A Vow of Love and Vengeance

The doctor came in a few minutes later, leaving me with a pack of pills. I took them from her because who was I kidding? I touched myself to the thought of him, kissed him… I didn’t trust myself not to give in to him, and the last thing I wanted was a baby.

I didn’t need to be any more bound to the mafia and this life than I already was.

15

EMILIA

Gio and I hadn’t exactly parted on good terms earlier, so when a knock came at my door that evening, I was surprised to open it and find him standing there. Even more so when he told me to put on a dress because we were going to the club.

The only “club” dress I had was barely a dress at all. It dove between my breasts and showed most of my legs, including the ugly bullet wound on my thigh that had only just healed.

When I stepped out of my room, Gio was waiting for me. His gaze swept over me, but it felt like his fingers caressing every inch of my skin.

His brows pulled together. “You can’t wear that.”

I plastered a smile on my face. “Oh, I can.”

He wanted me to come to the club, wanted me to wear a dress, well this was what he got. Shaking his head, he stepped forward and took my hand, slipping the ruby engagement ring onto my finger.

“Is that really necessary?”

“Just so everyone knows who you belong to.”

I rolled my eyes and started down the hall. “So long as we both know the truth.”

He followed me, mumbling something about murder.

* * *

By the time he pulled into the alley beside Vice, the tension in the car was practically choking me. Gio cut the engine and rounded the hood, opening my door for me. I stepped out, and the second the door slammed, he was smashing me up against the side of the car, trapping me against his hard chest before his lips fell on mine. Hard and hungry and barely controlled. I should have resisted, but I couldn’t.

“Had to wear this fucking dress.” He fisted the material at my thigh like he wanted to tear it off me.

I slapped his hand away, sucking in several ragged breaths as I glared at him. “Not like I pick my own wardrobe.” Although I couldn’t deny that I liked him wanting me, even if I was determined to deny him.

He took my hand, his thumb brushing over the massive ruby. He might as well have pissed on me in front of everyone.

He guided me through the back door and up the stairs into his office, but instead of staying there like last time, he walked me through the glass door into the VIP area. The music was loud, vibrating through me with every note, making the entire building feel as though it had a pulsing heartbeat.

Gio led me to a booth in the corner. It seemed set apart from the rest, with a full view of almost every corner of the club. The VIP section sat on a mezzanine, the main club below a sea of writhing bodies. The people down there seemed happy. Drunk. Lost in the music and each other.

Gio sat, but before I could take a seat beside him, he pulled me into his lap. The short dress rode up, almost exposing my panties to him. His palm landed on my thigh, warm and calloused, his thumb circling the scar he had given me. Every bit of me honed in on the slow sweep of Gio’s thumb over my skin, the hard press of his thighs beneath me, his body heat.

All the while, he seemed completely unaffected. He sat casually, a king surveying his kingdom, and what did that make me? Certainly not his queen. His pet, perhaps.

A waitress brought us drinks, placing something pink and fruity looking in front of me. I took a sip, fully expecting it to be non-alcoholic, but I tasted just a hint of burn beneath the sweetness.

Sucking in a steadying breath, I forced my attention to the other tables. People were drinking, laughing, dancing. I was struck with a pang of longing for how normal their lives were. I wished my biggest problem was tomorrow’s hangover, paying a bill, or taking a final. I craved those normal struggles. Not mafias and alliances and bartering for the lives of my family members. Outside of the bubble I was stuck in with Gio, it all seemed so simple, but in here…in here, it was beyond complicated.

“Why have you brought me here, Gio?” I asked.

No sooner had the words left my lips did Laylah appear. My spine stiffened with engrained dislike. The woman had done nothing to me, not really. Well, she had blatantly made a move on Gio in front of me, but I was pretty sure she’d fucked him first, so maybe she was the one who should be pissed off. Still, I was the one with the ring on my finger.