Chapter 22 #2
“You pretty much told me you were my scent match. However, you failed to mention that Ciro was too.”
The alpha in question blows me a kiss before Verona kicks him in the knot. Well, that’s what he gets for not paying attention.
“I didn’t want to put more on your plate when you were already struggling,” Nico grunts. “It could keep.”
“And now it can’t,” I grumble.
“Rosa, I can handle this. I’ll hunt you down if it’s bothering me enough, as you saw today. Also, I am going to very delicately mention that you smell delicious. Did you like our kiss?”
“Ugh, don’t sound so smug about it,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“I’m not. I need to find a bakery to buy a chocolate chip cookie, stat, though,” he says, burying his nose in my throat to breathe in deeply. “Fuck, baby. Please, tell me. It’s more than just my ego on the line.”
“I liked it,” I sigh. “I’m sure this works for your baby-making plan.”
I’m on my back so fast, it takes me a second to realize my dear husband is pinning me to the mat.
“Excuse you,” I drawl in my best ‘bless your heart’ voice. “Would you like to open your mouth, let the words fall out, and use your words, husband?”
“I want a divorce,” he growls, making me flinch as he pins my wrists over my head.
He’s not hurting me, and I know I could get free if I wanted to.
No, it’s the raw emotion in his words that shocks me into staying still.
Nico has never physically hurt me. “Fuck the will, the contract, and everything else, Rosa. I don’t want a goddamned baby. I want you!”
I am sucking in gulps of air as he glares down at me, and the room is quieter than a church mouse on a Sunday morning.
“Nico.” Verona’s voice makes me want to break into sobs, but I hold it back. If I cry, she may kill him.
My girl is learning a lot about herself recently. I’ve watched her pull herself out of a window and help me kill a woman. There’s so much more untapped strength within her than she knows.
“You want a divorce?” I squeak out, my chest heaving.
“If it means we can put some of the awful things I’ve said and done behind us, I’ll file the goddamned paperwork tomorrow,” he grunts. “I don’t want a divorce, Rosa. However, I’ll do it if it means you’ll believe me.”
“Way to bury the lede, brother,” Dario breathes.
“I have the political skills of a bull in a china shop when I get worked up. It’s why I have to cut off my emotions when I’m working.
You and Verona are important to our pack.
Not because of what you offer us in money or power, but simply for who you are.
The wedding was a piece of paper to bind us together.
I could have it annulled if that’s what you want,” Nico says.
“Give me the chance to show you this can be real. Let me be the husband you deserve.”
“What if I’m scared?” I whisper, my eyes burning with the pain of not allowing my tears to fall.
“Then do it scared.” His teeth flash at me as he gives me a sheepish smile. “I’ve watched you take on scarier opponents than me. Fuck, I’m not even an opponent. I’m on your side, in your corner, and if I was small enough, I’d live in your pocket!”
His words pull a helpless giggle from me, and his smile grows as he sighs happily.
“You were born to smile and be happy, Rosa. Let me put the laughter back into your life, and be part of destroying the people who have the audacity to be cruel to you while carrying your family name.”
“And the money from your father’s businesses?” I ask. Romance is all well and good, but I live in the real world.
“I’ll expand my current businesses, and figure it out.”
“I can make money on the dark web, and funnel that into our fund to fix what my stepfather broke,” Pablo says easily. “It’s not the end of the world. He just hasn’t wanted me to do that.”
“What about the enemies you’ll make of those who take over your father’s businesses?” I ask. I’m not going to give up on this. “I know how this works. Why would they leave you alive if you can’t get your wife to heel?”
“You’re not a dog. If we have to clean house in Michigan, we will,” Nico grunts, kissing me.
If he’s trying to shut me up…he’s doing a good job of it.
“I’ve wanted you since before I knew why.
I could have married anyone, but I kept putting up with your father’s bullshit,” he confesses.
“The photo he sent me was from when you were eighteen. I have no idea why he did that. I went back and forth until I finally saw you in person, and the arguments in my head fell away. I didn’t know why the sadness clung to you or why you moved so strangely, principessa.
All I know is that you ought to be a queen, even when all that’s left is a pile of dust and ashes. ”
“Fuck.” Verona collapses to the mat in shock, and the Domino men follow her. I’m not sure if they thought they were going to try to save me from whatever this is, but I don’t see any need for it.
“I think you do romance pretty well,” I rasp, smirking as his green eyes sparkle with passion and tears. “I need to ride this out, husband. I still need time and space, but let’s see if we can make this work.”
“Grazie, mia moglie.”
He seals his thanks with a kiss that has my fingers burying themselves in his hair and writhing underneath him. The only thing that stops him is the angry gurgle of hunger from my stomach, to which he chuckles.
“I think we’ve rolled around enough,” he teases, easing onto his knees as he helps me up. I ignore the erection in his pants, while he ignores how aroused I am.
I’m not sure when the courtesy will end. I know something is building between us, and niceties aren’t going to help the growing inferno. Papa’s machinations are quickly unraveling, and we are going to burn down everything he’s built. I hope I get to toss the match on his empire.