Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83776 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83776 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“You should’ve run right away,” he says, glaring when I get in beside him. “Did you really kill the bastard?”
“It’s war. You better start driving.”
Emilio sighs and hits the gas.
Santoro won’t miss Joey, but he’ll get the message: we’re coming for him. And now I have my next target.
I take a long, hot shower to get all the blood off me. I burned my clothes in the back yard and I’ll bury the ashes in the morning. I’m sure Simon already got word of my near-miss and he’ll have something to say about it, but I don’t care. I scrub to get all the blood from my fingernails.
Stefania’s waiting for me by the sinks when I get out. She glances at my naked, dripping body, and I know my wife likes what she sees, but she doesn’t move closer.
“Should I get back in there? Do you want to join me?” I ask, a teasing smile on my face.
“No, thanks.” She throws a towel at me. “Elena just called.”
I groan and look at the ceiling. My fucking siblings. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”
“She said you nearly got caught. She said you were being reckless. Davide—”
“I’m fucking fine.” I wrap the towel around my waist. It’s a shame, because I’d love to fuck my wife right now, especially with all the adrenaline from that kill still rolling in my veins. “It was a calculated risk.”
“That’s not the story I heard.”
“You shouldn’t be hearing anything at all,” I say and brush past her into the room. I start getting dressed, annoyed that my siblings are talking about me behind my back and second-guessing my decisions. Emilio’s going to get some shit for telling them about this.
“You have to take care of yourself,” Stefania says. I pause, my shirt halfway on, and slowly pull it down before turning to face her.
She bites her lip and I swear on my life, she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Not only is she immensely fuckable, but she cares about me in a way I’ve never experienced before. My sisters give me shit for taking risks, and my brothers shout me down when I go too far, but Stefania is genuinely worried about my well-being.
All day when Dad was first in the hospital, she sat by my side. Even when I didn’t want to talk, didn’t even want to look anyone in the eye, when I was at my lowest, deepest in self-revulsion, she was there. And through it, she helped my family, tried to comfort my mother, she did everything a good wife should do—no, she did more, she did what a good person should do.
She stepped up, and I fell for her so fucking hard in that hospital waiting room.
And now I feel myself falling all over again.
“Come here, wife,” I say very gently.
“How about you promise to take it easy first?” She crosses her arms, glaring at me.
I take a step closer. “Dolcezza, I’m not asking. Come here.”
“Davide—”
I reach out and grab her arm. She sucks in a breath as I yank her close and bury her mouth with mine. I kiss her and drink her in, I fucking feast on her, because she’s the first person to really care about me when she doesn’t have to.
My family is stuck with me. They have no choice but to give a shit.
But Stefania has agency, even if she doesn’t realize it, and she’s choosing me.
Which makes me need her that much more.
My tongue invades her mouth and I blister her with a searing kiss, sealing my fate.
“What was that for?” she asks when I pull back. She’s breathing hard and I can tell she wants more.
“I’m not making any promises,” I say, my thumb brushing her kiss-puckered lips. God, the filthy, fucked-up things I’m going to do to those lips. “But I want you to know that I have every intention in the world of coming back to you every night.”
She looks away. “Is that enough?”
“It’s more than enough.” I make her look back at me. “You are more than enough.”
Her eyes go wide like she doesn’t believe me. “You’re just trying to get me in bed.”
“No, baby. I’m trying to make you understand. I’m going to kill every single man that works for Santoro, and then I’m going to burn him alive just like he nearly got me roasted when I was a child, but I’m not suicidal. I want to live, baby, and I want to live with you.”
She closes her eyes. They’re tear-rimmed and sparkling when she opens them again.
“You mean that?”
“I mean that. And I’m also trying to get you in bed.”
She laughs and hits my chest, and I kiss her again, because I’ve had enough talking. Now I want to fuck my wife until she understands how much I want to live, and how alive she makes me feel.