“No doubt you’d have been smoother if you’d have had more time,” I agree to appease her.
She narrows her eyes. “I can’t decide if you’re patronizing me or not.”
“I mean it. You’re resourceful and smart.” I chuckle. “Arsenic is a classic. Real old-school. The heart attack would have seemed natural.”
“I poisoned you,” she says, and my brows climb to my hairline. “I couldn’t separate out the food that Sunday at dinner.”
“That’s why you didn’t eat much.”
She nods. “And I threw up what little I ate, but you didn’t know. I’m so sorry. You should probably get checked out. But don’t go to Natalia. She likes me. I’d really like to keep it that way.”
A laugh bursts from my chest. “I’ll get checked out, but I doubt it’s done much harm if it was only trace amounts. At least I know now why I was feeling sick.”
“You should hate me.
“Impossible.” I tweak her nose. “We need to get you checked out too.” My laugher dies. Even if she was hardly eating any of the poisoned food and puked it back up, she might still have ingested more than she realizes. I hope it hasn’t caused her any lasting damage.
“I thought you’d be mad.”
“I’m not exactly thrilled you poisoned me, kitten, but I get it.”
“I didn’t feel overly guilty at the time because you were acting like an ass, but I’ve felt guilty a lot since.”
“You’re forgiven. Is this what was holding you back last night?” Excitement is trickling through my veins.
“In part.” She worries her lip between her teeth.
“Don’t do that.” I pull it out gently. “You’ll hurt herself. Just tell me the rest.”
“I’m struggling to reconcile my wants and needs.” She twists on my lap, settling over my morning wood with her thighs straddling me. “I want my independence, but I’ll lose it again if I marry you.”
“No, you won’t. You can have all the independence you want. Marriage shouldn’t be a cage. We can love one another while giving one another space. I know, I know, I’m a jealous, possessive beast at times, but it doesn’t mean you’ll be trapped. I want you to be your own person in ourrelationship, Valentina. I won’t curtail your movements unless there’s a security risk. I’ll encourage your passions and ambitions and welcome any friendships you make. I don’t want you to feel like a prisoner. I want this to feel like home. We can fly Nina and your siblings in, and you can go visit them.” I hold her face and stare her straight in the eye so she understands I’m serious.
“You’re not just saying this so I’ll marry you?”
“Absolutely not. I want you to be happy, and I know how important your independence is to you. I would never take that away. However, there are some caveats.”
She narrows her eyes.
“Just listen. I was already planning to talk to you about this. Now Dom is gone, you can go out in the city if you like as long as you use my driver and take two of mysoldatiwith you for protection. I’ll assign my two best men to you full-time so you can get to know them, and it’ll feel less awkward. After a while, you won’t even remember they’re there. I want to be transparent. If you marry me, you willalwaysneed protection. I’m one of the most powerful men inLa Cosa Nostra, and I’m a target. Like all the wives, you would have a protective detail, and on occasion, if it’s warranted, you might have to stay housebound if there’s a threat, but other than that, you are free to come and go as you please.”
“I like the idea of a protective detail. I know you don’t believe Cesco is a threat, but you shouldn’t underestimate him. He’ll be plotting something for sure.”
“I’ve spoken to Vitto, and he’s watching Cesco carefully. He hasn’t left Miami.” If Cesco was behind the drone, he wasn’t personally flying it.
“Is that why he called me on Friday?”
I squeeze her ass as she rocks gently back and forth on my hard dick. “Vitto called you?”
She nods. “I didn’t pick up. Wasn’t sure what I could or couldn’t say.”
“I don’t know why he called you. There’s no need unless he wanted to offer condolences.”
“I doubt it. He knew how Dom treated me.”
“And he did nothing.” Anger swells in my chest.
“It doesn’t matter now, and he hasn’t called back.”
