Chapter 11

Jack

Laid out on the bed, my arms wrapped around my wife, and she used my bicep as a pillow, my sated cock nestled between her buttocks. I pressed a kiss to the back of her neck, and she murmured in her sleep. I savored the feel of her against me, so soft and warm, no longer fighting me.

Not that I minded the struggle, but the contrast was also appreciated.

My father would finalize everything with her grandfather tonight and tomorrow, combining our families into one. To my surprise, I realized that no longer mattered much to me. It was going to make us a pile of money, secure an alliance, and allow us to move liquor to new markets, and I didn’t much care.

I could have gone to join my father after Hailey fell asleep, but I preferred being here, doing nothing with her. I nuzzled the back of her head, her hair tickling my face, and smiled. Besides, I doubted she’d be pleased if she woke up to find I’d left her alone on our wedding night, and she was feisty enough as it was.

Which was why I should enjoy her while she was soft and snuggly—I doubted it would last very long.

Closing my eyes, my smile stayed on my lips as I finally fell asleep.

Hailey

I woke in the middle of the night, Giacomo wrapped around me, with the moon shining in. Between my thighs ached in a way I’d never felt, not even the other day at the precinct, phantom aches as though he was still embedded inside me, an invasion I couldn’t escape.

But I could escape his arms. I wriggled away from him, freezing for a moment when he muttered in his sleep. To my relief, he rolled onto his back, freeing me, and I quickly scooted off the bed. In the dim light of the moon, I could see my dress puddled on the floor, his clothes tossed beside it. Snatching up his shirt, I covered myself quickly, feeling far too vulnerable without any clothing.

He was tall enough the hem of his shirt hit me a little higher than mid-thigh. It wasn’t a perfect solution but better than nothing.

I stared at the man still asleep on the bed, sprawled out on his back, one arm out to the side as though he was waiting for me to nestle back in beside him, the other bent with his forearm covering his closed eyes. The sheet had been pulled down by my movement to reveal his penis, flaccid and still, almost innocent looking. It was hard to reconcile the way he looked now with the hard-edged man who had tormented me and made me beg.

My husband.

I clenched my jaw and turned away. No matter what he looked like now, I couldn’t forget what he really was. Pushing away my feelings, I quietly hurried back to the door, where my bouquet had fallen to the floor of the hotel room. It was still there, as seemingly innocent as the man lying in bed behind me and just as deadly at its core.

I stripped away the ribbon and the flowers, revealing the sharp-edged knife. It wasn’t a big knife. When I’d first discovered it in a bureau in the study, I’d worried it would be too small, but it was very sharp and looked deadlier than ever gleaming in the dark. I bit my lip, glancing back over my shoulder at Giacomo’s sleeping form.

Could I really do this? Could I really kill him? It hadn’t been all bad. Did he really deserve to die for what he’d done to me? Part of me yearned to crawl back into bed beside him. Curl up there. Let him hold me. Let everything else go.

All the doubts came rushing back, stronger than ever. I wrapped my fingers around the hilt and crept back toward the bed, not even sure what I was going to do once I got there. One foot in front of the other, bile slowly rose in the back of my throat, filling my mouth with a bitter taste.

Giacomo lay there, beautiful and still like the statue of David. He was completely defenseless, which made my resolve waver even further. This felt more than contemptible—it felt dishonorable. If he had been awake and stood a fighting chance… but then I wouldn’t have stood a chance. There was no better way.

I stood over him, both hands holding the hilt of the knife, gripping it so tightly, they were beginning to tingle. My breathing became rapid as a feeling akin to panic accelerated it, no matter how I tried to slow it and calm myself.

Oh God, what am I doing?

A silent plea into the darkness—an entreaty for strength, for courage… for absolution.

I closed my eyes, my breathing becoming ragged, and tried to get ahold of myself. My arms trembled out in front of me, the weight of the knife becoming heavier with every passing moment, yet I could not bring myself to swing it down into Giacomo’s undefended chest. It was the easiest movement, gravity tugging at my limbs, yet I couldn’t do it.

This wasn’t me. This wasn’t who I was. I did not want to be part of the Familias or a mafia man’s wife. But I was not a murderer. I didn’t have to let them make me into one. I let out my breath on a long sigh.

Hard fingers gripped my wrists, and I screamed, my eyes flying open to look into Giacomo’s dark, angry eyes.

Jack

I’m not entirely sure what woke me, but one moment, I was asleep, and the next, I was awake and aware I was in danger. My first half-asleep thought was for my wife and a surge of determination to protect her. It took me half a moment to realize she wasn’t beside me in the bed but beside the bed, and she was the threat.

For a moment, despair overtook me as I looked up at the knife prepared to plunge into my chest, and I lay there, waiting for it to fall. When it remained in place, trembling above me, I realized she was hesitating. Whatever resolve she’d thought she had, she’d been wrong.

Triumph surged, along with a savage need to claim her again and prove who her master was. Sitting, I reached up and grabbed her wrists. Her high-pitched scream pierced my ears, but I didn’t loosen my grasp, not while she was still armed. She tried to press the dagger down toward me, fighting against my hold on her.

“Stop.” It was a command, one she ignored for a moment before freezing, watching me warily.

“Let me go,” she whispered the words, her eyes begging me with a plea for understanding I wasn’t inclined to grant. “I wasn’t going to do it.”

Still holding her wrists, I pushed her back slowly, so I could stand and felt her quiver. Pressing her wrists together, so I could wrap the fingers of one hand around both, I plucked the dagger from her with my newly freed hand. Her eyes went wide as I lowered it to where my shirt was buttoned over her beautiful body.

“Giacomo…” Her voice was barely a sound, as if she was too frightened to draw enough breath to make noise. As she should be. My cock was already beginning to harden in reaction to her fear, her helplessness.

I tipped the knife down, edge toward myself, and sliced open her shirt.

“It’s sharp,” I commented as the knife rent through the fabric. It hung open on her, revealing her breasts and stomach. I turned the knife in my hand, tracing it over her quivering stomach muscles. “Very sharp for something you weren’t going to do.”

“I changed my mind… please…” Now, she truly was begging, her very real fear for her own life in her eyes. “Don’t… please…Daddy… I’ll do anything you want.”

Ha. Amusing how she would try to use my preferred moniker against me when it suited her.

I could already do whatever I wanted to her, but still… having my new wife entirely at my command, doing whatever I asked… that was an offer I couldn’t refuse. Releasing her wrists, I sat on the bed, the knife in an easy grip. Her eyes were on the knife rather than my face, and I grinned when she licked her lips nervously.

“Take off the shirt.”

Her eyes flicked to me but only for a moment before she closed them and took a deep breath. Eyes still closed, she reached up and shrugged off my ruined shirt, leaving her completely naked before me again.

Hailey

With my eyes closed, fists clenched at my sides, and my jaw tightly locked, I waited for what Giacomo would ask for next—what he would demand. Fear and arousal were an unholy mix, feeding on each other and growing. My stomach twisted and turned, even as my body slicked and throbbed in eagerness for whatever twisted torment Giacomo had in mind.

I did not believe he would overlook my attempt to murder him in our wedding night bed, no matter how I begged or what I offered. My only hope was to abate the harshness of my punishment.

“Open your eyes and look at me.”

Somehow, that was even harder to obey than voluntarily taking off my clothes. The appreciation in his gaze as his eyes scanned my body made me flush. My nipples puckered as though begging for his attention, and I pressed my legs together to relieve the growing ache between them. Giacomo gestured at the bed with the knife.

“Get on the middle of the bed on your hands and knees.”

Something in his eyes glinted, and as I crawled onto the bed, I understood why. It was a horrifyingly vulnerable position—my buttocks toward him, all my most sensitive bits spread and visible. I cringed at the picture I must have made, how exposed I was. This was far worse than when I had been bent over in front of him at the precinct, even after he’d pulled up my skirt.

Giacomo slid several pillows under my stomach. I realized they would keep me in position, my bottom propped up, even if the strength in my arms and legs failed.

“Please…” I closed my eyes, hoping the begging wouldn’t feel so humiliating if I couldn’t see anything. “Please, Daddy, I’m sorry… I wasn’t… I won’t…” Whether or not calling him Daddy would make a difference, I had no idea, but I didn’t think it would hurt, and possibly it would help.

“Oh, you definitely won’t try anything like that again,” Giacomo reassured me, his voice silky smooth with threat. “I’m going to make sure you learn your lesson tonight.”

Despite myself, I felt a flutter through my core. My arousal reacted to his menace as though it was a physical caress meant to pleasure. Tears sparked in my eyes with embarrassment at my body’s betrayal. Some part of me wanted him, liked what he did to me, even though I wanted to utterly reject him.

A hand covered my bottom, and I whimpered before biting back the noise, not wanting him to hear my desire. Not that it mattered. His fingers drifted over my skin, deceptively gentle, down to my swollen folds. I squirmed when he probed the slick flesh, finding me wet and ready for him. His deep chuckle sent a hot flush of shame through me, burning my cheeks as I blushed. I ducked my head, letting the pillows take some of my weight.

“Hold yourself in position, little one. Keep your hands in front of you.”

His stern voice sent another wave of arousal through me, despite knowing he was preparing me for punishment. I gripped the sheets in front of me, waiting for whatever torment he had prepared for me.