Page 9

9

Dino

Dino

W hile she’s in there, I get a hold of myself. The sight of her naked body did things to me I didn’t expect. I almost lost control. That’s never happened before.

In my line of work, you need to be in total control at all times. Which I was until I saw that pussy of hers. I never wanted to be inside someone so much in my life.

She’s naked in the tub right now. I could walk in there and fuck her, and there’s not a thing she could do to stop me.

No.

I have to follow the rules. For the marriage to stand and me to get the role I deserve, I have to follow the rules.

The rules are important. Without rules, we’re nothing but animals. I’m not an animal. When I’m Capo dei Capi, a lot of things will change around here.

I will make the rules, not follow them. First, getting rid of the Belucci name. It’ll be history. Especially Ricardo.

If I had a son, I would not have him raised the same way. I would make sure he understood what respect was, why it mattered so much.

Ricardo thinks the world exists in order for him to profit from its pain. He does not understand nuance. All he cares about is his own pleasure. I’ve known that ever since he got my dog killed. He cares about the pain of others. It’s no wonder he graduated from animals to women.

Which would be fine if not for the ways he gains that pleasure, torturing and killing helpless women. Eating them too, if the rumors are to be believed. The Don covers up for him instead of disciplining him. It’s no wonder he ended up like this.

It’ll be a mercy to kill him once this is over. There will be peace and I shall maintain it. Anyone who breaks it will not be long for this world.

With peace comes prosperity. It’s difficult to focus on the parts of the business that make a profit while having to watch for rivals waiting to whack you.

We can make a fortune if we just stopped fighting each other for long enough to take on the authorities. We’d be unstoppable.

That’s what matters. Getting one over on the Feds. Respect. Where it belongs. The family on top. Everyone is relying on me and I will not let them down.

Which is why I resist going into the bathroom and fucking her while she’s relaxing in the tub. I will marry her first. We will do everything the right way.

Once she says I do, that’s when I will start doing whatever the fuck I want to her. She will take it because she’s my wife. She’s about to become the means to the ends, the way I become the Don of Dons.

She does not know the things I’ve done in the past to get this close. No need to tell her unless she tries to escape. If she makes a run for it, I will tell her what I’ve done, let her see that I’m a man to obey. Let her truly fear me. It’ll help keep her in line.

There’s a buzz from the corner of the room. She’s hit the button. I get to my feet, drain my glass, and enjoy the taste of the fiery liquor burning its way into my stomach. I walk from the study back upstairs and push open the bathroom door.

She’s wrapped in a towel and for a moment I can’t move, I can’t breathe, I can’t do anything except stare. She looks stunningly beautiful, like an ocean goddess emerging from the sea, her hair trailing down her back.

The towel is short enough to show off her legs but not too much, hiding the parts I want to see the most.

That’s the thing about women. Once they’re naked, the mystery has gone. It’s just a naked body and I’ve seen many of those in my time. But with something wrapping them, concealing them? Then the mystery remains.

It is far more erotic to see a woman concealing the parts of her I most want to see.

Her in underwear when she arrived here had that effect on me. It’s the same now.

Rose wearing a towel like this, the way her tits push the fabric forward as she stares at me, a mixture of hatred and fear in her eyes. I want her more than I ever wanted anyone.

I tell myself to be patient. I don’t have long to wait. Tomorrow night she will be my bride and then she will be mine.

“This way,” I tell her, passing her a dressing gown. She turns away and wraps the gown around herself, letting the towel fall to the floor.

Again, I’m caught by the sudden urge to fuck her. She has no idea what’s going through my head, how hard I’m finding it to resist pushing my cock straight into her mouth, to see that innocent expression change into something far dirtier.

She turns back to face me, tying the cord around her waist. “What now?” she asks, her voice as defiant as her face as she folds her arms across her chest.

“You return to the basement,” I say.

“Why are you doing this?” she asks. “Why can’t you just let me go?”

“If I let you leave, within an hour Ricardo Belucci will have you collected. Shortly after that, he will marry you. After that your life will comprise torture until he tires of you at which point he’ll kill you.”

“But why would he kill me? Why would he even marry me? I don’t see why you’re all fighting over me. What am I to you?”

“The key to a position that all made men want.”

“I’m not the key to anything.”

“You’re the key to everything. In your possession is the chip that belongs to the daughter of the Capo dei Capi.”

She wrinkles up her forehead adorably. “Am I supposed to know what the hell that means?”

“The Capo dei Capi is the Don of Dons, leader of all the cosa Nostra families in the country. You are his daughter.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You have the chip. I found it in your house. There’s no point denying it, Rose.”

“Someone put that chip in my mom’s safe deposit box. I don’t know who it belongs to.”

“You are a good liar, I will give you that, but I’ve seen better. Lying will not save you, no matter how good you are. Only marrying me will do that. ”

“But I don’t want to marry you.”

She sounds whiny, and I want to swat her ass for talking that way. “We must do things in life that we would prefer not to do.”

I think of all the things I’ve done to reach my position, things that would make her despise me if she heard them said out loud. Things I shall never forget. You do not reach the top without getting your hands dirty.

“It’s not like going to work when you want a lie in,” she replies. “This is marriage you’re talking about.”

“It will save your life. You marry me or Ricardo forces you into a lifetime of agony.”

“But why? I don’t understand.”

“You have the chip. Whoever marries you is next in line to take over as Capo dei Capi when your father retires.”

“My father’s a fisherman with a bad back. He’s no Capi de what’s it. You’ve gone the wrong woman.”

“This is happening, Rose. Accept it and stop the bullshit. We are getting married tomorrow. I become Capo dei Capi instead of that piece of shit from the Belucci famiglia. You get a lifetime of security and everything money can buy.”

She takes a step toward me and looks like she’s about to slap me. Where’s the fear gone that was there so recently? “I will never marry you,” she says.

“Yes, you will.”

“Listen to me. If I get married, it will be for love and for no other reason. I don’t know what you think you can do but I will never say yes in front of anyone official. I will sign nothing. You can’t make me do this.”

“Yes, I can.” I turn my voice cold and tower over her, not clenching my fists, but letting her see the man I can so easily become. She gives in at once, stepping back, her face turning white.

I take the silk blindfold from my pocket and place it over her head. “I’m trusting you to walk without trying anything,” I tell her, taking her hand and leading her out of the bathroom. The touch of her fingers on mine feels good.

She tries to resist, yanking her hand away. “Follow me or you’ll be tied up for the night,” I tell her, “and end up in the same place, anyway.”

She follows. I take her back downstairs. Her hand feels soft. I like it. As soft as she is, I will mold her into whatever woman I desire.

Once we’re in the basement, she again tries to reason with me. “Just let me go,” she says. “I won’t tell anyone what you’ve done to me. You can have the chip, keep it and go find out who it really belongs to. Just let me go, please.”

I take the blindfold from her eyes and she blinks in the light. “Your turn to listen,” I begin. “We are getting married tomorrow. It is happening whether you like it or not, so you better get used to the idea. You will say yes when the time comes. You will sign when it is needed.”

“Or what?” she says, still trying to look defiant.

I’m tired of this. It’s time to get across to her that she can’t change my plans. “Or I find every single person you ever cared about and I have them killed. The kids you grew up with, shot in the head. Your neighbors, drowned.

“The boy you had your first crush on, knifed so he bleeds out slowly with no one near to help him. Those cute kids you once babysat for, their house burned to the ground. That is what will happen if you don’t do exactly what I tell you.

“You think about that tonight. You either marry me or I destroy your entire world and you still end up married to me. Or would you prefer Ricardo? You know he eats women when he’s finished with them.” I walk over to the stairs and head up them, glancing back over my shoulder. “While they’re still alive.”

I leave her to ponder on that. I lock her in and sit in my study, pouring myself another drink. Corrado comes in while I’m staring at the bookcase.

“It’s done,” he says, taking the seat opposite the desk. “Church is booked for noon. Priest is organized. The dress will be here first thing in the morning. It can be adjusted if needed before the ceremony.”

“Good.” I drain my glass.

“Have you persuaded her to do this?”

I take out the chip from the drawer in front of me and run it through my fingers, flicking it over my knuckles. It’s such a small thing and yet it will change everything. Like her, I think to myself. “She will do it,” I say, placing the chip on the desk.

“What is it? Something’s troubling you.”

“She says the chip isn’t hers. Says she found it.”

“A lie to win her freedom.”

“Maybe.” Something about what she said has stuck with me, though. “Her mother had a safe deposit box,” I add, “according to her, anyway. Find out if she was telling the truth.”

Corrado knows how I operate. I share what needs to be shared and nothing more. He nods and heads out. I gather myself up and walk upstairs. I look in my bedroom.

It is the last night I shall sleep in here alone. Tomorrow night she will be in here with me. Willingly or not, she will give her new husband the thing he is entitled to. I will become Capo dei Capi.

I think of her wrapped in that towel, and my cock twitches with desire. Twenty-four hours and she will be in here with me. I can wait that long, but no longer. I am a patient man, but I have my limits.

A means to an ends. That’s all she is. That’s what I tell myself when I climb into bed. Funny thing is, the last thing I think of before falling asleep is how soft her hand felt when it was enclosed in mine.

The way it trembled with fear and the way I wanted to stop her being afraid, promise to take care of her, protect her from harm.

I need to shut those thoughts down. Let them worm their way into my brain and there’s a real danger there. A danger of me getting distracted from what matters.

Tomorrow we wed and I will be on my way to becoming Capo dei Capi. That matters. Nothing else.