15. Enzo
FIFTEEN
ENZO
I stared at my phone, taking in the scene in the kitchen with Fox and Rosalie. It made my heart hurt. I hated that.
Fox deepened his kiss with Rosalie until they were pawing at one another. Within moments, he had her on the island and was pushing deep into her body, both clinging to one another as they made love.
Instead of turning the camera off, I continued to watch, both sick and fascinated.
It was plain to see that Fox and Rosalie had a different sort of bond.
She was different with him. Of course, she was different with each of us.
It was simply strange to watch it from the outside, knowing I was part of the problem and the reason for Fox’s heartache.
What did it say about me that I would still marry her despite him wanting to be the one?
Was I selfish?
Deep down, I knew I was, but I also knew it was the only way to keep us together. Feeling like I was being pressured from all sides by family and love, I did what I thought was best.
Sometimes doing what was best hurt like a bitch.
I continued to watch Fox bury himself inside Rosalie until they both came. Seeing how he treated her and loved her made me realize I wasn’t half the man he was.
That sucked.
Fox had always led us, but with me coming into power from my father, I’d taken the reins. Fox said he didn’t want to be in charge. After that entire Juliet thing, I think he felt so much guilt and worried he’d fuck up again making all the choices.
Now I understood how hard it was since I was making the choices and seemingly fucking everything up when all I wanted to do was save us.
I darkened my phone screen and stared up at the ceiling, not knowing what the fuck to do.
And because of that, I’d stick with the status quo and hope E and Fox could hang on for a bit longer and that Cole wouldn’t lose his damn mind any more than he already had from all the violence. Something told me, however, that Cole was just fulfilling his destiny.
I closed my eyes, hating the feelings bubbling up within me.
Maybe sleep would help.
I awoke to Rosalie’s soft lips on my skin, her warm body pressed against mine. I let her touch me without moving, her lips skimming along my jaw. My cock hardened at the prospect of having her, but I kept my cool, opting to see what she’d do.
“Enzo?” she whispered in my ear.
The way she said my name made me ache with want. Something held me back, though. Maybe it was the scene I’d taken in earlier of her and Fox in the kitchen. Their words. The way it made me feel things I’d been pushing aside in order to run a damn empire.
She shifted, her hand moving to splay along my bare abdomen. She gently raked her nails along my muscles, causing goosebumps to erupt.
“Enzo?” she called out again.
I couldn’t help myself. I wrapped my hand firmly around hers, feeling my engagement ring on her delicate finger.
She stilled as I opened my eyes and stared up at my dark ceiling, taking in the way a tree branch’s shadow danced along the moonlight.
“Rosalie,” I murmured. “What time is it?”
“Just after three in the morning. I didn’t wake you for dinner because you looked so peaceful sleeping.”
“Why are you in here?”
She was silent for a moment. “What?”
I exhaled. “I’m sorry. What I mean to say is, what’s wrong? Is everything OK?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to be with you.”
“Yeah? Are you sure?”
She moved to sit up and withdrew her hand from mine. I watched as she hugged her knees to her chest in her thin pink nightie.
“You heard me and Fox talking,” she said.
“Are you really so lost you’d want to escape?” I asked softly, not bothering to deny it.
“I just want this nightmare to end,” she answered, not looking at me. Instead, she rested her chin on her knees and stared at the wall.
“Is it me? Am I that nightmare?”
“It’s not you. It’s this entire thing. I’ve been worried sick since it all began. If it tells anything about how the future will be, well, it doesn’t seem like it’ll get better.”
I absorbed her words, hating that she felt this way. The worst part was that she was right, and I knew it. If I’d learned anything about living in this world, it was that it only got worse. It was why my goal was to be at the top. At the top, no one would dare cross me or the guys.
“We keep having these same conversations,” I finally said.
“It’s because nothing changes.”
I sat up and reached for her. She let me pull her close, and I placed a kiss on her bare shoulder.
“All great change takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight, Sunshine.” I wrapped my arms around her and continued to hold her.
She sighed and let her head fall back so it was resting on my shoulder.
“I missed you, Enzo.”
“I was never far, baby.”
“Not only this last week. I mean, I’ve missed you since all of this started. You’re not my Enzo anymore.”
Her words gutted me. We’d talked before about it, but this hurt a little more tonight. Maybe the impact of seeing what Dominic and the kings had gone through made everything seem more real.
“I’ll always be your Enzo, Rosalie. Don’t ever doubt that.
” I kissed her shoulder again. “I’m sorry if I’m distant and this way.
I’m trying so damn hard to build this life for us.
I would do anything for you. Fuck, I wish I could just go forward in time and show you the world I want to build for us. ”
She was quiet for a moment before she finally spoke. “I don’t like that you spied on us.”
I swallowed hard. “I like to know what’s going on in our home?—”
“No, I think you don’t trust me and Fox. That needs to end.”
I breathed out, deciding to just say it. “I’m worried I’m losing you guys.”
She turned in my arms and stared me down in the moonlight. I searched her face, hoping she’d give me a reason to believe I was being paranoid.
“You will absolutely lose everything if you keep it up, Lorenzo De Luca.”
Her words sent electricity through my chest. She was so sure, her words so even and succinct.
“You would leave me?” I rasped.
She said nothing, her green eyes on me.
I couldn’t take it. I gripped her face tightly, making her wince.
“ No one fucking leaves me,” I said fiercely. “I told you before, there isn’t a place far enough in this world you could run and hide from me. If you think you’d take Fox with you, you’re wrong.”
“If I’m forced to run, Fox will already be gone,” she choked out, her eyes filled with tears.
I blinked at her words, finally getting it.
If something happened to Fox, she’d leave. She’d risk it all and run.
“Do you love me?” I gave her face a shake. “Tell me. Do you love me like you always have?”
Her bottom lip trembled as I squeezed her face. “No. I love you more.”
I exhaled, relaxing a little. “Do you only stay because of Fox?”
“I stay because you and the guys are my entire world. I stay because I love you all so much that I’m willing to sacrifice my freedom for that love. I stay because I have hope , Enzo. That you’ll deliver on your promises.”
Anson flashed through my mind, making my anger surge.
She wanted him. I knew that much, but I also knew it was a fuck no from me.
I’d never let him in. Not only did the thought of him touching her piss me off, but I knew it would throw Cole for a loop.
All hell would break loose. I could never betray him that way.
“And Anson?” I asked.
A tear slipped down her cheek and onto my hand.
“Do you want him to join us?” I shook her face again. “Truth only, Sunshine.”
“Enzo—”
“The truth,” I said in a deadly whisper.
“I-I do?—”
She didn’t get to finish her sentence. I moved like lightning and tossed her onto her back. She bounced, a soft gasp leaving her. In no time, I was looming over her and shoving her nightgown up.
I had my pants down, and my cock buried deep inside her body in the blink of an eye, earning another soft cry from her as I pinned her to my bed.
I slammed into her five times before she was writhing, her release rushing out of her body like a flood as she spasmed beneath me.
“Look at me,” I demanded, gripping her face again and forcing her to look at me. “He will never join. He will never fucking touch you. You belong to me. To the horsemen. No one else. Tell me you accept that.”
I slammed into her again, earning more cries from her as she wrapped her fingers tightly around my biceps.
“Tell me,” I shouted, plowing into her again, the headboard banging off the wall.
“N-never. I-I’m yours,” she gasped.
“Forever.”
“For-forever,” she repeated before her body spasmed again, another orgasm ripped from her quaking pussy.
I continued to fuck into her body as she rode out her release. I came with a shout a moment later, the pleasure so fucking delicious that I let out a groan, my breathing heavy.
I slowed my movements but didn’t pull out of her. Instead, I stared down at her, my heart hurting more than it had before.
“I’m sorry,” I finally whispered as I drank in her beauty.
“You never apologize,” she whispered back.
“You deserve a million apologies from me, Rosalie,” I said, my voice thick with emotion.
“I’m so fucking sorry for what has happened and all the awful shit that will happen.
I love you, though. I love you so fucking much that it’s taking over everything I am.
I know I’m fucking everything up, but have faith in me.
Please, have faith in me. I need you to stay.
To only want me and the guys. Anything else makes me feel like I’m losing you, and I can’t fucking lose you.
You’re my sunshine. The only bright spot in an otherwise dark world.
” A tear slipped down my cheek as I frantically whispered the truth to her. “I’m sorry for Anson. I-I just can’t.”
She reached out and cradled my face, her lips parted.
“It’s OK. I know. I love you, Enzo. So much.”
Fuck, I needed to hear that. I closed the space between us and kissed her, getting lost in all that was my perfect girl.
“He can be anything you need him to be, Rosalie, but he’ll never have a spot with us. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Enzo,” she whispered against my lips. “I understand.”
I didn’t understand why I needed the constant reassurance or when I’d become such a bitch, but I was at that place now. Maybe it was stress. Or maybe it was me noticing the change, coupled with hearing her and Fox’s conversation.
I moved again, my dick ready for round two. She accepted it without protest. This time, I was gentle with her, making love to her and coaxing her release from her body.
She was still mine, and I was still hers.
For now, we were one.
And someday, she’d be my wife and the queen of the empire I’d built from all the blood, sweat, and tears.
I just needed to get to the top quicker and save us in the process.
No pressure.