Chapter Nineteen #2
“He came from a good family, and Poppy was so in love with him,” Athena replied. “We thought it would be a good match.”
“My sister believed she was in love, until there was a golden ring on her finger that may as well have been a slave collar,” I said, my cheeks flushing when I realised I had said it out loud. “I’m sorry, sometimes my thoughts escape.”
“No.” Athena shook her head. “I have met many women with similar experiences. I pray that you have as happy a marriage as I was blessed with.”
Maximus pulled his phone from his pocket, stabbing the screen before putting it to his ear. “Lucio is in the wind, and he’s not happy. I want eyes on Poppy at all times.” He hung up without any pleasantries.
“Is Poppy going to be okay?” I asked, genuine fear clenching my stomach.
“She hasn’t been okay for a long time,” Maximus replied. “There was just nothing I could do about it.”
He finally looked at me, and I saw the ghosts of regret in his deep blue eyes.
I stood on shaky legs. “As entertaining as this evening has been, I don’t think I can squeeze dessert in,” I said to my mother-in-law. “It’s probably best if we go home.”
Athena nodded. “I had made my famous tiramisu, but it always tastes better the next day,” she replied. “I’ll get Maria to bleach the table to remove the negative energies of this evening.”
That was one way to describe blood spilled on your linen napkins.
“You might need some sage sticks and a priest,” I said, staring at the area where Lucio had sat, almost expecting the ghost of him to rise up from the chair.
Maximus laughed behind me, a low masculine sound that vibrated down my back. “A stake might be more appropriate since that fucker drains everyone.”
“Language!” Athena said automatically, and Maximus rolled his eyes at the chastisement.
He had stabbed his brother-in-law at the dinner table, and his mum was annoyed he dropped the F bomb.
“I suppose you used a steak knife,” I replied. “Are you working up to a stake?”
Giovanni chuckled, and it made him years younger, and I saw Maximus in his features. “Do not tempt my son, or he will be cutting down forests, and hand carving them all night.”
“Maximus van Helsing,” I said, laughing at the image Giovanni created. “I can see that.”
“In fairness, he used a crossbow in the story,” Maximus retorted. “I could deal with Lucio with that weapon. We’d never have to tolerate that little shit again.”
“The napkins would be grateful if you could eradicate the shit stain outside,” Giovanni commented. “Athena will fuss over this for days.” He pointed at the blood on the table.
“I’ll try to remember that,” Maximus replied. “Olivia and I are going to head home. Technically, we should have still been on our honeymoon.”
My lips twitched at the disgusted look on his face.
“I pray that your honeymoon never ends,” Athena said. “A happy marriage is when you marry your best friend, and you spend the next twenty years finding joy in every moment together.”
The way they looked at each other was beautiful, but twisted my stomach because I realised I wanted Maximus to look at me like that.
There was a tiny creature inside me that craved his attention and affection.
He looked at me with passion, but there was a warmth when Giovanni looked at his wife, even when she was talking with someone else.
His love showed through every action and stare, displaying his feelings.
I never knew I wanted that until I saw it.
There was something in his eyes that said more than words, demonstrating his feelings more clearly than any action.
It left me unsettled since I thought I could first live without physical contact, and then believed I could survive without an emotional attachment.
I had been a deluded fool, because now that I had tasted the forbidden fruit of lust, it was no longer enough.
Throughout the journey home, I sat lost in my thoughts, the realisation of what I truly wanted eating away at my senses, until I was nothing more than a confused mess.
“You want to tell me what’s wrong?” Maximus said from behind me in the hall.
His hand wrapped around my throat when I turned to face him.
“Did you finally see the monster, and recognise the mistake you made when you made a deal with the devil?” His head dipped until the tip of his nose touched my cheek, and his fingers contracted.
There was something about his touch that soothed me, like his grip of steel and possession was wrapped in a velvet glove.
“No.” I tried to shake my head and failed. “I was thinking about Poppy and the sadness in her eyes.”
His head came up, and he stared at me, his eyes molten blue fire. “I should have killed him.”
“How would that have helped Poppy? I get the feeling that there is always another predator waiting in the wings.” It was true, we had a cousin Marco who would step into Roberto’s shoes if something happened to him.
They tended to claim everything, including the women of the family to dominate and exploit.
He blinked once. “You see more than people realise.”
My fingers snaked around his wrist. “Pappa and Roberto tend to think women are stupid.”
Maximus’ thumb stroked the pulse at the side of my throat. “I lost Willow, I can’t lose Poppy as well. Lucio is slowly killing her.”
I stepped closer to him, increasing his pressure at my throat. “There is more than one way to eliminate a problem. Guns and daggers leave too much evidence.”
His lips twitched, and he walked me slowly backwards until my back hit the wall. “And what do you know about murder and mayhem, my little wife?”
My tongue darted out to moisten my lips. “You can’t kill him and dispose of the body, Poppy would have to wait years to move on until he was legally declared dead, and even then, suspicion would always follow her. Lucio needs to release her or die of natural causes.”
Maximus released my throat to imprison my wrists in cuffs made from his hands. “Lucio is young and healthy. I doubt he will die anytime soon of natural causes, and he will never release Poppy since she is a Rossi.”
“Maximus, you are the most dangerous man in this city. I do not believe for a moment that you do not know at least a hundred ways of killing someone without detection.”
My head canted to the side when he kissed the side of my throat. “I like this side of you,” he said against my sensitive skin. “I used to worry that you were too innocent for my world, and here you are plotting the demise of Lucio.”
“Not the demise of Lucio,” I replied. “The salvation of Poppy. I wish I could do the same for my sisters.”
Maximus widened my arms until he had me positioned with my arms horizontal to the side of my body, his forehead pressed to mine.
“You need to be careful, Livvie,” he said, his voice low and filled with gravel. “I’m as big a monster as the rest of these men, and since you’re so perfect I might never let you go.”
My heart beat double time in my chest, my pulse leaping in my veins. I didn’t want him to ever let me go, I needed the opposite of that. Every piece of me craved Maximus looking at me the way Giovanni had stared at Athena. His physical affection was no longer enough, I wanted everything.
I needed his love.