Page 42 of Cherished Union

“You’re kind of amazing,” she tells me, and I chuckle. “Don’t let it go to your head though, Hay.”

“By kind of, you mean I am.”

She turns to look at me, and I see the bright smile on her face. “You are totally amazing,” she says breathlessly.

“Keep that up, Dove, and I’ll have you bent over the couch and will be drilling you within seconds.”

Her eyes dilate, her breathing deepens, and she squirms on the couch. “Hay,” she whispers. “Vivi’s outside.”

“I know, I can hear her, and if you don’t want her hearing you come, behave.” I press a kiss against her head. “I’ll order take out for dinner tonight. Mam wants us to join them for dinner next week.”

“Sounds good. You know I adore your mom. She’s amazing, just like her son.”

Fuck me, this woman has me falling deeper for her every fucking day.

“I want your mouth wrapped around my cock tonight, Dove,” I say low, and her eyes close and she nods. My cock tightens at the thought of her luscious lips around my cock. “If you behave, you can choose what you want tonight; bindings, blindfold, clamps…” I trail off, letting her get the, point and I watch as she smirks.

“Plugged, blindfolded, clamped, and bound,” she whispers, and I swallow hard.

Fuck, she’s definitely made for me.

Now I have to wait until Vivi’s asleep before I can claim my wife. We don’t need her thirteen-year-old sister being scarred for life.

CHAPTER15

ADELINA

Ten weeks later

“Addie,” Vivi calls as I walk outside. She’s currently lying on the sun lounger, enjoying the heat. “Are you busy?”

The past ten weeks have been amazing. The club in Indianapolis opened last month and we sold out every single ticket within the first week of advertising. Hayden told me he wasn’t surprised, that he knew I had the brains to do anything I put my mind to, and that it wasn’t a fluke that it succeeded; it was down to my hard work and research. Since then, the club has been filled to capacity every night.

Callie made true on her word and flew to Indianapolis to be with me for the launch. She even brought Denis with her. I was surprised to find my brothers there, along with Jade, Hayes, and Annemarie, who’s pregnant and glowing. When I arrived home from the long night, I was shocked to find not one, but three bunches of flowers. One from Hayden, which were gorgeous white lilies and red roses. It was by far the biggest bouquet I’d ever seen. The other two came from Edwina and Makenna, both wanting to wish me good luck and tell me that they can’t wait to come to the club as they know it’ll be amazing.

Being away from my family has been hard, but I’ve found a new one with the Gallaghers. Hayden has made me realize just how unloving the Gallo family are. Thankfully, Nonna has been calling a lot more lately and Vivi and I speak with her at least twice a week. She knows what’s happened and she’s pissed. She wants to come out to Indiana to visit, and Hayden’s promised to make it happen.

“Never for you,” I tell her, and watch as she smiles at me, pushing her glasses on top of her head. “What’s up?” I ask her as I take a seat in the lounge beside her.

“I’ve gotten my grades up,” she begins, and I have an idea where this is going. “I want to go to school, Addie, to be around other kids my own age.”

I sigh. I had a feeling this would be brought up sooner or later. She excels while being homeschooled, yet she’s feeling isolated, and I hate that for her. But at the same time, I don’t want her going to a school where our parents could get to her.

My parents haven’t left me alone. In the past month, they have been blowing up my cell, demanding that I send Vivi home to them. They’re losing face with the men as Rocco takes over. Everything that needs to be done, it’s delegated to Rocco. My brother is now leading the famiglia, and it’s only a matter of time before the men know he’s the boss. My mom has been pleading for me to send Vivi back to her, and that’s not something I’ll ever allow.

Since moving in with Hayden, I’ve watched my sister blossom. She’s happy. She’s finally able to be the person she is without recriminations. She’s also been open and honest with me about everything she witnessed and overheard while we lived at home. Our father used to beat Dario until he got older and stronger, but when I got engaged he found a new source for his rage—me. Our mother knew what was happening and never did anything about it, so I’ll be damned if I let them try to take Vivi so he can unleash his anger on her.

“Can you talk to Hayden and see what he thinks?” Vivi asks me softly.

Not wanting to disappoint her, I nod. “Of course I will. But you have to understand that when I do speak with him, I’ll have to tell him about what’s been happening, don’t you?”

She sighs. “He’ll go crazy, Addie,” she says, telling me something I already know. “If he finds out that you’ve been keeping secrets from him, he’ll be angry.”

I nod. “That may be so, but I did what I thought was best. Hayden’s been busy and we’re only just married.”

She rolls her eyes. “You’re ridiculously in love.”

I am. I love Hayden. There was no way of stopping myself from falling in love with him. I’ve only ever seen one side to him, and I love that he keeps the darkness away from Vivi and I. He does everything he can to stop the ugliness of his world from touching us. It shows me that he cares for me, and I’m more than okay with knowing that. I don’t need declarations of love. I just need to know that we’re happy.

---