Chapter 31 Ignacio
Iset the weight down with a grunt, sweat pouring off me. It’s barely anything, but fuck, I’m already exhausted.
“Don’t stop now, Princess. You’ll never earn my cock that way,” Jayden says with a laugh.
Growling, I shake my head. “As I told you, I don’t care if I earn your cock. Nobody matters but Roman. I’m not touching you.”
“Uh huh. Even though you desperately need to be put on your knees. I can see the stress getting to you. You’ll break if you don’t let go.” Jayden’s voice switches to an understanding tone that grates along my skin.
I lean back in the chair we’re using, struggling to hold onto my temper. “It doesn’t matter. Roman is more important to me than anything, even myself.”
His expression softens for a brief moment before Jayden throws his hands up. “You’re foolish, Princess. I know he already gave you permission.”
I flush at the reminder, but grit my teeth, refusing to give in. “I won’t do anything without him, so you may as well back the fuck off.”
The knock at the gym door is a welcome distraction, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
Anything to get Jayden to back off. It would be easier to be pissed if he didn’t have a damn point though.
Fucking Doms can’t resist trying to fix shit, but I’m not ready to be fixed.
Not when my love is laying in a bed where I can’t even visit him. Hopefully, he at least liked my gift.
“This is a surprise.” I blink at Jayden’s cold tone before looking over at the doorway. My heart sinks. Cristian. Fucking hell, what did I do to deserve this?
“I’m not here for you.” Cristian dismisses him. “I’ve come to speak with Ignacio.”
“Perhaps you don’t understand, he’s under my care. I don’t give a shit what you want with the Princess.” I blush from the endearment, but try not to react outside of it. The last thing I need is more trouble from Cristian. No matter what, he’s still Roman’s father.
Cristian grinds his teeth, but responds calmly. “He’ll be fine. I just need to speak with him.”
Jayden crosses his arms, a scowl marring his beautiful face. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s not up to you. Regardless of what you think, I’m still part of this Family.”
With a sneer, Jayden shakes his head. “You’d think you’d have learned.
We’ve become more than one Family, more than the Amatos or Martellis.
And we have the Council to thank for that, for bringing all of us together.
You can fuck off if you think I’m going to put my Princess at risk by speaking to you. ”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, fighting two very different feelings. The pleasure of having a Dom claim me, and the dread of facing the man who almost killed me—and who hurt my love. Still, if we’re going to get anywhere, I can’t refuse to speak to the fucker.
With a sigh, I shake my head. “Jayden, I’ll talk to him. I’m assuming he wouldn’t interrupt our exercises if it wasn’t vital.”
Jayden stays silent for a moment, his eyes shifting between me and Cristian. I hope he can see the determination on my face, and from the way his eyes soften, I think he does. Of course, the moment his attention shifts back to Cristian, it’s like a completely different switch has been thrown.
“Fine. You have ten minutes, and I’m not going far. Fuck with him and you won’t have to wait for the Council to make a decision on your life again—they won’t even be able to find the body.”
With that, Jayden walks out, making sure to knock his shoulder against Cristian’s.
I barely resist rolling my eyes at his behavior, but I’m too nervous facing Cristian down to truly appreciate the humor in it.
Although Cristian’s frustrated glance certainly doesn’t stop the small thrill that goes through me.
“What do you need?” I ask warily, sitting back in the chair. I wish I could stand and face him, but my legs feel too weak, and the last thing I need is to fall over in front of him. He already thinks I’m not good enough for his son.
Cristian rubs his face with his hands before dropping them. His eyes seem tortured as he stares at me. Clearing his throat, he looks away before saying, “I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have harmed you. Especially given how important you are to Roman.”
Of all the things he could say, I did not expect an apology, even a stiff one like that. For a moment, I’m caught off guard. Something doesn’t seem right about it though. There’s a subtext I’m missing, and I hate it.
“Are you actually sorry or do you believe you did the right thing but hate that Roman is freezing you out?” I study him, hoping he’ll at least give me honesty.
His face twitches and my heart sinks. I’m right.
I know it. With a deep exhale, he whispers, “I…I’m not sure.
I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s hard.
It’s difficult to think about everything that happened.
At the time, it felt like I was in the right.
Had I known what it would cost me? I’d never have done it. ”
I snort. “It’s not hurting me that cost you so much. Not even I believe I’m that important. You undermined your son and didn’t trust him. I won’t even get into what you did to your husband. While I can accept what you did to me, hurting Roman by doubting him? That…that I don’t think I can forgive.”
“Even though you’ve managed to forgive Tennant?” he volleys back and I scowl at him, wondering if he’s deliberately being obtuse.
“Benjamin loves Tennant. That means I would never hurt him maliciously. That’s what you do when you care about people.
” I hold up my hand when it looks like he’s going to interject.
“And just because I care about Benjamin, it doesn’t mean I still love him.
My entire heart belongs to your son. He’s worth following, worth fighting for, and if he chooses, is worth having you in my life. ”
Cristian huffs, and I momentarily feel compassion for the guy. Hell, it can’t be easy going from being the Boss of the Family to…nothing. Less than nothing even, considering how everyone reacts to him.
“It’s…hard.” Pain slashes across his features, and for once, I get a peek into his honest emotions.
“Allesandro and I were taken from our Families, and tossed into a concrete cage. We lost all control. And yet, when we managed to get out, we found everything had…changed. That even more of our control had gone. For people who are used to being in control…the loss of that is terrifying. Did we fuck up? Yes, and I will spend my days regretting that. But I can’t change it.
So instead, I offer you an apology. It’s the best I have. ”
Words escape me at his honesty. At least, he’s aware of the damage he’s done—and that it can’t be repaired.
The thing is, I can forgive Il Padrone. But forgiving Cristian is so much harder.
I’m just not sure why. Still, for my love, I’ll do whatever I have to do.
Regardless of the fact he has Carter, I know he misses Cristian, even if their love is wrapped up with the barbed wire of anger.
Breathing out, I nod. “I accept it. A word of warning, if you hurt Roman again, you won’t get a chance to put a knife in me. I’ll be putting one in you.”
He swallows hard, but nods in agreement. The guy has just been threatened twice in ten minutes, and yet he’s still standing. I respect that. “I understand. Thank you.”
“Try to make peace with Tennant. He’s supposed to be your best friend. And he’s amazing with Roman.” I frown at Cristian, wrinkling my nose because I don’t think he’s worth best friend status for Tennant. Still, if those two can bury the hatchet, it would be better for everyone.
He opens his mouth, his cheeks flushed with anger, but stops. With a deep breath, he states, “I understand. And he is good with Roman. I…do not quite understand how you’re alright with multiple pairings, but it’s not my business.”
I laugh. “Oh, you’d better learn quickly if you do love Allesandro.
Lio and him will always belong to each other.
While you may have succeeded in putting yourself above us Boys when you came back, I suspect you’d overestimate yourself if you tried to do that again.
From what I hear, Sandro may no longer be our Master, but he will always be in our corner.
It’s up to you if you can accept that or not.
If you can’t…I suggest you get the fuck out. ”
Cristian stiffens, but otherwise, doesn’t say anything.
I can tell they're not the words he wants to hear, but it’s the truth.
He’s fucked if he thinks Allesandro will chose him and only him.
Can he be the better man now and understand that love has no limits, that it’s not meant to be contained within a box?
Or will he repeat his mistakes and let jealousy consume him?
“I’ll let you get back to your workout. You’ve given me a lot to think about.” His words give me no indication of which way he’ll go, but I hope for Allesandro’s sake that he considers them carefully.
I don’t have the anger toward Il Padrone that the others may have.
Perhaps because he earned my loyalty instead of truly breaking me.
Either way, I know it’s because of him that I’m even alive.
I’d hate to have to kill Cristian for looking at Lio wrong.
Well, no, I wouldn’t. But I’d regret it, if only because it would hurt Roman.
There isn’t much time between Cristian exiting and Jayden entering. I suspect Jayden was waiting even closer than he indicated. I try to give him a smile, but fuck, I’m tired. With a click of the tongue, he shakes his head.
“Alright. We’ve had enough for now.”
“No, I still need to complete my exercises,” I argue, even though a nap sounds fucking delicious.
“And we’ll get to them. After you rest. You’ve put your body—and mind—through enough today, Princess.”
I shiver as he layers his Dom voice over the command. Fuck. My dick is too tired to do anything more than give a passing interest, but yeah, he does it for me. From his smug look, he knows it too. I ruthlessly push it aside. Roman. He’s what is important, first and foremost.
I let Jayden help transfer me to a wheelchair and guide me back to my room, but my mind is far from my body.
It’s with the man who holds my existence in his hands.
I hope he’ll let me in soon… Or hell, any of his lovers or friends.
Just someone to be with him to remind him that he’s the most important person in the world, and it would be too dark without his smile.