22. Vinnie
My absolute favorite thing about the ten-hour flight to our honeymoon destination has been witnessing the joy that grows on Sly’s face with every passing hour.
He refuses to tell me where we’re going, but the constant stream of dark ocean below us clues me in to realizing it’s some place European. Knowing my new husband, my instinct says Italy, but he refuses to confirm or deny.
Our honeymoon.
We’re on our way to our honeymoon.
Giddiness filters through my system—soft tingles of excitement for the adventure that lies ahead.
“How long will we be gone?” I ask innocently, still hoping he’ll reveal more about our trip. Sliding my hand over his thigh, I let my fingers travel dangerously close to his length as I lean over on the armrest of my seat. He catches my hand before it touches him, pulling my wrist to his lips, kissing the inside.
“Two weeks, amore mio. Unless you’d like to stay longer.”
Two weeks is a long time to be away from my business, especially when I hadn’t anticipated leaving. August and I hadn’t planned a honeymoon—we were going to tell people we were going later in the year but then never plan it.
At least, I had no intention of ever planning anything. Why celebrate something that isn’t worth celebrating?
Reaching over to the table next to me, I grab my purse and pull my phone out. The small white satin clutch glimmers in the light that shines directly on it. I’m grateful to Raina for bringing an outfit change with her in preparation of drinking and possibly dancing the night away. She shoved the Hermès overnight bag into my arms the moment the limo pulled up next to the plane.
I changed into her black midi dress once we boarded Sully’s jet, and although I’m a little cold now, I’m grateful to no longer be wearing a bloodstained wedding gown.
Such bittersweet memories that dress will hold.
Bitter because I should have only ever put it on for Sly, never for August.
Sweet because, although it is bloodstained, I did end up marrying the love of my life in it.
I take a few moments to write a detailed email to my assistant, letting her know she will need to take over for a while, and asking her to double check my calendar’s accuracy. I don’t go into detail about where we’re going—not that I know yet—or why I’m suddenly leaving. I’m sure the news has already broken about the ceremony—she’ll figure it out.
My heart stutters for a moment, thinking about the ceremony. The reality of what happened begins to set in, and a small wave of nerves hits me.
Sly killed a man tonight.
I look over at my husband, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach.
Will he go to jail?
His fingers dance across the screen of his phone, his brow furrowed as he clearly types a message to someone.
Looking back down at my own phone, I pull up the search engine and type in my name. Relief hits when the most recent article is from two days ago, highlighting my upcoming nuptials. I type in Sly’s name, and thankfully, there is nothing new under his search, either.
“Mr. and Mrs. Lucchetti. We’re about ten minutes from your destination,” the stewardess with soft green eyes tells us as she passes by where we sit. She’s been tidying up the cabin for the last thirty minutes, busying herself.
“Thank you,” I say, offering a kind smile. Sly doesn’t acknowledge her, too deep in thought. Gently, I touch his arm. “Is everything okay?”
Immediately, he turns his attention to me, his gaze softening. “Sì, piccola ladra.” He expels a deep breath. “I was just speaking with your brother.”
My jaw slackens as surprise overtakes me. “You have his number?”
“It’s recent.” He grins. “I had to bypass security somehow, amore mio. Luckily, your brother offered his alliance at the right time.”
A smile upturns my lips—I owe my oldest brother a thank you. “What’s he saying?”
“He and your father are working their connections with la polizia. When your father and brother spoke with us after our ceremony, my cousin Lorenzo, Sully, and my friend Nixon—you will meet him soon—they kept the guests seated. When your brother returned, the three of them let the guests leave one by one, but before they could, they needed to sign the NDA your brother gave them.”
I can physically feel my eyes widen as my mind tries to absorb his words. “I have so many questions.”
Sly chuckles. “Please, ask away.”
Pressing my fingers against my temples, I rub them, trying to ease some of the building pressure. “First, how did Luciano even have copies of an NDA on hand?”
He reaches over and squeezes my knee. “As I said, amore mio. Your brother offered his alliance. When I left your hotel room, he confronted me, and we devised a plan. He had a short time to get the NDAs.”
“But how did he even know you’d ne—” I question, but then I realize. “Oh.”
“Sì. I had planned on ending August’s life, Vincenza. Does that bother you?”
“No,” I say without hesitation.
“It should. There is a darkness that lives within me. I didn’t think twice before pulling that trigger.”
“You had good reason.”
“I did, and I will not hesitate to protect you by any means necessary if the situation were to arise again. Now, ask me your next question, piccola ladra.”
“Why would Luciano have the guests sign NDAs when they are useless if a crime is committed?”
“Because, although the legality of the NDA would not hold up in a court of law, fear does. By obtaining a signed NDA from each guest, it sends a message—this day is not to be spoken about. The threat of the Paladinos alone is enough to keep quiet. Throw a Lucchetti in there…”
“Two.” I smile. “I do believe I am the newest member of the Lucchetti family, am I not?” I take on a prim and proper fake English accent and bat my eyelashes.
Sly tosses his head back and laughs before he pulls me onto his lap. I do my best to adjust so that I’m comfortable as I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him.
“Do you have any more questions, Vincenza?”
“None that can’t wait,” I say against his lips. He pulls back slightly to look at me, and I not-so-subtly grind my backside against his growing erection.
Groaning, his eyes flutter closed. “You drive me wild.”
Moaning softly in response, I lean in and begin kissing up his neck slowly. Taking my time, I savor each graze of my lips against his skin.
“Miss?” Sly calls to the stewardess. He coughs as I nibble near his collarbone, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt. Seconds later, she peeks her head around the corner from where she’s sitting in the jump seat.
“Yes, sir?”
Another button pops open and I slide my hand inside of his shirt, feeling his pecs as I glide my hand against his skin.
“Ask the captain to fly around for another twenty-minutes or so, and please allow us some privacy.”
My fingers graze another button, popping it open before I move to the next, still sucking and nibbling at his neck.
“Certainly, sir,” is the last thing I hear before Sly stands from his chair, deposits me into it, and spreads my legs wide.
Warmth heats my skin as the sun”s rays peek through the transparent curtains in the bedroom, cascading across my back from where I lay on our bed.
When we touched down at Valerio Catullo Airport, I immediately knew where we were.
Sly brought me home.
The place where he feels safe and comfortable—content.
Verona.
Turning my head, I look over at him, still asleep on his back. His soft breaths expel gently from his lips with quiet snores, and I can’t help but to reach out and touch him.
Dancing my fingers across the hard ridges of his chest, I trace every dip and groove of muscle, simply appreciating the man in front of me.
It feels surreal that less than twenty-four hours ago I was getting ready to marry a man I despised, only to protect the one laying beside me now.
The way I love Sly scares me. It terrifies me that it’s all-consuming.
Undeniable.
Unconditional.
I thought this love only existed inside the pages of books, but to truly know it and feel it, is beyond any realm of reality.
I was willing to give up my life for him. I still am, but feeling his skin against mine reminds me that our lives are now joined.
He’s my husband.
I’m his wife.
And no one can take that from us.
“Mmm, good morning, piccola ladra,” Sly hums beside me, his voice thick with sleep. “Did you sleep well?”
Scooting closer, he lifts his arm so I can curl up as close as possible.
“I slept like a baby.”
“I am glad, amore mio.”
“Whose house is this?” I ask, curious about the gorgeous villa we’re staying at. When we arrived, Sly silently pulled out a key and let us in. I wanted to ask him when we came through the doors, but his lips were on mine before I could. Then he kept me thoroughly distracted the rest of the night.
A smile creeps across his face. Dipping down, he kisses my temple. “Ours.”
“Ours?”
“Sì. I purchased this home during my time abroad. It’s ours, now. What’s yours is mine.”
“Sly…”
“Shh,” he breathes, and silences me with a kiss.
Parting my lips, he steals my breath as his tongue finds my mouth and we begin our familiar rhythm. It sends an instant wave of tingles through my body, igniting my desire.
Kneading my breast, Sly’s hand engulfs it, flicking my nipple with his thumb.
“The things I want to do to you,” he growls before kissing me deeper. Rolling on top of me, his length finds its place between my legs, already as hard as granite.
Sucking in a sharp breath, I lift my hips to meet where our bodies are trying to connect, spreading my legs to allow him entry. “Please,” I shamelessly beg.
He groans, then begins lowering himself down my body, but that’s not what I want. Catching his arms, I shake my head. “No. I need you inside me. Now, Sly.”
“Piccola ladra,” he begins to argue, but my expression must be enough for him to easily relent.
His desire to give me the exact pleasure I seek is stronger than his instinct to give all the attention to only me.
Reaching between us, I wrap my hand around his shaft and begin to pump him from root to tip. His eyes darken as he looks down at me, propping himself on his forearms. “You may have the power to control me with a simple look, Vincenza, but make no mistake, I will not let you out of this bed until you are unable to walk from how shaky your legs are.”
“All I want is you inside me, Sly. Filling me up. Marking me.” My eyes roll to the back of my head as his fingers find my clit and expertly begin toying with it, alternating the pressures and ways he circles it. A long moan leaves my lips, and the rumble feels like it took some of my soul with it. “Oh my God.”
Dipping two fingers into the wetness between my thighs, he uses it to smear around my entrance and clit before pushing them inside me. My hips lift and I suck in a harsh breath at the intrusion, but it’s quickly welcomed and my legs fall open even further.
Still holding him, I align us and tilt my hips toward him. “Please,” I ask again, and this time he obliges. Slipping through my folds, he pushes inside me until we’re fully connected. Beneath my fingertips, I feel his shoulders flex.
Tilting my head, I meet his lips, kissing him with every emotion I possess as I take the reins and deepen it. His thrusts mirror each stroke of our tongues, letting me guide everything that’s happening between us.
It feels as though time stands still. Like we’re frozen in place together, secluded in our own bubble.
The most sinful bliss.
Flattening his palm against the bed, Sly pushes his other arm around my waist, and in one fluid movement, sits us upright so he rests against his heels and I’m on my knees.
With one hand tangling in my hair, Sly’s other hand flattens against my lower back, holding me close as he kisses me and I begin to ride him. The position pushes him deeper inside me, and we groan in unison each time he bottoms out.
“Your body tells me you”re close, piccola ladra. I can feel your walls clenching around me. Tell me, what do you need?”
But words fail me, the pleasure and overwhelming emotion of connecting with him so immeasurably stealing away any attempt at speaking.
Instead of pressing for an answer, Sly smiles sheepishly and reaches between us, playing with the sensitive bundle between my legs. Instantly, my body convulses, already so close.
Sparks ignite through me—the sweet sensation flicking down my spine and sending another rush of desire through my core.
“That’s it, amore mio. Let go for me. Let me feel your pleasure as it soaks my cock. Tell me what you need, Vinnie.”
My hand wraps around the back of his neck as I use his body for leverage, sliding up and down him as quickly as my body will allow. “Fuck me harder,” I breathe. “I want you…harder.”
Shifting his hands to hold my hips, he begins guiding me as he pumps upward to meet me thrust for deliciously hard thrust, holding me in an angle where the root of him hits my clit with just the right amount of pleasure.
As he grunts with his own pleasure, I tangle our tongues, meeting him in a messy, teeth filled kiss. We’re too lost in each other to care, the sounds of our skin slapping together and our pleasured sighs.
Within seconds, my orgasm slams into me and I toss my head back, breaking our kiss as I cry out with a strangled moan. Almost immediately, I feel Sly come, his cock twitching inside me.
Pressing our foreheads together, we both ride the wave, our chests heaving as we come down from it.
“Ti amo, piccola ladra,” Sly breathes, his fingertips brushing against my back.
“I love you, too.”
“But I am nowhere near done with you, either. Do you remember your safe word, Vincenza?”
He doesn’t wait for me to answer before he’s laying me on my back, pulling out of me. Positioning himself between my legs, he lays down on the bed and spreads my legs wide with a hand on each of my thighs. “Your safe word?” he asks again, looking up at me.
“You don’t have—” I begin, but his stern look stops me from finishing my sentence. When my husband first told me he was a Pleasure Dom, having not been well versed on what it truly meant, I thought surely it wouldn’t be an every time thing, but he’s proven me wrong. He makes it his personal mission to ensure that I come at least twice, and that”s only when we’re in a less than ideal place.
I’m not complaining, but I sometimes feel guilty when he puts the sole focus on me.
Sighing, I relent. “Locket.”
The left side of his mouth upturns in a smirk. “Eccellente,” he says, lifting each of my legs to drape over his shoulders before sliding his tongue through my folds.
“Sly!” I squeal, acutely aware that his cum is dripping out of me. Bucking my hips, I try to pull away, but he only holds me firmer, lapping up both of our releases before suctioning his lips around my clit.
He shows no mercy as he pulsates the sensitive nerve and slips two fingers inside of me, drawing pleasure from my body purposely as he works me.
An endless slur of satisfaction elicits into the air, contrasting against the sound of his fingers pounding within me.
My toes curl in seconds and I cry out, louder than before, as an orgasm rips through me with the force of a tidal wave. Sensitivity overtakes me and I try to pull away, but Sly holds me in place, savagely lapping at my clit as he upturns his fingers to stroke my G-spot.
Black spots circle my vision, feral sonance flying from my mouth in incoherent nonsense as another orgasm slams into me again.
It feels as though my soul has left my body. Merciless spasms ricochet in my body as another orgasm cascades through me—something I didn’t even know could happen.
The sensation is unlike anything I’ve felt before.
My limbs go limp as Sly dismantles my legs from his shoulders before he flips me like a rag doll, pulling my hips into the air. In one stroke, he’s inside of me.
Leaning against my back, he pounds into me, sliding in and out with ease from how wet I am as I grip the pillow.
“Words cannot describe how amazing you feel, piccola ladra. So wet for me—gripping my cock like a vice. How many more orgasms can I pull from your body before we go explore my city, hmm, mia bellissima moglie?”
“I can’t,” I breathe.
“Oh, I guarantee you can, bella. Your body sings to me in a harmony only I can hear. Your pussy is weeping for me, drenching me in your desire. I know your body, Vincenza, and it tells me you can give me more.” Snaking his hand around my waist, his fingers find my oversensitive clit and begin to rub it with slow, methodological touches. This time, it feels as though he’s soothing my body after the intense pleasure he just extracted.
Melting against the pillow, I push my hips toward him, spurring his movements. He may know my body, but I know his too, and I can feel when he is holding back his own release.
With a rhythm of their own, my hips begin to sway as I grind against him. His sharp hiss gives me the confidence to continue, but it also encourages him. His fingers rub me faster, and my body betrays me with the familiar tingles that start to vibrate within me.
“I know what you’re doing,” I tell him with a shaky breath. Though it’s extremely difficult, I maneuver my arm to reach beneath our bodies and cup his balls, massaging them gently as he slams into me.
A heady groan erupts through him, and he begins to slam into me faster.
The change in pace only increases the orgasm that threatens to detonate. “Faster,” I beg, pushing my hips back with every thrust.
“Vinnie—” he groans, and I hear the hesitancy in his voice, but he doesn’t stop.
“You won’t hurt me. Fuck me faster,” I beg again.
His hips increase their speed and I bite down on the pillow, loving the way his movements cause both pleasure with a mix of pain.
Needing more leverage, Sly moves his hands so both are gripping my waist as he pounds into me, harder than he ever has before. He’s lost to the movement, his disjointed grunts filling our bedroom.
Knowing I’m close, I reach between my legs and rub myself, rolling my clit between my fingers before I start to circle it rapidly.
“Come, Vinnie. Play with yourself until your toes curl and you’re screaming my name.”
“You come,” I argue. My eyes roll backward as he grips my backside, digging his nails into my flesh before he pulls back and smacks it with an open palm. It isn’t hard—just enough to sting—but it sends a jolt through my core that immediately sends me soaring.
“Sly!” I scream into the pillow. At the same time, Sly groans a string of words in Italian that I don’t understand. His cock twitches inside me, filling me up again as he comes.
Rather than let me go, his hands are all over me, touching every inch of skin as we catch our breath.
“Holy shit,” I shudder, and he laughs.
“I love when you’re authentically yourself, piccola ladra. You are bewitching when you are portraying the woman you were raised to be, but inherently sexy when you allow your true personality to shine.”
Withdrawing from me, I hiss as the soreness immediately sets in. He scoots off the bed, then leans forward and kisses me as I sink into the soft mattress. “Stay here, my wife. I’ll be right back.”
I close my eyes as his footsteps draw further, then hear the sound of water filling the clawfoot tub in the adjoining bathroom at the same time as water flows from the sink. Moments later, the sink faucet turns off, and Sly’s footsteps return. A hot compress is pressed between my legs as the weight of Sly’s body sinks onto the mattress beside me.
“I am drawing you a bath, amore mio. Rose and eucalyptus bath oils have been added, as well as bath salts and bubbles. When you are relaxed, we will have breakfast, then explore Verona. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like I don’t deserve you,” I muse, turning my head to look at him. He’s the image of perfection as he looks down at me, his dark hair astray with a few rogue strands flopping over his hazel eyes.
“Sì, you do, piccola ladra. You deserve every bit of happiness this world has to offer.”
Emotion overtakes me—guilt filtering through my bloodstream like acid. We need to talk more about everything that’s happened—I just can’t bring myself to ruin the moment.
But Sly knows me better than I know myself. Reaching over, he wipes the tear with the pad of his thumb and bends down, kissing my temple. “We have our whole lives to discuss what happened, Vinnie. All that matters to me in this moment is that you are cared for and that you know how happy you make me. You made me the happiest man alive when you became my wife.”
“I just want you to know how much I love you. How everything I did was because I thought I was protecting you. I see now what a mistake that was, and I’m so sorry, Sly. I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t want you to ever apologize for the decisions you made when you were trusting your own judgment. I trust your intuition, Vincenza. But from now forward, you need to trust mine. I will always protect, cherish, and love you.”
“You mean everything to me,” I whisper, the tears free flowing down my cheeks. “I love you so much.”
“And I love you, piccola ladra. Now come,” he says, wiping my tears again as he stands from the bed. Reaching down, he scoops me bridal style into his arms. “You have a bath to enjoy and I have breakfast to make.”
Carrying me into the bathroom, he deposits me into the steaming bathtub where the delicious scents waft around me, and I relax into the hot water with ease, my entire body succumbing to the comfort as Sly kisses the top of my head and retreats to make us something to eat.