Page 52 of Consequences
It doesn’t take long, thank fuck, before everyone is set. There are long glances between people, but I don’t pay it any mind.Considering Lio is sporting a visible erection, I know my little display in the office has him ready for some fun after this. It makes me wonder how far I can push my Little One first.
As the Amatos leave, Cristian lets one finger trail against my hand, and it’s enough. It’s recognition. I hope he understands just how much he’s claimed. We are still the Amatos and the Martellis, but fuck if anyone tries to hurt him.
Allies…that word has changed. I’m still not willing to merge, like the rest of my family seems to prefer, but I have no desire to leave my Sweetheart alone. No, Tennant had better get used to it. Cristian is mine.
Hopefully, we can make it home before the bloodshed starts. I don’t want to travel with a dead body.
The tension between Tennant and Cristian is thick enough to choke on, and I wish I could have ridden with Roman and the others. But, not only is it not safe logistics-wise, the death grip Cristian has on my hand wouldn’t let me leave.
Sitting next to my husband, as he faces off with his best friend, is… Uncomfortable is not a strong enough word.
“I think,” Tennant says slowly, his voice void of all emotion, even the conversational tone he likes to use when he’s fucking with someone. “You need to tell us what happened in your office this morning.”
Cristian sighs, an exasperated sound, like he’s already tired of Ten’s shit. “We…connected. You know how difficult things have been for me since returning. The…panic, the nightmares,the dread that something is going to happen to him. When he showed up this morning, it was to support me. Things…escalated, and we kissed.”
Tennant’s ice blue eyes narrow. “That doesn’t explain why he thinks he can just claim you like that. He hasnoright, Cris. None.”
“What do you want me to say, Ten? Something happened when we were locked in that cell. We connected on a level I cannot explain, and it’s been building ever since. I didn’t expect it. I haven’t even looked at another man in the past eleven years, but there’s something about him…”
I squeeze my husband’s hand and he looks at me, his dark eyes full of pain and need, and…something I’d rather not think about yet. Not with Il Padrone’s taste still on my lips, and the feel of his body against mine…
“I’m sorry, Caro,” Cris says, his tone softening as he reaches for my face with his free hand. He caresses my scar and I sigh, closing my eyes.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about, Honey. I just want you to be okay, and if Il Padrone makes you happy then?—”
“Then nothing!” Tennant exclaims. “You can’t really be considering this, Carter? Consideringhim?”
“I believe this is between me and my husband, Ten,” Cristian says in a cold tone, one I never thought I’d hear directed at Tennant.
“Mi hai promesso per sempre. When I killed for you. When you saved me. It’s been you and me for over thirty years, Cris. When you had Roman, we raised him together. When you fell in love, I was there, keeping this Family together when the truth came out… When I claimed Hollis, and later Roman and Jude, you were there keeping the monster at bay so I could be with them.
“Il Padrone…he is not like us. He doesn’t understand. You saw what happened today. He wants to take you away from me.” Tennant’s icy eyes glow as the emotions he claims he doesn’t have burn him from the inside out.
A lump forms in my throat as I empathize with him. For someone so closed off with his emotions, who doesn’t trust easily… this is going to kill him.
Cristian lets go of my hand and, heedless of the moving vehicle, changes seats, sitting next to Tennant.
“What we have will never change, Ten,” he says. “Nothing and no one will ever be able to get between us. We’ve been through too much for that. But…I need you to work with me here. You took what wasn’t yours. You claimed Benjamin in a manner you never should have touched.”
Tennant grimaces. “He’s mine. Hewantsto be mine. No matter what Ignacio or Il Padrone say or do, that will never change.”
“If you want him, you have to live by their rules…”
“And I’ve accepted that!” he shouts.
I flinch, as never, in all my years of knowing Ten, have I ever heard him raise his voice before.
“But I will not let that asshole think that just because you want to bend over for him, it means he can own you. You arenothis. And even if you were, you will still always be mine.”
“Do not,” Cristian says lowly. He reaches out, moving faster than most, and grabs Ten by the throat.
Tennant moves as well, sliding his knife up between them, the blade easily cutting through Cristian’s shirt and pressing against his skin.
“What I do with my husband, and with Allesandro, has nothing to do with you. Maybe, if you didn’t take what wasn’t yours, he wouldn’t goad you so much.”
“He’s a fucking asshole,” Tennant growls. His arm flexes, and though I can’t see it from this angle, I imagine the tip of his blade has pierced Cristian’s flesh.
“So are you, which probably says a lot about me and my choices, hmm?”
