CHAPTER FOUR
Swallow your pride
— CATERINA —
The smirk on his face should be illegal. It’s a mixture of sinister promise laced with challenge and a hint of sex. It’s the kind I’ve heard about in the audio books of all the erotic novels my grandmother made me listen to.
Okay, she made me listen to the first one and I kept going since I actually liked those stories but ultimately switched to romance, enjoying the way authors could sweep me away into their world. Dreaming of the kind of relationship I would never have, though a woman is allowed to dream, right?
A shiver runs through my body due to the mixture of his smirk along with the thoughts of said romance books.
A mafia boss, ruthless, with the body of a god and falling for the woman the second they are hooked into an arranged marriage.
Get your head out of the clouds, Caterina.
It’s never going to happen. My own mind shooting me a reprimand is enough to shift my mood.
I hit him with an annoyed look. “Mind expanding on your statement? Let me in on whatever is making you grin like a loon?”
“Mattia greedily accepted the offer I gave him, involving cock entertainment. Arturo took him to one of the whorehouses and made sure he lost his virginity. So, you see, he’s going to be enjoying other ways to exercise.
And keep his mind and his cock away from you. ” Again, with the self-assured smirk.
Asshole. If he thinks that affects me in any way, he’s absolutely wrong. If anything, I’m relieved. “Good. About time he got some distraction. It will help him to get over his feelings for me.”
Clemente stops stretching and tilts his head to assess me.
I roll my eyes. “I’m not blind, Clemente.
I might be oblivious to sex, but I have a good and working head on my shoulders.
I enjoy audio books while I’m cooking, exercising, or cleaning.
And I have a very straightforward grandmother who doesn’t shy away from anyone.
She was the one who reprimanded him a few months ago when she noticed the looks he gave me.
Looks I didn’t notice but became aware of the second she told me.
But like I keep repeating myself, I don’t have any other interest in anything other than the man I was trained to be with. ”
And that would be a self-absorbed smirk he’s wearing right now. I repeat, asshole.
“Women in the mafia world use the word ‘raised.’ You repeatedly use the word ‘trained.’ Is this because of the whole self-defense training part?”
I give a slight shake of my head, reach for my ankle and bring my nose to my knees.
Holding the pose for a moment I slowly slide back up to face him.
“No. I like to think my dedication is different. Being raised in this mafia world involves acceptance. Being trained revolves around commitment, dedication, honor, and determination. There’s a huge difference. ”
For the first time his eyes fill with respect and admiration and it’s all aimed at me. Yet, I blink and it’s gone.
“Get in the ring,” he says with a snap. “Let’s see what you got.”
Apparently, I’ve got nothing when I land hard on my ass for the fourth time in a row.
It doesn’t do my ego any good if this asshole keeps smirking at me.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I train with Mattia every chance we get and can tackle him to the ground at least once or twice during said trainings.
But Clemente? I haven’t even so much as landed one punch on his body.
“Widen your damn legs, Rina,” he growls.
The man isn’t even out of breath like I am.
“I am,” I growl right back and smack his hand away.
Asshole. He’s mentally unstable if he thinks I’ll accept his hand to pull me up after he keeps kicking me down.
“It sucks, doesn’t it?” Clemente chuckles. “Mattia has been pussyfooting around you. It’s not what you need. Now, again, come at me and this time widen your stance for impact and keep your eyes on mine. Your body language rats you out, it lets me predict what your next move will be.”
A growl of frustration rumbles low in my throat. I know he’s right, but it’s a bitter pill to swallow when I already think he’s an asshole. But he’s an asshole who is helping me to get better, that’s some form of progress between us.
“Your sister won’t be happy if I have to cancel because I’m too sore,” I tell him, in an effort to distract him while I throw a punch and try to plant my knee into his groin right after.
He easily blocks both and this time, he grabs my knee and pulls me flush against his body.
His lips are right next to my ear when he whispers, “I couldn’t care less about the meeting you two have planned.
Especially since it was last minute as my sister’s housesitting plans were cancelled.
And even more because I know Gracy intends to talk about your bachelorette party. ”
I give a low hum of approval. “Maybe we’ll vote about how many male strippers she’ll order.”
He roughly shoves me away to look me in the eye, finally allowing me the space I need to bring my knee up. He clearly isn’t expecting it and for the first time I watch how he sinks to his knees and falls on his ass while cupping himself.
Sweet. Victory. Now I’m the one wearing a self-assured smirk, though it doesn’t last long when he quickly flashes up and launches himself at me. He brings me down to the ground with him. My hands are pinned above my head and he’s straddling me, keeping me immobile with the weight of his body.
“Finally,” he grunts.
His face shows appreciation instead of anger and there’s no smirk in place.
I stop struggling and become aware of his, and with it my own body.
Mainly the part growing hard between us.
His gaze slides to my lips. My breathing picks up and I can feel my nipples harden due to the butterflies exploding in my lower body.
It’s completely foreign and I’m sure it can only be compared to the stuff I know from those romance books. A connection. Pleasure. Desire. One, all, what-freaking-ever; this is amazing and indescribable.
His voice is a husky rumble when he murmurs the words, “Did you want our first kiss at our wedding in front of everyone? Or right fucking now so we can have a real one just for us?”
I watch his lips move closer. I know what he asked but I can’t make my brain process the necessity of answering.
I’m too intrigued and need to know what it would feel like to connect our mouths.
My head slowly moves forward, as if I’m automatically drawn to him, and softly brush my lips against his.
A growl rumbles through him, making me gasp.
His tongue slides in and swirls around mine.
I moan into his mouth. The feelings he awakens inside my body are overwhelming.
The way he rolls his hips, pressing his hard length against my lower body is a solid promise that my days as a virgin are numbered.
The pressure on my clit intensifies when he shifts and rolls his hips.
Heat flashes through me and right when I’m about to surrender to the greatest pleasure, everything disappears and I’m left cold with Clemente hovering over me.
He yanks on my arm to tug me to my feet.
Holy shit, I almost had my first orgasm right here on the floor of the gym.
Clemente clears his throat. “That’s enough for today. Go take a shower.”
He spins on his heels and leaves the room. I’m still reeling about what just happened and the way we collided, connected, until he ripped us apart. He completely washed away the intense feeling I felt and replaced it with anger. This man is infuriating me every chance he gets.
I stomp back to the bedroom and Clemente is nowhere in sight.
I take a quick shower and get myself ready for a meeting with Clemente’s sister, Gracy.
We exchanged phone numbers the second we climbed into the limo yesterday.
She texted me to ask if we could meet, seeing as Beck and Flora’s short vacation was canceled and she and Henley didn’t have to house sit.
Gracy is very welcoming, sweet, and nothing like her half-brother.
She’s the one organizing the wedding and wanted to talk details. And yes, she did mention a bachelorette party with just a few girls. I don’t know anyone here and told her so, gently indicating I want to keep it small. And to be honest, there isn’t another choice since I have no friends.
Then she rattled about how she would ask her friend Flora to join us. The second she mentioned Flora and her involvement with an animal shelter, I was all ears and was itching to meet and talk with her.
I know Clemente doesn’t want pets, not to mention he added the fact that he didn’t want me working.
Such a disappointment. I love animals and really wanted one.
But I guess I can settle with volunteering at the shelter if that’s possible.
It’s not the same as a full-time, paid job but it’s something.
Besides, I like to feel useful and give back to the community.
And I really need furry affection, it really lightens my mood and drains stress.
This could be a nice way to combine things.
My phone chimes, indicating I have a message. I was expecting a message from Gracy but instead it’s a text from Donya, my cousin and best friend who I had to leave behind in Italy. I wish she was here or at least would be able to come to the wedding.
Sadly, she wasn’t as fortunate as me since my father wanted me to be strong in every way.
Her father, on the other hand, kept the tight restrictions in place and has been searching for a husband for her for a few months now.
The man is mainly scouting for personal gain to wed her off to someone higher up the chain to lift himself up, instead of thinking about his daughter’s wellbeing.