Page 54 of Heartless Vows

I remember where I’ve seen him before. He chaperoned a group of mafia elite children to specialty summer camps over a decade ago.

Aurora must have chosen him for his expertise. I silently approve of her selection. He’ll keep Tristan safe, no matter what threats they face throughout the day. My respect for him grows when he greets Tristan with the same respect he showed me.

As Aurora says goodbye to Tristan with an extra admonishment and a warning to behave, longing lodges withinmy throat and constructs my airway. I yearn to watch Aurora care for our children with such love, but the concept feels a bit too abstract and far away, so the thought of being included in their rote morning activities fills me with a stronger sense of envy.

She shuts the door and waves as the SUV drives away. Long after it disappears from view, she keeps her back to me. I use the time to sort through my emotions and tuck them away for later before focusing on the next endeavor.

This one will be much more carnal. Nothing will stop me from enjoying every inch of my bride-to-be. After today, she’ll be Aurora Vivaldi in every way except name.

Maybe we shouldn’t wait a full four months to make it official. We signed prenups without our parents’ knowledge. What’s stopping us from going down to the courthouse and signing other documents?

I dismiss the idea. Aurora deserves the most lavish wedding in the history of New York City.

The fury on her face when she turns to me is not the expression I expect.

“Do you need anything from inside the house?” I ask before she speaks.

She closes her mouth and sets her lips in a mutinous line as she shakes her head. I open the passenger door and offer to help her inside, but when she refuses and tries to avoid touching me, I grab her and pin her against the back door with my bulk.

Her silky hair and soft lips prove too tempting. I weave my digits into her locks and kiss her with bruising force, but I need her too much to hold back. After a moment of shock, she gives as fiercely as she gets, grabbing my waist and digging her nails into my flesh through my shirt. Her anger merges with desperation, pulling a groan from my chest. My cock tests the strength of my trouser seams and need draws my balls up close to my body.

I pull away with a curse, yank her hands off me, grab her by the nape, and push her into her seat, protecting her head from hitting the doorframe by covering it with my arm.

Her wide eyes feed my hunger as I close the door. I stalk around the hood, wedge myself behind the wheel, and pull out of the driveway before we have a truly X-rated moment in front of her familial home.

She adjusts the air control dial, aims her vents at her face, leans back, and closes her eyes. I settle my hand on her thigh. She stiffens and directs a glare at my face.

“Do you know how hard I’ve worked to keep Tristan away from all that shit? How could you offer to teach him how tokillpeople? He’s eight! He’ll take you seriously!”

“Iwasserious.”

“No. You can’t. I don’t want you to.”

I snuff my initial response after a glance at her expression. When I reach for her hand, she moves it away, but I lean further and grab her wrist.

“I know you want to protect him. I do, too.”

“No, you just want to corrupt him,” she snaps.

“How long do you think he’ll survive as a mafia kingpin without what I can teach him?”

She presses her other hand to her eyes and takes a deep breath through gritted teeth.

“I graduated from high school early, earned an associate’s degree in business management, am a semester away from earning my bachelor’s in computer science, and make almost a million dollars online annually.”

Heavy silence fills the car as I process her words.

I wish I could tell her how proud and in awe I am of her, but the topic jump fills me with foreboding.

“Why? Why have you pushed yourself so hard for so long?”

I already know, but I need to hear her say it.

“I was going to run away with him. I’d buy us both new identities and hide somewhere far, far away from my family. We’d escape the mafia and live a long, carefree life without all the danger.”

“When were you planning to disappear on me?” I snarl.

“What? No, I can’t go anymore. When my mother told me I was getting married, I knew I’d fucked up by waiting too long. I can’t leave, but maybe I can still find somewhere safe for Tristan.”

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