Page 29 of Daddy's Mad Love

Exhausted, limp, I fell back asleep, barely aware of him getting out of bed and tucking me back in under the sheets. I was too tired to be afraid of what he might do now.

Sleep, my only escape, claimed me again. I could only hope it would be for longer this time.

Jack

My beautiful, deceitful, perfect wife. Making sure there was nothing in our rooms that she could use to hurt herself or anyone else, I left her sleeping in my bed. The sense of satisfaction I felt seeing her there, where she belonged, overrode anything and everything else.

A killer she was not. No, my little dove needed protection from all the harshness of our world. The cold realities. Her treacherous grandfather. She didn’t realize it, but I did.

And her passion… well, she would be very sore today, but it would pass. Despite that, she had responded beautifully this morning. She was more addictive than any drink or drug. I was already anticipating what I might do to further defile her tonight. What pleasures I might be able to tempt her to.

Outside our rooms, one of my men guarded the door. I gave him a nod as I passed. He would watch over my new wife while she slept. I, on the other hand, had business matters to attend to.

“Your mother and father are in the dining room,” he said in response to my nod.

Of course, they were.

“Grazie.”

Sighing inwardly, I went to the dining room. I’d been planning on eating breakfast anyway, but I thought I would be alone or with Gio. I wanted him to look into some things about her grandfather. My father had done his research, I knew, but now that Hailey was my wife, I wanted to be thorough.

I didn’t want any surprises.

“There you are!” My mother jumped up when I came in, fluttering over to me with her usual grace and pulling me into a hug. “Where is my new daughter?”

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head.

“Still sleeping, Mama. It was a late night.” I couldn’t help the smirk that quirked my lips at my words, and the smack on my arm I received for it did nothing to change my expression.

“Oh, you.” She shook her head. “Just like your father.”

Now, my expression did change as I made a face. There were some things a man didn’t want to think about. I knew my father and mother had a certain kind of relationship, one that I planned to emulate with my own wife, but that didn’t mean I wanted to picture theirs.

“Come and sit down, eat,” my father said. “We’ve got plenty to do today.”

My mother shook her head in disapproval as she took her seat. Elegantly dressed, she was the epitome of grace despite her ire.

“Sending your son to work the day after his own wedding. Really, Lorenzo. It’s a wonder anyone puts up with you.”

“And yet you do,” my father said, reaching out to grab her hand and bring it to his lips. They smiled at each other, and for a moment, it was like I wasn’t even in the room.

Would Hailey and I have that one day? Or would her hatred fuel our passion instead? I wasn’t sure I wanted her to become enamored of me too quickly, though, of course, I meant to win her over, eventually. But there was something about knowing she was trapped and still fluttering her wings against the confines of her cage that excited me. Forcing her body to bend to my will, rather than hers, was wildly arousing.

“What do you need me for today?” I asked, partly to break up their little moment and partly because if I kept thinking about Hailey, I was going to return to our room and fuck her again. She needed to rest, though.

“We need to meet with Don Bianco again now that everything is finalized. I would have left you to your own devices with your new bride, but he wanted you to be there.” My father shrugged, but there was something in his eyes. He didn’t fully trust Don Bianco, despite the wedding. We needed to be on our guard.

I nodded my understanding.

Hailey

Waking up a second time, I immediately covered my face, taking in deep breaths and trying to ascertain if Giacomo was still there. I heard nothing. So, what had woken me?

Birdsong, trilling outside the window. I sighed and lifted my head, looking around.

I was alone.

And not regretful to find myself so.

---