“What about you?”
“I knew I had to have you. The very first moment I saw you, I knew.” It’s not a lie, but I will leave the other part out for now. The part where I wanted nothing from her than to use her for my revenge. Soon she’ll discover that all of this was nothing, a facade, and by then, she’ll be trapped, married, and bound by a vow and blood. Just like the mafia, there is no out in marriage, there is only death.
I want to ask her what she thought of me the second time she saw me, the time I stole her away from her father and everything she ever knew, but I already know the answer to that. I know she hated me and feared me in equal parts.
She hasn’t looked like that at me in a while. Her fear and hatred have turned into trust and calmness. It’s what I expected, what I had hoped for, but what I didn’t see coming is how much I would enjoy it.
I can’t help but wonder if I could somehow have both. Could I get my revenge on her father without breaking her trust, without breaking that fragile bond that has formed between us? The fact that I will eventually kill her father tells me, no, but maybe if she was in love with me, if I turned her against her father completely? I could keep this, whatever it is going on between us.
We’ve floated to the center of the pool. Elena uses me as a life preserver, her fingers wrapped around my biceps. Her eyes dart down into the water, and when she looks up, I see panic at the edges of her eyes.
“If I drown, I will come back as a ghost and haunt you.” She smiles nervously.
“Haunt me, huh?” I cock a brow and start to pull away a little. “You have to have more faith in yourself. After all, you’re going to be a Moretti, and we never fail at anything we put our minds to.”
Her nails rake across my skin as she tries to grasp onto me, but I slip away. She moves her legs a little faster, treading water so she can stay afloat. I would never let her drown, but I want her to trust herself, trust that she can do this.
“I’m not a good swimmer, Julian.” She blinks slowly, and I can see the panic inside of her rising up, filling her delicate features with chaos.
“Calm down, focus on your movements, and breathe slowly,” I tell her, but her movements become jerky, and soon she starts to sink into the water like a stone, her panicked emeralds finding mine.
Unable to bear watching her another second, I wrap my arms around her waist. I hold her to my chest and guide us back to the edge of the pool.
She clings to me, and it’s impossibly fucking hard not to notice her perky breasts plastered to my chest. My reaction to her is instant, and my cock swells in my swim trunks. Ignoring the stiffening rod, I release her, and she clutches onto the side of the pool with trembling hands.
“Are you ready to get out and have lunch?”
“Yes,” she murmurs.
A soft little gasp passes her lips when I grab her by the hips and lift her out of the pool, the sound going straight to my cock.
By the time I’m out of the water, Elena is standing, her arms wrapped around her chest. Snagging a towel off one of the sun chairs, I wrap it around her.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
Dragging the towel over my face, chest, and arms, I shake my head before tossing it back onto the chair. Turning, I grab Elena’s hand to walk us back up to the house but stop in my tracks when I find Lucca standing near the French doors.
His eyes meet mine, and I grit my teeth. He knows I don’t talk business in front of Elena, and that’s exactly why he’s here. I didn’t want to have to deal with anything today. As we get closer, he gives me a nod. I release Elena’s hand and pull out a chair for her.
She looks between Lucca and me as if she can feel the tension in the air before sitting down.
“I need a word with you, boss.” Lucca clears his throat, averting his gaze away from my soon to be wife.
I should’ve known letting Markus go on vacation was a stupid idea. Killing Lev is going to come with a blowback that I’m not sure Lucca is ready to deal with.
Leaning down, I whisper into Elena’s ear. “I’ll be back in a min.”
She nods, and I walk over to Lucca, clamping a hand on his shoulder and guiding him away from Elena and back into the house. We don’t stop walking until we’re at the end of the terrace, where I know she can’t hear, but I can still see her.
Curling my lip, I direct my attention to Lucca. “What is it?”
“You didn’t answer your phone.”
“I’m fucking busy, and I told you that I was taking the rest of the day off.”
Lucca doesn’t flinch at my harsh tone. He’s been conditioned for violence, pain, for a world that most wouldn’t survive in.
“I know, and I apologize, but you’d kick my ass if I didn’t tell you that I got word on Lev. He took the bait for the girl and arranged for the services to be completed tonight. He’ll be at the hotel at nine o’clock. It’s tonight, or we have to wait and set something up.”
I wasn’t a patient man, and even more impatient when I wanted to spill blood. I wouldn’t let Lev slip through my fingers. I couldn’t.
“Fuck.”
I really didn’t want to ruin this evening with Elena, but I didn’t have an option. Lev was going to die for fucking with what was mine.
“I’ll be ready, good work.”
“Of course, sir.” Lucca nods.
Dismissing him, I took a moment to gather my own thoughts while leaning against the railing. Killing Lev may cause problems, but it was going to prove a point as well. Word would spread through the mob families that I had killed someone for touching what was mine.
It would bring good and bad with it. Some would fear me further, and others would see Elena as my one true weakness. On top of that, I’m not sure how Lev is with his father, who might retaliate.
Deep down, it would be worth it. Where Elena was concerned, it was always worth it. She was opening my eyes to things. Before her, I saw everything in black and white, and though parts of my life would always be seen that way, the parts with her in it were slowly becoming colored.
Walking back to the table, I find Elena sipping her lemonade. She smiles when she sees me and shifts in her seat.
“Are you cold? We can go inside and eat?”
“No, no. I want to eat outside.”
Grabbing her plate, I take the top off the trays and find little sandwiches, bowls of fruit, crackers and cheese, and vegetables with dip. I fill Elena’s plate and give it back to her, trying not to let the information I just discovered cloud this time with her.
“Is everything okay?” she asks, popping a grape into her mouth.
“Everything is fine,” I reply a little gruffer than I intended to.
Elena flinches at my tone, and I take a gulp of lemonade to stop myself from apologizing. We eat mostly in silence, and when it looks like Elena can’t eat another morsel of food, I get up from my seat and offer her my hand.
I don’t have much more time to spend with her before I leave, so I’ll make up for my sour mood with something more.
Guiding us up the stairs, Elena digs her heels into the floor when we reach the top step. It’s obvious she doesn’t want to go back into the bedroom, and I can’t really blame her, but we’re not married yet, and I don’t quite trust her to stay put.