Page 7 of From Dust To Don

As soon as I walked back inside, she stood up, her expression telling me that whatever conversation she had with herself while I was downstairs had just worsened her mood.

She watched me as I closed the door behind me and took my suit jacket off. It was as if those jade eyes had beams burning a hole through the back of my skull.

I hung the jacket behind the door before taking off my vest and started unbuttoning my shirt, feeling the tension in the air growing by the second.

“No, no, no. What the hell are you doing?” Finally, she spoke.

“Getting ready for bed. It’s quite late already.”

“I am not sleeping here. Take me home right now.” She demanded in a tone that didn’t doubt her authority.

“You are home, cara mia. I know it’s a long way to that gigantic manor you’re used to, but it will have to do for now.” I took off my shirt and turned to face her.

Her eyes dipped down to take in my naked chest, while her cheeks turned red at the sight. I couldn’t help the smirk that spread my lips. She was bold and demanding one minute, only to blush and embarrass the next.

“I am not sleeping in the same bed as you.” She tried again, her voice coming out weaker this time, as if she was struggling to hold up that sword of hers. “If you’re forcing me to stay, at least be a gentleman and take the floor.”

“I’m not a gentleman, Wife. Besides, you should get used to it.” I took a step forward, stalking her while she moved back until her ass hit the wall. “I’m your husband, and that means I can take you whenever I want.”

Elena gasped, her mouth falling open and oh so fucking tempting.

“Now if you’re finished fighting this, get your fucking clothes off and get in the bed. Lose the damn signet ring or I’m ripping it off your neck.”

That fucking thing had no business to be nestled between her breasts. Nothing Bartolini was coming anywhere near her breasts. My vision blurred at the idea while jealousy twisted my gut into a knot that would take a murder and a generous amount of blood to untie. His, of course.

I turned away from her, leaving her practically fused to the wall in shock before I pulled my pants off and took my place in the bed. She stood there for a while, collecting her thoughts or maybe picturing what was about to happen. Something in her look told me she was at a loss.

“Today, Elena.” I urged her.

“At least turn around so I can have some privacy.”

“I’ve seen naked women before. There’s no need to hide.”

“I bet you have. But you’ve never seen me naked, and I’ve never had a man watch me undress. So, could you please allow me this?” Something about being the first to see her naked made my chest fill with pride.

Of course, Elena was a sheltered little Mafia princess. Her father would have made sure she was pure, untouched, and probably even unaware of the most basic notions about sex.

It made her that much more enticing.

I placed my hands behind my head and laid there with my eyes closed, relishing in the fucking picture of innocence Elena had just carved into my brain. She was the daughter of an enemy and my obsession. Corrupting her would come at great and double pleasure.

Before I could finish the fantasy in my mind, I felt the mattress dip as Elena took her place in the bed. Her small, fragile frame shivered under the covers that she had pulled up and tucked under her chin.

I wasn’t sure if she was cold or scared, but I could fix both, so I started with the latter. “I am not going to force you to do anything, Elena.”

“You just forced me to marry you.”

“That was different.” I clipped, my tone dipping into murderous at the image of her marrying someone else but me. “I couldn’t let anyone else have you. Besides, would you really prefer to marry that asshole, Bartolini?”

“It’s not about preference. I’d prefer to have a choice, and either way, I didn’t.”

“That didn’t answer my question,” I grunted straight into her ear, trying as hard as I could to keep my body from touching hers. “Would you have preferred him?”

Fuck, I didn’t want to know the answer.

Elena shivered again, the whole freaking bed shaking to the rhythm of her body while she kept her silence and didn’t answer me.

She fucking preferred him.

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