15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Emma
My body is sore in the morning and yet, it’s the best feeling in the world.
Giving myself over to Leo was magical and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I just can’t stop thinking about what it would be like to have complete and utter freedom. The chance to make my own money. To own my own home. To choose who I want to be married to.
I study Leo’s face as he sleeps beside me. Soft and vulnerable. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen him like this and I could watch him for hours. A part of me is in love with him. Drawn to him in a way I can’t explain. Another part of me is worried he could deceive me again.
But after Leo saved me from my mother and Alessandro, I know he doesn’t want to hurt me. I do trust him even if it’s na?ve. The fact is: I don’t want to be without him.
So how can I still want my own freedom from him? I don’t understand it.
Leo stirs awake. When he sets his dark eyes on me, I can’t help but blush. “Good morning.”
“Morning,” I whisper, snuggling under the blanket. In the light of the day, I feel suddenly self-conscious despite what we did last night.
“How are you feeling?”
“Tired. But also awake at the same time. How are you feeling?”
“Good. Because you’re mine now. Fully.” He sets his hand on my stomach. Thank goodness the blanket is in the way or I’d melt under his touch again. “I won’t let you marry another man. It won’t happen.”
“I know you’ll fight for me. You did it before. Thank you for that.”
“I was wrong about you, Emma. And I’ll work my whole life making it up to you. I never should have thought you were the enemy. I can’t even imagine it now.”
“Thank you,” I say.
He captures my chin with his finger before kissing me deeply. I can’t help but sink right into his arms. It just feels safe here, even if I’m not sure it should.
Leo pulls the blanket off me. “I don’t want you covered up. I want to see your body. Your sexy body.” He kisses along my neck, making me gasp. It all just feels so good.
When he moves lower and kisses my breasts, I know deep down that I’ll never be free of Leo. He has a magnetic quality to him that I can’t escape from and I’m not sure I want to.
Leo gives me a wicked look as he kisses down to my stomach. “I need to see how sore your pretty pussy is this morning.” He parts my legs and inspects me. “Already wet, I see.” He swipes his finger up my slit. I gasp and arch my hips into his hand. “Are you wet for me, baby?”
I nod.
“Good. I want you wet for me. Always.” He places his face between my legs, capturing my nub and licking it. I moan, arching into him. I can’t help it. I can’t fight this.
Leo locks his eyes with mine as he eats me out. It’s intense and passionate and hot. I think I might die from it all.
“I’m too sore,” I whimper.
“You can handle it. I’m making your pussy feel better.” He licks over my nub, getting me warmed up. My hips buck into his face. Leo grips my thighs tightly, showing me his strength. I could fall into him forever. It would be so easy to do so.
I moan and gasp and sigh as he runs his lips all along my folds and nub. “Leo!”
“That’s it, baby. Call out my name.” He licks right over my nub. “Say it. Scream it.”
“Leo!” My voice echoes through the room. It feels so good using my voice. My mother made me stay quiet for so long. I’m done staying quiet.
He presses his face harder against my pussy to the point where I can feel his nose brushing against my folds. Every lick of his tongue brings him closer to me.
When he slips his tongue inside of my entrance, I can’t hold back any longer. I come right on his face, shuddering and shaking,
Leo licks me all over until my orgasm passes. Then he sits up, showing how hard his cock already is.
I gasp when he rolls me onto my side and lays down behind me. “Leo?”
He grabs my thigh, pulling it around his leg, before he thrusts into me. I cry out. The sensation is intense. Since I’m still sore, it hurts a little but it also feels like heaven on earth.
He gently wraps his hand around my throat. “You are mine.” Grinding his hips against my backside, he drives his cock deeper into me.
I turn my head to face his and he captures my lips in an intense kiss. I’m not sure I’ll survive any of this.
Every thrust of his hips draws me closer to my pleasure. I can’t stop myself from arching into him. I need this like I need water. Like I need air.
Thrust. Thrust. Thrust.
I moan into his lips. Leo lets out a low growl as he takes me harder. His cock shows me no mercy. It’s touching every inch of my inner walls. Consuming me. Claiming me.
“Did you need this, baby?” he asks against my lips. “My cock deep inside of you?” He thrusts harder and I choke on my gasp.
“Yes,” I admit.
“You love how this feels?”
“Yes!” I really do love it all.
“Good.” He grabs my hips and rolls me onto my stomach before thrusting into me harder. In this new position, I can feel him sink even deeper, to the point where it’s intimidating and yet, it feels so good I can’t tell him to stop.
Leo grabs my hips and brings them against him as he fucks me with wild abandon. I grip the bed sheet, holding on for dear life. I need this and yet I think I might die from it all.
“Leo,” I whimper.
“Do you like this, baby?” He grinds his hips against mine.
“Yes,” I moan. “But it’s scary.”
“You don’t need to be scared of me. Not any longer.”
I want to believe him more than anything but Leo is still a mafia man. And there are still other mafia men after me. How can I ever be truly safe in this world?
I push those thoughts from my mind in this moment. Right now, all I want to feel is Leo’s body combined with mine.
“Oh!” I moan.
“That’s it,” he grits out. “Let me hear you, baby. Let me hear you.” The sound of his body slapping against mine is vulgar but it turns me on more. I never knew I needed any of this as much as I do.
“Leo!”
“Yes. That’s it.” Thrust. “Come for me again.” Thrust. “Come for me like the good girl you are.” Thrust. “I know you can do it.”
His final thrust sends me over the edge. I cry into the mattress as my orgasm rips through me. It’s so intense, my vision turns black for a moment. Leo fucks me harder before he finds his own release.
He buries his head into my neck with a groan. “Fuck, Emma. You feel so good around me.”
I sigh when he slips out of me and pulls me into his arms. I can’t stop myself from snuggling into his chest. It just feels so… right. “Is this our life now? We have sex every day?”
“I would love to have sex with you every day. Is that what you want?”
I blush. “I like what we’ve done. I really do.”
“I’m glad. Because you’re my wife. Mine. I want to show you pleasure every day for the rest of our lives.”
In this moment, that sounds like perfection.
Leo
Gabriel is hosting a charity event in the city tonight. It’s an annual thing he does to launder money without the police looking his way.
It’s also the perfect place to bring Emma and show Gabriel that he’s not going to make me give up my wife.
“This place is beautiful,” Emma says after we enter the large ballroom the event is held at. Inside a five star hotel, it’s one of the nicest places in the entire city.
My eyes remain on Emma as I say, “It really is.” The lavender dress I bought for her hugs every one of her curves.
Now that she’s been eating better, her figure has become a little bit fuller.
Her mother had been practically starving her at times.
The sense of shame at knowing I once held Emma prisoner fills me.
If I had known she was a prisoner herself, I never would have taken her to use as a power move.
But I can’t change the past. All I can do is move forward and show Emma that she can trust me now.
The ballroom is filled with people, all wearing designer evening wear. Some chat with each other, holding champagne. Others take to the dance floor. Some sit at tables, eating from the buffet. It’s a large event meaning it’s the perfect place to show Emma off.
I walk her around the room. Emma’s eyes get larger the more things she notices. “This must be very different from the farm you grew up on.”
“It is. So different. It’s all so magical. You’ve given that to me. Thank you.”
I place my hand on her low back. “You’re very welcome. You’re my wife, Emma. I intend to take you to places like this. I want to show you the world you were denied.”
At that moment, I see Gabriel across the room with his wife, Aurora. Gabriel narrows his eyes in my direction, looking between me and Emma. I only shrug. What does he expect from me?
Gabriel murmurs something to Aurora before walking over. “Leo.”
“Gabriel.”
He nods at Emma. “Emma… how are you?”
She backs away from him. “You want to marry me off to a stranger. I don’t trust you. I refuse to be married off. I’m already married to Leo.”
Gabriel looks shocked by her bluntness. “Well… you don’t seem to understand. It’s for the best. Matteo Marani used to work for your father. He’s a good ally to have. You marrying him for peace will be the best outcome for all of us.”
“For you,” I snap. “But not for Emma.”
“Let me remind you, Leo, that you kidnapped Emma to hurt her father in the first place. You don’t get to stand on a high horse and judge me for doing what I have to do for peace.
Emma, I am afraid to say that you and Leo will be getting a divorce.
And you will marry Matteo Marani instead.
” Gabriel’s eyes flick to someone over my shoulder.
“And speaking of Matteo, he just showed up.” He motions for Matteo to walk over to us.
“Meet Matteo,” Gabriel says. “Your future husband.”
Matteo looks Emma over like she’s a snack.
“I am her husband,” I growl. “And I am not giving her to anyone. Matteo, I am afraid that you’ll have to marry someone else.”
“But Gabriel promised her to me. As a sign of peace. It’s only fitting I marry the daughter of the man I used to work with. You took her when you shouldn’t have. The family should have her back.”
“What family?” Emma whispers. “The only family I ever had was my mother. I didn’t belong to my father. I didn’t know him. And I don’t belong to you. I don’t belong to anyone.”
Matteo’s lips quirk. “Funny. Your current husband seems to think you belong to him.”
“Because she is mine,” I growl, turning to Gabriel. “Find someone else to use as a peace treaty. It won’t be Emma.”
“I know what you’re doing, Leo,” Gabriel says. “You brought her here tonight to show her off. To get me to back down. But Matteo is offering us peace and this is the way to do it. So you have to make a sacrifice, even if you’re not happy with it.”
“It’s Emma who has to make the sacrifice. After all I’ve put her through, it’s not fair she should go through more trouble.”
Gabriel gazes at me carefully. “And who’s fault is that? You took Emma of your own accord. You brought her into this mess. This is on you, Leo. And you will fix it. You and Emma will get a divorce and she will marry Matteo for peace. End of discussion.” He walks back to Aurora.
Matteo gives both me and Emma a nod before walking away, though I can’t help but notice the way his eyes linger on Emma. It takes everything inside of me to not punch him.
“Am I really going to have to marry him?” Emma asks.
“No. I will fight for you. I promise. You won’t be married to Matteo. Even if it kills me.”
Emma’s eyes widen. “I… I need to use the restroom. I just need a moment. Please.”
All I want is to keep Emma near my side but I know I can’t control her every move anymore. “Of course. I’ll wait here for you.”
She hurries out of the ballroom. My eyes land on Gabriel and I frown. As my best friend and business partner, he’s betraying me. But I’ll have to betray him to save Emma from marrying Matteo.
Emma
I hurry into the nearest restroom and splash water on my face, trying to get my breathing under control. This mafia world is a dangerous one. I’m not sure I’ll ever be safe, no matter how hard Leo fights for me.
“Emma.” I hear her voice behind me before I see her.
Spinning around, I come face to face with my mother. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to get you back. That terrible man stole you from me. Again. But you belong with me, Emma. You need to return home now. I can keep you safe.”
When she reaches out for me, I back away. “You. You said you’d keep me safe but the moment I came back to the farm with you, you locked me away again. You hurt me, Mother. I don’t want to come home with you. I don’t belong with you. I don’t belong to anyone.”
“That man seems to think you belong with him. I will not let that happen. I will keep you safe at the farm. I promise I’ll never hurt you again.”
Her promise is so eerily similar to Leo’s promise. Both people have hurt me. Both of them are promising they’ll change. But Leo is the one who’s actually shown me he can do that. My mother hasn’t done the same.
“I am not going with you.” I’ll take my chances with Leo.
“You cannot seriously want to stay with that man. I’ve been watching you ever since he took you from me. It’s how I knew you were here. I saw a chance and I am taking it. You will come back home with me.”
“Alessandro is dead,” I announce. “You don’t have to worry about him coming for me again. I don’t need to stay with you anymore.”
“I heard that your father died and good riddance. But you are still trapped by that other mafia man. I cannot stand for that. If you won’t come with me, Emma, I will make you.” She pulls a small pistol out of her jacket pocket. “I will make you come with me.”
I tense. “You’re going to shoot me if I don’t come with you?”
“No. I don’t want you hurt. But I will shoot your husband you seem to care about. If you don’t want him getting hurt, then you will come with me. Right now.”
The thought of Leo dying…
On one hand, if he were dead, maybe then I’d get the chance to experience complete freedom. And yet, I’d still be married off to Matteo. Or I’d be forced to go back home with my mother.
I have no choices in life.
Leo is the only one who can offer me a life of happiness and I cannot lose that. I cannot be responsible for his death.
“Ok,” I whisper. “I’ll go with you.” Even if locking myself away with my mother again is the answer, I will do it to save Leo’s life.
“Good.” She grabs my arm and yanks me out of the bathroom. I can see the doors of the ballroom. My eyes land on Leo for a second – he has his back to me as he talks to another man – before my mother pulls me away. I feel my feet move me further and further away from Leo.
She makes me get into the car waiting outside for us. “You will not leave the farm ever again. Mark my words. I will keep you safe.”
My mother might mean it. She does want to keep me alive. But she’s going about it in all the wrong ways. Controlling me is not saving me.
But I don’t say a word as she drives us away from the charity event and Leo himself. If I have to do this to save my husband’s life, then so be it.
I will do anything to save the man who I care about.