Page 19 of Ruthless God

I shoved away the thought quickly and slid the ring on.

Massimo did the same to me, and I automatically felt the weight of the ring bearing me down.

“You may now kiss the bride,” the priest said.

Massimo stepped close to me and pressed his lips against mine, pulling away quickly. I should have expected it, considering we kissed not too long before, but there was still that sensation of his lips on mine that made them tingle and made me feel lightheaded when he pulled away.

I clung to him, afraid my legs might not work, just as he turned us around to face everyone, and the sound of loud applause greeted us. I could hear Matteo cheering nearby, and I looked around, dazed.

This was it.

I was now married to Massimo De Luca.

6

MASSIMO

I tookin my bride from where she sat next to me.

She barely touched her food.

And that fake smile she wore throughout the night was wearing thin.

No matter how convincing she might be at putting on a public face, she couldn’t hide the truth from me. I was an observant man. And Luna wasn’t as slick as she thought she was.

I looked around the room, taking in the men.

I wouldn’t let myself relax until we returned home to Las Vegas. We might not be warring with the Lombardi clan, but I didn’t trust any of these fuckers. My brothers felt the same way. Even Matteo hadn’t tried to charm his way into some miserable mob wife’s pants. And Romeo had been tasked with guarding our sister.

If anyone was truly innocent in this life, it was Giulia… and my wife.

I looked back at Luna.

Even when she tried to put on a brave face, a tough face, there was something truly delicate in her that brought out all of my protective instincts. And that was the last fucking thing I needed. I already had Giulia as my weakness. Along with mybrothers, even if they were able to protect themselves better than most men. I didn’t need to feel anything for a wife I didn’t ask for.

She pushed the plate of salmon away, indicating that she was done. She barely took three bites.

“Not hungry?” I asked.

She startled at my voice and turned to me with wide gray eyes, blinking once before looking back down at her plate. I hadn’t asked such a complicated question, but you would think I had just asked her to solve the Riemann hypothesis.

“Um…” She swallowed, and I watched as her throat bobbed up and down. “Not really.”

I pushed the water toward her. “You should drink some.”

Instead of grabbing it, she opted for the red wine glass and drank half of it before placing it back down at the table, wincing a little when it slammed a little louder, a little harder than she expected.

“I hope you’re not trying to get drunk on me,” I muttered.

She blushed red, something even her makeup couldn’t hide.

My wife blushed easily.

I usually didn’t go for women who blushed that easily, who were so fucking delicate I was afraid I might break them if I pushed too hard. But then, of course, most of the women I’d been with were whores working for one of our clubs.

Luna would be different, and, not for the first time, I wasn’t fucking sure what to do with her.

I tensed when I realized Enzo and Marco were coming toward us. There wasn’t anything good that could come from the fuckers’ approach.