Page 54 of The Arianna Arrangement

I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest. “I don’t know that I can agree to that, Sandro. I had hoped that you would be a better man than our father and run the family differently, but what I’ve seen in this office today makes me fear that won’t be the case. Maybe being raised by the devil has turned you into one yourself. Maybe it would be better for us to raise our children in Crestwood and then have them take over after you, ensuring that eventually, the Vitale name is something to be proud of.”

It would never happen, but if Sandro was afraid of that happening, and afraid of being compared to our father, then I had to play into that insecurity to get what I wanted.

He let out a sigh and scrubbed a hand down his face. “What can I do to prove to you that I’m not him?”

I scoffed. “Well, for starters, make sure that a hymen check isn’t part of your marriage contract. If you can do that, I’ll consider that maybe you are the man I thought you were.”

His eyes narrowed and I knew I’d played my hand a little too hard. “I thought you two hated each other. Why are you advocating for her?”

He knew I was up to something. Sandro wasn’t stupid, so I knew I had to keep mine and Valentina’s new truce hidden and change tactics. Crying was often considered a weakness, but I’d learned to harness it as a weapon. That’s why my eyes stung as tears filled them and I looked at my lap.

“You don’t know how humiliating and demeaning it is to have an old, pervy man stick his finger in your vagina to make sure that little flap of tissue is still there. To have men suggest that you have no worth beyond that.” I looked up into his eyes, letting him see my conviction there. “Even though I can’t stand this bitch, no woman should have to go through that.”

There was silence as he studied me, looking for the lie, but he wouldn’t find it. I’d perfected my mask at a young age, just like he had.

Finally, he sighed and looked at Valentina before looking back at me. “I can’t do that. We need an heir immediately. If she ends up pregnant after a month of being married, if they don’t do a hymen check the week of the wedding, people could speculate that she was pregnant already when we got married and the baby isn’t mine.” He looked at Valentina and I saw sincerity in his eyes. “The hymen check protects you as much as me.”

Except, it didn’t. It would be a proverbial death sentence for her. But he did bring up an important aspect I hadn’t thought about. The child’s paternity would definitely be questioned if she got pregnant quickly and there hadn’t been proof of virginity before the wedding.

I shrugged. “I’m sure you can have her do a pregnancy test or something. Either way, figure it out. This is my line in the sand. If you want to prove you’re not our father, her contract won’t require a hymen check.” I stood, putting a hand out for my husband, who took it without question and followed me to the door. “I hope to hear of your solution soon.”

God, was I ready to be back in Crestwood.

Chapter 25

Tucker

I led Ari towards our room, not risking saying something until we were there with the door closed. “What the hell was that?”

She shrugged and headed towards the closet to change. “I saw the opportunity to turn an enemy into an ally and decided to take it.”

“By provoking your brother?” Yeah, Sandro was a good guy, but even good guys could snap. With everything on his shoulders right now, it probably wouldn’t take much to push him over that line.

Ari emerged from the closet wearing one of my t-shirts. The only thing better than seeing her naked was seeing her wearing my clothes. Which is why she’d made that wardrobe choice.

My aunt Silver warned me right before Ari moved to Crestwood that girls like her, like my aunt had been, learned how to manipulate the situation. They were frequently ignored and dismissed, the theory being that because they didn’t have a dick between their legs they couldn’t have a brain between their ears. But it was the opposite, and they were way more dangerous because of it.

“When better to test his loyalty and remind him of who he is. He’s going to feel pressure from the world and he can’t let that taint him or turn him into my father. If that’s going to happen, it’s best we know that now.” She pressed a kiss to the side of my mouth. “But I have much better things we could be doing with our time right now instead of talking about my brother.”

I’d love to say that I didn’t take the bait, but as her hand palmed my dick through my pants, a moan escaping her when she found me already hard, I was a goner.

My lips crashed into hers, nothing soft or sensual about this kiss. No, it was pent up stress, frustration, and lust. It was months of everything I’d been through in this house, worry about my wife and her safety, and relief that Lucian Vitale was now rotting six feet under. It was frustration that once again, my wife was making moves without my knowledge.

If she didn’t want to talk, that was fine. “On your knees, Vita Mia.” She dropped to her knees quickly, undoing my belt while looking up at me through her lashes. It was hot as fuck, but the smirk on her lips told me she thought she’d won.

Ari didn’t take long freeing me from my boxers, pushing my pants down my legs far enough that she had free reign, but today, I was taking charge. “Open.” Fire flashed in her eyes as she realized she wasn’t in control like she’d previously thought. As soon as her lips parted, I pushed my cock in, all the way, making her gag. “You wanted to distract me? Fine. But sometimes you should be careful of what you wish for.”

My wife wasn’t going to just turn over control to me without a fight, but lucky for me, when she’d decided to change into my shirt, she’d also put her hair up in a ponytail, making it extremely easy for me to wrap it around my fist and hold her in place. I tisked at her. “I’m in control right now, Vita Mia. And you’re going to be a good girl and take what I have to give you.”

I’d assumed that Ari wasn’t the kind of girl that would want slow, sweet love making for our whole lives, but when she moaned at my words, I knew I’d pegged her right. The moan also spurred me on, my release so close to the edge now as I continued to thrust into her mouth, hitting her throat with every stroke, pure bliss filling my entire body.

Her eyes never left mine as I pumped in and out of her, irritation mixed with lust filling her gaze, spurring me on until I couldn’t hold back any longer. My release shot through me with incredible force, making my wife choke for a moment from the surprise. She’d gotten rid of her gag reflex years ago, but I guess needing to swallow my cum as rope after rope shot out of me, with no warning, was enough to push her over that edge.

Fuck. Even though I’d just unloaded everything I had, I wanted to bury my face in her mound, taste the manna from heaven that was just for me and bring her over the edge before driving into her to fuck out every ounce of frustration she caused me.

But I wasn’t going to, because I was going to teach my wife a lesson. One she needed to learn now so we could actually be a team going forward.

“Clean up. Supper will be in about an hour. I’ll see you there.” I turned and headed towards the door as I tucked my dick back into my pants.