Page 96 of Till Death Do Us Part

“This place is beautiful,” I whispered. “Are we getting married here?”

“Are you ready to become my wife?” Felice wrapped his arms around me, pulling me so tight against him, I almost couldn’t breathe.

I closed my eyes when he started to kiss and suck on my neck. He bit me and I sank my nails into his arm.

“Answer me, Roma.”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Are you ready to sign your name in blood?” He reached around and squeezed me between the legs. He didn’t hurt me, but I felt it through the layers.

I sucked in a breath and sighed it out. “Yes.”

He started to massage me through the sweatpants, and I felt like I was melting into his arms. “Bene,” he whispered in my ear, picking up the pressure and pace. “You’re beautiful. So fucking beautiful.” He sucked on my earlobe, and I shattered in his arms. He hadn’t even pulled my pants down.

It felt like all the blood had drained from my body, and I had no energy left. I wilted in his arms. He kept me upright.

“Take warm baths, go for long walks around the property, eat well,rilassarsi.”Relax, he’d breathed in my ear. “You’re going to need your strength.”

My eyes sprang open, and I whirled around after he let me go and was heading for the door. “Wait! Where are you going?”

“Business,” he said.

“You’re leaving me here alone?”

“I’ll be on the grounds. You’re safe.”

This was a huge place. I had no idea how to even leave. I would have to trust him completely.

Did I? With my safety…

I nodded. “How many days do I have to prepare? To relax?”

He grinned. “A week.”

He left me alone and shut the door.

Chapter33

Felice

I’d been up all night, having a meeting with my great-uncle and all his people. Decisions went through Sicily first before they moved to the states.

Whenever Tommaso retired or died, and I took his place, I wanted the agreement with Alfonso terminated.

He wasn’t going to keep fucking with Roma and have no consequences to pay for it. If he fucked with her, he fucked with me. And if I offed him now, Tommaso might sprout a wild hair and take it out on her instead of me again. Him ordering her car to be rammed was still fresh in my mind.

My great-uncle listened to and absorbed the information. He didn’t give me a definite answer at the end of our meeting, but I wasn’t surprised. Sometimes it took him time to come to a decision.

We all stood when Dr. Sala and his two great-nephews by marriage, Rocco and Romeo Fausti, appeared with Mario, the man who took care of the property. Mario used his hand to motion to us, and the three men approached our table. We all shook hands, and my great-uncle decided to stay longer.

I’d met Rocco and Romeo before, but I didn’t know them that well. The important thing to remember was, even if all decisions went through Sicily, the Fausti family knew about them. They didn’t involve themselves in petty shit, but when things really went south, they’d show up. Other times, they liked to share a meal and talk.

I invited them to have a seat and we all sat around the table. We were in an open area of thecastello. Every so often a breeze would sweep through. I could smell the citrus orchard and the sea. Something else tangled in the air and was getting stronger with every footstep. Roses.

All the men stood when Brando Fausti and his wife, Scarlett, walked up to the table. I hadn’t met either one, but I knew them by reputation. Roma had told me all about Scarlett when we were supposed to go to the ballet.

Scarlett Rose Fausti was a superstar in that world, and somewhat of a legend in ours. Supposedly she could feel what other people couldn’t. I didn’t put much stock in it, but because of it, she became a target in our world.

---