11. Franco

Chapter 11

Franco

That look in her eyes as she dances the line between love and hate only thrills me even more—she's a hellfire. My hellfire . If I have to drag her down the aisle hogtied and her mouth duct taped closed, I fucking will, because over my dead body will I allow Marco to have her. Her daring escape has played right into my hand. I have many enemies, but just as many friends—some in common, it seems. Loredana did the right thing, even if Aria never forgives her for it. It's not the lavish wedding they were planning for her and Marco. There are no flowers, no music, or a pretty white dress.

There's a priest who I bribed to be here and a friend. You can taste the bitterness in the air. Aria isn't marrying me because she loves me—she does love me—she's doing it because she would rather die than marry Marco.

I've never wanted anything enough to steal it before. I've done all sorts of deplorable things. I'm a killer, not a thief. But her—for her—I would steal, kill, even my own brother for her. I hope she sees that eventually. That she will stop the jump rope between love and hate and fall for me with all of her heart .

"I do," she says those words with venom through gritted teeth. She is fighting her feelings because her eyes speak the words with warmth.

"You may kiss your bride," the priest says hesitantly. He can sense she's a reluctant bride. Reluctant or not, she's mine now, and I intend to claim her—in front of God and his witnesses. I slide my hand into her messy hair and pull her to me. Our lips meet, and her resistance fades. She yields to me.

Her lips part, and allow me to taste her. I wanted to claim her, to make her give herself to me, and she has done that. She willingly walked toward me and said she'd be mine. I fucking win .

"This isn't going to end well," she whispers as I pull away from her. The future is a fuckup we can face together.

When Marco and I were boys, we'd fight, and my mother would tell us, ‘This will end in tears', and it always did—and later, it ended in broken bones and bullet wounds. I hope it doesn't end with my funeral this time. I might have gone too far. Nothing is too far for her .

"Where are we going?" Aria asks me as we pull away from the church.

"Home," I say, weaving through traffic. "You have a wedding to cancel."

"He will kill us, Franco."

"I'd die for you a thousand times." It is not a lie. I would. I can't explain why. What does she have that made me lose my mind? "My brother is an idiot, and I will not let him take you. "

"You're a fucking idiot too," she snaps, "if you think he will let you have me."

"He didn't let me do anything—Aria, I did this." My phone is vibrating in my pocket. It's Marco, I know it is. He wants to know if I found his fiancé.

Finders keepers. Losers weepers.

"I want a divorce," she says, looking away from me because she knows I will see the lie in her eyes. The same betrayal I tasted when I kissed her in church.

"God doesn't allow it," I reply, her insistence angering me. Why can't she just admit she feels what I feel? Stubborn, so God damned stubborn I could kill her. Or, kiss her—even fuck her. Yes. Maybe she needs some sense fucked into her.

I pull over into a parking garage, and she looks confused. It won't be the honeymoon night she'd imagined. We will consummate this marriage right here, so there's no way it can be undone. "What are you doing?" she asks as I pull up the parking brake. "It's dangerous to stop in places like this. What if we were followed?"

"I have a gun, and I know you do, too." Loredana told me. "No one followed us, Aria." I was checking. I know we are alone.

"Is that what this is in your pants," she mocks me, ghosting her head over my cock, already hard just thinking about fucking her in the car. "You seriously pulled over in a car park for sex?" She asks when she sees the smirk on my face. It's more like a shit-eating grin. I'm the one who got the prize .

"It's customary to consummate a marriage that way." I lean over to whisper in her ear, "We wouldn't want anyone to have reason to question our union."

"Our union is questionable." She teases more, tracing her delicate fingers up and down over the fabric of my pants. "I believe the term is under duress. And it is reason for an annulment." She wouldn't dare try that shit.

She makes quick work of my belt buckle, popping the button and slowly lowering the zipper to free my cock. "Are you doing this under duress?" I moan the words out as she curls her fist around me.

"No." She kisses me. "I want to do this part. I just don't want to love you or marry you."

"Too late for both of those things, Aria." That horse has bolted, and neither of us can get it back. "We can keep pretending you don't love me, or we can fuck in this car and go home and show my brother the biggest fuck-you ever."

"I didn't say I don't love you. I said I didn't want to love you." I understand.

"I didn't want to love you either, but I do."

"Fuck you," she sighs.

"I'm about to fuck you, Aria," I say as she climbs over to straddle my lap, her ass hitting the horn, making us both jump, then laugh. "Try not to let everyone know we're here," I say, kissing her and pulling her down onto me .

I shove her too-tight skirt up over her thighs, exposing her black lace knickers—she's a cock tease. The silky wrapping does nothing to hide how wet she is when she moves herself against my shaft. Her soft moans in my ear only make my dick harder, and as much as I want to enjoy this, we don't have time.

We have until death us do part to savor sex. This has to be quick. "Fuck me, husband," she says breathlessly in my ear. Something inside me turns feral at the sound of her saying husband. I shove her panties to the side. They're too pretty to rip off her and lift her so I can slide into her soaking wet pussy.

"Jesus, Aria." I grip her hips, trying to slow her down. She fucks me like she wants to punish me.

"We were just in church. Jesus doesn't want to be here for this part," she says, but her words turn into a moan that fills the car. "Franco, please," Aria begs as she rides my cock. This time, I am not in control. She can beg all she wants—she's driving right now. I'm just trying not to cum before her.

"Aria," I say firmly because she's dangerously close to making me lose the shred of control I do have.

"Don't stop," she pleads, biting my shoulder so hard I can feel her teeth through my shirt. "Fucking don't stop." I don't ever want to stop with her—it's like no matter how much I have, it's never enough. Aria throws her head back, and I have the most glorious view of her body as she fucks me.

I wanted to claim her—but she flipped the tables, and she's claiming me. With every thrust, moan, and move, she takes me, and I am powerless to stop her. "Aria." It's too much. I grip her hips and fuck up into her. She's tight, her pussy grips me, and she shudders as her orgasm takes me over the edge with her .

"Wife," I growl as I cum deep inside her. "My wife."

It takes a moment for us to pull ourselves back together, and as I zip my pants up, I feel my phone vibrate again—t ime to face the music . Aria is quiet as we pull away. The silence grows more deafening the closer we get. My brother is going to kill us, and if he doesn't, he will make us wish he did.

The lights are all on, even though it's late. Marco is up, no doubt looking for Aria. He doesn't know that I found her— first . I know he will be in a filthy mood, and I'm about to drop a bomb that might turn nuclear.

"What have we done, Franco?" she asks.

"Started a war," I reply, knowing my brother will want revenge above all else. We walk up the front steps holding hands, and I can feel her hand shaking in mine. I'll keep her safe. She's my wife.

His voice carries through the house as we open the door, the anger tangible. She ran from him, and he is furious. He has no idea that while he was hunting her down, I stole his bride. "Finally," Marco glares at me as he comes down the stairs. "I wondered if you'd be brave or stupid enough to show up here." His rage is directed at me, not Aria.

Something isn't right. I move so she's slightly shielded by my body. "Brother." His patronizing tone is like nails on a chalkboard board, and my hackles are up. "You should be careful about answering calls from your pocket." Fuck.

Marco steps into my personal space, so close I can smell the liquor on his breath, when he says, "Did you enjoy fucking my wife?" He is all but vibrating with anger. "It sounded like she is quite a whore."

"My wife." I stand straighter. "I was fucking my wife." There's no point dragging this charade out any longer. My brother freezes and stares at me. His jaw twitches, and I wait for him to snap and lose control. He's never been able to act rationally when he's jealous.

"Say it again, so I have a reason to kill you," Marco hisses.

"My wife," I reply. "I married her, and she's mine."

Marco stands still, not looking at her, just at me.

"Traiterous piece of shit," he yells. "You were always just a jealous fool, wanting what was mine. You know what is sweeter than her pussy, brother?" He waits for me to reply, but I don't take the bait. "Revenge." He shoves past me without looking back. The door slams so hard it echoes through the otherwise empty house.

"He didn't kill you," Aria says.

"Yet." I know he will try.

***

"Franco," my sister's shrill voice all but shatters glass, "get your ass down here!"

I guess it's morning, and the news travels fast in my family .

"Franco, I will come up there, and I know you're naked." I groan and pull on some pants so I can go downstairs and shut her up.

I'm halfway down when she starts, "Why did Marco call me and cancel his wedding?" she asks pointedly. "I was told to cancel all the arrangements. He said you would tell me why?"

The coward, he couldn't admit he lost.

"Because Aria is already married, so he can't marry her."

"She's married?" Guila gasps. "To who? Can't she get a divorce?"

"To me," I say casually as she follows me to the kitchen, where there is coffee. "And she doesn't want a divorce." I wouldn't give her one even if she did, not after spending a week with her as my wife. There is not a chance in hell that I'd let her go.

"Have you lost your fucking mind?" she asks me, taking my coffee cup and gulping it down. "He knows this? And didn't kill you."

"Not yet," I say, knowing my brother will not just walk away.

"Where is Aria?" she looks around. "I liked her for you. Marco doesn't deserve such a nice wife."

"In bed, and thank you for that." I roll my eyes like I needed her approval. I already married her. My sister takes the second cup of coffee I poured, handing me the empty and darts upstairs.

"Aria," she calls, "girl, we need to talk about this mess."

I guess since I just caused a family fight to top them all, she has a right to pry just a little. This is lady-shit, and I choose not to be party to whatever they're now whispering about. I leave them alone to talk. Aria hasn't got anyone to be there for her. I have siblings, even if they do want to kill me.

***

Marco has been suspiciously absent since my wedding night. I'm beginning to wonder what he's up to, but for now, I'm happy for the peace. Without him, life is less chaotic, and I'm enjoying it.

"Your sister invited us for family dinner tonight," Aria says to me. "She says it's been too long and that family traditions are important." Traditions are outdated and irrelevant, but my sister loves family, so I won't fight. Not this week.

"Fine," I say, distracted. "She's a pain in my ass."

"I thought that is your wife's job?" Aria jokes. "We will have to leave in about twenty minutes because last-minute is her thing, too." I pocket my phone and look at Aria. God, she's gorgeous.

She recognizes the look on my face. "There's no time for that." She shakes her finger at me. "You can have dessert when we get home." I'm suddenly ready to skip all the other courses and stay in.

I grab her hand as she starts walking away, pulling her into my arms. "I'm sure there's time for a taste." I try my luck, and she kisses me. I grip her ass with both hands holding her firm against me so she can feel just how hungry I am. "Behave, and I'll make the wait worth it." She winks, and I watch the way her hips sway seductively as she leaves me with a hard-on.

Dinner sounds horrible right now.

We get together a short while later.

"Aria," Guilia greets my wife with cheek kisses and a hug. "And you asshole." She hugs me, and we're welcomed with the smell of food and the sound of Marco's voice.

Aria stiffens and gives me a worried look. We haven't seen him since our wedding. My sister is a shit-stirrer. This is going to be a fucking nightmare. I knew we should have stayed home. The love and warmth instantly turn icy when he and I lock eyes.

"Well, if it isn't the adulterer," Marco says. "How are you enjoying my wife, brother? Is she broken in now?"

I will break his fucking face talking about her that way. "Watch yourself, Marco," I warn him.

"Or what, you'll steal my car next?" he snickers. "What else do you want to take from me?" He's bitter and twisted, and nothing good can come of us being here.

"She was never yours," I set him straight.

"Funny. I had put a ring on her finger first," he says. "She was mine and still should be." I'm going to hurt him. "Although now that you have ruined her, I'll have to keep a whore around if I want a tight pussy."

I see red .

My left hook connects with his jaw before he can make another sick joke. The sound of his teeth gnashing against one another cracks. Marco hits the marble floor with a thud, and before I can land a kick in his face, my sister pulls me away by my jacket.

"Stop it!" Aria screams, tears welling in her eyes.

"Anul this sham of a marriage and give her to me!" Marco screams, trying to hit me back. "She's mine!"

"STOP!" Aria cries louder now. "Marco, stop," she begs as he lands a punch in my gut. "I'm not yours. I never was. I'm married to Franco, and I am having his baby. Stop, you lost. No, you didn't lose because I was never a prize. My heart belonged to Franco from the first time I saw him."

My ears are ringing, but I am sure she said baby—fuck yes—my baby. It worked. She's pregnant, and my brother can never take that from me. It'll always be my child, not his.