Page 18 of Vow to Corrupt You (Gods of Corruption #1)

Nikos

Strike after strike, I unleash my pent-up tension on the punching bag in the private gym in the east wing of the mansion.

Sweat drips down my skin. My muscles coil with controlled aggression.

Each hit reverberates through the concrete walls, echoing the fury in me.

After fucking, it’s the second-best way to release this kind of all-consuming rage in me, but fucking was not an option.

Not tonight. I can’t risk hurting her. Not yet.

I want to break her slowly. Shatter her innocence piece by piece until she begs for my dominance.

I desire to possess her, mold her into something wicked, something that will ache for me.

The desire is driving me insane, considering how well she’s resisting me. It’s maddening. Sickening.

“What have you done, Nikos?” Dimitris storms in with barely contained anger after the heavy metal door swings open with a force that matches the pressure of my punches.

“I heard about the fight with Castro. Do you have any idea what you’ve started?

” He reaches my side, grasping the punching bag that swings under the force of my next strike.

“Who told you?” I adjust my stance, my chest lifts and sinks with exertion.

“Does it matter?” He looks at me with frustration boiling within. “But if you must know, the father of Rodrigo Castro himself contacted me, asking if you’ve lost your damn mind.”

I scoff, wiping the sweat from my brow with a towel I just reached for.

“Of course, Daddy would swoop in to clean up his son’s mess.

” Rodrigo only took charge because Esteban, his father, fell ill—advanced cancer of the gastrointestinal tract.

The old man is hanging on by a thread, hooked up to an IV for all of his nutritional needs, but his time is drawing near.

“That’s not the point, Nikos. You’re breaking the alliance that’s lasted decades now, starting a war with one of the most potent mafia cartels.”

I throw the towel around my neck. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?” Dimitris’s voice rises. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’ve lost your goddamn mind because of a—”

“Careful how you want to finish that sentence, Dimitris.” I step closer to him, my expression hardening. “You’re talking about my wife, and the reason we are having this conversation in the first place is because some spoiled brat insulted her.”

Dimitris’s eyes are filled with doubt and dart between mine. “Your obsession with her is dangerous, Nikos.”

“Aren’t all obsessions dangerous?”

He sighs, a muscle twitching in his tightening jaw. “But you’ve been obsessed with her from the moment you saw her, and we both know why. She—”

I grab Dimitris by his collar. “Shall I remind you it was you who begged me to spare Salvatore? Do you think I didn’t know you were aware Lucio would offer me his daughter—or at least one of his daughters—in marriage? You wanted me to marry into that family.”

“Not her,” his tone wobbles, “her sister.” I see fear in his eyes and release my grip, slightly backing away. “Yes, Lucio begged me for help, and I couldn’t refuse my dearest friend. But don’t forget what he’s done for your mother.”

“He’s not done shit!” I snap. “She’s dead anyway.”

“But he tried.”

“Fuck it.” I run my hand through my hair, trying to contain my wrath fueled by the wounds of my past.

“Either way…” Dimitris clears his throat. “I thought someone like Valeria could handle you while not triggering your edges . You needed a wife, an heir.”

My uncle has been insisting I should have an heir ever since I took over the Mafia after my father—to solidify my position, or so he claims. What he doesn’t know, though, is that I have no intention of bringing a child into this fucked-up world.

I refuse to mess him or her up the way my father did to me.

But I keep it all to myself. I hadn’t told him about any of this, or about my vasectomy.

He wouldn’t understand, and I have no obligation to explain my choices to anyone.

“You got what you wanted. Your friend’s son is alive and well, and I have a wife.”

I walk past my uncle, heading toward the door.

“You’re playing with fire, Nikos,” he shouts, and I halt, the muscles in my neck tensing.

“Your actions will have consequences. Thanks to the Castros, we had access to drug trafficking through South America. Ending our alliance will significantly impact both parties, Nikos. If left alone, they might align with rival factions or retaliate. Or both, for that matter.”

I turn to face Dimitris. “I’ve faced worse. The Castros aren’t the first and won’t be the last. I can handle whatever they throw at me.”

“Handling it is one thing, but dragging everyone else into your personal vendetta is another. This isn’t just about you, ανιψι? .” His nephew. Always reminding me of my obligations. Dimitris sighs heavily, the lines of concern deepening on his face. “You need to think about the bigger picture.”

“The bigger picture is exactly what I’m thinking about.

Every move I make is calculated. The insult directed at my wife was a threat directed at me, and that asshole was testing my boundaries,” I snap.

“I will not let someone like Rodrigo Castro put my position in jeopardy, and I won’t let anyone dictate how I run things, not even you, Dimitris. ”

“Niko—”

“I’m done here.” I meet his eyes with a warning gaze, and he nods, keeping anything else he might have had to say to himself.