Chapter 16 Leo
LEO
I know nothing would happen between Gio and Sora in a million years.
She didn’t appear to be openly flirting with him in the first place, but I know that Gio would never cross that line.
He’s not only the sole Chiaroscuro in possession of a solid moral compass, but I also know he’s still in love with Stephanie, even though she’s been gone for nearly eight years. Most days, I feel sorry for him.
But it rankles to see him forming a more amicable connection with my wife than I’ve developed—even if I’ve had the opportunity but chose to keep her at an arm’s length.
“You need to back off, Gio,” I warn darkly, my hands fisting as I work to keep my famously Italian temper under control.
“You can’t be serious,” he says, his calm only stoking the flames of my anger.
“If I wanted my wife to get close with my brothers, I think I would have made a point of ensuring it, don’t you?” I state.
“So, you would prefer that she feel completely isolated in her new home? This place is prison enough, Leo. You don’t have to make her any more miserable than she already must be living with this family.”
Gio’s tone is mild, but his eyebrows lift in that expression he gets when he’s trying to explain something obvious, and my irritation skyrockets as the tension between us builds.
The thought crosses my mind to take out my mounting frustration on Gio.
I need some way to vent the explosive heat that’s been building in my veins since the lecture from our father the morning after my wedding, and Gio would make a fairly satisfying punching bag.
He’s always been the peacekeeper, the one who’s willing to bend over backward for the family, and it’s times like these that my level-headed younger brother makes me feel most like an imposter.
If Gio were the Chiaroscuro heir, I have no doubt that he would handle an arranged marriage with some sense of decorum.
He would accept his responsibilities without question and be willing make the sacrifices to keep our family afloat.
Meanwhile, I have seriously considered walking away from it all on an almost daily basis.
And knowing how short I fall only makes me resent Gio further.
I know it’s irrational. And self-destructive.
My brothers are the only ones who have my back in this world.
Even if my father claims to, I wouldn’t insult them by putting the don in the same category.
He might be ready to hand over his empire to me, but he does that because he cares about his legacy. Not me.
Still, I can’t seem to quell my frustration with Gio when he managed to disarm Sora’s defenses so easily. “Just… stay in your lane,” I growl, jabbing the back of his book with my finger so it slams against his chest.
Then I turn and storm from the library to find Sora.
I can tell she’s been pacing as soon as I enter our apartments, though she stops to turn toward the door as I close it with a sharp snap.
“Did you enjoy flirting with my brother?” I taunt, looking for a fight as I cross the room toward her.
“I wasn’t—”
“No?” I demand, tangling my fingers in her hair that she’s kept long and loose for the day and tugging on it just hard enough that she has to tip her head back and look at me as she falls against my chest.
She gasps as our bodies come together, her palms finding my pecs as she glares up at me.
“Look me in the eyes and lie to me,” I dare her, my cock twitching as electric tension crackles to life between us.
“You are such a dick,” she hisses, shoving against my chest, but my arm around her waist means she’s not going anywhere—and neither am I.
“You can’t find the time to string five words together for me, but when I finally manage to have a decent conversation with one of your family members, you accuse me of flirting? ”
“And now you’re not denying it,” I point out, walking her back toward the bed.
“I was not flirting,” she says.
“Just trying to make me jealous, then?” I counter, stopping just before the backs of her knees find the mattress.
Surprise flits across Sora’s face, and her eyes darken, awakening a beast deep inside me.
“Are you?” she asks. “Jealous?”
“You’re mine, Sora. You said the words the day I put this ring on your finger,” I state, trapping her palm to lift her wedding ring before her eyes. “You signed yourself away in blood. Since you don’t seem to understand exactly what that means, I’m going to teach you.”
“Teach me?” she echoes, her cheeks flushing.
Sora hasn’t put on makeup since the day of our wedding, and her natural beauty is dangerously alluring. Without it, her emotions are easier to read—a way I’ve gotten to know her better even if she doesn’t realize it. I love the soft color that infuses her cheeks when she’s mad or embarrassed.
If I had to guess, right now, she’s a mixture of both because I know she hates it when I question her integrity, and she’s deliciously shy when it comes to talk about her education—a concept I’ve meticulously taught her to associate with sex, because I can tell it turns her on.
She likes learning about the different ways I can bring her pleasure almost as much as I like teaching her.
“Yes, teach you what happens when you try to make me jealous,” I say darkly, giving her hair a soft tug before I release it. “Now, bend over and pull your dress up to your waist.” I nod toward the bed, indicating where I expect her to bend over for me.
Sora gasps, her full lips parting as she glances behind her, but she doesn’t move.
“Do as I say, Cattiva, before I make you do it and double your punishment for having to ask twice.”
“But I didn’t do anything,” she insists, her cheeks turning a deep shade of rose as her chin lifts defiantly.
“It doesn’t matter, Princess,” I breathe, leaning in until our lips are just inches from touching. “You’re mine now, remember? And I think it’s time I remind you who owns your body. Now, turn around.”
Sora’s breath catches, her onyx eyes bright with excitement, and she slowly turns to do as I say.
As she bends forward at the hips, I help her along, pressing my palm to the flat of her back to pin her down.
Then I take the hem of her dusky rose wrap dress and flip it up to reveal her panties.
The black satin fabric is tucked enticingly between her creamy ass cheeks, giving me a perfect view of her smooth skin, and I run my hand over it, relishing the way she shivers when I touch her.
“This is my ass to do with as I please,” I rasp, my arousal instantaneous and consuming, and when I bring my palm down flat across her soft flesh with a snap, Sora yelps.
Her fingers tighten around the sheets as she glares back at me over her shoulder.
“Say it, Cattiva,” I command, spanking her other ass cheek.
She gasps, her cheeks darkening further, and she presses her eyes closed in an expression that looks tantalizingly close to arousal.
God, she’s sexy.
“I want to hear you say that you belong to me,” I say darkly and wait a beat.
I can tell she’s intentionally defying me when she presses her lips together in that signature way that says she’s not going to give me what I want.
So I give her ass another sharp slap, relishing the way it bounces, her skin turning red beneath my palm.
And when she whimpers, I know it’s starting to turn her on.
“Do you like being punished?” I tease, and she buries her face in the sheets, her refusal to answer as much of a confirmation than if she’d said it.
I give her other ass cheek a second sharp slap, and this time, she moans, the sound making my cock rock hard.
“No,” she mutters, her voice muffled by the sheets as she keeps her face hidden.
Running my hand over her smooth skin, I soothe the sting as I lean in close to her ear. “That’s not what it sounds like to me, Princess. And your punishment is only going to get worse if you lie to me again. So, do you want to come clean before I check how wet your panties are from being spanked?”
I run my finger down the seam that disappears between her ass cheeks, showing her exactly how I intend to confirm that she likes it, and Sora turns her head to meet my eyes, her expression a mixture of fury and arousal.
And she doesn’t say a word.
The muscle jumps in my jaw as I clench it, her silent challenge pushing me closer to the edge.
“Lost your interest in talking?” I tease darkly, straightening.
“Fine.” Hooking my fingers around her panties, I pull them down to her knees.
“I guess you can just show me how wet you are while I remind you of who owns your pleasure.”
Undoing my pants, I don’t bother undressing as I take out my cock, precum beading on the swollen tip, and I line up with her hot entrance.
I can feel how excited she is before I’m even inside her, the slick arousal coating her silky folds.
And when I drive inside her with one powerful thrust, Sora cries out, falling apart around me before we’ve even begun.
“Such an eager girl, aren’t you?” I purr, gripping her hips as I fuck her slowly through her orgasm.
Sora whimpers, her body quivering in my hands as she grips my cock.
“Were you so ready to come because of my brother?” I taunt. “Or because you like it when I punish you?”
I know the answer, and I can tell how much she hates it that I’m trapping her into telling me, but I can’t get over how much I like that she enjoys being spanked.
And I want to hear her say it. I love drawing each scandalous secret from her lips, and even if I can’t get to know her in other ways, I intend to learn every last one of Sora’s darkest desires.
Because I intend to master her pleasure until she’s as addicted to me as I’ve become to her.
“Tell me, Cattiva. Tell me why you’re so wet,” I command, and I spank her again, following it with a hard thrust.
“Because I like the way you punish me!” she screams, her hips rocking back against me as her pussy grips my cock like a vise.
“Mmm,” I hum approvingly, rocking into her steadily as a reward for her confession. “My dirty little wife. You like that I’ve left my mark on your perfect ass?” I tease, running my fingers lightly over the red skin with one hand as I control her hips with my other.
“Yes,” she whimpers, hiding her face once again.
“I like it when you tell me the truth, Princess,” I purr, driving into her G-spot so she can feel how much I do. “I’ll even let you come on my cock again for being such a good girl.”
And reaching around her, I press my fingers to her clit, teasing it as I fuck her deep and hard. Stars burst behind my eyelids as she explodes around my cock a second time, milking me with enough force that I almost lose my load inside her.
Breathing raggedly, I pause my thrusts, feeling the way she throbs around me as I continue to circle her clit with my fingers. And when the last aftershocks subside, I slowly pull out of her.
Sora whimpers, a shiver making her twitch as she looks over her shoulder at my still rock-hard cock. The need in her eyes makes me ache to push back inside her, but first, I have another lesson to teach her.
“Don’t worry, Princess. I’m not done with you yet,” I promise. “I want you on your knees so you can taste the way I make you come.”