Page 129 of Made to Sin

I would know. I was his most susceptible victim.

IRUBBEDMYPALMACROSSmy face, letting out a big sigh.

The conversation with Dante replayed in my mind.

“Are you planning to marry Katarina?”

I looked up at him bewildered. “I told her I loved her yesterday. What are you on to be talking about marriage?”

“Get on with it. The other families are catching on to your feelings for her. They’re going to hit you where it hurts, and you don’t want that to be her.”

His reasoning was exactly why I didn’t want to associate with Katarina since the beginning. There was no room for weaknesses in theCosa Nostraif you wanted to survive. Unfortunately, she became my biggest one. It got to the extent where every time I left her alone, paranoia followed me until I saw her again.

It was fucking annoying.

“Wouldn’t marrying her put a target straight on her back?”

He crossed his arms, leaning against the blue-painted wall. “Yes, but she’ll have one sooner or later. At least, with marriage, she can be conferred as a Beneveti, and our men will protect her.”

I slammed my palms down on the wooden desk, angry at the fact that people would dare hurt a single cell in her body. I would personally kill any and every person who tried to take her from me.

“They’ll protect her under my command.”

Dantetskedarrogantly. “People are talking, Luciano. They say you’re going soft and wasting our resources on an outsider. Grow some balls and marry her. Problem solved.”

“Do you enjoy getting punched?” I asked, ready to walk over and do just that.

The fucker smirked, not caring about my threat, and saluted me before leaving my office. I threw my empty glass after him, but he left in time for it to shatter against the door instead.

Fuck, why did the one woman I loved have to despise everything I was made to be?

I promised her I wasn’t going to make her into another mob wife, and she might hate me for breaking it, but I rather have her hate me than not be in my life at all.

A gash tore through my heart, not sharing the same sentiment. I didn’t want her to hate me. Hell, I was on Cloud Nine when she told me she loved me.

But I knew better. A world she wasn’t in was a world I didn’t want to imagine. If I didn’t want anything to harm her, I had to listen to my cousin. Never in my life had I wished to hire a lesser man, but there I was, disliking the fucker for doing his job.

With a defeated sigh, I sent a text to Katarina to meet me for dinner. I didn’t care that this was for show, if I was going to propose to her, it was going to be something she could remember with a smile on her face.

Now, where the hell could I get a custom-made ring in three hours?

—

Turns out, money was the answer to every problem. Five million dollars later, a large custom pear-cut emerald ring that matched the necklace I gave her weighed down my pockets.

My last stop was the flower shop to pick up some rosesbecause she always smelled like roses. To be fair, I didn’t know the exact scent of roses, but that was what her shampoo labeled itself as, so I assumed.

Wanting to do this in the most natural sequence of events possible, I straightened my suit and knocked on the front door, pretending as if I didn’t live in the same house too.

Maria greeted me with a big grin. “SenhorBeneveti, what a surprise. She’ll be right out.”

I winked at the housekeeper, thankful she was playing along.

A few minutes later, the door opened again, and Katarina came out. Thank fuck I left the flowers for later because if I were to be holding anything, I would have dropped it.

My eyes greedily roamed the perfection that was her, not missing an inch. She was stunning in a short, blue dress that made me want to say screw the dinner and skip to when I could dine on her.

It almost slipped out when I saw the nude heels she had on, hinting at what was underneath the dress. Dragging my eyes up her body, I fixated on the deep cut of the cleavage. Or rather, the lack of what was covering them, confirming my suspicions.

---