Chapter 31 #2
Needles through her ribs? Where does she come up with these things?
“How imaginative. No, it’s nothing like that.”
“Well, go on then. Tell me about this mysterious condition. What do you want? Holiday blowjobs or something?”
“Quite the opposite,” I drawl, unimpressed with her judgmental tone. “It’s less of a condition and more of a boundary. There will be no holiday blowjobs nor oral of any kind performed on me. It’s my non-negotiable. You have yours, this is mine.”
“Hold on.” Her eyes widen, lips parting in surprise. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Rayna’s eyebrows draw in. “You don’t want me to…doesn’t every man want that? I thought it was all the lot of you could ever think about.”
“I don’t find the action of risking my life nor the safety of my cock for pleasure that can be achieved in other manners appealing.”
“You’re afraid I’d bite it off?”
“It’s less of a fear, and less about you,” I tell her mildly. “I have never, nor will I ever, participate in the act. It doesn’t matter with whom. There isn’t enough trust in the world to change my mind.”
Nose crinkling in the center, she asks, “You trust me enough to have children with me but not to suck your dick?”
“The topic is not up for debate, if this is something you need, it seems we’re at an impasse.”
“I, God no, I don’t need it! I’m just surprised.” Her lips twitch, almost into a smile.
“Pleasantly, I take it? The change in your tone is quite telling, Miss Todorova.”
The apples of her cheeks tint pink. “I’ve never been a fan. Honestly, it seems too good to be true. How do I know you won’t change your mind some day? Surely after years of marriage and a child together you might get comfortable enough to—”
“I assure you, I won’t.”
“And you don’t have a problem giving? Only receiving?”
My cock jumps at the idea of putting my mouth on her. “Giving is not a problem. Not at all.”
Her throat bobs and I have the most carnal desire to bite it.
“Moving on?”
“Yeah,” she agrees, flipping open her papers. “Moving on.”
The next points of negotiation move much more quickly. Smaller issues and larger, each getting a fair bit of attention.
Beginning with: “I get to name my heir.”
“Only if I have a reasonable amount of veto power,” she reasons in return.
“Agreed.”
We note the agreement, and continue.
“My heir will know Italian,” I say, moving on to the next point. “It’s imperative to his future as Capo. English and Italian must be his main focus, if you intend to teach him Bulgarian as well, we can discuss how best to do that.”
“Fair,” she mutters. “Leon could probably help in that area. He has experience helping Leo, and he knows Bulgarian.”
“Leon may be a good choice for godfather then, shall we note that?”
“Can Sienna be the godmother?”
“She can be, but it’s unlikely my family would give my child to her, in the case of our deaths. She’d need to be with them to be in their life.”
“Makes sense,” she murmurs, writing something down. “That’s fine, then. In the event that we have a boy—”
“We will.”
“—he must be allowed some sense of normalcy. I will not raise a child to only think of the mafia. He’ll have fun, and laugh, and love, and you won’t push him while he’s still young.”
“Do you assume I was raised without fun, laughter, and love?”
She looks uncomfortable, almost wincing. “I have no idea how you were raised. But when a man marries to produce an heir to run his empire, one must be cautious about his motivations.”
I nod, noting my understanding. “Tradition dictates I have a son, it does not dictate that he be rigid and ready to run an empire before he can walk. He will know love and laughter, just as I and all of my siblings did.”
“Okay.” She nods. “But what if he has no desire to be Capo? What then? Will you shame him? Regret him? Shun him?”
The way she can knock me down a peg without even trying, even when I don’t deserve it. I can’t tell if I love it or hate it.
“I find your implication insulting.”
Rayna blinks. “The implication that your son could ever want anything other than what he’s destined for? Or the implication that you would punish him for such a thing?”
“Becoming Capo will be expected of him, just as it was expected of me, my father, and his father before him. I won’t deny that he’ll be trained to perform the role, nor that he won’t be influenced to accept his birthright.”
She scoffs, and my eye twitches.
“Like it or not, any child that I sire will be born with a target on his back. He’ll be honed into a strong man, a man with honor and principles that he will come to fight for.
That doesn’t mean that I will put The Outfit over my son.
My dedication to our family and our family’s history will not overshadow my role as a father. There will be balance.”
“So, if he doesn’t want the role?”
“He’ll be offered another, and either my second son, or Leon’s eldest will take his place.
But do not be mistaken, he will not escape this life, Rayna.
He can have the illusion of normalcy if he deserves to be like his uncle Emilio and act as an ambassador.
But Moretti blood is mafia blood. It always will be.
As long as he’s alive, and my DNA is running through his veins, he will not be safe anywhere else.
This Empire is sacred, and it is nearly impenetrable. ”
“I guess I can live with that.”
Good.
“But what if we have a girl?”
“It’s statistically not very likely for this family,” I tell her steadily. Perhaps she dreams of having a daughter, and I wouldn’t want to squash that. Still, I don’t see it happening for me.
“I know,” she agrees. “But I want to talk about the possibility. I don’t want our daughter to be forced into an arranged marriage some day. I want it in writing that she can’t be.”
“You won’t hear me argue with you on that, Rayna.” I offer a small nod of acknowledgment. “On the off chance we have a girl, she will be treated just as Jade was. She will choose who she wishes to love, when the time comes. No forced marriage arrangements will happen for her.”
“Can you say the same for our son?”
Our son.
I like the sound of that.
“He will have the same freedoms I have been afforded, but the same responsibilities as well. An arranged marriage is unlikely, but could happen if he’s even more stubborn than I am.”
Rayna nods. “I suppose that’s as good as it’s going to get for him.”
I set my pen down for the next subject. Something I’ve been thinking about for a minute. “You should adopt Yordan, legally, before we marry.”
For the first time in our meeting, Rayna looks vulnerable. “I…what?”
“Making Yordan my stepson will solidify his role in the family. He won’t be my son by blood, so no rumors of him becoming heir will cause issues. But he’ll become a Moretti, as you would.”
She captures her bottom lip with her teeth. “Y-you want that?”
“Of course,” I confirm smoothly. “Yordan means very much to me. I would have hoped that with all the time and effort I’ve put into caring for him, into training him, that you wouldn’t doubt that.”
“I’ll ask him about it.” She exhales softly. “Thank you, for always thinking about him.”
“We can ask him together,” I suggest. “When we tell him about the engagement.”
“We’re really doing this, then?”
“Well, our contract needs to be finalized for your final approval. And there’s that trial we need to schedule, but all and all, yes. We’re doing this, Rayna.”
“We won’t have a marriage like Leon’s will we?” she asks, voice almost trembling. “I don’t think I could handle that. The cold indifference—”
“It will be anything but cold and indifferent, love.”
For the first time, she doesn’t snap at me not to call her that.
“Oh, and Rayna? Be prepared to be bossed around, won’t you? I won’t tolerate your attitude as kindly while we fuck. I happen to like control in many places, bed most of all.”