“You’re fine right where you are. As for the creeper shadow, he isn’t discriminating one way or the other. I get out of line or you do, doesn’t much matter to him. He will go after the ones I love or you love. I think he was created so we stick it out no matter what. Maybe that’s so the Saldi line has a chance to continue. Who knows? There was a portion of the myth cut off in the place I found it, an old library. The keeper of the library wouldn’t give me any more. I was considering making a trip to Sicily, but I couldn’t leave Giuseppi. I had to deal with Miceli and then strengthen our position in the organization again. And I had to get you back.”
The way he said that he had to get her back, his tone low, shimmering over her skin like velvet, his lips in her hair, sent the familiar weakness through her body. A fist of dark desire low in her belly, a melting sensation in her chest, around her heart. It was so difficult to love Valentino Saldi and know he had only to look at her a certain way, use a certain tone, and she would be hard-pressed to resist him.
“We have to show that to Stefano.”
He gave a little groan. “I knew you were going to say that. Your family has its own secrets, Emmanuelle. I know that women like Grace or Nicoletta don’t come along every single day. Vittorio told the world he was engaged to Grace after she was shot and he went to the hospital with her. There were many instances of him being photographed with other women over the year he claimed they were in a relationship. He said that was to throw the press off so they could have time alone. I didn’t believe it for a minute. He claimed her once he realized her shadow was different. Clearly, your family doesn’t claim their women in the same way, but it is still a claiming. A taking.”
Emmanuelle was silent. He was absolutely correct. They didn’t imprison other riders with ropes, but they were tied together, and if broken apart, the consequences were severe. Not death and destruction, but still severe. The difference was the consequences were severe for the riders; they didn’t affect the loved ones. There was no death sentence hanging over their loved ones. Was it wrong to expect Valentino to expose his family secrets to Stefano when she wasn’t about to tell him the Ferraro family secrets? At least not all of them? That was so unfair. And if she was with Val, shouldn’t he command her loyalty?
“This is so complicated, Val.” She heaved a sigh. Valentino and Stefano were both powerful men, and both ruled powerful, dangerous families. “We could use help figuring out that evil force of mayhem and destruction.”
“I’d like to see what the little fucker does when you make your full commitment to me, Emmanuelle. Maybe he’ll stop trying to get loose. I throw ropes on him as fast as I can, tying him up along with your shadow, but I can’t always get to you. You make it difficult.”
“I don’t know if I can live your life, Valentino. You haven’t said what kind of wife you want. Not really.”
“I have told you, woman. You’re just not listening. I don’t expect you to be anything you’re not, Emme. Stop stalling. You’re afraid. That’s why you ran in the first place. Initially, you may have believed I was cheating, but then it was an excuse because you didn’t want to face leaving your family and joining mine.”
He was right. That was true. From the time she was born, she’d been taught the Saldi family were the enemies of the Ferraro family. The feud dated back well over a hundred years, when the Saldis, corrupt with power, had tried to massacre the Ferraro family.
“It’s just that you’re offering me so much, Valentino. A war. The wife of the head of one of five crime families in Chicago. A creepy shadow that may want to kill every member of my family and yours and we don’t know how to stop it. Women throwing themselves at you all the time. I’ve got to pretend around your men that I’m some piece of fluff. Not certain how you’re going to treat me in front of them, but I have experienced your icy-cold don’t-give-a-damn mask more times than I care to count. On top of that, you’ve made it pretty clear you don’t want me riding shadows in my rotation for my family, which is what I do. What matters to me. I don’t know, honey, why I’m hesitating committing to all that goodness stacked right in front of me. Must be the riches you’ve dangled in front of me because I’m such a material kind of girl.”
“You didn’t mention Dario. He’s always a plus to have around,” Valentino pointed out. “Did you make your pro and con lists? You always make out lists, Emmanuelle. Surely, there were some pros.”
“You’re a great kisser. And the sex is off the charts. I thought about making you my number one sex companion. Just spend nights with you and then head home. We could be like the Hollywood glam couples who never get married but go everywhere together and look gorgeous. You are gorgeous. That was on the plus side. Dario was not. Your bodyguards weren’t on the plus side, either. I have enough of those of my own.”
“I don’t want you to want me for sex, Emme, but I’ll take that if that’s all I’ve got on the plus side.”
“You do annoy the crap out of my mother. That was up right at the top.” She laughed softly and then tipped her face up to brush kisses along his jaw because she detested the note of hurt in his voice. “No one is sweeter to me than you when you want to be. No one. No one listens to me or knows me better than you in spite of the fact that I complain that you don’t listen. I know you do.”
His arms tightened around her, holding her to him. “I’m still hearing that ‘but’ in your voice, Princess. You’ve got to tell me what’s really holding you back. Why you didn’t come to me. Why you would rather contemplate an arranged marriage than be with me. Don’t give me bullshit this time, Emmanuelle. Fucking be honest so we can work this out.”
She detested looking so childish in front of him. He was always so strong and confident, and she was back to being that silly teenage girl. She wasn’t. She was Emmanuelle Ferraro. Everywhere she went, she had confidence in herself—or so it looked. She was wealthy, beautiful, poised—she had that act down to perfection, but who could keep it up night and day?
“Emmanuelle.” Valentino caught her chin and turned her face up to his, forcing her eyes to meet his. “Baby, talk to me. This is me.”
“That makes it worse, not better.” She wished she could take back the admission as soon as it escaped. He was too intelligent. He knew her too well, and there was nowhere to hide from him. His dark green gaze moved over her face, seeing too much. She tried to veil her expression with her lashes, but she knew it was far too late when his features darkened and he swore softly.
“Talk to me, Emme.”
That was an order. Pure Valentino Saldi, head of the Saldi family. He sounded just as scary as Stefano, if not more so. She was used to obeying that tone. There was comfort in hearing that particular tone, weird as that sounded.
She shook her head, and she looked away from his eyes. “I don’t want to be with you when I know I love you so much more than you love me, Val. I hate that you can control me through the way I feel about you. I do everything wrong. Living with me, you’re going to see that. Because you don’t have the same crazy feelings I do for you, it’s going to matter down the line. All my shortcomings are going to annoy you until you won’t be able to stand looking at me, even being in the same room with me. That shadow won’t deter you from having affairs. Nothing will. In the long run, I’ll never be good enough.”