Chapter 16
Adriano
“So… uh… do you like to cook?” Laurie asks, her voice unsure and a little shaky.
“My mother loves to cook,” I reply while I grill strips of chicken. “Growing up, she gave my brother and me lessons.” A soft chuckle escapes me. “They’re some of my favorite memories.”
“It sounds like you’re close with your mother.”
“I’m very close with my whole family.” I let the meat simmer and stir the creamy sauce before grabbing the box of fettuccine and opening it.
“You’ll meet my parents later today, and I’ll invite Remo, my younger brother, and my closest friends over so I can introduce you to them, as well.
” I glance at Laurie and notice how her features tense. “Don’t worry, they’ll love you.”
“Uh-huh.” She fidgets with the mug, then asks, “I’m going to take a wild guess and say none of them will object to you forcing me to marry you after knowing me less than a week.”
“Your guess is right.” I place the pasta in boiling water and check the chicken and sauce before looking at Laurie again. “My father forced my mother, and theirs is one of the happiest marriages I’ve ever seen.”
Her eyebrows fly up. “Holy crap, so this crazy thing you’ve got going on runs in the family?” She only realizes what she said once the words are out, and her face instantly turns red. “I’m so sorry!”
I shake my head as I stare at the beautiful blush on her skin. “Hmm…”
Her eyes narrow slightly. “What’s the growl for?”
“I love it when you blush.” This time I’m the one speaking before thinking. “It feeds my predatory side. Like you’re something innocent I can corrupt.”
Laurie starts to blink faster, her lips parting as a look of shock ripples over her features, then she gulps, “Corrupt?”
Well shit, I’ve already put my foot in it, I might as well go all the way.
“Based on the way you were worried about sex and kinks, I assume you’re used to a man climbing on top of you, getting off, and going to sleep.”
Her blush deepens a hell of a lot, which tells me I’m right. I check the food and turn off the burners for the sauce and chicken.
I lean back against a counter and cross my arms over my chest while taking way too much pleasure in Laurie’s red face.
“That won’t be the case with me. I enjoy fucking as much as the next person, but I get the feeling it’s going to be a religious experience with you.
” Completely out of her comfort zone, she just keeps blinking at me.
“I plan to corrupt you in bed until I’m the only fucking man you remember having between your thighs.
” Shaking my head, I let out a dark chuckle.
“I’m going to ruin every other man for you so completely, you’ll look at them and feel nothing.
I want all your attention, every ounce of love you’re capable of feeling, and your undevoted loyalty. ”
Pushing away from the counter, I strain the water from the fettuccine. I switch off the stove before walking to Laurie, and leaning down, I finish with, “Does that answer your question?”
Her throat bobs up and down as she swallows. “Yes.”
Lifting my hand, I cup her flaming cheek, loving the feel of the heat, and as I get lost in her incredible eyes, I admit, “I’m so fucked the moment you realize you hold all the power.”
I instantly regret the words and see the moment they sink into her pretty little head.
Laurie stands up, and I move a step back. Tilting her head, she stares up at me with something akin to hope.
“Are you just saying all these things to set me at ease, or…” Her expression turns pleading. “Is this real, Adriano? Do you mean everything?”
Without a second’s hesitation, I say, “Yes. I never say anything I don’t mean.”
Fear ghosts through her gaze. “Can you promise me one thing?”
“Anything.”
“Once you do grow tired of me, just let me go. Don’t become cold and mean.”
“You’ll learn with time that I won’t ever get bored with you, but for your peace of mind, I swear on all that’s holy, I will never turn cruel to you, and if the impossible happens, I’ll let you go to live your life as you wish.”
She holds up her hand, then says, “I’m going to need a pinky swear.”
That’s a first for me, but humoring her, I hook my pinky around hers.
Laurie stares long and hard at me, then curls the rest of her fingers around mine, a vulnerable expression making her look even more breathtaking.
Christ.
There’s a hard thump where my heart has lain frozen when it comes to women. It’s as if the look she’s giving me breathes life into the organ, and as it beats stronger and stronger, I fall irrevocably in love for the first time in my life.
This entire thing with Laurie has happened in a flash, like an ember hitting dry foliage and exploding into a wildfire.
Right now it burns through everything I thought I knew about love.
It alters the very shape of my fucking mind.
“Okay,” she whispers, holding my hand tighter. “I’ll give you a chance.”
I pull her against my chest, and placing my other hand behind her head, I press a kiss to her forehead. “Thank you.”
For the first time, Laurie wraps her arms around my middle, and as she hugs me, I’m filled with a sense of peace I’ve never experienced before.
My other half is finally starting to accept me.
Laurie
After a very exhausting, emotional, and just plain crazy morning and afternoon, I wave the white flag.
I meant what I said. I’m going to give Adriano a chance because, except for the nasty business with conning me into marrying him and killing that man, he hasn’t physically hurt me.
If he weren’t a mob boss, he’d be perfect. My very own Pretty Woman moment.
So, I’m going to get to know the man I suddenly find myself married to, because whether he terrifies me or not, I’m tied to him for the unforeseeable future.
I take the last bite of the pasta and pat my mouth with the napkin. “Thank you,” I say, my gaze darting all over Adriano, where he’s sitting on the other couch. “It was delicious.”
“You’re welcome.”
I get up, and out of habit, I take his empty plate and carry it to the kitchen. On my way to the sink, I notice a dishwasher, and a smile curves my lips.
I always wanted one, but Austin said he didn’t trust a machine to clean the dishes he has to eat from.
Setting the plates down on the counter, I open the door and try to figure out how it works.
“Laurie.”
“Yeah?” I lift my head, but seeing the hard lines on Adriano’s face, I straighten up.
“Leave the dishes.”
I glance at the plates, and at least wanting to put them in the sink, I reach for them, but Adriano hauls me away from the counter before setting me back down on my feet.
“Okay,” the word bursts from me. “No touching the dishes.”
“Brava ragazza,” he grumbles while he packs everything into the dishwasher.
I like that he calls me his little butterfly in Italian, and wanting to know more, I ask, “What do the words mean?”
He shuts the door of the dishwasher, then locks eyes with me. “Good girl.”
I swear my ovaries self-combust, and quickly pressing my hand to my clenching abdomen, I breathe through the wave of desire that almost knocks me onto my ass.
Holy hotness.
My reaction doesn’t escape Adriano’s attention, and smirking at me, he says, “That’s a turn-on for you.”
Yep.
He comes to take my hand, and leading me out of the kitchen, he murmurs, “Good to know.”
I was too terrified to take in anything earlier, so I admire the immense luxury of the mansion as we head toward the back. Adriano opens the glass doors, and when I step onto a veranda, I glance over the massive backyard, the lawn so perfectly cut it almost doesn’t look real.
Maybe it’s that fake grass you just hose off when it gets dirty?
Lounge chairs line either side of a rectangular pool, the water blue and inviting. Beautiful potted flowers bring splashes of color to the swimming area, like everything has been staged for a magazine shoot.
As soon as we step onto the grass, I realize it’s very real.
Adriano’s fingers wrap tightly around mine again, and I’m taken down a path toward the other houses.
Shit. His parents!
Instantly my nerves spiral, and a fine layer of sweat breaks out all over my body. I grip his hand tighter, and it has him stopping dead in his tracks.
Giving me a worried look, he asks, “What’s wrong?”
Damn, he’s perceptive.
“Are we going to your parents?”
He nods, and letting go of my hand, he places his arm around my shoulders and pulls me snug against his side. “You have nothing to worry about.”
We start moving again, and after taking three steps, I halt like a stubborn donkey. “Wait. What are they going to think of me?”
“They’re going to love you.”
I shake my head hard. “Think about it for a second. I agreed to a crazy deal with you for ten million dollars, then married you the next day. Shit, they’re going to think I’m some gold-digger.”
Turning around, determined to go back to the mansion, I’m stopped by Adriano’s arm that tightens around me, hauling me to his chest.
He pinches my chin between his index finger and thumb, then takes my eyes captive.
“They will not think that. I already told them everything. They know you had no choice.” The corner of his mouth lifts.
“If anything, my mother is going to dote on you to make sure I didn’t traumatize the fuck out of you. ”
I place my hands against his pecs, then realize what I’m touching and quickly pull away.
Yep, Adriano feels as defined as he looks.
“My track record with families isn’t exactly great,” I admit.
My own practically hates me.
“That’s a thing of the past.” He hooks his arm around the back of my neck, keeping me tucked in against him as we walk toward the last house.
A woman with wild golden-brown curls comes around the side of the house, a basket of roses in her hand.
She looks like a model that’s stepped out of some luxury country estate advertisement.
“Ma,” Adriano calls out, making her head snap in our direction.
Out of shock, I gasp, “No way, she’s way too young to be your mother.”
“Right? She looks amazing for someone who’s in her late fifties.”
Holy crap. I want all the secrets to her skincare routine.
The thought is fleeting and quickly drowned out by my anxiety.
When we’re closer to her, Adriano says, “This is Laurie.”
His mother’s eyes move over my clothes before settling on my face. “Hi, Laurie.” Her voice is so sweet-sounding, it’s hard to believe Adriano’s her son. “It’s nice to meet you.”
I don’t hear a hint of judgment or the usual rich people snobbery in her tone.
“Hi, Mrs. Rizzo,” I reply, and not knowing what else to say, I press my lips together and sway on the balls of my feet before starting to fidget with the hem of my sweater.
God, I feel like a teenager meeting a boyfriend’s parents for the first time.
A pretty smile curves her lips. “Don’t be nervous.” She glances between Adriano and me, then asks, “Has my son explained things nicely to you and made you feel right at home, or did he just throw you over his shoulder like a caveman and you have no idea what’s going on?”
A burst of laughter escapes me. “A little of both. He likes hauling me off my feet and tossing me around.”
She pins him with a scowl. “I told you not to traumatize her, and now I have to hear how you manhandle her?”
“Sorry, Ma. Some of it was unavoidable.”
“Right,” I mutter.
“You can call me Tori, sweetheart,” she says while taking hold of my hand and pulling me away from Adriano. “Come with me so we can talk without my son intimidating the crap out of you.”
“I want to introduce her to Dad,” Adriano calls out as she leads me to the back of the house.
“That can wait!” Tori replies. “The poor woman’s sanity comes first.”
I think I might just fall in love with her.