Page 78 of Bratva Bride

"Good. Because I'm ready to fucking kill something."

We all turned at the sound of a new voice. Arturo stood at the door, bloody and bandaged, his multi-coloured eyes blazing with anger as he stared into the room.

My heart immediately started beating faster at the sight of him. Even beaten and bloody he was still the most beautiful man I'd ever laid eyes on.

"Arturo," I breathed, moving to him.

His eyes scanned my body, relief flashing on his face to see me unharmed."Ciao, moglie."Hello, wife.

Before I even had a chance to respond, his lips were on mine. He kissed me like he hadn't seen me in days, with a fervour and passion I had never seen before, never experienced. I felt my body heat up as he pulled me closer to him, my blood boiling with desire. His tongue dipped into my mouth, his taste overwhelming all my thoughts, all my senses.

I moaned in pleasure, my hands moving to grip onto his thick, muscular shoulders for support. I deepened the kiss, our tongues dancing together in unrefined passion. It was the most intoxicating sensation I had ever experienced. And then, it was over.

Arturo stepped back and gave me that sly motherfucking grin that always made me hot. His eyes snapped to Alessandro and my father, who stood in the centre of the room.

"When do we leave?"

ChapterNineteen

Arturo De Luca

"Ireally don't think it's a good idea." Illayana pursed her lips as she watched me with disapproval.

We had been arguing for the better part of an hour and we still weren't making any progress. I wanted to join the hunting party tonight that's going out to get our guns. She wanted me to stay here and rest, to let my body heal itself from the injuries I sustained after the explosion.

I could see her point, could see she was just concerned for me. But that was something she'd just have to get used to. I’d be head of the Cosa Nostra soon, which meant my life was going to be in constant danger. Better she get familiar with that feeling now as opposed to later.

"I understand," I said, slowly unwrapping the bandage from around my torso.

I sat comfortably on the edge of her bed, Illayana sitting with her legs crossed on the floor directly in front of me. Her long, dark hair was up in a high ponytail and she was wearing a pair of black tights with a loose fitting top. She looked just as beautiful now as she did walking down the aisle.

Fuck, it's my wedding night.

"I don't think you do. Your body has just gone through a major trauma. The last thing you need to do is more fighting."

I groaned and had to refrain from rolling my eyes. Even I knew that rolling your eyes at a woman was just asking for trouble. "I know. You've said all this."

I tossed the used bandage to the side and began applying more antiseptic cream to my wounds. In truth, I wasn't that badly injured. Just some grazing and pretty intense bruising. My body ached whenever I move (not that I'd tell Illayana that) and I had a mild headache, but that was it. It looked a lot worse than it actually was. Which was why I think she was so determined to keep me here.

"Then maybe you should fucking listen," she snapped.

I arched an eyebrow, secretly enjoying that sassy attitude more than I cared to admit. "Looks like someone put their cranky pants on this morning," I mumbled, wrapping a new round of bandages around my torso.

She scoffed, stretching her long legs out in front of her. "If you think this is me cranky, you're in for a fucking surprise."

Okay, that didn't sound good.

The safest thing I could think of to do was change the subject. It was clear we weren't going to solve this problem anytime soon. Unless she decided to finally listen to me.

Fucking doubtful.

We still had a couple of hours to kill before we were scheduled to leave. Nikolai and Lorenzo were monitoring the GPS feed in case they moved positions and we needed to readjust our plan.

I pushed off the bed, slinking down to the ground in front of Illayana and leaned back against the mattress. She watched me cautiously, her arctic blue eyes scanning my body for any sign of pain or discomfort.

Nice try, kotenok. I'm not going to make it that easy for you.

"Tell me about Dominik. I know there's an interesting story there."

---