Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Kira
Ireturn home with crutches and a bandaged ankle.
“Don’t glare at me,” Enzo says as I make my way to the couch. “You’re the one who jumped from a second story window.”
“Actually, I jumped to the tree outside the window and climbed down and that’s when I fell and hurt my ankle. So you’re wrong. And if I need to remind you… you locked me in that room.” I plop onto the couch and place my foot on the coffee table.
“Off,” he commands.
“The doctor said I need to elevate my foot.”
“It’s not broken. The doctor said your foot will be better within a week.”
“But only if I elevate it. So…” I motion at my foot on the coffee table. “If you don’t like it, then take it up with my doctor.”
Enzo grumbles under his breath.
“What was that?” I ask sweetly.
“You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?”
“Need I remind you that you agreed to marry me. So who’s fault is this really?”
Without another comment, he takes my foot – gently I notice – and props it onto a pillow on the couch rather than his precious coffee table. “There. It’s elevated. Now keep it there.”
“For someone who doesn’t like me, you sure are taking care of me.”
“Only because if your brother and father find out about your ankle, there’s a good chance they’ll come after me and then I’ll have to kill them and it would lead us all back into a war that none of us want.”
I shiver. The memory of seeing my brother in the hospital after he got shot – by Enzo – still lives in my mind.
Enzo is capable of hurting my family if he wanted to.
But my father and brother would be able to kill him if they wanted to.
It would get me out of this marriage. But it would also put me and my family in danger from the rest of the mafia.
I’m stuck with Enzo whether I like it or not.
“You don’t have to lock me in a room,” I say. “I won’t run. I mean, I literally can’t at the moment.”
He towers over me with his arms crossed. It makes me want to slap him again. “How do I know you won’t run when your ankle is better?”
“Because I don’t want my family to be hurt. And neither do you. I’ve accepted my fate. You don’t need to lock me away.”
For just a moment, Enzo’s eyes soften and he opens his mouth to speak… when the doorbell rings. His features close down. Damn it. I want to know what he was going to say but he turns away from me to get the door.
He comes back a moment later with Francesca and Gianna. Great. Just what I need. More judgement from my bitchy aunt-in-law.
Francesca’s eyes swipe over me. “What’s this? Why is she propped on the couch like an animal? That’s not the proper way to sit,” she snaps at me.
“I hurt my ankle,” I snap back. “I need to elevate it. Get over yourself.”
She huffs. “Your wife is rude and obnoxious, Enzo. You never should have married her. A lot of the men in the mafia are not happy you made a deal with the Bratva.”
“Let me guess,” he says, crossing his arms. “Marco? He came into my office a month back, complaining about the deal.”
“Yes. Marco. And other men. They’re not happy about this. There’s going to be problems. Problems you could have avoided if you didn’t marry that little witch.”
“That little witch is right here,” I huff. “She can hear you.”
Francesca ignores me. “She is a problem, Enzo.”
“I can’t exactly divorce her at this point. Nikolai Volkov and her family won’t be happy. I made the deal, Francesca. You and everyone else needs to deal with it. It was a deal for peace. It’s not to hurt anyone.”
“Think about Gianna.” Francesca grabs Gianna’s arm and pushes her forward. “What if one of those disgusting Bratva men get their hands on her?”
“I am thinking about Gianna,” Enzo says in a hard tone. “I am thinking of how I can keep her safe. You two should return to Connecticut. It’s safer there.”
“Connecticut is not that far away. Anyone could come for us.”
“I will not let that happen. You and Gianna are safe.” Enzo turns to his sister and gently tilts her head up. “Are you doing ok?”
She offers him a soft smile and he returns it. It’s the first time I’ve gotten to see a softer side to Enzo. So, he’s not a complete monster. Good to know.
I still don’t like him though.
“I’m fine,” Gianna says. Her voice is so soft, it’s hard to hear her. The complete opposite of me. Maksim would always complain I was too loud.
“Get home safely.”
She nods before her eyes flick to mine. “Are you happy?”
For a moment, I think she’s asking me until I realize it’s a question for her brother. “I am happy,” he responds. “Now, get going.”
Gianna heads for the front door but Francesca stays rooted. A woman like her doesn’t like being told what to do.
“She is a problem,” Francesca says, pointing at me.
“Can still hear you,” I taunt.
“See? She’s baiting me.”
“That’s because you’re being rude,” Enzo says. “Francesca, you need to leave”
The shocked expression on Francesca’s face makes me laugh. “Do you hear her? She’s the rude one. She just laughed at me.”
“Kira,” Enzo says in a tired voice. “Just stop making a sound.”
“I’ll stop when your annoying, rude aunt stops being annoying and rude to me.”
Francesca storms over to the couch, towering over me. I hate that I can’t stand right now because if I could, I would make myself as large as I could. “You think you’re funny, little girl?”
“Yes,” I state.
In one quick motion, Francesca slaps me across the face.
“Francesca,” Enzo says.
Before I even know what I’m doing, I slap Francesca right back. She lifts her hand to hit me again when Enzo pulls her back.
“Enough,” he says in a tone that speaks to no disagreements. “Enough. Francesca, go. You are acting like a child when you’re a grown adult. Leave. Gianna is waiting.”
With a glare in my direction, Francesca storms out of the living room. When the front door closes, I let out a breath of relief.
“Thank god,” I mutter. “She’s gone.”
“And you. You’re acting like a child yourself.”
“Me? She came over here and literally slapped me. What was I supposed to do?”
“Be better than her.”
“Be better? This is coming from the man who shot my brother in the back after you kidnapped his wife and he was just trying to get her back. Don’t lecture me on being better.
You locked me in that bedroom, giving me no choice but to jump from the window.
You don’t get to act all high and mighty with me, Enzo.
You are a bad man and you know it. Don’t lecture me like I’m a child when I was just standing up for myself. ”
“I would spank you if you weren’t hurt.”
“So spank me,” I taunt. “I want to see you try.”
“Don’t test me, Kira.”
“Spank me. And I’ll go running to my dad and tell him everything.”
“You just said that you don’t want to risk your family getting hurt.”
I shrug. “I’ll still tell him. He’ll get you in line. I’m sure of it.”
Enzo sits down beside me. His sheer presence makes it hard for me to focus and think when all I want is to move away from him. Or sink in closer. I’m not sure which. It’s all so confusing.
“Would you like that?” he asks in a dark voice that is both terrifying and seductive at the same time. “For me to spank you?”
I swallow hard. “Of course not.”
“You’re not curious? Unless a girl like you has been spanked before. From all the men you’ve been with.”
I flush and force my eyes to stay locked with his. If I look away, he’ll know I’m lying. “Of course. All the men I’ve been with.”
“You have been with many of them. I just assumed. You never actually said.”
“I’ve been with hundreds.”
“Hundreds? You were sleeping with every man you met when you went out from under your father’s nose?”
“Yep,” I lie. “So many.”
“Then why do you look so scared to be around me?”
“Like I said. You shot my brother.”
He leans in closer to me until our noses are practically touching.
Our lips are so close. If he just leaned in closer…
“That’s a valid reason but I don’t think it’s the only reason.
You’re keeping something from me. I can tell.
You’re a liar. You haven’t been with hundreds of men.
So tell me. How many have you actually been with? ”
“That’s not your business.”
“The fact that I’m your husband now makes it my business. So tell me. Just give me a number.”
“You tell me first.”
“I’ve never been with a man,” he teases.
“You know what I mean. How many women have you been with? Unless you can tell me a number, I won’t tell you mine.”
He smirks. “I’ve been with thirty-eight women. I always remember every single one of them.”
“That’s not as many as I was thinking.”
“I work a lot. I don’t always have time to sleep around. And I don’t like to sleep with just any woman I meet. Sex isn’t completely meaningless to me. Now, you’re turn.”
“I lost count,” I lie.
“Give me a ballpark then. A number.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Kira.”
He’s going to find out I’m a virgin eventually and then he’ll hold it over my head and I can’t stand for that. So without even thinking about it, I lean in closer and plant my lips to his.
Enzo goes still for a moment before he deepens the kiss by grabbing the back of my head.
The kiss is electric. I’ve kissed a few guys in the past but nothing further.
I never wanted to risk getting pregnant and my father finding out.
Besides, the guys I had kissed just didn’t do it for me.
There was no spark. No passion. It was just experimentation.
Until now.
Kissing Enzo… I feel that spark. I feel that passion.
It’s like something is waking up inside of my body – my soul – and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forget it. I won’t be able to ignore it.
Enzo is the one to pull away. “Nice try, Kira. But you’re not getting out of this one. You can’t distract me with your body.”
“Five,” I lie. “Five men.” It’s a small enough number to seem plausible but large enough that I’m hoping it bothers him.
His lips twitch and his eyes narrow. “Then I’m just going to have to make you forget all about them.”
“So kiss me again,” I taunt. I don’t want him to and yet… I know I want to experience it again. Damn it. Why does he have to be such a good kisser? It’s not fair.
“Not today. You don’t get to have your way.” He taps my nose before standing up. “Your ankle needs to heal. And I have work to do.”
“Wait,” I say, grabbing his wrist. He stares down at me with wide eyes and I quickly rip my hand away.
“What?”
“I…” I sort of want him to stay while I also want to never see him again. “Nothing.”
He smirks. “You’re a problem, Kira. But an interesting one.” After he walks away, I feel more alone than I have in a long time.