Page 53 of Born into Mayhem
I nod, unable to deny him such a small request, not when he’s giving me such an earnest look and making me believe this actually means something to him.
“Try not to stab my parents,” he says right before he grins and lets me go.
Knowing we’re officially starting the charade, I open the car door and step out as Mia Alessi. Smiling, I look at my new in-laws as Dario leads me closer. Before I can say anything, he leans down and kisses his mom on both cheeks.
“Ciao, Mamma,” he tells her, and the hard look she usually wears softens at the sight of her oldest son. She reaches up and pats his cheek.
“What are they feeding you in America? Have you lost weight?” She runs her eyes over him, checking to make sure he looks okay, but she must think I’m already failing at this whole wife thing because she turns her eyes to me and all the softness leaves her face at the sight of me. Her eyes are a much lighter brown than Dario’s, but they’re just as piercing.
“You remember, Mia, of course,” Dario tells his parents. He looks down and gives me a reassuring smile that bolsters my confidence as I face his mom and dad.
“It’s good to see you both again,” I tell them.
Salvatore is the kind of man who used to be a wall of muscle but age and a decreasing self-control has left him with the kind of body that’s now more soft than hard. His hands are riddled with arthritis, but even though they must cause him near constant pain, he still smiles and pulls me in for a hug.
“Let’s make everyone believe this, right?” he whispers in my ear. His accent is thicker than his sons’, and I know the only reason he’s being so nice is because this is all fake.
Maria, on the other hand, is having a harder time embracing her inner actress. She’s short and much smaller than her husband, but one look at her face makes it clear she’s no pushover. This woman has a spine of steel, and the smile she manages is much smaller than the one Salvatore gave me. The hug is as warm as her demeanor, and it lasts all of two seconds before she’s pushing me away and taking a step back. She hisses something to Dario in fast Italian, and whatever it is it has him putting a protective arm around me and pulling me against the comforting warmth of his strong body while he answers her in an equally low whisper. I have no idea what they’re saying, but it’s obviousshe’s not singing my praises to her son. Dario lets loose one more gorgeous string of Italian that has her straightening her already ramrod straight spine and lowering her eyes in resignation.
“Welcome to our home,” she says to me in heavily accented English, and it’s the least warm welcome I’ve ever been given, but it’s better than nothing, so I give her an easy smile and say, “Thank you, Maria. It’s absolutely gorgeous here.”
The beauty of the place is undeniable, and when I take another breath, filling my lungs with the sweet scent of the flowers that surround us, I add, “These are the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen. They smell amazing.”
I see a small hint of approval at my compliment as Dario says, “Mammaplanted all of this, didn’t you?”
She gives me a begrudging nod, and I file the information away for later. If I ever want to get on her good side, I’ll just compliment her gardening skills.
“Well, it looks amazing,” I say, trying to score myself a couple more brownie points while she’s in a good mood. Before I can get crazy with it, Dario says something to them in Italian before tightening his grip on me and leading me away from them.
“What are we doing?” I ask.
“I want to show you something before we go inside.” Threading his fingers through mine, he leads me onto a footpath that circles around the house.
“I was right about your parents hating me,” I tell him as we walk.
“They don’t hate you.”
“Oh yeah? Then you won’t mind telling me what your mom said in Italian. It didn’t sound very nice, judging from your angry response.”
He looks down at me and says, “It was nothing,streghetta mia.”
“Oh, it was definitely something. Never mind, I’ll just get it out of you later.”
“You think so?”
“I know so,” I tell him right before he pulls me around the corner so I can see where he’s been leading me. The panoramic view of the seastuns me into silence. Flowers cover the back of the house as well, and their sweet scent wafts over us as I take a second to appreciate the fairytale world I’ve stepped into. The yard is manicured and extends far beyond us and off to the sides, there’s an infinity pool that’s situated to look like it’s right at the edge of the cliff, and I can see the beginning of a stone path that stretches out into a grove of olive trees.
Dario pulls me closer and cups my face, forcing my attention back to him. “You know so?” he asks, reminding me of our conversation.
“Yep.”
Dario might come from wealth and hold a high position in his family’s mafia, but he has the hands of a man who’s worked his entire life. Years of training and fighting have ensured his hands will never have the smooth feel of someone who’s lead a pampered life. The feel of those hard-earned callouses always makes my body react in the best way possible.
“Your pussy is not a bargaining chip,piccola vipera.”
“You don’t think so?”
He lets out an annoyed grunt that just sounds sexy coming from him and then picks me up, walking me over to a stone wall before setting my ass on it. He steps in closer. Wrapping my ponytail around his wrist, he forces my head back while barricading me in place. To anyone watching, it would look rough, but he’s only pulling hard enough to raise my face to his, making sure he has my full attention.
