Poison and Wine

Chapter Six Callum

After my declaration about taming her, Caterina refused to talk to me anymore. Instead, she pulled the blankets up to her chin and stared out the jet’s window. I eased back in my chair and closed my eyes, willing the medication Quinn had given me to take affect. Within a few minutes of the silent treatment, I somehow nodded off.

It seemed I’d just closed my eyes when Dare shook me awake. “Come on, Sleeping Beauty. We’re about to land.”

As the boys and I started buckling up, Caterina removed her blankets and reached for her seatbelt. When she caught sight of the robe, she froze. “Why am I wearing this?” she demanded.

“You would’ve caught cold in your wet nightgown,” I explained.

A flush filled her cheeks, and she ducked her head. Leaning over, I placed my hand on her knee. “Don’t worry, Kitten. I made my brothers turn their heads. I’m the only one who saw you naked.”

Her chin trembled slightly. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

I don’t know why her reaction bothered me, but it did. I’d fully expected her to bite my fecking head off when I told her I’d stripped her. Wounded Caterina sent feelings flooding through me, and I sure as hell didn’t like it. I wasn’t a man who had feelings with women.

But Caterina was different. And not just in the fact she was to be my wife. She possessed an innocence I wasn’t accustomed with. “It was a necessary evil. You have my word that I didn’t touch you anywhere I shouldn’t have or that would take away from your honor.”

While I thought my words might ease her mind, Caterina once again proved me wrong. Jerking her gaze up to meet mine, she shook her head. “Like your word means anything.”

“It means something to me and my brothers, and I state before them that I didn’t touch you unnecessarily.”

“Whatever,” she grumbled.

When she rose off the couch, she swayed on her feet. I reached out to grip her upper arm before she could fall. “Can you walk, or would you like to be carried?”

She snatched her arm out of my grip. “I don’t need or want anything from you.”

“Considering you shot me, I’m incapable of helping you.”

“Then why did you bother asking?”

“Because I was going to have one of my brothers carry you.”

“I’m fine.”

But the moment after she said it, she lunged to the side and almost fell against the side of the jet. “Quinn, I believe your services are needed again,” I remarked with a smile.

At the sight of Quinn’s scarred face and harsh attitude, Caterina’s eyes widened. But to her credit, she didn’t protest. Instead, she gave him a tight smile. “Thank you for the help.”

A flash of surprise filled his face that she wasn’t shying away from him. But as quickly as it came, he buried it. “Whatever,” he grunted.

When Quinn swept her into his arms, Caterina squeaked. He did it so effortlessly that she flopped around like a ragdoll in his embrace. To steady herself, she threw her arms around his broad neck. Since Quinn hated anyone touching his damaged skin, he momentarily froze. His chest rose and fell in harsh pants.

Caterina must’ve noticed his reaction because she gave him an apologetic look. Pulling her arms away from his scarred neck, she then remarked, “I’m so very sorry if I hurt you. Is this better?”

Quinn remained frozen, not even blinking as he stared at Caterina. But then a slight shudder trembled through his massive body. I exhaled the breath I’d been holding. While my brother was a ruthless enforcer, he’d never raised a hand against a woman. As a stranger, Caterina’s touch could’ve set him off.

My eyes popped wide as I watched Quinn’s usual dark expression melt to one of reverence. “Yes, lass, that’s grand.”

“You’re very strong,” Caterina complimented.

In a gravelly voice, Quinn replied, “And you’re light as a feather.”

The corners of her lips quirked up. “You sure know how to make a girl feel practically weightless.” After appraising his unmarred bicep, she remarked, “I bet you could carry me in just one arm.”

“Is that a dare?”

She giggled. “Maybe. Just don’t try it as we go down the stairs in case you drop me.”

“I’d never allow that to happen.”

“I don’t believe you would.” As they started down the stairs, Quinn shifted her to where he was carrying her in only one arm. “Show off,” she teased.

Dare and I exchanged open-mouthed glances while Kellan just shook his head in surprise. I couldn’t remember the last time Quinn had willingly carried on a conversation with a female outside of our mother and sister. While he was far from a monk, his interactions with women had changed since the bombing.

Just when I thought nothing else could surprise me, Quinn actually smiled at Caterina. “I told you I wouldn’t drop you.”

“I assume you’re the protector of the family?”

“I’m the enforcer.”

Her brows furrowed at his words. “You enforce the laws?”

“Something like that.”

“Don’t tell me a capo’s daughter is ignorant to what an enforcer is?” I questioned.

Caterina threw a glance at me over Quinn’s shoulder. “My father and brothers always kept me out of the business.”

“Then allow me to educate you. Quinn does the beating and the killing for us,” I replied.

While Quinn scowled at me, Caterina’s dark eyes widened. Ducking her head, she replied, “Oh, I see.”

“Don’t worry, lass. I never harm my family, and you will be my family when you marry my bastard brother,” Quinn replied.

Caterina didn’t reply. I’m sure she was probably thinking he’d already harmed her by helping in her abduction. She remained quiet as Quinn put her in the backseat of the waiting SUV. She scooted across the seat to press herself against the window. I hopped in next and took my place beside her.

We made the half hour drive to the house in silence. From time to time, I would cut my eyes to Caterina. She sat as still as a statue with her attention drawn out the window. She didn’t tear her gaze away until we pulled into the driveway. Her body then tensed as if she was now on high alert.

After the driver parked, we exited the SUV. Surprisingly, Caterina didn’t have to be told to get out. With her arms wrapped around her waist, she warily watched us unload the back.

As we started gathering our bags, Caterina asked, “What about my things?”

Dare held out the small bag to her. “This is what I managed to grab. Obviously, I didn’t take any of your clothes since you wouldn’t be wearing them anymore.”

She dropped her gaze to the bag. As a sister, I couldn’t imagine she would’ve had many possessions with her since they took a vow of poverty. Something among the contents embarrassed her since her cheeks reddened.

Glancing over her shoulder, I saw lacy bras and panties among framed photographs and a jewelry box. Narrowing my eyes, I demanded, “Was it necessary to bring those?”

Dare shrugged. “They were easy to grab.”

“Of all the cheek,” I grumbled before jabbing a finger at him. “Just so you know, that’s the last fucking time you ever touch her underwear.”

He chuckled. “Aye, I understand.”

“Do you need any help?” Quinn asked Caterina.

She shook her head. “Although I appreciate you carrying me earlier, I believe I can walk now.”

“That’s fine.”

After placing my hand on Caterina’s upper arm, I began leading her up the drive to the house. Seamus stood in the doorway with an anxious expression on his face. His gaze dropped from mine to my leg. “How are you?”

“Fine. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

With a nod, Seamus turned his attention to Caterina whose neck was tucked to her chest. Reaching out his hand, he patted her arm. “You have nothing to fear, lass. No one here is going to hurt you in any way.”

Caterina jerked up her head and glared at Seamus. “Liar,” she hissed.

Seamus’s brows shot up in surprise. “I beg your pardon?”

“How can you stand there and say no one will hurt me when your nephews kidnapped and drugged me?”

At Seamus’s continued shock, I rolled my eyes. “Your research was lacking when it came to the part where in spite of being a sister, she’s a fecking shrew.”

“I’d defy you to find any woman who would be agreeable with being kidnapped and drugged,” Caterina challenged.

I gave Seamus a pointed look before tugging Caterina through the doorway. As we stepped into the living room, an older looking man with wire rimmed glasses rose off the couch. When he eyed my blood-stained pants leg, I realized he must be the doctor. “I better have a look at that,” he replied in broken English.

I shook my head. “I need to get my fiancée settled first.”

“Kellan can do that,” Seamus suggested.

“She’s my responsibility, so I will see to her,” I replied.

“I’d rather have Kellan,” Caterina mumbled.

I chose to ignore her comment. Instead, I pointed to one of the men standing in the hallway. “Just in case you get the crazy idea to run away, it’s not just my brothers and I you have to worry about. There are guards set up throughout the house and grounds.”

Caterina’s face paled momentarily, but then she quickly slid her mask back in place.

“Are you hungry?” I asked. At the shake of her head, I asked, “Do you need something to drink?”

“No,” she whispered.

“Then I’ll show you to our bedroom.”

I didn’t realize I had said anything offending until Caterina’s terror-filled eyes snapped off the floor. “Our bedroom?” she questioned in a strangled voice.

“Don’t get yer knickers in a twist, Kitten. You won’t be performing any marital duties tonight,” I replied with a chuckle.

I started for the stairs when Caterina’s sniffle froze me. When I dared to look at her, tears streamed down her face. Just when I thought she couldn’t surprise me again, she sank to her knees in front of me. Her chest rose and fell with harsh sobs. “Please, please don’t do this. I’m begging you to let me go.”

For reasons I couldn’t fathom, her anguished cries had an effect on me. My blackened heart ached in my chest. I hated that I was the one inflicting her emotional pain.

At the same time, the fact that I felt sorry for her enraged me. I could practically hear my father sneering in my ear about my weakness. With an angry shake of my head, I snarled, “That’s not happening, so get off your fucking knees!”

“You could ransom me back to my family. While I’m dead to my father, my brothers would pay you a lot of money to get me back.”

While her offer was tempting, I shook my head. “We must have a marital alliance.”

The glimmer of hope in Caterina’s eyes vanished at my words. She then curled into herself to weep unabashedly. Her cries felt like tiny pinpricks along my skin. But with each jab, the angrier I became that she was emasculating me, especially in front of the others.

When I glanced at my brothers, their expressions revealed pure horror. From the way they looked, you would’ve thought something truly terrifying, like a banshee, had swept through the room instead of a woman crying.

To prove a lass couldn’t lead me around by the balls, I stalked back over to Caterina. “Enough!” I commanded. After grabbing her by the arm, I tugged her to her feet. When she wavered, I swept her into my arms. Although the added weight caused my thigh to scream in agony, I ignored it and started for the stairs once again. Each step was torture, but I wouldn’t falter. I would not allow any further weakness either physically or emotionally.

I didn’t know which room had been allocated as ours, so I took the first bedroom I saw to spare my leg. After opening the door, I went over to an elaborate king-sized bed and eased Caterina down on the mattress. She immediately rolled into a fetal position and continued crying.

Without another word to her, I stalked out of the room and slammed the door. When I came back downstairs, my brothers sat around the living room in silence. They weren’t drinking, watching television, or partaking in a midnight snack. They sat in an almost trance.

After eyeing them suspiciously, I asked, “What the fuck is wrong with the lot of you?”

While Kellan and Dare remained silent, Quinn gruffly replied, “Nothing.”

“You’re full of shite.”

He exhaled a ragged breath. “It’s just I feel sorry for the wee lass, that’s all.”

My eyes bulged. “My hearing must be failing because I’m sure my brother, the family enforcer, didn’t just say he felt sorry for a spoiled mafia princess turned novice.”

Quinn crossed his arms over his broad chest. “You heard me just fine.”

“You don’t have an empathetic bone in your body.”

“That might be true, but at the same time, I feel sorry for her.”

Turning from him in exasperation, I eyed Dare. After shifting the ice pack on his crotch, he said, “It couldn’t hurt to be a bit kinder to her.”

“She maimed your cock and balls!” I bellowed.

“Like you said, she thought I was going to rape her. And even if she didn’t think that, the fact we were kidnapping her made her react that way.”

Throwing my arms up in frustration, I blared, “What the hell has happened to you all? Caterina goes on one crying jag, and you all turn into bleedin’ eejits.”

After sharing a look with Quinn, Dare replied, “Are you that much of a plonker that you don’t get it?”

“Apparently, I am since I can’t fathom how the killers I call my brothers are now moping around the living room because I made my future wife cry.”

“She reminds us of Maeve,” Dare replied.

I frowned at him. Physically my sister and Caterina were as different as night and day. Maeve had flaming auburn hair and emerald green eyes like Kellan and my mam. She would never dream of physically defending herself or mouthing off like Caterina.

But I knew what they meant. Not only were Maeve and Caterina close to the same age, they were both innocent pawns in our world. In their eyes, hurting Caterina was the same as hurting our beloved baby sister.

With a ragged sigh, I ran my hand over my face. “You have to leave Maeve and what happened to her out of this.”

“That’s impossible,” Kellan protested.

“With Caterina, I have to be firm with her, or she’s going to keep running over me. Can you imagine if wind got around to our enemies that Callum Kavanaugh had been fanny-whipped into submission? We wouldn’t hold our ground for five minutes!”

Seamus nodded. “Callum’s right, boys. At the end of the day, she’ll be his wife, and she’s his to deal with.” When my brothers remained silent, he then motioned for the doctor who had been waiting in the hallway. “Now get your leg seen about.”

To lighten the mood, Dare teasingly asked, “Will he do an exam on my wounded cock?”

The doctor’s eyes popped wide, causing the rest of us to chuckle. “I-I don’t think that will be necessary. Just continue icing it,” he replied before turning his gaze back to me.

After I whipped off my pants, I stood before the doctor in my briefs. He eyed Quinn’s handiwork before taking off the tourniquet. He then dug gauze and tape out of his bag. Once he’d wrapped me, he handed me a bottle of pills. “Take these for possible infection. Change the bandage morning and night for the next five to seven days.”

“Thanks, Doc.” I nodded to Seamus. “He’ll take care of the bill.”

The doctor held up his hands. “Oh no, there’s no charge.” With a knowing look, he added, “Just remember that I did you all a favor.”

“You have our word.”

In our world, we executed many transactions this way. No deed was too small to be remembered and in turn rewarded. I didn’t blame the good doctor for wanting to have us in his pocket. He’d probably done favors for most of the Sicilians around us, so it made sense to have some Irish on his side too.

As Quinn led the doctor to the door, Seamus suggested, “Why don’t you all take your things up to your rooms and get settled.”

“Think we could get the cook to fire up an early breakfast?” Dare asked.

With a smile, Seamus replied, “I don’t see why not.”

After we started climbing the stairs, Kellan’s voice interrupted the silence. “It might be better if you chose one of the guest rooms for tonight.”

Whirling around, I pinned him with a hard stare. Apparently, my statement from earlier had fallen on deaf ears. “Excuse me?”

He flushed before ducking his head. “I just thought maybe it might be better to give Caterina a night alone to get acclimated to her new surroundings.”

“I am her new surroundings.”

Although I knew it pained him greatly, Kellan merely nodded. As Seamus directed my brothers to their rooms, I stopped at mine.

After rapping my knuckles against the door, I waited for Caterina to open it. I knocked again. “Caterina?” I called.

I exchanged a glance with Dare whose room was across the hall. He shrugged. “Maybe she’s in the shower?”

With worry nagging my gut, I replied, “Or maybe she’s taken the sheets and hanged herself in the closet.”

He winced. “Christ, Callum.”

Unable to wait another second to check on Caterina, I flung open the door. Relief flooded me when I saw her. Across the room, she was on her knees by the bedside. At the sound of the door, her pinched eyes shot wide open.

“Didn’t you hear me knocking?” When she nodded, I demanded, “Then why didn’t you answer the door?”

“I was praying.”

I stalked over to her. “Let’s get one thing straight. When I call, you come. Understood?”

“I’m not a dog,” she spat. With her haughty tone and tense body language, it appeared she was over her emotional breakdown; her venom and spite was back.

“You are to answer to me, Caterina.”

With a shake of her head, she replied, “I will not interrupt my prayers for anyone, least of all you.”

Grabbing her arm, I jerked her to her feet. “The only time you should be on your knees in our bedroom is when you have my cock in your mouth.”

The next thing I knew Caterina’s palm connected with my cheek in a jarring slap. “Don’t you ever say something blasphemous like that in my presence again!”

My eyes narrowed into fury-filled slits at her. “I’ll say and do whatever the fuck I want. I’m the head of this fucking family and your future husband.”

Caterina slung herself out of my grip. “Then say what you came to say and leave me alone.”

“This is our room.”

“You can sleep somewhere else,” she commanded.

“I don’t take orders, Kitten.” I grabbed her by the shoulders and jerked her against me. My head dipped to press my lips against the shell of her ear. “I give orders, and people follow them.”

“Let me go!” she demanded.

“I’ll let you go when I’m fucking ready.” At the realization I was serious, Caterina stopped thrashing in my arms. Instead, she tucked her chin to her chest almost obediently. “While this is our room, I actually came to see if you were settling in all right.”

“As if you really care.”

“I do.”

She shook her head. “If you truly cared about me, you’d let me go.”

Rubbing my hand over my face, I countered, “I’m not arguing about this with you again.”

“Then leave me.”

“Gladly,” I hissed.

After I slammed the door, Dare gave a low whistle. “She’s a real corker.”

“A fecking geebag.”

“She’s not that bad.” After glancing around the hallway, he leaned in closer to me. “When she slapped you?” He shuddered. “Christ, I got hard as a rock.”

With a grunt, I shoved him back. “Shut your fucking mouth and go take a cold shower.”

“Come on, man. Didn’t it kinda turn you on too? I mean, think about that kinda fire but when you’re fucking.”

My frayed patience snapped, and I lunged at Dare. With my elbow against his throat, I pushed him against the wall. “Do not ever let me hear you talk about Caterina that way again. Got it?”

The bastard had the audacity to grin back at me. “Damn... she’s... already... under... your skin...” he choked out.

“And if you fuck with me anymore about it, I’m going to be under yours with a sharp instrument,” I snarled.

“Okay,” he wheezed.

Jabbing my finger at him, I said, “Go get me a fucking whiskey and have it waiting for me after I finish my shower.”

Since he was fighting to breathe normally again, he bobbed his head in agreement.

Although I sure as hell would never admit it to him, Dare wouldn’t be the only one taking a cold shower tonight.