Page 50 of Gilded Saint

“Tell me about your first.”

He lowers my wrist but doesn’t let go. “Her name was Susannah.”

“That’s a pretty name.”

“I didn’t love her. It wasn’t rebellion. I was horny.” His expression is cocky, and I snort in amusement. “But I’m curious,” he adds. “I thought mafia girls were supposed to be virgins. Weren’t you risking a lot? Like, virginity is a big deal with mafia families, right? Hanging the sheets and?—”

I break out laughing. “Not many families still do that. But yes, my father believed he provided you with a virgin.” It’s my turn to grow serious. “But you know, my father, he’s a businessman. He knew this was an arrangement.” That part still stings.

Leo strokes his thumb back and forth over the back of my wrist.

“It’s true that many of the marriages in my family are more practical, solidifying connections and order. But I always thought that because my father is who he is, it wouldn’t apply to me.” How foolish. “I’m lucky you agreed to this.”

“But you know, this is an arrangement.” He says the words cautiously, like he’s worried I might have different expectations now that I’m lying in his bed.

“True. But now thatthisis a part of our arrangement, there’s no need for you to go to the brothels, right?” My cheeks grow annoyingly warm.

“Brothel?” He sounds…amused.

I lift my gaze to find him smirking. “What? You’ve spent the past two weeks?—”

His fingers cover my mouth, and he shakes his head, smiling. “Brothel isn’t a modern term. I’m more discreet and?—”

I glare at him, and he snorts. “That’s why you did this? Came to me in the shower? You’re possessive?” He taps my nose with his finger. “Are you a jealous little minx?”

“So are you. You point blank told me I couldn’t be with Geoff.”

That wipes the smirk right off his face. “Were you planning to be with Geoff?”

“No, I’m simply making a point.”

“How many men have you been with?”

“One.” I smooth a finger over his cheek, surprised by the velvety smoothness. He shaved after the shower. “Now two. How many women have you been with?”

“I lost count.” My throat constricts. “I’m a lot older than you.”

“How old are you?”

He pauses, like he’s trying to remember. “Forty-two.”

He’s said nearly twenty years older, but that’s a full twenty years older.

“What was it like? Growing up in a mafia family?”

“Normal?”

His dark eyebrows come together as his eyes narrow, questioning my veracity.

“I didn’t know.” His eyebrows lift higher. “Really. We were sheltered. Titan Shipping is a legitimate business. When we visited my father at work, he had staff who greeted us with smiles, and his secretary had a jar of candy on her desk. We’d go out on the docks to watch the enormous ships sometimes. We knew we were lucky. Our home was larger than many of our friends’ homes, and we had more land on the coast than many. But it wasn’t…” I let out a sigh, thinking about the time I first realized the Lupi Grigi might not be the protective heroes I believed them to be. “It wasn’t until I was sixteen that I had any idea that…well, our family participated in…”

“Drug trafficking?” he supplies.

“I wasn’t sure what they did, exactly, but when Scarlet was first attacked, I told her she should go to thepolizia, and she said that they owned them. I asked her what she meant, and she told me not to be so naive. I felt…foolish. That was when I started listening more, observing more. Orlando is seven years younger than me, and he seemed more aware.”

“I always expected they would tell you at a young age.”

“No.” I shake my head. “I went to a small school in my first years, filled with other kids, and none of us talked about it. Then father brought in tutors. The school I would have gone to was nearly an hour away, and he didn’t want us to spend so much time traveling. That’s what they said. By the time I went to university, I knew. When Scarlet killed Vincent…I pieced more together. And I knew I didn’t want to be a part of that. I had believed father wouldn’t make me. He told me I didn’t have to worry.”

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