“They didn’t.”
“They won’t,” I growled. I’d protect Aria no matter what it would take me. I trailed my fingers over Aria’s throat, but she leaned back.
“You’re going to make this really difficult, aren’t you?”
She gave me an indignant look.
“I’m sorry for what you saw today,” I said. Apologizing was something I didn’t do. Father had beaten it out of me, but here I was doing just that.
“But not sorry for what you did.”
“I rarely say I’m sorry. When I say it, I mean it.” And I did. Aria shouldn’t have seen what she did, and I shouldn’t have gone to Grace. If I didn’t want to be like my father, I couldn’t act like him, not even in that regard.
“Maybe you should say it more often.”
“There’s no way out of this marriage for you, nor for me. Do you really want to be miserable?”
After a moment of consideration that almost made me lose my patience, Aria gave a small shake of her head. “No. But I can’t pretend I never saw you with her.”
I could only imagine what kind of images played out before her inner eye. Aria had never seen anything like it, and then she had to see me fucking Grace. “I don’t expect you to, but let’s just pretend that our marriage begins today. A clean start.”
Longing flashed across her face but still she looked doubtful. “It’s not that easy. What about her? Tonight wasn’t the first time you were with her. Do you love her?” She looked so goddamn vulnerable.
“Love? No. I don’t have feelings for Grace.” I’d never had feelings for any of the women in my life, or anyone really, except for Matteo perhaps.
“Then why do you keep seeing her? The truth.”
I hoped she could take the truth. “Because she knows how to suck a cock and because she’s a good fuck. Truthful enough?”
Aria’s cheeks turned red, and again I had to touch the heated skin, needed to feel her. “I love how you blush whenever I say something dirty. I can’t wait to see your blush when I do something dirty to you.”
“If you really want to make this marriage work, if you ever want the chance to do something dirty to me, then you’ll have to stop seeing other women. Maybe other wives don’t care, but I won’t have you touching me as long as there’s anyone else.”
She was right, and it wasn’t as if any woman could hold my interest. I had only thought about Aria since I’d seen her photo in the newspaper, even when I was with Grace. “I promise. I’ll touch only you from now on.”
Aria regarded me with narrowed eyes. “Grace won’t like it.”
Grace definitely wouldn’t. “Who gives a fuck what she thinks?”
“Won’t her father give you trouble?”
“We pay for his campaigns, and he has a son following in his footsteps who needs our money soon as well. What does he care about a daughter who isn’t good for anything but shopping and eventually marrying a rich man?”
“She probably hoped you’d be that man.”
Of course she did. “We don’t marry outsiders. Never. She knew that, and it wasn’t like she was the only woman I fucked.”
Aria blinked, obviously stunned by my admittance. “You said it yourself. You have your needs. So how can you tell me you won’t cheat on me again soon if you get tired of waiting for me to sleep with you?”
“Do you intend to make me wait long?” I asked.
“I think we have very different concepts of the words ‘long wait.’”
“I’m not a patient man. If long means a year…” These last few days were already hell. The idea of sleeping in a bed with Aria for months without sleeping with her…That wasn’t something I wanted to consider.
Aria glared.
“What do you want me to say, Aria? I kill and blackmail and torture people. I’m the boss of men who do the same when I order them to, and soon I’ll be the Capo dei Capi, the leader of the most powerful crime organization on the East Coast, and probably the US. You thought I’d take you against your will on our wedding night, and now you’re angry because I don’t want to wait months to sleep with you?”
Resignation crossed Aria’s face as she closed her eyes and scooted down on the bed. “I’m tired. It’s late.”
I leaned toward her and touched her waist lightly. “No. I want to understand. I’m your husband. You aren’t like other girls who can choose the man they’re going to lose it to. Are you scared that I’m going to be rough with you because of what you saw today?”
Aria gave the smallest shiver, confirming my suspicion, but by God, she didn’t need to be scared. “I won’t be. I told you I want you to writhe beneath me in pleasure, and while that probably won’t happen the first time I take you, I’ll make you come as often as you want with my tongue and my fingers until you can come when I’m inside you. I don’t mind going slow, but what do you want to wait for?”