10. Massimo
10
MASSIMO
Fuck, but my wife was an amusing little thing, wasn’t she?
A little shy, a little more reserved than I would have liked, but perhaps she just needed the right coaxing.
But was I the man for the job?
Fuck, if I knew. What would I know about coaxing anything out of anyone unless it was through force and violence?
I looked down at my hands. Scarred hands that had been drenched in the blood of men more times than they should have.
I didn’t know how to coax my wife out of her shell, but hell, if I didn’t want to see her direct a genuine smile at me.
A monster might have raised me, but I didn’t share my father’s belief in what a family should be. Neither one of us had a say in this marriage, but Luna had even less of a say. And she was handling everything better than I thought she would.
I didn’t want her to be scared of me, even if that was the case. She obviously didn’t know how to hide her feelings and thoughts. It was refreshing, if not a little concerning.
She would need to work on controlling her expressions better. I had a lot of enemies in this world, and now she did too, simply from association.
Even Giulia had learned to control her facial expressions better, only speaking up when we were alone and not in front of my men.
I should want my wife to be the same. There was just something about knowing I couldn’t protect her from this, like I couldn’t have protected Giulia, that fucking got to me.
The door to the bathroom opened then, and Luna walked out, stuttering in her steps when she found me still standing there. Had she hoped I would leave?
I held in a smile and waited for her.
She hesitantly moved over to me as if she were afraid I might bite her.
Only if she asked nicely.
Finally, she came up and stood in front of me. There was at least a foot of space between us.
“Is everything resolved?” she asked.
Was she asking me about the business?
“Never mind,” she said quickly. “You don’t have to tell me.”
I snaked my arms around her waist and pulled her in close. She let out a startled gasp as her front was pressed up against mine. Fuck, but she felt so good against me. I had been indifferent about this marriage from the start, but indifference was the last thing I was feeling now.
“It’s been resolved as much as it could be,” I responded. She seemed surprised I would answer her. I had no problem telling her the little details, but there would be a huge aspect of my job that she would never be privy to.
I cupped her cheek, and she held still. “You should take a nap.”
The bags under her eyes were still prominent. They made her already big eyes appear even more so against her small face and pale skin.
“I don’t think I can nap,” she said, contradicting her words when she let out a small yawn.
I smirked, and she blushed slightly. Fuck, how fascinating.
I moved over to the bed with her still wrapped against me, maneuvering us around until we were lying down on the bed, her still in my arms.
“Massimo,” she muttered softly against me.
I squeezed her to me. “Just sleep, baby.”
She looked up at me, her eyes widening a bit from the term of endearment that slipped out. Fuck. I pushed her face back to my chest, not wanting to see her eyes anymore. Fortunately, she stayed there.
I looked up at the ceiling. What was I doing, lying on the bed in the middle of the day, trying to get my wife to nap?
I shook my head and tightened my hold around the small girl in my arms, wondering what it was about her that just brought out all of my protective instincts.
She was tense in my arms at first, but after she realized we weren’t going to do anything more than lie there, she relaxed marginally. It wasn’t like I was going to attack her the first chance I got.
I knew it the moment she fell asleep. Her entire body went slack, and her breathing evened out. She was deep in sleep, and I didn’t think much could wake her despite her protest about not being able to nap in the middle of the day.
I pulled back and took in her face. She looked at peace.
I frowned. I hadn’t realized how tense she was until this moment when she looked anything but.
I reached out my hand but stopped myself when I was only a few inches away from her face.
What the fuck was I doing?
Carefully, I pulled away from her and got up. I stood by the edge and took her in, lying in the middle of the king-size bed. Looking too fucking fragile for my liking.
I would have preferred my wife to be made of tougher stuff. Someone who could withstand the roughness, the darkness of my world without breaking.
But Luna…
Fuck me, but she’d break.
But I didn’t want her to break because of the world we lived in. I wanted to be the one to break her, but not in the way she thought or the way everyone else thought. I wanted to break her apart and take everything. I wanted to own her.
There was no question in my mind that I was drawn to her at first sight. I just didn’t think I would become this obsessed after merely one day of being inside her.
I didn’t think she would make me want to throw away all the control I possessed and take everything from her.
Until there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that it was me who owned her. Until she realized I was the center of her universe, and that was just the way it would be from now until the day I took my final breath.
I moved my hand over her body, taking in the feel of every dip, every curve she offered to me. Had she been smart, she wouldn’t have fallen so deeply asleep in my arms like this.
My fingers played with the band of her shorts before I dipped my hand inside, cupping her pussy against my palm and taking in the feel of her.
How fucking precious.
How fucking… mine.
I let my finger shift through her wet lips, dipping it slightly inside to finger her tight heat engulfing me. My dick twitched in the confines of my pants, demanding I give in to my desire and take her.
I pulled away instead, taking in the little innocent, unaware of all that occurred.
What was happening? How could one small slip of a girl make me feel like this?
Unease unfurled in my gut at the thought, so I turned and walked out of there.
Giulia had left back to her house, or perhaps she went to one of our brothers’ houses.
It didn’t matter. I entered the office and poured myself a glass of scotch, sitting behind the desk. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, staring at the glass, but it had been a while before I heard movement from the doorway. I looked up to see Elio and Matteo walking into the room.
Elio took in the glass of untouched scotch on the desk while Matteo took the seat across from me.
“Should we be worried you’re already drinking on your first day of wedded bliss?” Elio asked.
I let one eyebrow raise at his words.
Matteo let out a small whistle. “I would think you’d be drowning in pussy now, not alcohol.”
Before I could reprimand him for his words, Elio smacked him in the back of his head.
“Hey!” he yelled, looking back at Elio.
“Don’t be so crude,” Elio said.
Matteo smartly kept his mouth shut.
“Where is Luna?” Elio asked, looking around as if he expected her to pop out of nowhere.
“Napping,” I answered.
A mischievous glint entered Matteo’s eyes. I already knew the fucker was going to say something violence-inducing before he even opened his mouth.
“What happened, bro? You tired her out so much that she needs to nap in the middle of the day?”
I looked at Elio. He knew what I wanted because he smacked the back of Matteo’s head once more.
“Enough,” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. Something I never had a problem doing with other people, but fuck if my brothers just didn’t know how to push all of my buttons.
I glared at my younger brother.
Matteo grinned, not in the least worried. He played around too much. Elio sat down on the chair next to Matteo, his attention on the scotch. I let out a tired sigh.
“I’m not drunk. I’m not going to let alcohol control me,” I said. He should know better. It was true that things went to shit for a while after Elio and my father’s men were able to get me out of the hellhole those Bratva assholes kept me in for over a week, but I’d learned over the years to get better control of myself. I hardly ever touched the hard stuff, and no more than I could handle. A glass wasn’t going to cloud my judgment.
Elio frowned. “You’re drinking in the middle of the day. Is marriage really that bad?”
I didn’t answer him. It wasn’t bad. But hell if I knew what to do with the small girl sleeping in my bed right now.
“I’m fine. Tell me why you both came. And where is Romeo?”
“He went out with Giulia. She roped him into a shopping trip.”
I nodded. I doubted Romeo was truly complaining. Giulia had the four of us wrapped around her pinkie, not only because she was the baby of the family, she was a girl. Someone we needed to protect at all costs. I preferred she go out with one of us rather than a guard, considering there was no one I trusted more than my brothers, though Giulia did have her own personal guards.
I frowned. Luna would need her own guards soon. I doubted she’d want to spend the entire time stuck in this house. But that was a problem for another time.
“Then what are you doing here?” I asked.
Matteo and Elio shared a look. I knew I wasn’t going to like what they said next.
“Marco and Enzo aren’t in Las Vegas,” Elio said.
I leaned back against my chair. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly as I said,” Elio answered.
A dark look entered Matteo’s eyes. “They had their plane detour.”
“Where?” I asked.
“My guess? Probably New York,” Matteo answered. Elio nodded in agreement. And perhaps old age had made me more hesitant to jump the gun.
“That would be their death,” I said carefully.
Elio nodded. “They would be careful. Can’t really locate the plane, and the GPS tracker had been turned off.”
If our dear old uncle really was working with the Bratva, why did he try so hard to make the marriage happen between me and Luna? What did he need the Lombardi for? The Lombardi clan had never kept their distaste for the Russians a secret.
“You think the Lombardi clan might have something to do with this?” I asked.
“I didn’t get that from Emilio,” Elio said. I made a small noise in agreement. I hadn’t either, but Andre was a different story. And I knew my brothers had thought the same.
“Keep a careful eye on Chicago,” I said.
“Do you want one of us to go there?” Elio asked.
I thought about it. “Send Valentino.”
Elio nodded in agreement. Valentino was Nevada’s underboss. He was our extra eyes and ears, even more so now since he took over for his father a couple of years back. He was also Elio’s closest friend and ally. They grew up together. “On it.” Elio hesitated. I waited for him to say what was on his mind. “Do you think Luna would work with her stepfather?”
Matteo’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You’re fucking around, aren’t you?”
Usually, I agreed with Elio more than I did anyone else, but I was with Matteo on this.
“The girl is the literal epitome of innocence. And the fact that it’s clear her family treats her like shit, you really think she could be a spy?” Matteo laughed.
I hadn’t realized it was so obvious to anyone other than me that Luna had been sorely neglected and outcast by her family.
“It doesn’t hurt to be careful,” Elio said, his eyes on me.
I held up my hand. “I’ll keep that under advisement, but it’s not needed.”
Elio stood up. “I hope, for all our sakes, you’re right. I’m going to call Valentino.”
He walked out of the office without another word, leaving Matteo and me to stare after him.
“I worry about him sometimes,” Matteo muttered. Elio was… Elio. There was nothing to worry about when it came to my second brother. The same couldn’t be said about the rest of my siblings.
I shot Matteo a look. “I worry about you. Perhaps you should stop viewing everything as a joke.”
Matteo rolled his eyes and stood up. “Yes, Mom .”
Fucking smartass.
He turned and headed for the door before I could say anything. “I’m going to leave before you start one of your lectures.”
The door shut behind him, leaving me alone once more with my thoughts, and feeling so fucking restless, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Jesus fucking Christ. One day of marriage, and I was already feeling out of sorts. Luna was much more than I bargained for, that was for fucking sure.
I leaned back against the chair, the office suddenly too quiet for my liking. I stared at the glass of scotch, downed it, and stood, leaving for the gym.
I doubted I could work out all this restless energy I had with my wife.
Hell.