And when we walked into our bedroom for the first time as husband and wife, Sonny made soft, sweet love to me in a way I didn’t know he was capable of, his touch so gentle with adoration before setting me on fire and searing us together.
I never questioned if Sonny was the person I was supposed to be with. There was never a doubt that I belonged to him. Seeing him worship me and look at me the way he did as he said ‘I do’ made me see that there was no question he belonged to me too.
Holding Sonny’s hand in mine as my head lays on his stomach, I play with the new ring that sits on his finger. “What are you thinking about? I can feel your rapid thoughts,” he asks me as he plays with my hair.
“Today was perfect.” I press my lips to the tips of his fingers.
“You don’t have any regrets?” he asks.
I turn my head to look up at him. “None.” I smile.
“I love you, wife,” he says, pulling me up his body to kiss me.
“I love you, husband,” I reply into our kiss.
SONNY
I lied.
I lied to Ruby, trying to keep her out of harm’s way, and then it blew up in my face.
When Ricco DeBrava walked into my club and into my office throwing around threats—mentioning my own personal blonde dancer—I knew I had to get her out of town. At least for a little while.
The only truth I told was that I wanted to marry her because I loved her and I wanted her as mine in every way. But that didn’t negate the lie behind it. I was trying to get her to pull on the string I was dangling so that she’d leave town with me.
Instead, she pulled my strings and I became putty in her hands, my whole plan backfiring. I guess I should have expected it when it came to her. I’m a weak man, falling at the feet of a queen whenever I’m around her. Seems fitting since she is my queen now.
Although we didn’t leave town, we also haven’t left the house much in the past week. Ruby might not have wanted a destination wedding, but wanting a backyard one worked well enough. And who was I to say no to her request? After her eyes filled with tears from the reminder that her family would never stand witness and support our marriage, I would have given her anything she asked.
Held under the protection of the fortress that is the Knight home with my men standing guard, Ruby and I will enjoy the next few days locked away. As her new husband, I will take my time quenching my thirst for her, attempting to fill the craving that is never satisfied.
I might have brought her to this moment with me under a ruse, but my love for her is as true as it gets, even if I do taste the bitter flavor of betrayal when I kiss her lips.
“I love you, wife,” I tell her, pulling her in to me to seal my fate as the Judas in our bed.
“I love you, husband,” she replies, the worst feeling washing over every lie I’ve told her in the days leading to now.
“I hope you know I’m not letting you leave this bed any time soon,” I tell her with a wicked grin, like the big bad wolf I am.
“I’m counting on it,” she teases.
After days of practically living inside her, it’s still not enough. Unfortunately, I eventually have no choice but to get up and leave her. I took as much time away as I could, ignoring everything on the outside for longer than I should have.
“Tell me what the chatter has been,” I say to Connor, my head manager who I trust most after Desmond, as we sit in my office.
“Ricco is getting desperate. After we took out his inside men and blew up his main workshop, he’s getting desperate. He’s losing money faster than he can say the word. Since he has to start from scratch on the drug front, girls have become his main source. He’s getting bolder and riskier with who he takes and who he sells to.”
I listen to his condensed way of saying that we just made Ricco more dangerous than ever. “Is he still mixing or only selling right now?” I ask about his drug operation.
“He isn’t pushing out much on either side. It’s hard to tell.”
“Has he approached any more of our girls from the club?” It’s been a while since he tried that, but if he’s desperate enough, I wouldn’t put it past him.
“No, but he got to a couple of Izzy’s.”
Izzy runs several gentlemen’s clubs around the city from the cheap to the secretive high-end kind. We have a mutual agreement and respect for each other’s businesses and keep to it. Honor among thieves kind of shit.
“Any word on them now?” I ask, wanting to know how quickly he moves the girls once they’re taken. Connor just shakes his head, looking to the ground.
“No, boss. It really does seem like as soon as he gets his hands on a girl, she’s gone without a trace. I’ve dug for any kind of trail or crumb and come up empty every time. Even when I think I have found something, it turns into nothing before it gets far.” He pauses and looks up at me. “He might have been messy with the other side of his business, but with this side, he’s good. Too good.”
I steeple my fingers, thinking about everything I’ve just learned. “Nothing perfect lasts forever. We’ll find the right trail, and when we do, we’ll end him.”
Rubbing the heels of my palms against my eyes, I lean back. I’ve been going over everything Connor gave me for hours. Pushing back from my desk, I stand and stretch, and when I do, I look to my watch and see that it’s already nearing midnight. Not a great way to start the first day back to work after getting married. I’m sure my new bride is seething at home right now.
Gathering all of my things, I make my way out, speeding home to my wife. A smile pulls on my lips as I think about that. My wife. I’m still not used to that, but I love the sound of it.
Excited to see her and not thinking about waking her up—if she’s even sleeping—I slam the door closed behind me but stop in my tracks when I hear her laughing. Slowly making my way farther into the house, I try to go unnoticed to see who she’s with.
Turning a corner, I spot her and Dez on the couch together, each holding a glass of amber liquid. A half-empty bottle of bourbon sits on the table between them.
“Sonny!” Ruby yells excitedly when she sees me. Jumping from the couch in her silk pajamas that don’t do much to cover her milky skin, her eyes look glazed with liquor as she smiles brightly, wrapping her arms around my neck. “I missed you today, husband.” Her smile is lazy yet seductive as she kisses me, tasting like my favorite drink after a rough day and with no regard to our best friend sitting in the room watching us.
“I thought you’d be in bed,” I whisper into her neck. “Waiting for me.”
“Oh, I can run up there now and you can come in and we can pretend this never happened,” she says with over-the-top excitement that I can’t help but laugh at.
Looking to Dez, I ask, “How much did she have to drink?”
“Enough,” he laughs into his glass, finishing off its contents.
For whatever stupid reason, it makes me angry that he is so blasé about it all. But I guess I would be too if I were sitting with a beautiful woman in silk drinking expensive liquor I didn’t have to buy.
“Well your shift is finished for the day. You can go now.” I’ve never treated Desmond as anything other than family. Guess tonight is when that changes for the first time.