Page 63 of Corrupt Crown
Once he’s secured my suite, I take my time washing up, then change into fresh pajamas identical to the ones I toss in my laundry hamper.
My entire body hums with uneasy energy. The spacious confine of my suite is too small to contain it, so I quickly step out onto my balcony, breathing easier almost instantaneously in the warm Sicilian evening.
The sweet fragrance of flowers fills the air mingling with the soothing scent of the Mediterranean Sea as I look out over the compound gardens, and across the moonlit waters beyond. I slowly blow out a breath, concentrating on moderating my hammering heart, and quieting my racing mind.
It’s going to be a long night.
RAFE
Antonio regardsme with a cool stare from his place opposite my desk. Enzo is at his back, blocking the door, and silence surrounds us following my question.
The same question appears to be going unanswered for the second time, so I repeat myself, except this time, I enunciate it evenly. Calmly, though my inner fury is bubbling just beneath the surface, practically howling to get out.
“How. Should. I. Punish. You.Zio?”
His face remains impassive, though his jaw ticks ever-so slightly.
Beneath my desk, I clench and unclench my fists, ensuring my breathing remains even until he eventually speaks.
“I see the error of my ways, Rafael. It’s only that I hadn’t thought the girl would manage to distort your head as easily as she twisted Conti’s?—”
“His right hand, Enzo.”
Myconsiglieregrinds to a halt when Enzo steps forward at my nod, grabbing Antonio’s hand and slapping it palm down onto my desk. Antonio quickly glances at Enzo and back to me as I pluck a serrated blade from my drawer.
His nostrils flare, but otherwise, he doesn’t react, remaining stock still as I rise and walk to his side with slow steps. I hold his eyes in utter silence, neither of us giving an inch, until I speak.
“Your right index finger. The one you pointed in judgment toward Elodie.” I lower the knife as he tries to pull back, but Enzo holds firm. “Yes, this self-righteous pointer finger will pay the price of your sheer fucking ignorance.”
My eyes leave Antonio’s as I press the knife to the second knuckle, and begin to push down. He flinches as I find purchase, and I look back at his face to witness him suffer for hurting Elodie.
He watches me right back, only reacting when the knife meets bone, and his blood covers the table beneath his hand. Rather than drag it out, I make short work of severing the digit, before nodding at Enzo. “Ensure he’s brought directly to the on-call doctor. And make sure he gives me a wide fucking berth for the foreseeable.”
As Enzo forces Antonio to rise to leave, I grab his severed finger and ram it into the breast pocket of his suit jacket. His face is screwed up in agony, yet even so, he looks to be on the verge of lashing out before I snarl, “Don’tthink I’m my father,Zio. Iwon’tallow you to do as you wish with no recourse. And you’d be wise to remember that.”
I step back, nodding at Enzo to continue his trip before grabbing my cell and quickly going upstairs. I don’t bother making my way to my quarters, knowing Elodie will have gone straight to hers, needing to be with her. To assure myself that she’s alright in the aftermath of such hateful words.
Less than sixty seconds later, I crack open the door of her suite, the suite my mama had been given upon her arrival from Britain almost thirty-five years ago.
My eyes travel across the space, finding no sight of Elodie, and I step farther inside, checking the ensuite before moving outside onto the balcony.
I stop as I cross the threshold, taking a moment to just absorb this woman’s sheer magnetism. Her head falls back as she sighs, and my feet move of their own accord until I’m at her back.
As though she’d known I was there, she softens against me before I lift her hair to one side and press a kiss to the curve of her neck.
“I needed to check on you.” I kiss the same spot again, praying she’s on the same page as me. “I really wanted to hold you while you sleep…”
She glances over her shoulder, looking up into my eyes as a smile blooms on her face. Then she nods, slipping her small hand into mine, and leading me back inside to throw back the bed sheets.
Her navy-blue eyes are soft, hazy with the need for sleep when she lays down and pats the bed in invitation.
“Please hold me, Rafe.”
Without hesitation, I shuck off my clothes, leaving only my underwear, and climb in behind her, pulling the sheet up over both of us.
She snuggles back against me and draws my arm around her waist. I instinctively cup her breast through her pajama top and curl my body around hers, reveling in her warmth.
She sighs softly. “Thank you. For tonight.”