Page 17 of Vicious Vows

"You got it."

We sat in silence for a moment while both of us lit up our cigars and puffed musky clouds of nicotine in the air. The only issue is I wasn't smelling the strong pungent odor of the cigar in my hand but the remaining essence of Faye on my fingertips.

I passed my finger under my nose one more time and groaned at the scent. It was like warm honey. I couldn't get the way she moaned out of my mind.

I've been with more than my fair share of women in my day, but Faye's moaning was nearly enough to have me panting for more. I was sure that she would be more like her sister in that regard, but it seemed as if she were hiding her own brand of sex vixen beneath that sheep's skin she wore.

When I walked out of the room earlier, I'd reprimanded myself for getting too comfortable with her, but now I can't stop my mind from wondering, thinking about what she could be doing right now.

"So, are we ever going to talk about what you planned to do with that little woman you've got locked up in your room?" Lionel asked, and my eyes pinned him to his seat.

"Why the fuck is it any of your concern? I've already told you your part to play in this scenario. You don't need any other information."

He scoffed and leaned forward. Out of all my men, my brother was the only one who could get away with questioning me, to an extent, of course.

"I ran into Cole earlier, at least the parts of him that were left. He said you chopped off his fingers for touching the girl. You wouldn't have never done something like that for Farrah. Hell, Cole has already been inside of Farrah; I'm sure he's got his name carved into her cunt."

"That was fucking Farrah, not Faye," I growled, feeling the tension rise from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head.

"That's my point exactly; she's been here a few days and already you're acting differently around her. No one may know what's going on right now, but sooner or later, someone is going to figure this shit out. It's not like we're going to be able to hide this forever." He shrugged and leaned back.

"I'm not acting any differently than a husband would. She's my wife now, and even if everyone in this damn house thought they'd already had a piece of her, it doesn't give them the right to disrespect me now and try again. I'm not going to have it."

I puffed on my cigar before blowing out a cloud of smoke that would hopefully mask the expression on my face.

"Yeah, I'm sure everyone got the memo now that Cole's missing a few digits. I only hope you're able to keep up this ruse because it won't be just you who gets the shit end of the stick if this asinine plan comes to light too quickly."

My mind whirled at his revelation. Not only would my father take everything away from me, but he'd possibly come after Lionel as well. There was a lot more at stake here than just what I thought.

"I've got this little brother," I said in an effort to appease him, but the truth of the matter was I didn't know how the fuck I was going to hide this.

"I hope so because your first test is coming up very soon."

My eyebrows cinched in the center as my memory tried to sift through the mountain of junk that I was saddled with. Running a fucking empire was hard, and more times than not, shit slipped through the cracks. Now was one of those times because I had no idea what the hell he was talking about.

Our father wasn't due back for a few more weeks, and I didn't think he'd send any type of spy just to make sure I'd married like I said I had.

"What fucking test?" I questioned.

"Tomorrow night, the birthday party at the Nicoli estate," he said with a glint of a smirk on his face. "Don't tell me you were intending on leaving your newly betrothed wife here alone? Who knows what she might do with that kind of freedom."

My stomach dropped, and I let my head fall back onto the cushion of the chair. I'd completely forgotten about the fucking birthday dinner.

Of course, I could show up without Faye, but that wouldn't look right considering I'd only just married her. This was supposed to be the honeymoon phase of our relationship. If she were to be anywhere, it'd be by my side.

It was just like Lionel said, even if I made up some excuse to keep her home, there was always a chance that she'd find a way to escape, and I'd be in even bigger trouble.

There was no other option besides bringing her with me.

I wasn't sure if she was ready for something like this, playing up her role in front of mixed company, but I'd have to make sure that she understood what was waiting for her if she failed.

If I was going to be put to death for this shit, so would she.

No, I was certain that I could get her to play the good little wife for a few hours. Who knew, I might even enjoy it.

Now all I had to do was train her how to serve me correctly, make sure she knew what went along with being a crime lord's woman.

I couldn't stop the smug grin that crossed my face as I looked back at my brother.

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