Page 77 of Maddest Temptation

Well, that was unexpected. “Is this a joke?”

“I’m not laughing,”he said seriously. “I meant to ask you after dinner, but then you disappeared, and I couldn’t reach you. I wanted to ask her the week after we met, but I knew you would never approve, so I gave it some time. One thing led to another, and I asked her yesterday. No one knows, and I asked her to keep it quiet. I said I would talk to you, out of respect as my brother, but I’m marrying her,” he said with determination.

“I’ll always be loyal to you, that doesn’t change things, that just means I’ll be sharing that loyalty with her. Marie would never harm me or the Outfit, and she loves me, Cassio, she really does, she makes me happy. I can’t remember a time when I was actually happy?—”

“Enough, Vitelli.” I didn’t let him finish.

“I just meant to say that I’m happy with her and that it doesn’t affect what we have here. You’re my brother and my Capo. That doesn’t change.”

I was actually stunned, but my schooled expression didn’t give away my inner turmoil. We never really talked about the past. The days following what happened to my father and to my sister were a blur. We didn’t stop to think about it. For me, those days had been chaos, filled with guilt, anger, alcohol, and the need for revenge. It had consumed me so much; I couldn’t even recall what happened during that first year.

I never stopped to wonder how my brother took it. Vitelli didn’t have a close relationship with my father, but he was close to Bella. We all learned to deal with the pain and our grief differently. I had never known his still haunted him.

“Do you love her?” He tensed but without hesitation, he nodded. “Do you plan on being loyal and faithful to her?” He nodded again. “Do you plan on protecting and keeping her from harm, meaning from you as well?”

“I would never harm her,” he said fiercely.

As his Capo and older brother, it was my duty to make sure my brother would never do that. I was beyond redemption, but he wasn’t.

“Don’t ever put out the fire in her. Promise me that, and you’ll have my blessing.”

He was stunned for a full minute, not caring to hide it from me. Vitelli had always been light-hearted and fun to be around. I was the dark cloud. But even I’d noticed the change. The fucker was lovestruck and he was going to be a married man.

“I promise,” he said without a shadow of a doubt. “Thank you, Cassio.”

“Don’t thank me. Thank her for being brave enough to accept a lifetime with you.”

He grinned like a schoolboy. “Fuck, I’m getting married.”

Yeah, he was, my little brother was getting married, was moving on with his life. From the depths of my being, guilt exploded, and I couldn’t rein it back in. It refused to remain locked up the way it had been for the past four years. It struck me violently and true, and it didn’t let go.

She was pacing outside the doctor’s office, her blonde hair following her around like a golden aura. She wore a pink floral dress that hugged her body, offering me a view of those delicious curves as well as her long legs.

A sudden image flooded my brain, a memory. Her legs wide around my waist, the heels of her feet digging into my ass. Then it changed, those legs gripping my face tight as I ate her out for the first time. I could still taste her, sweet and addictive.

I stopped and she turned to face me. Her eyes widened and then she was glaring. I closed the space between us, hating how much I desired to take her into one of these offices and fuck the hell out of her.

“Principessa.”

“What are you doing here?” She crossed her arms, cheeks turning pink. Was she remembering our nights, too? “Wait,” she paused. “How did you know I was here?”

“You know how, Francesca.”

“Are you ever going to stop?”

I shook my head. “No.” I would have her followed for as long as possible. Francesca needed protection, and she was mine to take care of. Mine to keep safe. My problem now.

I faced the door and then turned to look at her, she dug her nails into the palms of her hands. I knew she had been out here for the past half hour. Two days ago, Francesca had agreed to visit a psychiatrist, but somewhere along the line that had changed.

“I can’t do this,” she admitted and started pacing again.

“Francesca,” I stopped her and grabbed her shoulders. “Breathe.”

“Why are you here, Cassio?”

Good question. Why was I here? I had so much fucking work to do it had started to pile up in my office. For the first time in four years, I had taken a weekend off. Although I did work, my attention was elsewhere.

I had no other explanation for her other than I wanted to be here. Like I wanted to bring her back to my apartment. Like I wanted to keep on fucking her.

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