My stomach swoops, and I lick my dry lips, wishing he would face me. “You think you know everything, always so bossy, but you are wrong. Did you ever think what ifIdo not want to wait?”
His entire body jerks when he turns toward me. The guarded look in his eyes lingers, but something else does, too - surprise. He expected me to be happy with his decision.
I offer him a shy smile instead. “We are married, and, as you know, I am curious. You will need to carry me inside though. My legs are jelly. Is that okay?”
A smile, the most genuine smile I've ever seen from him, appears. “Honey, I’ll carry you up the fucking trellis if that’s what it takes.”
25
Matilde
The double doors at the end of the hall stand wide open. Nico’s bedroom will become my bedroom. I wish I could think of an amusing anecdote about him carrying me this way versus over his shoulder, but my wit draws a blank while his thoughts are locked behind those gray eyes that reveal nothing.
My heart rate triples as he sets me on my feet beside the bed and pulls out his phone, tapping at it. “The alarm system,” he explains. “Your phone will have access to it. I’ve selected bodyguards for you, too.”
“Can I choose? I like Primo.”
His slicing glare has me shrinking back. “Yes, it seems helikesyou, too.”
“I do not like Primothatway. He is nice. We laugh together.” Nico’s frown deepens, and I make myself clearer. “I do not experience…stirringsaround him.”
“Stirrings?” he repeats, his glare softening momentarily and chasing away the moment of fear. “Primo is dutiful, but I require someone more skilled to protect you and my children, though Ugo and Enio are not likely to make you laugh.”
“That is okay. I will give no cause for you to feel jealous around your men.”
“This isn’t a love match, but I won’t tolerate you making a fool of me.”
His increasing coldness drives away my warmth. What happened to the man who said he'd carry me up the trellis?
He turns to face his bureau, tearing off his tie and shrugging out of his coat and vest. “Your belongings were brought over earlier. You’ll find your necessities in the bathroom,” he tosses over his shoulder as he drops his cufflinks and wristwatch into the mahogany tray.
Am I being dismissed? He doesn’t have to rip my wedding gown off – I’m not certain how I would’ve handled that – but I thought he might be just a teensy bit desperate to claim me.
“There are many buttons.”
“Take a shower if you wish,” he informs me as if he didn’t hear my veiled offer and couldn’t care less what I do.
“You have been nice today, but you are still an asshole, I see.”
“Don’t start behaving like a brat.”
“Brat?Vaffanculo!”
Striding into the bathroom, I slam the door shut, cringing from the echo and my outburst.You knew what he was like and what this marriage would entail.
Tearing off my head piece, I decide I will take a long shower before I face him again. I’ve barely managed the first button when the doorknob turns. I whirl around, not wanting him to see my hurt, determined to ignore him.
Of course, he won’t have that. “Slamming doors is childish behavior, and that language is not very becoming of a Capo’s wife.”
Furious, I lift my head, ready to choose violence. “Then maybe you should have married another woman!”
“Maybe so… but I wantedyou."Stunned by the admission, I meet his gaze in the mirror. He’s not angry like I expected. “I was being anasshole, Matilde. I am often an asshole. I regret my behavior. Carrying you up to the bedroom, I startedthinking."Why does he make thinking sound like a fatal flaw? "Allow me to help you with your dress.”
I give him a baleful stare at the almost-apology.
“Per favore?Let me help.”
With my nod, he steps forward, his body’s heat clinging to me like a shadow as the sun sinks lower. His fingers brush over my back, and my body springs to life, full of those stirrings that will be the death of my sanity. Swallowing hard, I let my hands drop to my sides, and Nico takes over undoing the multitude of buttons and fastenings.
