Chapter Eleven
Giulia
My body is sore in places I didn’t even know existed as I pull my sorry ass out of the tub. Severu has put me through my paces, wanting to make sure that I’m able to defend myself. It has been three days since I was almost taken from our home, and everyone is still a little on edge.
As the wife of the top mob boss on the south coast, I’m now the most targeted woman in our world. People will see me as a bargaining chip, perhaps as Alceu’s weakness, and they will try to use me against him. His brother is helping me make sure it won’t be easy for any idiot who tries.
Alceu spends as much time with me as he can, given his position. It’s strange, but the more I get to know about him, the less inclined I am to feel like our marriage was a mistake. We both enjoy reading and cooking, and we even have the same tastes in music. My sass and sarcasm don’t frustrate him but seem to invigorate him. He enjoys spending time with his brothers. And late at night, as we lay in bed, he asks my advice on things I know no other man in his position discusses with his wife.
He makes sure that I feel safe. He includes me in his daily routine and the family business. Although it confuses the shit out of me that he treats me as an equal, I can’t say that I don’t love every minute of it.
Standing in our closet, wrapped in only a towel, I survey the rows and rows of clothes, trying to decide what to wear when I hear a sound behind me. Turning quickly, I find Alceu standing in the door, watching me with dark eyes.
“Your family is on the way,” he says with a growl. “I put it off as long as I can, but your father is a pain in the ass and insists on seeing you himself.”
“Shit,” I sigh. “Well, let me get dressed, and I’ll meet you downstairs. Where do you want to do this? Your office?”
“No,” he replies as he stalks closer to me.
His eyes scan my body, his gaze like a caress to my skin. There has been palpable sexual tension between us since the wedding, but this is the first time either of us has acted on it.
“Alceu?” My voice comes out in a whisper as I back away from him.
“I want to revise our agreement,” he says, caging me against the wall with his muscular arms.
“Revise?” My mind is fried. This man is sex on legs, his smell intoxicating.
“Yes, revise,” Alceu replies, running his nose up the column of my throat.
“How?” My entire body is strung tight, feeling ready to snap at any moment.
“I want to fuck my wife. I can’t stop thinking about parting those milky thighs and burying my cock inside your warm cunt.” He nips at my earlobe.
A mewling sound escapes me. The dirty talk has my pussy throbbing. It’s my ultimate weakness. Not to mention that I have been thinking of the same thing he has.
“Will you let me?” Alceu asks, placing a kiss on my neck and rubbing his erection against my stomach.
I’m not in my right mind, my pussy doing all my thinking as the word slips from my mouth. “Yes.”
There isn’t a downside to this decision. We are already married, I’m not some stupid virgin who will lose her heart to him because he popped my cherry, and I’m on birth control. We’re both consenting adults, so why not enjoy each other? And from the feel of it, I’m going to be enjoying the hell out of his cock.
“Good,” Alceu says as he pulls away from me. My lust-addled brain struggles to come to grips with what is happening. “Your father should be here in ten minutes. We’ll meet them in the library.”
Alceu adjusts his cock in his pants before turning to exit the closet. “Oh, and wear something red. It suits you,” he calls over his shoulder before striding out of sight.
My hormones rage and my temper spikes. I don’t know if I want to fuck him or shoot him right now. Instead, I get dressed, wearing red as he asked.
****
Exactly ten minutes later, my father, mother, and sister are let into the library where I am seated on Alceu’s lap. I can see the rage written plainly across my father’s face. My mother looks tired and stressed while my sister can’t keep her gaze locked on one thing.
“Giulia, get off of him,” my father snaps. “Don’t you have any damn respect?”
I feel Alceu’s grip tighten on my hips, holding me firmly in place.
“I prefer my wife on my lap,” Alceu responds calmly.
“And I prefer my daughter to do what the fuck she is told.” My father is already raising his voice.
I may not have any particular fondness for the man, but I don’t want him to die today.
“Father,” I say lightly. “Welcome to our home. I would like to ask that you remember who you are talking to. This is a friendly visit, is it not?”
My father’s face pales at my words, but he doesn’t respond. His temper has gotten him into trouble before and the reminder of exactly who Alceu is and what he is capable of has him reining it in.
“Please, sit down.” I gesture toward the couch across from us. “Rosa will be in with drinks shortly.”
Alceu shifts my hair out of the way, placing a kiss on my exposed shoulder. It’s his way of saying thank you for defusing a volatile situation. My father watches the interaction closely, rage flaring in his eyes anew. But he doesn’t say a word, even though I am sure he is choking on them. Instead, he takes a seat, followed by my mother and sister.