I exhale my anxiety and meet Gabriel’s eyes before he leans down and places his lips on mine. This is it; this is where my new life starts.
Organizing a wedding where two crime families are uniting means having the ceremony in an inhabited area, possibly near the police station, and big enough to host up to five hundred people. There are people here I don’t even know.
The task was almost impossible, but in the end, money always gets results.
I sit at the table with Gabriel, with my family on one side, and on the other, Gabriel and his don, Salvatore, and Salvatore’s wife, Isabella. Next to them are Patrizia and Riccardo, Gabriel’s parents. My eyes catch Chiara’s as she shifts uncomfortably in her seat, and I realize there’s a table across from her with four men sitting at it. One of them is looking at her as if she’s his next meal.
I push my chair back, but Gabriel’s hand squeezes my thigh. “Leave it be.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “What?”
He shakes his head. “Leave it. Not tonight.”
I tilt my head to the side. “How do you know what I want to do?”
“I think it’s obvious. Besides, you don’t want to get involved with those men.”
“Why? Who are they?”
“According to Salvatore, sons of the Commission leaders.”
I huff. “So that gives them the right to make people uncomfortable?”
“No, but ignoring them for tonight is just for our peace and to ensure that this wedding ends without any theatrics.”
I take a deep breath. “Fine,” I agree. After all, this is my wedding, and I want it to be perfect.
Slow music starts to play, and someone I can’t see announces that it’s time for us to dance. I smile and take Gabriel’s hand as he leads me to the floor. He pulls me toward him, a smile curving his lips. There’s a knowing spark in his gaze that pulls a grin from me, the kind that feels like the start of something dangerous and beautiful. One look from him is all it takes, his promise clear without a single word. I just know this is where I’m supposed to be, and I will keep this place, one way or another.
We board the jet to New York with Salvatore and Isabella instead of staying in a hotel room as I had expected. I may have been disappointed, but knowing I will be sleeping in Gabriel’s bed is my comfort. But I also don’t want to spend my first night as a married woman fighting anxiety. As the elevator rises to the penthouse, I take deep breaths and tell myself that everything is going to be okay. The elevator door opens, and I exhale a breath of relief. I avoid looking in the direction of the long windows and concentrate on the stairs leading to the bedroom.
“All of your stuff is ready for you. Grace, my housekeeper, set everything up.”
I turn toward him. “Thank you,” I say and climb the stairs. Once I reach the bedroom door, I stop at the entrance. It’s the same as it was when I last saw it, only this time, there is trembling in my body that ends in my core at the awareness that I will be sleeping beside Gabriel. I walk into the closet and take out the nightgown; not the one I had planned for tonight because that one stayed at the hotel.
The door behind me closes, and I hear Gabriel’s steps. I don’t turn around, and I listen as my heart beats in my ears. The back of his hand touches my neck, and he traces it down my back. My body shivers, and my breath hitches. I close my eyes, inhaling.
“What am I going to do with you?” he whispers.
I turn slowly and meet his promising eyes. There is no way back. I’m stuck with a feeling between euphoria and anxiety.
I know I act brave, like the night of our engagement and the day I stalked him because he didn’t answer me, or that day in the club when he didn’t know who I was, but now I feel like he will unmask all my secrets and leave me bare without any shield to protect myself.
I swallow. “Let me get changed.” I take a step back, but he stops me when he wraps a hand around my waist, pulling me close to him.
“Not so fast.” He chuckles. “You’ve teased me for a long time, Valentina, and you’re acting demure now?” I open my mouth to argue, but he tsks. “Do you know I’ve been celibate since the moment I met you?” He walks me backwards until my back hits the edge of the dresser. “Do you want to know why?” I nod. Because of course I want to know. “Because I wanted to enjoy tonight. Because I want to fuck you until you can’t walk anymore. Until you forget every man you fucked before me.”
My breath hitches. “Gabriel…” I want to tell him, but something stops me.
“What?” He brushes the hair from my face. “I want to see.”
“See what?”
“What’s under the dress.” My body warms. “Turn around. I’ll help you get it off.”
I swallow and turn around because I do need help. He pushes the zipper down, and the breeze kisses my skin as the dress falls to my feet, leaving me in a lace G-string, garter, and stockings.
“Perfect.” Gabriel breathes deeply behind me, and my heart beats harder as feather-like touches find my skin. “Now, turn around.”
