
I would give everything I have just for a minute inside her head.
My voice is filled with tension as I say, “I wish you would tell me what’s going on so I can fix it.”
She shakes her head again.
I press more kisses to her temple and hair while her tears form a damp spot on my shirt.
When the sobs die away, and her hold on me loosens, I grip her jaw and tilt her head back so I can see her face. Using my thumbs, I wipe the tear tracks from her cheeks before my eyes lock with hers.
“Talk to me, Sienna.”
Just like she’s done many times before, she pulls completely away from me. “It’s been an emotional week with moving in here and Riccardo getting shot.”
“You didn’t think to run it by me?” I ask.
Her red-rimmed eyes dart to mine. “What?”
“Living on your own.”
Sienna stares at me for a moment, then a tired expression settles on her face. “You might be the head of the families, but that doesn’t mean you have a say in my personal life.”
My temper flares fucking hot, and I can’t keep the growl out of my tone.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Sienna.” I stalk closer, my movements too predatory.
Towering over her smaller frame, I say, “I will always have a say in your personal life. Who you spend time with. Where you live. Whether you get married or not.” I lean down until an inch of air separates us.
“Every single fucking thing about you is my business.”
The fear returns to her eyes, and it has my dark side retreating at the speed of light.
Making a conscious effort to soften my expression and tone, I let out a sigh while framing her face with my hands.
I press my forehead to hers and whisper, “As your capo and the man who loves you, it is my job and privilege to make sure you have the best life possible.” I stare deep into her eyes, and my voice turns hoarse. “Stop fighting me.”
Once a-fucking-gain, she pulls away, causing every muscle in my body to tense and my hands to fist. Frustration surges through me like a violent storm, and before I know what I’m doing, I grab hold of Sienna and yank her against me.
My hand clamps around the back of her neck, and as our eyes lock, the last of the meager patience I’ve been clinging to is stripped from me.
During the three months I got to date her, I used to kiss her with reverence, always careful not to push too hard.
But that’s a thing of the past.
My mouth crashes into hers, brutal and unforgiving. Years of restraint breaks in a single breath. There is no place for rational thinking, only the raw edge of being pushed too far.
A satisfied groan rumbles through my chest as my teeth drag over Sienna’s bottom lip. When she gasps and opens for me, I deepen the kiss, and holding her fucking tight, I lift her off her feet.
Her hands fly up to grab hold of my shoulders, pulling me closer. With Sienna’s body pressed tightly against mine, I can feel every tremble and hear every sharp intake of breath, and it has me losing my fucking mind.
There is no space left between us, no distance she can use to keep me away. I forcefully hold her exactly where I want her as I devour every delicious inch of her mouth.
Fuck. My woman tastes even better than I remember.
With the kiss turning heavier and darker from pure desperation, I teeter on the edge of losing control and fucking her right where we’re standing.
There’s no tenderness, only the incessant hunger sharpened by a lifetime’s worth of frustration and the living hell she’s forced me to endure by refusing to explain why the fuck she broke things off between us.
Getting to taste her after such a long time, my soul shudders with overwhelming relief. It confirms the fact that there will never be another. The instant I fell for Sienna, it was for life.
I pull back only far enough to let my breath rush over her lips. Seeing desire warring with a startled expression in her eyes, I press my forehead to hers.
My tone is low and stripped of mercy and patience. “I’m done waiting, Sienna. I have zero patience left.”