Page 78 of Forced Vows

"Where is this coming from?"

I'm not telling him about my cousin's marriage. "It's a valid concern. You know I despise the Cosa Nostra and I'm sure there are plenty of them that despise the Irish. I know people died on both sides."

"So, you assume I won't trust you?" Miceli asks, his brows furrowed sexily.

The urge to reach out and smooth the lines between them is hard to resist. "Why would you?"

"Because I believe your behavior in Portland was aberrant."

"But why?" Why am I pushing him? Why does it matter?

"If you wanted to lose your virginity so bad, why not fuck one of the boys from school?"

"They're men, not boys. I'm in college not high school."

"Answer the question."

"Because I knew that if I had sex with someone locally, he would probably end up dead. Either at my uncle's hands, or yours."

"That is why I trust you. You're too smart not to have realized the risk you were taking, but you took it to protect the man you planned to have sex with."

"I thought it was worth it."

"Wasn't it?"

"You know it wasn't. I ended up having sex for the first time with the one man I was trying to avoid."

"It was still your choice. It will always be your choice, Róise."

His words hit me like a rogue counterweight slamming down from the stage grid. "What about the baby we're supposed to make?"

"That's not for a couple of years and I don't see you holding out that long."

Holding out because he won't force it.

Even if I have about as much chance of staying away from him as I do chocolate during my period, knowing he won't force it?

Snips away another vine of the poison ivy protecting my heart.

If I'm not careful, I'm going to fall for my enemy.

Chapter 27: MICELI

Being able to read people is the difference between life and death in my world.

But right now, I can't read the expression on Róise's face.

"That's good to know." Her tone says it's anything but.

Why? Because thinking the worst of me makes it easier for her to keep hating me. I may not be looking for a fairytale love story, but I'm also not looking for a wife who actively despises me.

It's time for Róise to let go of some of her resentments.

"Regardless of how either of us feels about it, our marriage is a way to end the hostilities." Her parents' deaths devastated her. "It's a way to help protect the children in both our syndicates from going through what you did when your mom died."

Her dad's death isn't on the Cosa Nostra, but I will find out who ordered the hit. I can't keep Róise safe if there's a potential threat out there I don't know about.

"Isn't the pursuit of peace holy?" I ask, when she remains silent.

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