CHAPTER TWO
Useful instead of the silent arm candy
— CATERINA —
I truly wish I could knock that creepy smile off his face.
Self-satisfied asshole. I knew the man I needed to wed was going to be an asshole.
Men in the mafia world rarely are nice human beings.
And it’s only logical they are ruthless, savage beasts who go after each other’s throat on a regular basis.
It’s a rough, hard world where they follow killer instinct to survive.
Other women are raised to be the pristine wife and eye candy to serve their husband between the sheets and to look good on their arm, turning a blind eye to all the ruthlessness and blood everything is painted with. I was raised to be more than that.
My father believed I needed to be the woman my mother once was before she died. She taught herself how to handle weapons and fight like a man. She wasn’t blind to everything. And when they planned to kill my father, it was she who saved him.
My mother, Aurora, was my hero in many ways and I love her more because I am the strong woman I am today because of her.
Along with my father, who has always supported me.
I worked hard each day to train, to learn, to be the best in any field that would allow me to support and protect the man who will give me the same honor in return.
Though in this moment? I would really like to use my skills to knock his ego down a few notches. But, first and foremost, I was brought up to be a lady. I take a deep breath to calm myself and step back.
“I hope this will clear up any doubts. Thank you for understanding, and of course I will respect your wishes to stay in your bedroom. I will always follow your choices without—”
“Cut the fucking mindless complying slave routine. We both know it’s fake. A fucking lie, and I hate liars.” The snap in his words make me cringe.
Shit. I never cringe, not for anyone and surely not for a man I just went head-to-head with. Also, something I never do. It’s him. He has a way to set me off and react rather than think.
“Fine,” I snap, catching my bottom lip between my teeth and biting down in an effort not to snap again and somehow calm down.
The corner of his mouth twitches. “Better. Now is the perfect time to set some ground rules between us. First, and foremost, when we’re alone together I expect you to be yourself.
And if this consists of biting my head off frequently, so be it.
This house? Yours as well as mine. If you leave the premises, I expect you to take one of my guards with you.
And Mattia isn’t one of mine, understood? ”
“Fine,” I snap again.
I’m not completely blind and mindless. I know very well Mattia developed feelings for me, more than sisterly love. But it is one-sided and it has never been acted upon. I wasn’t lying when I told him neither of us disrespect the Famiglia in any way.
“Anything else?” I ask, because I can tell by the look in his eyes, he needs to kick me down a few more notches to make it clear he’s in charge.
“No pets, no jobs. We’re getting married in exactly two weeks. You’re going to be in my bed tonight and every other night until you die. I won’t tolerate any man coming near what’s mine. Virgin pussy or not, the second you walked into my presence you became my property, and I don’t share.”
I roll my eyes. I can’t help it, he’s so freaking frustrating. Wait. He did say I was free to speak my mind. And if we’re discussing ground rules, I might as well try to see where I stand if he’s mentioning the whole property element.
“If I’m your property, does that mean you’re mine with the same ‘no sharing’ element? Or are you free to stick your dick in every woman who spreads her legs for you?” Shit. Manners. It seems I left them in Italy since this man is driving me nuts at every turn.
“I’m the head of the Famiglia, Rina. I barely have time to plant my ass on a couch and watch TV. If I have a wife at home, I expect her to give me what I want when I want it and I’ll give equal pleasure in return. If that’s not what you want, I can fuck a nameless cunt if you—”
“No,” I instantly cut him off before he can finish his sentence. “I will serve my husband’s every need. With what you just mentioned we agree to complete monogamy.”
“Monogamy.” The annoying man chuckles. “No need to add complete to it. But we are in complete agreement.”
Steeling my nerves, I ask the question which this whole confrontation led to when he demanded me to sleep in his room. “And would that arrangement start today?”
He reaches out and cups the side of my face.
His thumb is slowly stroking my cheek. “I’m taking what’s mine on my wedding day.
” His mouth inches slower and right next to my ear he adds on a husky whisper, “I might bury my face between your legs before then to get a taste of how sweet your pussy is...but my cock won’t come near you until you’re mine in name, Rina. ”
Rina. That’s the second time he called me Rina. No one has used that short version of my name. Cat? Sure, lots of times. His lips catch my earlobe and his teeth sink in slightly before letting go, making me gasp and a rush of heat flares between my legs.
“Fine.” I try to make the single word come out as a snap but I swear it falls from my lips all breathless and needy.
“Good girl,” he murmurs and takes his warmth and spicy scent with him as he steps back.
Great. You can train for any moment of your life.
Prepare with details, theory, reasons, and mindset.
Yet, when the moment comes to put everything into motion.
..the visual before you suddenly shifts into unknown territory.
That’s where I find myself right now. How can this man be the same as the strong, mafia men I’ve grown up around and yet be oh so freaking different?
Smooth, thick, black hair. Muscled yet lean appearance. A voice deep enough to rip out your soul while his eyes hold you captive. His eyes are a rare mixture of colors. A ring of brownish green flowing to blue. But the hard stare within gives a warning of frost.
He’s dangerous. I’ve heard what his skilled hands can do. He likes knife play and can torture men for days. He doesn’t shy away from violence but he’s also honest and fair to his soldiers and capos.
His uncle was the one who gave me all the added information along with a file on him filled with information on his background along with details of the two guys working closely alongside of him.
Arturo, who is the underboss, and Leandro, his consigliere. There were a few more papers with information about his capos but I skimmed over them since I will be meeting them soon enough and I’ve always been more of a people watching person to see for myself what their character traits are.
Besides, Clemente’s uncle, Giuseppe shared many stories about those who stand out, making me confidant enough to get more details once I meet them and spend more time here.
You can learn a lot more from observing every single twitch on their face closely, or how they hold their shoulders, hands, even if it’s for a few minutes.
It’s exactly what Clemente is doing with me now. Watching me closely, trying to unravel secrets my body might reveal. Our moment is broken when Arturo and Leandro stroll into the room. Clemente slowly drags his gaze away from me and faces his two friends.
“Leandro, Arturo. You two stay right there. No shaking hands or getting your mouths and dicks near my woman.” Clemente’s laid-back statement makes me involuntarily snort.
Crap. Way to keep myself in line. I did mention the whole training thing and using it in real life situations really is challenging when this man doesn’t act like normal ones I grew up with.
Clemente shoots me a wicked grin and holds out his hand for me to take. At this point my role really starts. A role since I need to give an outer appearance a solid consistency to uphold status. Not just look the part as a wife.
My future husband holds power. Power people he’s surrounded with are very aware of.
They will fully focus on him and this allows me to observe them freely and unnoticed in return.
Me being the wife and just the piece of eye candy who warms the boss’ bed, it doesn’t raise suspicions but I can relay my findings to Clemente, which helps him in return.
So, yes. I take my role very seriously and deliberately keep some of my abilities from Clemente. Even if this is all for him and I fully commit my life to him, I would like to prove myself at some point where he sees my worth as a loyal and trustworthy partner.
If he would just stop pushing my buttons while being an asshole.
Strangely enough, these things didn’t pop up during my training.
You can talk through different situations, learn how to deal with outbursts and conflicting emotions but reality throws curveballs that either hit you in the face or gut you no matter how good at dodging you are.
“You’re no fun,” Arturo grumbles at the same time I slide my fingers over Clemente’s palm and let him pull me close.
My body reacts to the heat of his hands. Mainly the one sliding to my hip and I’m very much aware of the involuntary shiver running through me and how Clemente notices my reaction to him. He gives my hip a gentle squeeze and directs his attention to the two men in front of him.
“We have fun different ways. Most of the time it involves torture, the kind with blood and ripped apart bodies,” Clemente states.
“Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of you two? We had a meeting set tomorrow morning if I remember correctly since I cleared all meetings for the day to spend with my fiancée. Whom I’m about to give my ring to and you two are most definitely intruding on our moment. ”
A ring. How could I forget the simple formality of accepting his ring? Any woman would want to see the bling on her finger to show off. Ugh. My head is all over the place. Not to mention I just got off a plane and feel icky.