Page 72 of Mafia Bride (Arranged Marriage 8)

"Fine."

I blink. "What, no protesting?"

"Why should I? I’m coming with you."

"No, you’re not." I try to tug my hand from his, but he holds on. "You promised I could continue to audition for roles and follow my dream of becoming an actress."

"And you will, with me by your side."

"That’s not part of our bargain."

"It is now." He releases me and folds his fingers together. "I can conduct my business from anywhere, and I choose to do it from London for the time-being."

"I don’t want you with me."

"You’re my wife; we’re married. We’ll stay together."

"You needed to marry to keep your promise to Nonna, and you’ve done that. Why can’t you let me do my own thing now?"

"And make a mockery of Nonna’s intentions?" He shakes his head. "When she asked us to get married, it wasn’t about just exchanging rings and paying lip service to our vows. She meant having a marriage, in the real sense of the word."

"If you mean sex, I already told you, I’m not sleeping with you."

"Yet." Thebastardosmirks.

"Make that never."

"Never say never,Stellina."

"I wish you wouldn’t call me that. I am not exactly little, in case you haven’t noticed."

He drags his gaze down my chest, my waist, my hips, then back to my face. Color flushes my cheeks. "You are exquisite. Your curves are a siren call that haunts my every waking moment. Your ass, your tits, the way your waist flares to meet your hips is the harmony of my life."

"Oh." My flush deepens. My heart stutters. Pinpricks of heat stab my skin.No, no, no. I can’t allow myself to soften toward him.This is how he’s going to wear me down. This is how he’s going to seduce me. With words that arrow straight to my heart and cause me to forget my promise of putting my career first. Everything else pales in significance. I stare into his gray eyes, and a shudder wraps around my chest.

I turn away, grab my flute and throw back the rest of the prosecco. "I think we should leave for London tonight."

38

Massimo

I glance across the aisle to where my wife is fast asleep. She had thrown down the gauntlet by asking to leave for London right after dinner. Bet she hadn’t expected me to accept it.

We wrapped up dinner in the next half an hour, bid everyone goodbye, and then I ushered her out to the waiting car which took us back to her place. I told her to pack, and she was surprised, but recovered quickly. Meanwhile, I called the caretakers of my place in London and let them know to expect us. I didn’t need to pack, considering I have a completely functional home and wardrobe there. We swung by my place to pick up my passport, and then we drove to the airport. We boarded the plane, and she decided to sit separately from me. I didn’t stop her. She tried her best not to meet my gaze. The few times I caught her glancing at me, she blushed. No doubt, she’s recalling what happened the last time we boarded my private plane.

She fell asleep soon after. I asked for a blanket and covered her up. She snuggled into it with a mewling noise, and my dick instantly hardened. I stood over her, watching her sleep. Cheeks flushed, hair mused around her shoulders, her face pillowed on her palm. The same palm on which she wears my wedding ring on her finger. She belongs to me, whether she accepts it or not.

Right now, she sees our marriage as an irritant. A condition she had to accept to enable her to lead the kind of life she’s been preparing for her whole life. I have to make her see it’s possible to have both—a career and a family. Assuming she wants a family.

To see her pregnant with my child, to have the kind of life I’ve seen my brothers embrace—I would do anything to have that. To have her. I married her… Now, all I have to do is make sure she realizes I meant every word of the vows and of the toast I made earlier. I’m not into romantic gestures, but it felt important to me that she understand I'm going to take this marriage seriously. She’ll come around. She has to. I walked over to my seat on the other side of the aisle, and I’m not ashamed to say, I haven’t taken my gaze off her face since.

When I told my brothers of my decision to move to be with her, they weren’t surprised. Although it probably killed him, Michael didn’t take credit for putting the thought in my head. And my dumbass brothers avoided exchanging their bet money in my presence. Instead, like adults, we decided to work as seamlessly as possible by being in touch every day via video conferencing. It remains to be seen whether the arrangement will work, but I’m optimistic. Michael told me he reached out to our partner, JJ Kane, who’s based in London. JJ will be meeting with me to work out the details of our partnership in Trinity Enterprises, the company we co-own with the Kane company and the Bratva. So being based in London has its uses, after all. It seems like a win for everyone…

Except, I still didn’t have her trust and her love. Soon enough. I’ll have to bide my time. Surely, my actions will show her I don’t intend to come in the way of her dreams. And if I push things along to help her, well, that’s what a good husband does, after all. He makes sure that his wife lacks for nothing.

I lean my head back into the seat, and this time, when I close my eyes, sleep overcomes me. The scent of vanilla and coconut teases my senses. A soft brush across my lips, the touch of her knuckles over my cheek, the sweep of her hair against my chest. I crack open my eyes to find her moving away.

"Not so fast." I grab her wrist and tug. She overbalances and tumbles into my lap.

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