Chapter Eight #2
“Fine,” he mutters. “If you die Fabio will be taken care of.”
I narrow my eyes. “That sounds like a threat.”
He gives a grudging smile. “If something should happen to you, Fabio will have his surgery and his rehabilitation, okay?”
“I’ll need that in writing.”
“What?” He smirks. “You don’t trust me?”
“Not really, no.” I hold his gaze. “I’m not asking for this to be an asshole, Marcello. I’m just trying to be sure my brother is okay if I die.”
“I know,” he says softly.
I’m sure he resents me challenging him, but it had to be done. From his reaction, it’s obvious if I’d died today, he wouldn’t have cared what happened to Fabio.
“How soon can we get that added to the contract?” I ask.
“I’ll have Kessler draft it tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
He’s quiet for a bit, just watching me. I squirm a little under his intense stare. He said he only came to check on me and he can see I’m fine. I’m not sure why he’s still here.
“Was there something else?” I ask politely.
He shifts and then says gruffly, “I think you got the wrong impression about something.”
I frown. “Did I?”
He nods. “About Sandro and me. When you came to my study, you saw something, but it’s not what you think.”
“Oh.” I know what I saw so I’m not sure why he’s lying to me. “It doesn’t matter. You put it in our contract that we can have other lovers. What you do with Sandro is none of my business.”
“While that’s true,” he murmurs, “I’m not sleeping with Sandro.”
I’m not sure I believe him, but I’m also not sure why he’d lie. Perhaps he thinks I’ll withhold sex or something? “As I said, it doesn’t matter. You can sleep with who you want to, as can I.”
Marcello watches me with an expression I can’t fully read. It’s not guilt. It’s not defensive. It’s something more careful than that, like he needs to say something, but worries it might backfire on him.
“I think it does matter,” he says. “I don’t want you to get the wrong impression.”
“Look.” I sigh. “I have eyes, Marcello. I know what I saw. You had Sandro in your arms.”
“That’s true, but it wasn’t sexual. He came to me about a personal matter. I was comforting him, that’s all.”
“You’re seriously not sleeping with him?” There’s obvious skepticism in my voice.
“No.”
“I don’t know that I believe you,” I murmur.
He frowns. “You should. I haven’t touched Sandro or anyone else since I met you.”
That definitely surprises me. I search his face, looking for signs of deception.
I’m usually good at spotting liars. Bartending teaches you to read people, to catch the micro-expressions, the averted eyes, the too-quick answers.
Marcello gives me none of those tells. He holds my gaze steadily, his voice is level and his body relaxed.
“You haven’t been with anyone?” I laugh disbelievingly.
“On my mother’s life, I haven’t touched another omega since we met.” His gaze is steady.
“That’s surprising,” I say slowly.
“Yes, I agree.” He hesitates. “But it would bother you if I had?”
I don’t feel like being vulnerable with him, so I don’t respond. When I don’t say anything, he sits beside me on the bed.
I tense and meet his gaze. Does he want sex? Is that why he’s going to so much trouble to reassure me Sandro means nothing to him? I wait for him to make some move, my pulse racing. I can’t decide if I want him to make a move or not.
“After today, I too have some thoughts about our contract,” he says carefully.
“Really?” I frown. “But, you came up with the original contract.”
“Yes, but that was then and this is now.”
“Meaning what?”
He grimaces. “I worry the non-exclusivity clause is going to cause problems between us as time goes on.”
“You do?”
“Yes. It never should have been included to begin with.” He shrugs. “With that in mind, perhaps when we add the clause about Fabio, we should remove the part about sleeping with other people as well. Since we’re already changing the original contract.”
Shocked, I hold his gaze. “I can’t believe you want to take that clause out. You’re the one who put it into the contract in the first place.”
“Yes, you pointed that out already,” he says testily.
“Why take it out?”
“I just told you, I think it might cause problems between us.”
I laugh gruffly. “I find your sudden change of heart difficult to swallow.”
He lifts one shoulder. “Having never claimed an omega before, I underestimated the effects it would have on me.”
“And you’re saying since you claimed me, you don’t want anyone else?”
“Didn’t I just say that?” He sounds annoyed. “How many times do I have to say that claiming you has changed my thoughts on the matter? I didn’t expect the bond to kick in so quickly, but it has. I know you feel it too, Elio. The sudden possessiveness.”
“A little.” I downplay it on purpose. The last thing I want is him thinking he has even more power over me.
“So what do you think?” He reaches over and caresses my cheek, his lips quirking when I shiver at his touch. “Shall we remove that clause?”
I try to fight how weak his touch makes me feel. “If… if we keep changing things, Kessler will wonder why we even signed the first contract to begin with.”
“Fuck Kessler,” he says harshly. “The contract needs to serve our needs, not his.”
“Yes.” I pull my gaze from his. “But if I’m honest, I don’t trust you. How do I know you won’t still sleep around, but just not tell me? I’d end up feeling like a fool.”
He huffs. “If I say I won’t, I won’t. I’m many things, Elio, but I’m not actually a liar. At least, not to those who’re close to me.”
I laugh. “Are we close, Marcello?”
He hesitates, then he takes my hand. His skin is warm as it cradles mine, and his expression serious.
“Look, regardless of how this relationship came about, you’re my omega now and I’m your alpha.
” He glances down at our intertwined hands.
“Whether we like it or not, because I claimed you, there’s an undeniable bond between us.
It’s far stronger than I think either one of us expected. ”
“It is, yes.” I grimace. “But even so, I’m not sure, Marcello.”
He scowls. “What are you not sure of?”
“If we should get rid of that clause or not.”
He lets go of my hand, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “Why not? You want to sleep with another alpha?” His mouth thins. “Is it that alpha who texted you at the wedding? Paul?”
My face warms. “His name is Pete and, yeah, he’s partly the reason.”
He stands, his high cheekbones flushed. “You can’t be serious. I’m Marcello Foschini and he’s a nobody. You’d choose a nobody over having me to yourself?” He sounds outraged. Or maybe it’s bewildered.
“It’s not that I’m choosing him over you,” I say.
“Don’t lie. You want to sleep with him, don’t you?”
I let out a harsh breath. “You keep thinking this is about the sex, but it’s not. If I were to… spend time with Pete, it would be about the emotional connection as much, if not more, than the physical.” I meet his gaze. “I don’t think that’s something you could give me, and I need that.”
He curls his lip. “You don’t think I can fulfill your emotional needs?”
“I worry maybe you can’t,” I admit. “Even if you tried, the odds of you being good at it for three years? I don’t see it happening. I don’t think it’s in you.”
“You don’t even know me, Elio. It’s arrogant of you to think you can predict what I’m capable of.”
“Maybe it is. But judging by how you’ve been with me since we met...” I sigh. “Can… can I speak freely?”
“Go for it,” he snaps.
“Well, to be brutally honest, you’re selfish. Conceited. You’re used to doing what you want and answering to no one.”
“Of course. I’m the head of the Foschini syndicate. Who would I have to answer to?”
“But that’s my whole point,” I rasp. “With that attitude, why would an omega feel confident they could rely on you for emotional anything? An omega would have to be crazy to think they’d come first for you. You will always come first for you.”
He truly looks insulted and confused. He’s not acting. His face is flushed and his eyes dark and serious. He dislikes what I’m saying, but I don’t think he knows how to counter it because I’m telling the truth. He’s all the things I’ve said he is. He knows that. Everyone knows that.
He doesn’t speak for a few minutes, he simply watches me. I can see the struggle going on inside of him. His arrogant side wants to crush me for daring to say the things I said. But there’s another side that’s trying to hear my words more logically. Less emotionally.
When he finally speaks, he sounds hurt. “Perhaps instead of only seeing what I’m not, you could try to see what I am.
Am I selfish? Yes. But you know what else I am, Elio?
Loyal. Protective. Will I be the sort of alpha who remembers anniversaries and brings you flowers for no reason?
I’m not sure. But I am the kind of alpha who will die for you. Kill for you. And never abandon you.”
Guilt nips at me because I see he’s wounded. It’s surprising to realize because Marcello acts cold and untouchable most of the time. Knowing my words hurt him makes me feel like a jerk. “I’m sorry if I was too blunt.”
A muscle works in his jaw. “If that’s how you feel then that’s how you feel.”
I didn’t expect my words to mean anything to him. “Marcello, I know you have good qualities. I didn’t mean to imply you don’t. I know you love your family deeply. I know you’re very protective of them. But I’m not your family and I’m… I’m just afraid to go through the next three years alone.”
“What makes you think you’re alone?” He scowls. “What are you lacking for? I’ve given you everything you asked for. I’m even adjusting the contract to please you. How is it I’m still falling short? How can you feel alone when I’m right here giving you anything you ask for?”