Page 43 of Vicious Union

“That sex with you is great? Yes.”

He smiles faintly before his usual stoic expression takes over. “No. You can’t go off on your own, Caterina. It isn’t just me trying to boss you around. You could have been hurt. You should be lucky that whoever stole your purse just wanted your money and nothing else. Remember, I have a dangerous job. Don’t be naive like that again.”

I feel properly chastised, and my gut reaction is to argue with him, but … he has a point. I have put myself into dangerous situations. If my husband wasn’t the Mafia, then it wouldn’t matter. But he is, and I know he has enemies.

If we’re going to make this marriage work, I have to bend a little.

“Ok,” I say. “No more sneaking out to cafés or clubs without you. I’ll be good. I promise.”

He stares at me before he nods. “Thank you.” Then he shakes his head. “Though, I wonder how long you being good will last. Something tells me it won’t be long.”

I stretch my arms over my head, giving Emilio a good look at my body—and he does look, I notice. “You’re probably right.”

CHAPTER 13

Emilio

Caterina and I actually try going on a date. It’s our honeymoon, and I’m not allowed to work, so I figure I might as well give it a try. If I’m stuck with her forever, a part of me wants to like her. I already like her body, so that’s not the problem. It’s everything else.

It’s her mood. Her behavior. How she acts purposefully defiant just to piss me off.

But I’m going to try. I made a promise to Caterina and my family. I will make this marriage work because that’s what is expected of me.

The restaurant we go to is upscale and one of the best five-star restaurants I could find in Rome. I only go to the best restaurants.

Of course, Caterina wanted to wear a slinky red dress that was more appropriate for the club than a nice restaurant, but all my efforts to get her to change were in vain. She ignored me and then reminded me I needed to stop bossing her around.

So, here we are, sitting in a restaurant with Caterina in a skimpy dress. I try to not let it bother me, but I notice other men in the room taking glances at her. It makes me clench the menu between my hands.

“Men are staring,” I murmur.

Caterina makes a big show of looking around. “Uh. Didn’t notice. But that’s just because you have such a hot wife. Of course, they want to check me out.” She tosses her hair over her shoulder and flashes a smile at the man at the table next to us. He flushes from getting caught looking at her and ducks his head. She turns back to me. “See? It’s harmless.”

“You shouldn’t be flirting with other men. I’m your husband.”

“Would you prefer I flirt with you? Because I can, but it seems like whenever I open my mouth, you’d rather wish I close it.”

I sigh and set the menu down. “I … you’re right. I do tend to say things like that.”

“I can’t win, Emilio. I’ll never be perfect enough for you.”

I look at Caterina’s open, vulnerable face and realize she’s right again. I make it impossible for her to be good enough. She’ll never be the wife I want her to be, and I’ll just have to learn to live with that.

I just have no clue how to start accepting her for her when she gets me so riled up.

“You don’t have to be perfect,” I finally say. “You’ve kept to your word. You haven’t gotten into trouble these past few days, and I’m thankful for that.”

“You’re welcome.” She trails her fingers over my hand. “And you know, I’d much prefer to flirt with you than any of the other men here. I wore this dress”—she nods down at the hint of cleavage—“for you. I want you to want me, Emilio. I love our sex life. I don’t want that change. But I want you to like me. Why is that so hard for you?”

The question is—do I want Caterina to like me? I’ve never cared if someone likes me or not. But then, I’ve never been married before.

I think I want Caterina to like me just like she wants me to like her. Ever since we met, she’s been asking to get to know me. It’s up to me to open up. I just have no idea how.

“I do like you,” I tell her.

She snorts. “Really?”

“And then you say something like that, and it makes me not like you so much.”

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