Chapter 38 Caterina
Caterina
The young guard from my parents’ house drives us to our hotel (after Alessio has threatened him within an inch of his life for allowing me to coerce him to bring me to Nico’s), and we’re alone in the backseat.
“I wanted to believe it would work out this way, but I’m still afraid this is a dream I’ll wake up from. ”
“I want to believe you’ll learn a bit of self-preservation in the future before you barge into a meeting like that again,” Alessio grumbles from beside me. I lean my head against his shoulder, too happy to mind his grumbling. “Do you have any idea how risky that was?”
I have to bite my lip to fight the insane urge to giggle at the question.
It was madness, especially knowing how traditional the Don is, but Alessio seems to bring out a bit of madness in me.
“I couldn’t stay away, Alessio. I love you too much to wait in the wings.
And to be fair, it was my brother’s house I was barging into.
I know you want to protect me at every turn but-”
“But you are strong and not content to stay behind sometimes.” I close my mouth despite my surprise over his words.
He pulls my hand into his lap, lightly stroking the inside of my wrist where a billion nerve-endings must reside.
“You said you wanted a purpose beyond being Mrs. De Luca. Do you still feel that way?”
“Yes,” I answer, a breathy exhale.
“So what did you have in mind?”
I figured he would tell me what I might do, not that he would ask. “I… I don’t know for certain. I’m not sure what I’m good at. I haven’t been to college, and I don’t have any special degrees or training.”
“Navigating life in the mafia isn’t something they hand out degrees for, Caterina.
You have good instincts. Usually. You read people well.
Usually. You are hard to say no to. When it comes to me at least. You may know how to fire a gun and handle a knife, but there’s no way I’m putting you in harm’s way. ”
“I know that. I told you I don’t want to do the things you must do.”
“Though you are very smart, many of my men will always underestimate you simply based on your sex. I cannot name you my Consigliere. They would question my judgement too much.”
I’m shocked he would even suggest such an important role. “Of course, you can’t. I’m not part of the Trio and could never be a Made Man anyway. Armando could be your Consigliere or perhaps a more seasoned man who you trust.”
He smiles knowingly at my gentle prodding. “Maybe both. Armando’s father is a wise man."
"From what I know of him, Giovanni strikes me as a good choice, and I think you would listen to his council."
"Yes, but he's still a soldier. It would ruffle many feathers, though it's time some things were changed. Perhaps I’ll have my own little trio of advisors. You will be part of it. I won’t involve you in the dirty side of the business, and you will have no official title, but I will come to you from time to time seeking your counsel, and I’ll let it be known that I’m unafraid to do so. ”
This time my jaw drops. It’s a very bold move.
Many of the men who swear their loyalty to him will not like it.
The more traditional ones will argue to his face while the plotters will scheme behind his back.
But I know my husband, and I know he will silence them all with either logic or lethal force as required.
“As you are willing to make a break with tradition, I would like to help with some others,” I say at last.
“Explain.”
“It’s not the easiest life to be born into for us women either. We have no power, no say. I think it would be a nice start to a new era if the women in your territory knew they had a fellow woman who had their Capo’s ear who they might turn to with their concerns.”
“Their complaints, you mean.” I playfully smack his chest but it’s true. “I suppose you’d like to be that woman.”
“I would. Not having a voice is very hard, Alessio. If we are expected to raise your children and provide you refuge from your daily cares, we deserve better than just a pretty cage to grow old in, don’t we?
We deserve better than to become a forgotten ghost story that’s only whispered about, too.
” I hold my breath, knowing how hard it is for him to think about what happened to his mother.
No matter what she planned behind Silvio’s back, it wasn’t right what he did to Stefania.
“You’re going to want to save every girl from an unwanted marriage if the groom doesn’t promise to treat her like a princess, aren’t you? You’d do away with the Seconda Notte, too, no doubt.”
I raise my chin and look him in the eye. “So what if I want to?”
He chuckles, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and kissing my forehead. “Traditions die very hard in our world, but you may try. I would expect nothing less from the woman I fell in love with.”
Once the car pulls to a stop, he helps me out, leading me into the luxury hotel.
The glass and gold elevator takes us up several floors, and my hopes rise with it.
I’ll be realistic. Not every woman will feel comfortable opening up to the Capo’s wife.
Not every husband and father will give them the chance to seek me out, but it may be the start of something good.
I will try to be their advocate, and I love my husband all the more for being willing to let me try.
“I was thinking…” he says, drawing my attention back to him. “Once things are a bit more settled, where would you wish to go for a honeymoon?”
“A honeymoon?”
“My wife should have a proper honeymoon.”
My heart melts for him all over again as I tell him I’ll need a little time to think that over.
We’re both bone-tired from days of action and worry with little to no sleep but, when we reach our suite at last, we find that sleep is not our first priority. He loves me and I love him and our bodies come alive with the burning passion we’ve had to set aside for other things.
“Yes, like that,” he husks, his hands roaming over my back, my breasts, my thighs. I need them everywhere. “A handful of days without you is still too long, Caterina. Widen your hips for me.”
“Are you sure this is alright?” I gasp between kisses.
“I’m certain.” He leans forward to lick a nipple, making me moan. “I love you.”
“And, I love you but you usually take control.”
“I like watching you ride me, and I’ve been awake for three days, baby,” he adds, chuckling. “I’ll be in control next time.” But his strong hands grip my hips, and he grinds my center over his hard cock. He never fully relinquishes control. And I love that. “Use your hand to guide me inside now.”
My face warms and, reaching between my legs, I grasp his length. Feeling his hot tip at my entrance, I shudder as my husband’s blue eyes turn to dark sapphire pools of lust. His grip on my waist tightens, wanting to drag me down.
Right before I surrender, a flash of memory has me pushing down on his chest, resisting. “Wait. There’s something we must settle first. I called you last week and-”
“She was a housekeeper at the hotel,” he says in a rush. “I just paid her to answer my phone and say I was busy. I swear to you, Caterina, I never touched her or any other woman, and I won't. Not ever.” Even if he wasn’t swearing to me on his tattoo, I know I’d believe him.
I bite at my bottom lip, unable to hide my hurt. “You did that to wound me because of my betrayal.”
His eyes are full of anguish as he gently caresses my hip, his lust no longer dominating his thoughts and actions when he murmurs, “I did that because I’m an asshole. I regretted it as soon as it was done. No matter what you knew or didn’t know about Sofia running away, you didn’t deserve that.”
I give him a stern look of warning. “If you do something to make me think you cheated again, I’ll bring my little knife back to our bed.”
He’s trying not to crack a smile, despite sensing the teasing tone under my words. “I’d deserve that and more. I am sorry. Can you forgive me?”
“You saved me. Again. You love me. How could my heart not forgive you?” Full of affection for him, I sink down to snuggle against his muscled chest. He holds me close but soon his hips start to slowly buck beneath me. “You have a one-track mind, husband,” I playfully scold him.
“Only when it comes to you. Caterina…”
“Your stitches...”
“My shoulder is fine.”
“How can it be fine when it’s bleeding all over the pillowcase?”
He smirks up at me, unbothered by the blood weeping from his wound. “This isn’t the first time we’ve made bloody sheets since we married, is it?” I scowl but it doesn’t deter him. “Caterina, if you don’t fuck me in the next three seconds, I’m going to lose my goddamn mind.”
Laughing, I lean down to kiss him again but the kiss stretches on until...
“Your three seconds are up.”
“Alessi-OH!” I cry when he forcefully thrusts his hips upward, impaling me with his cock since I was too slow sliding down it.
“Did that hurt?” he murmurs, stroking my side and suddenly remorseful.
I narrow my eyes at him, pretending it does. “It hurt this much.” I give one of his nipples a firm twist. Now, he’s the one shaking with laughter.
“You can torture me all you wish.”
Oh, I will. Riding him slowly, I keep us both hovering on the brink for far longer than I’ve previously tried to last. I think I’m torturing myself just as much, honestly.
It’s so good, setting the pace and finding the right angle, my body alive with him under me, and I don’t want it to end even as my first climax pulls me under.
My orgasm is still pulsing through me when I’m ready for the next… and ready for my husband to find his own release. “Now, I want you to fuck me,” I say, flashing a wicked smile.
His intense gaze sharpens. He pulls out, dipping down between my thighs to lick me with the desperation of a starving man.
“Sweet and all mine,” he rasps before lifting one of my thighs straight up.
He rises to his knees, kissing my ankle and pressing down on my clit.
Thrashing and moaning from the sensation, I quickly obey when he tells me to grab the headboard.
He grasps my hips hard, spreading me open and, in one swift move, he slams into me, immediately setting a pounding pace.
I relish the hint of pain mixed with pleasure, loving how fiercely he takes me.
But, the frenzied activity soon has his wound weeping blood again.
Rather than growing fretful, a strange curiosity has me letting go of the headboard to catch a drop running down his bicep.
I lick it off my finger, tasting Alessio’s blood for the first time.
My nose scrunches up, not liking the metallic flavor, but that doesn’t appear to bother Alessio. “Fuck!”
I blink, momentarily stunned by the feel of his cock expanding and the hot rush of liquid inside of me.
“Did you just…” He groans helplessly in response, and I can’t help giggling as he shudders through the rest of his own powerful orgasm.
With him momentarily vulnerable and panting for breath above me, I scrape my teeth over his throat, licking the salt from his skin. “I like this taste better.”
“God, Caterina,” he mutters, grinning down at me with absolute devotion shining in his eyes.
“That really did it for you, huh?”
“What can I say? I told you early on I wasn’t opposed to a little blood play between us, and I love it when my kitten shows me her teeth.”
Yes, he does, and I love that.
Fatigue pulls us under for a while, but we still stir before dawn.
A flight home followed by a busy day and night in Vegas lies ahead of us.
We take the time to savor this quiet morning with gentle touches and full hearts.
“Where would you want to take me on a honeymoon?” I ask, my voice still husky from sleep.
“Wherever you want to go, my love. Anywhere. The world is at our feet.”
And I know he means it.
“Alessio, make love to me. I want you to hold me close.”
He rolls on top of me, taking me into his powerful arms and cradling my head, he makes me feel like the most precious object in the universe. Tender and deep, he claims me, whispering his love for me. For all my days, I will love him every bit as fiercely.
The monster I envisioned when I was told of our match the night my brother killed his still lurks under the surface, but my husband never allows that side of him to take over when it comes to me, and I know deep in my heart he never will.