Chapter Four
The following morning, Ella woke up in bed alone.
The sun was shining through the curtains, and it looked like it was going to be a lovely day.
It was cold, but that was what autumn would do for you.
She loved autumn and winter. They were her two favorite months, but then she was a sweater lover.
She also loved wearing dresses with tights. There was nothing better.
Today was so different than any other day. She lifted her hand and looked up at her wedding band. Married. Completely.
She was no longer a virgin. Mateo had taken care of that last night.
At first, it had been so awful. Well, not the kissing and him licking her pussy, she had loved every second of that.
The first ... thrust had been so painful, and although she had been expecting it, it had still taken her breath away.
In that moment, she thought she had made one big, fat mistake.
There was no way she was going to be able to be a wife or have kids.
Only, that pain hadn’t stuck around. It had slowly disappeared.
His cock had gone from hurting to making her want him. She had wriggled on his cock, not wanted him to stop but to keep going. She loved every second of it.
He had made love to her, taking his time, and she relished every thrust as he filled her. It felt so good. Afterward, he held her in his arms, and they had fallen asleep.
Now, Mateo was gone, and Ella knew she couldn’t just lie in bed all day. There was a chance she might even be pregnant. The very thought of it was surreal. Climbing out of bed, she couldn’t help but put a hand to her stomach. Was it possible? No, she was not going to get her hopes up just yet.
Pulling back the covers, she saw the evidence of what they had done last night.
There was blood on the sheets, combined with his semen.
Her cheeks started to warm, and she grabbed the blankets and started to pull them off the bed.
The blood had gone onto the mattress, and she felt absolutely mortified.
She rushed to the bathroom to soak a towel and grab some soap.
She climbed onto the bed and started to scrub the mattress.
“Hey, easy, it’s okay,” Mateo said, coming in. He grabbed her arms and pulled her off the bed.
“I, uh, I didn’t mean ... I’m so sorry.”
He cupped her face and forced her to look at him. “It’s fine.” He kissed her. “I’ve got people that can get blood out. I’ll make the arrangements to have it dealt with.”
“You do?”
“Ella, you know who I am and what I am capable of. Trust me, I have people to take care of a lot of shit,” he said. He kissed her again.
She didn’t get a chance to question him again as he bent forward and she let out a cry as he lifted her over his shoulder and carried her straight back to the bathroom.
Ella tried to convince him to put her down, but he didn’t until she was in the shower.
She watched as he stripped down completely naked and stepped inside.
He made sure she was out of the way before he turned on the spray of the shower, taking the brunt of the cold.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said.
He gripped her chin, tilted her head back, and then kissed her.
“I know. There is a lot I didn’t have to do, but I’m going to take care of you, and my wife doesn’t get to feel the cold.”
She couldn’t argue, because that was really sweet. He was willing to take the cold, only allowing her to step beneath the spray of the water once it had warmed up.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked, reaching for the soap.
The moment his hands touched her body, all logical thought left her. She didn’t know what he had said because his hands felt so good as he used them as a sponge, soaping down her body.
“Uh, yeah, I did.” She finally managed to get a response, as he ran his hands all over her. It felt so good.
“Did you?” she asked.
“The best.” His lips were at her neck, and she closed her eyes, biting into her bottom lip in the hope of trying to gain some focus. She felt so ... hot, so warm.
But Mateo didn’t go any further. He washed her body, lathered her hair with shampoo and conditioner, and then it was her turn to take care of him, which she did. Exploring his body, marveling at all of his ink.
“Did any of this hurt you?” she asked.
“Some of it was not comfortable.”
“You like getting it done, though.”
“I do.”
She smiled. “I’m terrified of needles. There is no way I could do anything like that or have anything like that.”
“You’d be surprised at what your body can take.”
He stepped out of the shower, turning off the water.
Ella reached for a towel, but he was there, helping to dry her.
She loved the attention he gave. She couldn’t help but wonder if he wanted to have sex with her again, but he dried her body and they made their way into the bedroom.
He took her to the closet and helped her get dressed.
She wore a plain olive-green shirtdress, with matching tights and black boots. Mateo got dressed in his usual pants, crisp shirt, and jacket. He always looked in control, and that hadn’t stopped. He was a man who knew what he wanted.
Ella wondered if she had gotten in way over her head.
****
Mateo did not need to be at every one of his businesses.
He had everything in place to get weekly updates, and no one would dare turn traitor on him.
In the last fifteen years, he had taken care of many traitors and snitches.
All of them ended up dead. It had been a long time since anyone had dared.
Now, as he looked out his office window in his country home, seeing Ella walk the gardens, he was grateful and a little annoyed that his presence wasn’t needed far away from her.
She had been a virgin, and he couldn’t get the memory of her tears out of his head, as he claimed her virginity.
He didn’t want to hurt her. It was strange, because causing pain to anyone had never bothered him.
He had killed a lot of people, both men and women, without batting an eye.
Hurting Ella felt fucking soul-destroying.
He had come to his country home in the hope of distracting her. He had taken her on a tour of the whole house when they first arrived, nearly a week ago now. They shared a bedroom, because he simply would not sleep without her in his arms.
Mateo made sure he went to bed long after she had fallen asleep. He didn’t want to risk waking her up and having the temptation of fucking her. Never had he felt like such a fucking coward.
Watching her now, she looked so beautiful in one of the many skirts she now owned, and a thick, wooly sweater. He had made sure she had everything she needed, taking her shopping one day. Ella didn’t want to spend money, but he had an abundance of it. She was not like a lot of women.
He forced himself to step away from the window and face his study. In the last week, he had spent a lot of time here. Being the head of the mafia, he had a lot to keep on top of. Admittedly, he had changed the mafia by killing most of its leading members.
No one dared question his wife’s identity.
He could just imagine his father rolling in his grave because of what he had done—marrying a “nobody.” In the mafia, marriages were business contracts.
Only those most profitable were made. There was no wealth or power promised with him and Ella. They had a mutual agreement.
The temptation to turn around and look at his wife was so damn strong. Instead, he forced himself out of his office. He intended to go to the kitchen to find out if Lewis had finished with lunch. Only, that is not where he found himself.
He didn’t know how it happened, but he was standing outside on the back patio, less than ten feet away from his wife. Ella had turned toward him with a smile on her lips.
“You decided to stop hiding in your office?” Ella asked.
“I’m not hiding.”
Both her brows went up. “You know, when I was working at Cole’s, I think I saw you more than after I married you.” She moved across the grass and took the steps leading up to where he stood. “Maybe we should divorce and attempt to have children through work?” There was a smirk on her face.
“Not happening.”
“Do you want to tell me why you’re hiding from me? Do I smell?”
He couldn’t believe she actually lifted her arm and inhaled.
“No, you don’t smell.”
“Then, tell me, o husband of mine, what have I done wrong?” She folded her arms. “Because I didn’t realize I signed up for a marriage that meant I was going to be ignored.”
And this is why he was never going to choose a wife among the remaining capos’ daughters. They were all trained to not speak, to not look their husbands in the eye, to be nothing but doormats. Ella was no doormat.
He looked at her, and at first, he thought about lying, telling her that work was getting in the way. He was not going to start his marriage by lying. Honesty—something he was not used to.
“I hurt you,” he said.
She frowned. “No, you didn’t.”
“On our wedding night. I hurt you and I promised I wasn’t going to. I broke our deal.”
Ella folded her arms beneath her breasts and looked at him. “It doesn’t count.”
This made him laugh. “Are you serious right now?”
“Look, you didn’t hit me. You didn’t beat me.
You didn’t take your belt off and whip me with it, or yell at me.
You certainly didn’t put me in a closet in the freezing cold.
Trust me, I knew our wedding night was not going to be easy.
” She looked past his shoulder and lowered her voice.
“I had never been with a man before. Now, unless you’re having second thoughts, and you want a divorce, I get it.
Our wedding night was a one-off occasion.
I’m not a virgin anymore. You claimed that.
Don’t push me away because of that. I don’t want to continue if you keep doing this. ”
“You’re threatening to divorce me?”
“I know we don’t love each other, but we agreed to have a family. I think it goes without saying that being parents when we have children, we won’t be able to ignore each other. I don’t want that. I’m sorry I was a virgin, but I can’t go back and have random sex with another man.”
He cupped her face and smiled into her eyes. “You know you’re incredible, don’t you?”
“No, I’m not, Mateo. I just won’t take any of your crap, and you’re not going to push me aside. If you don’t want this, tell me.”
“I want this.” And then he kissed her hard and pulled her in against him.
There was no backing down, at least not for him.