“Pop thought nothing of the weekend they spent together until three weeks later when she came back with her father, a positive pregnancy test, and tears in her eyes. My Nonno was pissed. But it was done, Pop wasn’t going to shirk his duty. They were married three weeks later.
“Exactly eleven months after Anthony Junior, she gave birth to me, then she moved into another bedroom and told Pop she had done her duty to him. The heir and spare were delivered, she was done. He could have as
many women as he wanted but he wouldn’t have her. All she asked was he was discreet.”
“Wow.” Her head tilts as she studies me. “That’s not all she did.”
Yeah, young and naïve but definitely not stupid. “No, she didn’t give a shit about me or Anthony. She left the raising of us to Pop and my Nonna, who thankfully lived just three houses down. Mom was constantly telling me and Anthony how we were a pain in the ass, a draw on her energy. Everything we did was too loud, too much.”
Regina frowns and shakes her head. It’s not easy to stay away from her—I want to wipe her frown away.
“For my tenth birthday I begged Pop to let me live with my grandparents. Pop wouldn’t have it. She was our mother; whether she was a bitch or not, me and Anthony were to respect her. Same with his parents, they hated her guts, but they didn’t dare let their feelings show.”
“I’m sorry.” Those big eyes of hers are sad. “I was jealous of you for having a mother and a father, but I shouldn’t have been.”
I shrug. I hate the idea of sounding like I’m whining when she had it way worse than I did growing up. “No, however, I was lucky to have my grandparents and Pop. You had no one.”
Eyes wide, she gives a small shake of her head. “Mother Superior and Sister Giulia were better than family. Actually Sister Giulia wasn’t a nun, she was a teacher from America, but we all called her Sister Giulia. They cared for me not out of duty but because they wanted to. It wasn’t a bad life. At least Johnny wasn’t there every day telling me I was a burden and he resented me. I think hearing that every day would have been worse—silence isn’t always a bad thing.”
Regina fits in here, she is the most relaxed she’s been since I first laid eyes on her. Christ, has it only been a day? Whatever, it feels like a blink of an eye, and oddly as if I’ve always known her. Her thoughts aren’t those of someone in their early twenties. She has real empathy, she understands there are things she doesn’t get yet and at the same time the things she gets—they’re more than women twice her age do.
It blows my mind she has no idea how gorgeous she really is. For the first time she appears content, happy as she leans back with a book in her lap she’s clutching eagerly. I’m drawn to her, without any thought I’m across the room and in front of her. None of the other women I’ve fucked have been in here despite my invitation to them. Their expressions of confusion as to why they would want to always a confirmation they would not last long.
Fuck, my cock hardens at the way her legs widen as I get close, opening her body to me. The move is instinct to her—it’s clear in her confused honey eyes. I step between them before she can close them again. Her small intake of air is an invitation I cannot refuse.
I cup her chin, bringing her eyes up to meet mine, as I run my thumb over her smooth, soft cheek. My desire for Regina is seeping into my bones, my very marrow. Catching her behind her neck, I draw her up to me, she sways, melting into me. I bring my other arm up to hold her close.
My name is a whisper on her lips I inhale as I give in to my need. The taste of her, more intoxicating than any liquor, sends me spinning into greedy, desperate need to taste every inch of her. Her response is electrifying, she moans as she answers my hunger, stroke by sweet stroke.
The witch catches my tongue and sucks deep. No, damn it. I grasp her hair in my fist; she gasps as she grinds her hips against me. Fucking hell, I want to be gentle with her and I will be, but it makes her just as wet when I’m not. Perfect. Regina is perfect for me in a way I had never dreamed possible.
My cell goes off, reminding me now is not the time for this. Letting her go, I’m a bastard for loving the bereft expression fluttering across her beautiful face. Again, she sways against me. I wrap an arm around her even as I check the call that has already gone to voice mail. With a small sigh, her head goes down against my chest. For a moment I simply hold her. I understand the word content in a way I have never experienced with a woman.
The beep warning of the elevator arriving on my floor goes off.
Regina’s forehead knots in confusion as she looks up at me.
“That’s Vincent, Marco, and Dario. Come meet your guards.”
12
Regina
Dazed, I’m glad for the way Dominic takes my hand, guiding me into the living room. The men are and aren’t what I expect. They are the dark-haired, muscle bound mafia stereotype I’ve encountered at Johnny’s home. A second look and they remind me of Dominic’s surface calm that hides his alert, watchful tension ready to pounce. I have no doubt they are each carrying at least one weapon. I’m also sure they won’t need it to kill someone.
Only minutes after I’m introduced to them, Dominic squeezes my hand lightly before leaving with Vincent. The loss of his hand shouldn’t leave me so desperate for it. I clench my hand in memory.
Marco and Dario agree Marco will take the first twelve hours. Marco nods at me. “Mary made sure the kitchen is stocked, but if you want something from the kitchen in the club let me know. It’s the best Italian kitchen in the city.”
I give him a hesitant smile. “Thank you—”
A swift shake of his head as he goes stiff. “I’m going to warn you right now. My loyalty is to Dominic, to the Sabatini family. You might not yet have his ring on your finger, but you belong to Dominic. I will give my last breath to make sure you stay his and you are protected from everything, including your own foolish self.” He nods to the open door. “I’ll be by the door.”
Okay then, he won’t be any help.
And I need help so badly. That kiss in the library was so... I sigh as words fail me. Amazing, beautiful, wow, a ten on the Richter scale. I’m not even a hundred percent sure I’m awake because it was the kind of kiss I thought existed in books and dreams, not real life. This is bad, all I want is to beg Dominic to kiss me again, to take me into his arms and never let me go. To lie to me and tell me this will all turn out in happily ever after, not with the tears and pain I can’t help but feel hanging over me, us.
Sighing, I go back down the hallway to figure out if there is another way out of here besides through the brick wall of Marco. Across from the library there is a small half bath. A door is open to a large bedroom, it’s a nice room. Flat white paint covers the walls, but the wall behind the bed has a layer of wallpaper in a bright blue and silver of roses and vines. The hardwood that runs throughout the place is softened here with fuzzy white carpets, different than the expensive Persian rugs in the living room and library.