Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ALESSANDRO
Luca is nowhere to be found. It’s near midnight, and I’ve been searching for hours, unleashing my trackers on every hidden corner of the city.
The bastard knows exactly what I will do to him when I find him, and he’s fallen completely off the face of the earth to hide.
To make matters worse, I can’t locate Pietro either, and the dual disappearance is grating on my last nerve.
But as I finally climb the grand staircase of the mansion, leaving the frustration downstairs, a sudden, unexpected spark of anticipation hits me.
The thought of seeing Sienna excites me.
I’ve been gone half the day, leaving her entirely to herself, and I’m sure she has settled into the suite by now.
I know the moment I walk through the door, she’ll throw fire at me.
She will probably meet me with those glaring, defiant eyes, but after the infuriating day I’ve had, I am more than ready to play.
Despite how much Sienna tries to pretend I do nothing but irritate her, I know the truth.
She melts like pudding in my arms the moment I touch her.
Still, a small, dark caution lingers in my mind. I hope she doesn’t outright reject me tonight. I might be a ruthless man, I might be many of the things people whisper about, but I don’t force women to have sex with me. Never. It goes against everything I am.
I stop in front of the master suite and push the heavy doors open.
The private sitting room is dark and completely empty.
A cold spike of unease hits me, something about how quiet the entire space feels tells me she’s not in the bedroom either.
Stubbornly, I storm across the suite and fling open the bedroom doors, only to be met with crisp, undisturbed dark silk sheets and absolute silence.
I march back out into the hallway, my blood pressure skyrocketing. Where the hell is she when it’s almost midnight? Surely, she hadn’t tried to run away. She is much smarter than that, and she knows my security detail covers every inch of the perimeter.
I am stalking down the dimly lit corridor, my boots heavy against the floor, when I run into one of the housekeepers carrying a basket of late-night laundry.
"Where is my wife?" I bark at her, my voice echoing dangerously in the quiet hall.
The girl jumps, dropping a folded towel as she looks up at me with wide, terrified eyes. She shakes so hard the wicker basket rattles against her hip. "S-Sir... Mrs. Gallo... she is down the east wing, Mr. Gallo. In the violet room."
I freeze, my jaw clenching so hard a muscle twitches in my cheek. I am absolutely livid.
She took a separate room? On our wedding night? What the fuck?
I turn on my heel, ignoring the stammering maid, and march directly toward the east wing, my strides long, lethal, and furious.
I reach the room ready to bring the door down, but it’s unlocked.
I barge into the room, the door swinging back hard against the wall.
The moment I step inside, my eyes land on a delicate set of lace underwear laid out neatly on the bed.
A hot, territorial reaction hits me instantly, and coupled with the raw anger vibrating in my veins, it drives me completely insane.
Hearing the sound of running water coming from the adjoining bathroom, I don't hesitate. I stride across the bedroom and barge right in.
Sienna gasps, spinning around to try and cover herself with a towel, but the fury blinding me takes over completely.
She is still wet, covered in soap bubbles, her gorgeous hair slicked back.
I don't want to hear her excuses, and I'm not about to let her draw a single boundary between us on our wedding night.
"What the hell do you think you're doing in here?" I growl.
Before she can even spit out an answer, I reach out, grab her firmly by the waist, and haul her right out of the bathroom. She is furious, fighting against my grip, twisting her body, and screaming at the top of her lungs for me to put her down.
Her wet skin makes her slippery, but I tighten my hold, lifting her off her feet as I carry her straight out of the violet room and down the long corridor toward the master suite.
She kicks and claws at my chest, but I don't slacken my grip for a single second until I kick the heavy doors of my bedroom open, stride inside, and drop her onto her feet.
The moment her toes hit the rug, her hand flies up.
Crack.
The sound of her palm striking my cheek echoes through the high-ceilinged room. My head snaps to the side, the sting of her slap igniting the fire already roaring in my blood. I slowly turn my face back to her, my jaw clenched so tightly a muscle jumps.
Sienna stands there shivering, breathing heavily, gloriously naked. Her eyes flash with absolute, unadulterated fury.
"Don't you ever lay your hands on me like that again!" she shrieks, her voice shaking with rage. "Who the hell do you think you are, dragging me out of my room like some piece of property?"
"Your room?" I step closer, towering over her, crowding her space until she’s forced to tilt her chin up to look me in the eye.
"Every single room under this roof is my room, Sienna.
You don't get to draw lines in my house.
You don't get to hide away in the east wing like a guest when you are my wife. "
"I am a human being, Alessandro! I am not your possession, and I am not your slave!
" she fires back, her chest heaving as she steps right into my space, refusing to back down.
"You manipulated me, you forced this marriage on me, and now you think you own me?
You don't own my body, and you sure as hell don't control where I sleep! "
"This isn't about ownership," I rumble, my voice dropping into a dangerous, low register.
"You think you can just walk away from me the second my back is turned?
After what happened today, you leave your door wide open in a house that was crawling with federal agents hours ago?
Luca is out there. My enemies are watching.
And you're playing childish games, throwing tantrums because you want to prove a point. "
"I was taking a shower!"
"You were defying me," I correct sharply.
"You need to learn that actions have consequences, Sienna.
You need to be punished. Not only for making a mockery of our wedding night by choosing another bedroom, but for your behavior earlier today.
You think I forgot about that provocative dress you wore to the altar?
The one I explicitly told you not to wear? The one I did not approve?"
She lets out a bitter, mocking scoff, her eyes narrowing. "Oh, I'm sorry, did the big, bad mafia don get his feelings hurt because I didn't wear the pretty little gown he picked out for his puppet?"
"Keep pushing me, Sienna," I warn, my hands twitching at my sides as I fight the insane urge to pull her back against me. "You want to find out exactly what happens when you push a man like me too far?"
“What’s going to happen?” She pushes against my chest. “Hmm?”
The last thread of my control snaps, and the anger that has been building all day explodes.
I grab her wrists, catching them mid-air, and use my grip to spin her around, backing her up against the edge of the mattress. My heart is hammering against my ribs, driven entirely by a dangerous mix of fury and the raw temptation she keeps throwing in my face.
"You want to play games on our wedding night?" I growl, leaning down so my breath brushes against the shell of her ear. "You want to pretend you don't belong in this room, with me? I told you I'm done waiting, Sienna. You're going to learn exactly who owns this space."
I strip off my suit jacket, tossing it blindly onto the floor, and look down at her. The defiance in her dark eyes doesn't waver, even as she breathes heavily, her chin tilted up to meet my gaze.
"Down," I command, my voice dropping into a dark, rough rumble that leaves no room for argument. "Get on your knees for me."
For a tense, heavy second, the silence in the room is suffocating. Then, with a slow, deliberate movement that keeps her eyes locked onto mine, she sinks down to the plush rug, her posture entirely unyielding despite her position.
I reach down, unbuckling my belt with a sharp click, and unzip my trousers. The pressure in my chest is unbearable, a groan escaping the back of my throat as the sheer anticipation of finally breaking down her walls takes over.
"I wanted to take this slow with you," I mutter, my fingers gripping her chin to force her to look up at me. "I wanted to give you time to adjust to this house, to this ring. But you just had to go ahead and push every single one of my buttons today."
"I'm not afraid of you, Alessandro," she whispers, her lips parting slightly as she breathes through the tension.
"You should be," I rumble, leaning over her, my gaze dropping to her lips. "Open up for me, dolcezza. Let's see how quiet you can be when I give you something else to think about."
She holds my gaze, her jaw setting into a stubborn line for a fraction of a second before she slowly parts her lips. The moment she does, I lean forward, pressing against her mouth, claiming the surrender she’s finally offering in the dark.
"Yes," I murmur against her skin, my hand sliding into her damp hair to hold her steady. "Good girl."
"Look at me," I command, my voice a rough, low vibration against her face.
She doesn't pull away. Her eyes stay locked onto mine as she wraps her lips around the head of my cock, taking me in. The first wet, tentative slide of her tongue against my skin sends a jolt of pure fire straight to my gut. A harsh, ragged breath catches in my throat.
"Yeah, just like that," I growl, my fingers tightening in her damp hair. "Suck it, Sienna. Show me all that attitude you had a second ago."