11. Constantine
CHAPTER 11
Constantine
S he inhales sharply.
One would believe from the sharp inhale of breath that she is opposed entirely to my offer.
But that isn’t quite the truth.
How can it be when her eyes sparkle, reminiscent of an emerald jewel presented under brilliant lights.
The darkness in her eyes has finally come to dance with sin and shine with mischief.
This is the woman who is meant to be my Queen. A woman who isn’t afraid nor repulsed by the darkness that lives inside her. This is a woman who allows her darkness to thrive.
Dio mio , what a beautiful fucking sight it is to behold. One that should be captured to be seen for an eternity and stand the test of time.
My cock hardens.
Briefly I close my eyes to regain the control I can feel slipping through my fingers.
As I do I feel it slipping further. It’s impossible not to imagine the feel of her wet cunt wrapped tightly around my cock.
I’m dying to taste her. Salivating at the mouth wanting, no, needing to know how she tastes.
My blood does more than sing for her, it’s roaring in my veins.
I feel the heat of her gaze before I reopen my eyes. Her desire mirrors my own. And I don’t think she has realized it, of course she hasn’t because if she did she would hate herself for it, but she swallows the little space left between us.
My hand is still collared around her delicate throat and her body is flush against mine.
What sweet fucking torture. To have her this close and not be able to own her how I long to.
Her pupils are blown. The choppy and rapid rise and fall of her chest indicates the arousal she can’t deny.
I can bet every single dollar I have right down to the very cent that if I were to slide my finger along her slit she would be wet for me.
To prove I wouldn’t lose this bet of mine her thighs clench together.
With my free hand I caress her cheek with my knuckles. Her lips part from the tender touch. And all I can imagine is how well she can fit my cock in her mouth. I can see her tears now as my cock hits the back of her throat.
“Soon, mia leonessa,” I promise her lowly, my voice having grown huskier. “Very, very soon.”
As if my promise is too much to hear for her she dazedly blinks up at me before I can see her disengaging from the part of herself she denies.
“Carina Fiore,” her name naturally rolls off my tongue in a seductive purr, “what a beautiful lie you are.”
Her eyes flash then. Heat of anger rather than desire. Either one excites me. Both having my cock as hard as steel.
She creates distance between us. Taking a healthy step back but the fire between us remains.
I can only imagine what it will finally be like when the flames consume us both. Will we burn with passion? Melt to one another until we become one?
I refuse to believe we are just a flicker. A flame that can be burned out in the night by a gentle sweep of air.
What we will have will be an everlasting flame. Burning still after the both of us are dead.
“I’m not a lie,” she vehemently says but the doubt scrawled upon her face says otherwise.
“Aren’t you?” I raise a brow. I keep my voice low, only loud enough for her to hear. “This emotionless facade you wear for the public eye and those around you masks what lives inside you.”
Her eyes narrow as her lips twist with false disdain. “You think you know me so well.”
My lips form a devilish smirk. “I don’t think anything, Carina. What terrifies you is how well I know you. More than you know yourself.”
Her reply is about to be scathing. It’s in her eyes, I can tell. But before she can spew more lies to the both of us I turn towards her brother.
With a brow raised I ask of him, “Perhaps you can tell me why it looks as if someone was trying to strangulate Carina to death.”
I keep a careful eye on his body language. Any detail, small or grand, to help me detect whether what he is about to say is of truth.
And at this given moment he’s fitting more as the guilty suspect rather than an innocent.
His complexion pales just the slightest bit. His fingers tap an uneven rhythm against his outer thigh, and his eyes seek for his sister’s.
All of this damning evidence happens within mere seconds. Then, all too soon, it disappears.
He plasters a smile on his face, one too wide to be taken as genuine. “Don Fiore and I thought it would be best if I taught Carina self defense. I had her spar me and several of my soldiers.”
“Self defense,” I echo doubtfully.
He nods his head. “Si,” he smiles brightly, laying the charm on thick. “Papa and I know how men in our social standings treat women. We wanted Carina to be prepared.”
Now this is amusing. Did or didn’t Don Fiore promise me Carina will be a docile wife? Not that I wish her to be. Her defiance and spirit are what I love most about her. But teaching her self defense contradicts his promise.
My lips twitch despite myself, failing to hide the humor I find in all of this. “So you think I will hurt her?”
He raises a brow at me and comments mockingly, “You are The Devil of the East Coast.”
I take pride in the name that was given to me. I am The Devil of the East Coast. But hearing it come from Luca’s lips, mocking it, mocking me.
Well, I want to sew his fucking mouth shut after feeding him his own tongue.
“Si,” I agree coolly, lowering my tone to a threatening one, “something you seem to keep forgetting. Tell me, Luca, is it a terrible memory you have or are you that much of an arrogant asshole?”
Luca reacts how I expect him to. After studying him and gaining intel through Gino I know the man before me does not do well with keeping his composure.
His cheeks flush a bright red as his jaw ticks.
Eliciting a rise out of Luca is becoming more enjoyable each time I do it. He thinks so highly of himself. Based on appearances and actions to the public he’s perfection personified. So ruffling his feathers, cracking the poised composure and knocking him off his pedestal brings me great enjoyment.
“If my memory serves me correctly,” he begins stiffly, adjusting his gold cufflinks, “this union between you and my sister is to set peace and bring together the two most powerful families of the outfits.”
I refrain from snorting, but I do roll my eyes.
The only powerful Famiglia there is, is my own.
The Fiore Famiglia, a part of the Sicilian Outfit, are a dying breed. They haven’t held power for over three decades.
And as long as there is air in my lungs and blood flowing through my veins the outfit of The Costra Nostra, The Donati Famiglia, will reign supreme.
“Is there any peace in this life?” I hear Carina mutter softly under her breath. It’s so soft that it can rival a mouse.
My lips twitch.
My lioness is forming a spine. She’ll need that to rule by my side.
I turn my head, offering her the side of my profile. She catches my eye, looking rather surprised of freely speaking her opinion and of me hearing it. Her eyes go wide. Then I see the alarm in them.
To have such a reaction so quickly after voicing her opinion I know it must be from conditioning.
How foolish of her papa and brother.
You can tame a kitten but you can never tame a lion.
I wink at her, keeping this between us. I watch as the blood rushes to her cheeks and relish how her body betrays hers so wantonly.
Her eyes narrow.
And I’m finding her anger as much as a turn on as her desire, if not more.
Before she can tell yet another lie I say to Luca, “And you have your sister to thank for it.” I raise a brow at him, a sinister smirk pulls my lips. “Have you thanked her yet, Luca? If not for her peace wouldn’t be feasible.”
His jaw ticks away as various emotions swirl in his eyes. The ones I see the most? The flash of malice with the hint of annoyance and a dash of disdain. All aimed at the woman who has come to stand besides me rather than being kept hidden behind me.
“It is her duty as Don Fiore’s only daughter,” he responds coldly. “She was born to be a wife of a Don.”
I feel Carina stiffen beside me. It’s the only reaction she offers because as I subtly study her, her face is stoic.
Those emerald eyes just mere seconds ago were alive, and now they’re dead.
It’s the facade she gives to the public. The facade she’s been performing since six months ago. Since she killed her younger brother.
And while Luca’s views on women in the Sicilian Mob are barbaric and archaic, my selfishness believes that Carina was born to be my wife.
Not to any Don but me, Constantine Donati. Carina was always meant to be mine.
“And a wife of a Don she’ll be,” I agree with him. “But I’m not just any Don, Luca and you and Savio know this very well. I’m Constantine Donati, the most feared and respected man across the east coast. And if not for your dear sister there would be no union,” I remind him not lightly. Wrapping my fingers around Carina’s arm I pull her to my side. I don’t miss the puff of air that escapes her lips nor how her skin burns beneath my touch.
With a smile that’s cruel I order in a tone not meant to be disobeyed, “Thank her.”
Luca swallows thickly as his body stiffens. His eyes sharpen like knives and I have no doubts how much he would love to inflict the literal weapon upon me.
This is the only thing we have in common, our restraint in killing one another.
I hope for his sake that the day he gives into his urges, the day the restraint has snapped, he doesn’t miss.
“Thank you, Carina,” he responds in a steel voice that sounds the furthest from appreciative.
Carina simply nods her head in acknowledgment, her hand flexing around her neck involuntarily.
Soon her hand will collar her neck when memories of me balls deep inside her consume her, not because of protection.
She will wear my marks with pride.
Oh, I have no doubts she will have her aversions to it at first. The battle within herself to accept her wants and needs of the pleasures my touch will bring. For her to accept to be claimed by me the way she’s always wanted to be claimed.
Carina Fiore is a woman who can have anything that money can buy, but the one thing she truly desires only I can give her.
And rest assured I will.
She will accept the darkness that lives and breathes inside her, and what’s more, she will love what it’s become of her.
In time Carina will be the most powerful woman of the east coast. A woman men will fear. A woman women will admire. A woman who will lead with the respect of my men and have from all that know her name.
The world will know her for what I have known since the first moment I caught a glimpse of her, of not as a pawn, but a queen.
And it won’t be because of my doing, it will be because of her.