17. Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Seventeen
Leo
Gabriel and I meet with Matteo at our club. It still hasn’t opened after Alessandro shot the place up but we’re getting there. Now that Gabriel isn’t forcing me to give up Emma, we’re on good terms again.
I ignore the pain in my arm as Matteo approaches us. Getting shot just a couple of days ago means my arm is in a sling and I fucking hate it. It makes me feel weak. The doctor said I can take the sling off in a couple of weeks but that’s not really much of a consolation now.
“Matteo,” Gabriel says, shaking his hand.
“I heard that you found Emma. That’s good. So when are we going to move forward on my wedding to her?”
“You’re not going to marry Emma,” I say.
Matteo chuckles. It’s fucking grating. “I was promised her. And as the daughter of my previous boss, it’s only fitting I get her.”
“I’ve had a change of heart,” Gabriel explains. “We’ll find another woman to marry you to for peace. I have someone in mind. Her name is Luciana Santori. Her father, Rocco, is one of my closest allies.”
Gabriel hasn’t told Rocco about this yet since we both know Rocco will throw a fit over this. It’s better to tell him later.
Matteo’s smile disappears in an instant. “You promised me Emma Greco. Not some other woman.”
“Emma is already married to Leo. I am not going to make them get a divorce. Emma is off the table. But you can have Luciana. She’s a mafia daughter.
Well connected. Beautiful. You’ll be happy, I’m sure.
And it will still create peace between us.
We can be allies instead of enemies. We can rule this city together.
What do you say?” Gabriel holds his hand out and after a long moment, Matteo shakes it.
“Well, I can’t say I’m exactly pleased with this. But if you say Emma is off the table then she’s off the table.” Matteo gives us each a nod before walking away.
“That was weird,” I say. “He took that really well.”
“He came to us wanting peace. And we’re giving it to him. He’s a reasonable man, that much is obvious. It all worked out in the end.”
“But you still have to tell Rocco,” I say, leaning against the bar. I wince when my sore arm brushes against it. Fucking hell. I hate getting shot.
“I will.”
“He will not be happy about this. His daughter is his prized possession. He will hate you for marrying her off.”
Gabriel sighs and grabs a bottle of whiskey from behind the bar, pouring it into a glass and downing it.
“Rocco is a mafia man. He was raised to give his daughter away to the best suitor. He must know that this was going to happen one day. You refused to give up Emma and after how she helped save your life, I couldn’t force you two apart.
You seem happy, Leo. And Emma cares for you. I’m not a complete monster.”
“Your wife has softened you up.”
His smile grows warm. “She has.”
“Thank you for not making me give up Emma. I would have had to kill you otherwise.”
Gabriel gives me a dark look before laughing. “I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”
I only shrug.
He steps away from the bar. “Well, I’m off. I have to tell Rocco about this. His precious Luciana will marry Matteo and then we’ll have peace. Hopefully no more of Giovanni or Alessandro’s men come for us. And we can just focus on our operations here.”
I pour myself a glass of whiskey and raise it high. “Hear, hear.”
The burn of the whiskey hurts going down but it feels good once it’s in my stomach.
Emma
I spend the day making a special dinner for Leo. After how he put himself in danger to save me from my mother, I know I love him. There’s no denying it anymore. I may be na?ve to want to stay with the man who kidnapped me but I know Leo has changed. I’m happy with him.
The only question is: does he love me?
Leo has fought for me. But is it out of possession or love? That thought haunts me a little as I make dinner.
He returns home the moment I’m done cooking the roasted chicken. “It smells delicious in here.”
“I made dinner,” I say proudly, setting the chicken on the large dining table.
“I can see that.”
“I wanted to have a nice night with you. For us to talk. We haven’t done much talking. I want to get to know you better.”
His smile is soft as he gives me a tender kiss. “What do you want to know?”
“You’ve never told me about your family and yet, you know all about mine. Let’s start there.”
He pulls away with an uncertainty in his eyes. “I’m not sure I want to talk about family.”
“Open up to me, Leo. It’s only fair after everything we’ve been through together. You say I’m your wife so treat me like it.”
“When did you get so brave?” He settles down at the table with a sigh. “All right. We can talk about family.”
I serve us each a plate before sitting down myself. “Tell me about them? I’ve never seen them around here.”
“That’s because I didn’t want anyone coming around my house when you first came here. You were my prisoner back then.” He takes a large bite of the chicken. “This is delicious.”
I blush under his praise. “Thank you.” I tap his arm. “Now, tell me.”
“You sure are needy now that you’re no longer my prisoner.”
“Tell me, Leo. You know about my mother. You know about my father. You knew about my father before I even knew who he was. So tell me.”
“My mother died when I was a kid. Breast cancer. A fucking bad way to go. She was sick for a long time before it took her.”
“Oh, Leo. I’m so sorry. Were you close with her? I can’t imagine being close with my mother.”
“I was so young, I barely remember her. Just remember her being sick. It made my father depressed. He raised me until I was eighteen before…”
I frown. “Before?”
He sighs, running a hand down his face. “Before he took his own life. I had to live with the shame of a suicidal father. That clings to a person. A lot of the mafia men I knew judged me for it. They thought I would be just as reckless as my own father and in some ways, I am. But I’ve never wanted to die like he did.
Then I met Gabriel and he didn’t judge me for what my father had done.
He had his own stains from childhood. We became friends that way. ”
“So that’s why you fought so hard to avenge his family’s death when it wasn’t even your own.”
“Yes. Gabriel took me in when no one else would. I felt like I had to fight for him like he fought for me. I am just sorry you had to be the casualty. If I had known, I wouldn’t have taken you. Despite being a mafia man, I don’t relish in kidnapping innocent women.”
“I know. I believe you.”
He sucks in a breath. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“What did I do to deserve you?” He gives me another tender kiss that melts my heart. “Gabriel and I told Matteo that we’re staying married. He’s going to marry another woman to Matteo. So you’re safe.”
The thought of being truly safe settles in my body like a warm hug. “I’m really safe?”
“You really are.”
“But my mother is still out there. She might come for me again.”
Leo squeezes my hand. “We’ll face that together. I took two bullets for you, Emma. I think I’ve proven that I’ll fight for you. And you put yourself in harm’s way to save me. Why? You could have let me die.”
“I didn’t want you to die. I… care for you, Leo.” For some reason, I can’t say the word ‘love.’ It feels too intimate. Too na?ve. And I don’t want to be a na?ve little girl anymore.
“Well, I care for you too. Come here.” He motions to his lap and I sit down on it. “That’s better. I like having you close. You’re completely mine now, Emma. No other man will have you. No other woman either. I’ll make sure your mother doesn’t cause any more problems for you.”
His sincere, kind words touch my heart. Without wasting another moment, I kiss him with everything inside of me. All my pain and happiness. All my confusion and clarity.
Leo kisses me back deeply before pulling away. “I can’t stand this fucking thing,” he growls before taking his sling off.
“But you need that for your arm.”
“I can put it back on later. Right now, I need to touch you. All of you.” He pushes his plate out of the way before setting me on the dining table. I gasp when he shoves my dress up and pulls my panties down. “I’ll never tire of your beautiful body.”
A part of me can’t help but wonder if Leo only cares for me for my body or if he cares for me as a person.
But in this moment, I don’t give it much thought, especially when he parts my legs and presses them into my chest. He runs his finger right up my slit, making me moan.
“Are you wet for me already?” He flicks my nub. My hips buck into his hand.
With a smirk, he leans down and captures my nub with his lips. I cry out and lean back, pressing my hands into the table to steady myself. Leo’s lips run over my folds. My arousal flows through me, seeping out.
He knows exactly how to pleasure me. Exactly how to make this perfect.
“Leo,” I whimper when he licks my nub again and again and again. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.” He grips my thighs tighter, pressing his face harder between my legs. I moan and whimper and gasp. Any sound I can think of. The last thing I want is to be quiet any more.
He presses his tongue inside of me. My moan echoes through the room. I might die from the pleasure he’s showing me.
Right when I think I’m close to reaching my orgasm, Leo pulls back and stands up, pulling his cock from his pants.
I gasp, opening my legs wider. I need him inside of me like I need to breathe.
Despite the pain in his arm, he steadies his hands on either side of me on the table before thrusting forward. We both moan when he slides deep inside of me.
I fall back onto the table and let Leo have his way with me. Each of his thrusts is powerful and intense. Words, thoughts, even feelings don’t make sense right now. All I can focus on is the pleasure inside of me.
Leo’s face is intense with his own pleasure. I love seeing the vulnerability in his face in this moment. He gets lost in this as much as I do.
“Leo,” I moan as I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him in closer.
“God, baby. You feel so good around my cock. You like this?” Thrust.
I nod, unable to speak.