Page 25 of Corrupt Vows

Remembering how she responded to my kiss hardens my cock. I curse and grab my phone off my bedside table before stalking into the hall.

Jealousy sours my stomach. I searched through Serenity’s call log and text message history. She’s always been close to Alfonso Bonnetti, but I never realizedhowclose. I don’t like it.

The last time she contacted him was a few days ago. I bet she’ll approach him at the party.

Which means she’ll be in my bed and not in the guest room tonight. My cock twitches in anticipation.

Until the thought of her soft lips on Alfonso Bonnetti’s spears through me. She must have had a lot of practice to be as good of a kisser as she is. She nearly caused me to cum in my trousers yesterday.

With a terrible scratching sound, I whip my keys off the front table and clear my mind.

Time to go get engaged to the woman who keeps invading my thoughts.

I pull the family car around and wait in the little glass room at the bottom of the elevators for the rest of my party. My father, his second wife, and my half-sister don’t make me wait long. As imposing as always, my father, Dante Russo, wears his greying hair with pride, and despite being in his sixties, the hard glint he wore when I was a child remains in his eyes. I shake his hand and kiss his cheeks before turning to my stepmom. At forty years old, Kara is closer to my age than my father’s, but the twenty-four-year gap between them doesn’t matter. My father is neither full of rage like he was the year my mother died, nor is he an empty shell like the years after that. They’re happy, and that’s all that matters. I take her hand and land a quick kiss to her knuckles before handing her back to my father. They share a smile I never thought I’d see on my father’s face again.

A part of me resents him for moving on from my mother, but Kara helped guide Natalie into the headstrong, fierce young woman she is today, so I don’t ruminate on it.

Bella, my fourteen-year-old stepsister, grimaces before mock gagging.

“You aren’t going to start kissing again, are you? Because Ijustate and don’t want to spew chunks everywhere,” she says.

Kara laughs and leans in for a kiss from her husband.

“Mamma, no! That’s so gross!” Bella says before darting around me and hiding her face against my back.

“It’s nice to see you, too, Bella,” I chuckle.

I tried so hard to hate the child my father had with another woman, but the little spitfire wouldn’t let me.

The elevator pings and the doors slide open. I brace for the inevitable chaos as Natalie joins us.

She laughs and steps off the elevator.

“Just let them get it all out now, Bella. It’s better than being embarrassed in front of everyone.”

“Theyneverstop, though,” Bella whines.

Natalie hisses, grabs Bella’s hand, and pulls her away from me.

“Don’t ruin his suit on his special day. Actually, more importantly, don’t mess up your makeup. It’skillertoday. Who did your eye shadow?”

“I did.” The pride in Bella’s voice echoes through the tiny room.

Although we often eat dinner together in my parent’s floor-through apartment, Natalie has her own studio and living space on the floor between mine and theirs. She says she enjoys her independence, but I wonder if it’s for show, since she still spends so much time with Bella.

I stop them from wandering out of the glass room by blocking the door. They sigh and wait for me to do a full walk around of the SUV before opening the back door for them.

Bella doesn’t hesitate to grab my offered arm and hoist herself into the vehicle, but Natalie refuses my help.

My father gestures me away once the girls are settled in the back, so I hand the door to him and stalk around the front to the driver’s seat. After settling Kara into the car, my father walks around and sits behind me.

Their chatter fills the silence. No one asks for music. They include me only occasionally, but I don’t mind. I keep my attention on the road, painfully aware of how important and fragile my cargo is, even after I pull up to the Vivaldi’s second house. Used mainly for social gatherings and business meetings, the mansion resembles the home they live in, but allows them an extra layer of security in their everyday lives.

Not willing to allow anyone else to drive the vehicle while my family is inside, I wave the attendant away, pull up to the front steps, and wait until everyone is out of the vehicle before handing him the keys.

The entire Vivaldi family stands at the top of the stairs, waiting to greet us, but all I see is Serenity. With her hair tied back and her shoulders bared, her throat looks like the perfect handhold for when I ravage her mouth later. I regret allowing her to wear a dress so revealing, because even though she’s tastefully covered, her curves could tempt a saint into sin.

I am no saint.

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