Chapter 30 – Penelope
T he hot water turned my skin red long ago. It was not yet pruned and wrinkled, but the feelings of dread still lingered.
This was what I signed up for.
First with Tito, offering him my life and service for the money to help Mom. Being shot at on the streets with Cousin Massimo was thrilling—almost fun. It probably didn’t say anything good about my psyche that I enjoyed the rush of nocturnal street fighting. But I hadn’t been scared.
Because I didn’t have to look the bad men in the face, knowing they could overpower me.
That was the difference with tonight. It was too close to past nightmares. I never imagined I would be faced with demons like Joe and his goons. It might have been na?ve, but when I married Mancini to save Poppy, I thought he was the only monster I would have to deal with. And as much as I told myself I hated the don for that stunt, I had to admit that he wouldn’t actually hurt me. He wasn’t the sort to violate women.
“Alessandro shot him…just in time,” I whispered to the swirling pool over the drain.
What if Alessandro hadn’t been there? I shivered despite the heat raining down from above.
“Penelope?” the monster’s voice broke through the tangled web of dark.
“Yeah,” I said, voice hoarse. I cleared it. “I’m here.”
“You’ve been in there for an hour.” The glass door vibrated, but he stopped before sliding the door open.
He was waiting for permission to open the door.
That small, minuscule gesture sent a visceral throb through my chest. When I set boundaries, it was because I was pissed that he manipulated me. I didn’t actually hate this man. His illness made him more human.
And damn my traitorous body. My inner goddess buzzed with longing. I wanted Alessandro to touch me. To make me feel the fire his gaze promised.
With only one arm crossed over my chest, I tugged the door open. “What’s up?” I chirped.
Steam belched from the enclosure, perfuming around the dark and terrible form standing there. As the mist cleared, his black gaze studied my face. “Are you alright?”
I shrugged. “I will be.”
“Such a strong woman,” he whispered in Italian.
I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. He hadn’t dropped his gaze, not once, to look over my wet, naked body.
Me, on the other hand, I couldn’t stop myself from taking a peep. He was naked except for the boxers on his hips. And oh, good lord was he gorgeous. My core clenched tight. This close, the lines of his body were tangible. The horny little fiend on my shoulder wanted me to run my tongue over them.
My gaze dipped lower, taking in his thick legs like twin trunks and that present hiding between them.
Virgin have mercy—the outline of his cock was something to behold!
That was a monster piece of equipment. There was no hiding it in the restrictive shorts. What would it be like unleashed?
Anticipation buzzed through my body.
“I was just getting out,” I rushed to say, sliding past him.
Alessandro caught my wrist. “It gets easier.”
Electricity tingled where our skin connected, scrambling his words. When my lust-drenched brain finally computed the meaning, I sucked in a sharp breath. He meant seeing humans shot.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I confessed. Because it was, even though it was only part of the truth. “I believe in the sanctity of life.”
His voice hardened. “The luxury that modernity and this first world country gives is that we’re safe. It’s a delusion, Penelope. Humans used to understand that it was kill or be killed. Not out of malice, but for survival. I wish more than anyone that it was different, but the best way to deal with that harsh truth is to protect those in our lives. I’m sorry those soldiers invaded my home. I should have been there. I’m supposed to be their leader and in charge of their actions. I apologize for my lapse. It won’t happen again.”
As he spoke, he rubbed his thumb over the pulse on the inside of my wrist.
“You can’t control everything all the time, Alessio,” I whispered, the diminutive form of his name slipping easily off my tongue.
It felt…right.
Something dark flashed in his eyes. “If I don’t, who will? No…you, my sister, this house, they’re mine to protect. I won’t fail you again.”
His determination was heartbreakingly beautiful. More little pieces chipped away at the barriers I erected to keep him away. More sentiment like this, and it was entirely possible that I might end up falling for this man.
And that would be a dangerous thing indeed.
“How’s your side?” His question interrupted the mental discussion.
“Oh, it’s stiff, but I barely notice. It wasn’t the worst bruise my ribs have had.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “You should probably sleep on the bed a few more nights. Just to be safe.”
I pulled from his hold, eyes narrowing at him. “I see what you’re doing, lupo. And no, I think I’ll change that and take the floor again. Can’t have myself growing too comfortable in this captivity.”
That made his smile tug even wider. “Most prisoners would kill for the cell you’ve been given.”
Roling my eyes, I pushed past him. Standing there, with endless supplies of hot water, joking about prison cells, it was too much.
Too twisted.
I needed air, because—mother of god help me—I didn’t want to escape.
He didn’t say anything, didn’t try to stop me. As I scurried away, I caught the slight motion of him shucking his boxers.
That was the last straw. I had to look back. It would be a sin not to.
The sight was mouthwatering. Delectable. Tempting . That chiseled backside—oh, mamma mia! My pussy wept at the sculped mafia god disappearing into the cloud of steam.
Hurrying from the room before I did something foolish like join him, I gulped down breaths of the cooler bedroom air.
The truth was, there was no way I would be able to resist him for much longer. If he’d come to the shower, stepped into it like he owned it—which he did—and reached for me, I would have pushed him away. But he hadn’t. It made the idea of being with him desirable.
We both clearly wanted the thing we were dancing around.
And here I was, refusing to give in.
Only…I didn’t want to anymore. Alessandro was just as much man as monster. He might pretend not to be caring and sensitive, but he asked about me. Me. The concern about how I was handling the situation from tonight was evident. And he wasn’t just asking about my side to keep me sleeping next to him. He actually cared. He might have been sick, but this whole time he’d remembered to ask me about it. He’d been gentle when he’d been near me.
“It’s not real,” I insisted.
But if it was just the physical I gave in to…. I didn’t have to believe he would fall for me. That this relationship would ever be anything more than a strange partnership with sex attached.
Ah, screw it.
I turned around, left the closet, dropped my towel somewhere in the bedroom, and ventured back into the sauna that was the bathroom.
Where the sound of strokes was evident despite the rush of the shower.
I tugged open the glass door. Steam rushed out to caress me, but as it cleared, the sight that greeted me was my husband viciously tugging at his length.
His hand paused.
His gaze snapped to mine.
My heart tripled in speed, and I stepped into the shower. Arousal so intense swept through my veins. “My turn, lupo.”
The don was perfectly still as I closed the distance. My pulse jumped as I grasped him. The length was rigid and stiff, but the texture was impossibly soft and smooth. I palmed his cock.
A guttural hiss escaped his lips. “Don’t tease me, vespina.”
“Never.” I shook my head.
His large hands slid over my sides, my waist, my hips. “Are you finally giving in?”
“I am.”
A low, rich growl rumbled in his chest. The sound was nothing short of possessive. His pitch-black gaze ran down my body. Under the intense focus of his dark stare my nipples hardened to the point of being painful.
“Finally,” he breathed, and then his mouth was on mine.
The kiss was crushing and dominant. It was the staking of a claim—mine or his, it was hard to say.
I swept my tongue against his lips, only to have his invade my mouth a second later.
Those large hands settled on my hips. The don lifted me, pinning my back against the shower wall.
“Is this okay?” he rasped against my kiss.
I nodded vigorously.
Leaning his weight into me, he reached up with one hand and captured my chin, keeping my head in place. He pulled back, hard gaze boring into mine. “You tell me the moment it doesn’t feel good. I’m not risking your ribs being irritated.”
Trying and failing to shake my head, I snapped, “But I need you to fuck me, Alessio. Fuck me hard. ”
He groaned. “If I go too hard, and you get hurt, we can’t do it again until you’re healed. I’m not risking that, Penelope.”
“What if this is a one-time deal?” I murmured, already retreating into myself at the intensity of his dominating presence. This man was going to overwhelm me, my senses, my body, and if I wasn’t careful, my soul.
“No, vespina, this is us. You give yourself to me now, there’s no turning back.” His gaze was pure hunger.
It mirrored my own.
Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against my racing pulse. “Decide, Penelope.”
“I don’t want to.”
Teeth scored across my throat, right over the heartbeat pounding under the skin. “If you give yourself to me, there’s no going back.”
He was right. I had to ask myself, did I want that? To go back to a stiff formality where we lived as a strange pair of roommates?
I don’t want to go back. “Alright, I’ll tell you if it bothers my ribs.”
The don’s body shuddered at my assent. He sucked hard on the delicate skin of my throat. It came out of his mouth with a deep pop. “That goes for everything we do. You don’t like something, you tell me. If I’m too rough with you, you speak up. I’ll stop. Understand?”
A sob that was part gratitude, part relief threatened to burst from a place deep inside. This man was an enigma—the best kind. With one breath he told me his claim was permanent but then followed that by giving me control over our interactions.
I wrapped my legs tight around his body, threaded my hands up into his hair. “Understood.”
“Good. So very good.”
Those words sent a thrill of pleasure through my body. It settled between my legs at the same time his hand dropped from my face to stroke the sensitive flesh.
My pussy wept with relief.
And he noticed the embarrassing amount of wetness.
“Mio dio, vespina, you’re soaked for me.”
The shyness disappeared the moment he pushed one finger deep inside, swirling and curling in me. I moaned, head dropping back against the tiles. The relief was instantaneous, and yet the need increased tenfold. This was going to be unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
The don continued to explore my body. His hand pushed gently over the planes of my stomach and palmed my breast. The sensitive flesh was kneaded under his touch. Below, the one finger became two, stretching my pussy.
I gasped, my hips bucking against his hand, seeking more friction, more pressure. The don chuckled, a low, throaty sound that sent shivers down my spine.
"Patience, little one," he murmured, his accent thicker with arousal. "We have all night."
His thumb found my clit, circling it with maddening slowness as his fingers continued their relentless assault. I whimpered, my nails scraping against his slick shoulders as I fought to keep from coming quickly.
Never had I been this affected in a romantic entanglement.
This was another level. Some raw connection drove my need for this man—this nightmarish fiend who held his dark power over me.
No…he’s a monster, but I’m not caught in a nightmare. Not that.
More of my resolve to hate him chipped away.
The don's lips found my neck, sucking and nipping at the sensitive skin. His beard scratched deliciously against my flesh, leaving a tingling trail in its wake. I turned my head, seeking his mouth, desperate to taste him.
He obliged, capturing my lips in a searing kiss that stole what little breath I had left. His tongue mimicked the movements. Pulling back, that dark gaze studied me.
“Do you have any idea how sexy you are?” he rasped, voice tight and strained.
It made me smile to know he was just as affected by this as me.
His fingers moved inside. Pleasure shot through me, and my eyes fluttered closed.
“Dio, I’ve waited so long!” he breathed.
I snorted. “It only seems that way.”
“No, vespina.”
I cocked my head. “How long?”
His motions paused, touch remaining as a taunting presence, but he drew back to watch me. Something akin to pain crossed through those onyx depths before he shut his deeper thoughts away from the world. “Before we married. You pushed me into the fountain, and even though I was traveling to my fiancée, I couldn’t get the girl in the hat and boots out of my head. Imagine my surprise when she was waiting for me in the home of my would-be father-in-law?”
Why did it seem like there was more to it than that? To lighten the suddenly heavy mood, I teased, “You were thinking about me naked?”
Alessandro nodded. “But not just thinking, Penelope. I was scheming . It was a long shot, but I started reasoning ways to make you mine. Do you know how close I was to ending the engagement?”
Whoa. That was heavy.
I knew he’d wanted me. Hell, I’d been guilty of the same hunger. But I never once considered an alternative to be with him.
“Wouldn’t that have been war if you did?” I murmured, overcome with the severity of it.
A dark sound rumbled through his chest. “It would have been worth it to have these legs wrapped around me.”
“Was that the little fantasy I interrupted in here?” I smirked, driving my nails along the ridges of his skull.
He nodded. “But the real thing is far better than what I imagined.”
Whatever smartass comment I was going to say was cut off when he pinched my nipple hard enough to sting. He withdrew his fingers suddenly, leaving me aching and empty. I whimpered at the loss. Lifting me higher, he adjusted me against the tiles as he lined himself with my entrance.
“Your ribs?” he demanded.
“Fine.” I rocked against him.
My protest at the delay quickly turned into a gasp as I felt the thick head of his cock pressing against me. Alessandro entered me slowly, inch by agonizing inch, stretching me deliciously. The sensation was intense, bordering on pain, but the pleasure far outweighed any discomfort. I clung to his broad shoulders, panting against his neck as he filled me completely.
“Perfetta,” the don growled, his hands gripping my hips tightly. “You feel divine, vespina.”
He began to move in long, deep strokes that had me seeing stars. I wrapped my legs tighter around his waist, pulling him closer, desperate for more. The don’s pace quickened, his hips snapping against mine with increasing urgency. His lips found my throat, and this time there was nothing gentle about the caress.
“So responsive,” Alessandro murmured against my skin.
The praise sent a convulsion of pleasure through my core. Water cascaded over us, steam rising around our entwined bodies. The heat, the slick slide of skin on skin, the intoxicating scent of his bodywash mingling with our arousal—it was overwhelming.
I urged him deeper with a flex of my pelvis.
His responding growl was a reward.
The don’s control began to slip as our passion mounted. His movements grew more urgent, more primal. I felt the tension building, coiling tighter and tighter in my core. Alessandro sensed my impending release, his fingers finding my clit once more. He rubbed tight circles as he pounded into me, the dual stimulation pushing me closer to the precipice.
“Come for me,” he commanded, his voice rough with need. “Let me feel you.”
His words pushed me over the edge. I cried out, my body clenching around him as waves of pleasure crashed over me. The don’s thrusts became more erratic, his breathing ragged against my ear. He groaned, burying himself deep inside me as he followed, his release hot and pulsing. With a final, powerful thrust, he joined me in ecstasy, spilling himself deep inside me.
We stayed like that for a long moment, panting and trembling in the aftermath. The water had cooled, but I barely noticed, lost in the warmth of his embrace.
Slowly, he lowered me to my feet, steadying me as my legs threatened to give way. His hands cupped my face, thumbs stroking my cheeks as he gazed at me with a strange emotion I couldn’t name.
“Talk to me,” he urged, voice breathless from the combustion. “How do you feel?”
My thoughts scrambled as the pleasure continued to surge through me. “You need to quit worrying I’m some fragile little doll, Alessio. I can take more. I’m not going to break.”
“I’m going to put that to the test.” That promise held a note of darkness, which in turn sent a wild thrill shooting through me. “But,” he clarified, “I need to know if you hate me.”
I had seconds to sort through my feelings. It was too loaded a question. One I wasn’t fully capable of answering.
So I lied.
“Yes.” The flash of pain in his eyes made me add a truth. “I hate that you forced me into this marriage.”
Carefully, he pulled back and set me down. But before he let me go, he cupped my chin. “I’m not the horrible fiend you make me out to be.”
With that, he stepped out of the shower.
I tipped my head back against the wall. It was true. He wasn’t. But I would never be able to see him as anything but a monster.
“Monsters aren’t always bad,” I whispered to the empty room.