Angelo.
I have one thing to take care of before I start my married life with Vittoria.
Big Ricky stops the car in front of the club, and when I get out, he follows me inside.
The place is buzzing with life, and music beats in the air as I head to the back.
I shove the office door open and find Giorgio on his knees in the middle of the room while Eddie sits on a chair by my desk with his gun in his hand. “Mr. Rizzo,” he says with urgency, tightening his words. “I don’t have a problem with you marrying my sister.”
“Stepsister,” I correct him as I unbutton the cuffs of my dress shirt. I roll the sleeves up, then say, “This is about you beating Vittoria.”
“What?” he gasps. “I don’t know what she told you, but she lied. I have never–”
I lunge forward, and my fist connects so hard with his jaw that spittle flies into the air.
Continuing to roll up my sleeves, I say, “I fucking memorized the vows for Vittoria because I know how important the church is to her.” My eyes flick to the bastard. “So I’m definitely not going to let some fucker insult her.” I glare at the piece of shit that’s my brother-in-law. “You will not disrespect Vittoria.”
Giorgio looks pathetic, his fear of me etched all over his face. “Yes, sir,” he mumbles as blood trickles down his chin.
I’m not lying. It took me half an hour to memorize the shit I needed to say at the ceremony because I knew Vittoria would take our vows seriously.
I might not love her yet, but I want to do right by her from the start. I refuse to be a piece of shit like my father.
I tip my head at Eddie, and he gets up from the chair. Grabbing hold of Giorgio, he drags the fucker to the back of the room, where the cordless reciprocating saw is waiting.
Eddie forces Giorgio face down on the floor before stepping on his broken arm to keep it in place.
I roll my shoulders as I join them, and picking up the saw, I switch it on.
When the saw hums, Giorgio starts begging, “No, please! I won’t ever touch her again. Please, Mr. Rizzo! Please.”
Crouching in front of him, I say, “You can be glad I’m not killing you tonight.”
I want to play with my prey before I end his pathetic life.
Without an ounce of mercy, I cut through the cast around his arm, and it has Giorgio pleading with God to save him.
I stop the second I slice into his skin and let out a chuckle. “If you piss on my floor, I’m cutting off your dick as well.”
“God, please, Mr. Rizzo! I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry!”
“Not sorry enough,” I growl before I bring the blade down on his arm. Giorgio’s screams of agony fill the air, and recalling the bruises on Vittoria’s arms and legs, I cut through the bone and sever his forearm in two.
Standing up, I switch off the saw and toss it to the side. I lock eyes with Eddie and order, “Throw the shit in the trash and drop the fucker off at the nearest hospital.”
As I walk to the door so I can get back to my new wife, I say, “Giorgio, you better be back at work a week from now.”
Through his hysterical cries, he manages to mumble, “Y-y-yes, s-sir.”
I leave the office with Big Ricky right behind me and head straight out of the club and to the car.
Once I’m comfortable in the back seat, I stare out the window and think about the woman waiting at home for me.
We’re definitely consummating our marriage tonight, but I need to remember she’s an untouched virgin. I have to take her fears and feelings into consideration.
I don’t want to traumatize Vittoria, so I’ll have to put her at ease, which is something I’m not used to doing.
So no losing control and fucking her until she can’t walk.
The corner of my mouth lifts because I finally have Vittoria, and her body is mine to enjoy.
Only mine.
When Big Ricky parks the car at the front of the mansion, I get out and head inside to find Tiny in the living room, where he’s watching baseball reruns.
“Where is she?”
He points in the direction of the stairs. “The main bedroom.” “You can go,” I order as I head to my bedroom.
Tiny and Big Ricky live in the apartment above the garage, so they’re always on standby.
Where Tiny can kill a man with a single blow, Big Ricky never misses a shot. They’ve been with me from the start, and they’ll probably be with me at the end.
When I walk into the bedroom, I see Vittoria standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
She doesn’t hear me approach, and when I come up behind her, my reflection shows in the window.
“God!” She startles and places a hand over her heart while swinging around to face me.
My gaze drifts over the green dress, then I say, “You changed out of the gown.”
A nervous expression tightens her features as she begins to ramble, “I took a bath. I hope you don’t mind. I thought it would help me calm down, and I wanted to shave for tonight so I’m not all hairy.” The pitch of her voice climbs with every word spilling from her mouth. “But none of it helped, and I’m going to have a nervous breakdown because I don’t know what to expect or do and…and…and.”
Gripping her shoulder, I pull her against my chest and wrap my arms around her. “Shh. It’s going to be okay,” I say in an attempt to ease her anxiety.
Her body trembles in my hold while I try to think of something else to say. Coming up empty, I just rub my hand up and down her back.
I press a kiss on her wild hair while I place my other hand behind her head, then I repeat, “It’s going to be okay.”
She rests her cheek against my chest, and letting out a deep breath, she asks, “Are you going to have mistresses?”
“No.”
Her voice sounds vulnerable as she admits, “I have no experience, so I don’t know what to do.”
“Just follow my lead, and you’ll be fine.”
Silence falls between us, and seeing as she doesn’t pull away, I continue to rub my hand up and down her back.
After a while, she asks, “Why me?”
I lower my mouth to her curls and take a deep breath of her soft floral scent. “You have something I want.”
Vittoria moves her head to glance up at me, putting our faces inches apart. Feeling her breath on my mouth makes the urge to kiss her strike hard.
“What do I have?” she asks.
My eyes capture hers, and I get lost in her brown irises brimming with vulnerability. “Your innocence.”
She lowers her gaze to my chest. “You could’ve just taken it.”
Even though she’s not looking at me, I shake my head. “I like knowing my wife has never been touched by another man.”
She tugs her bottom lip between her teeth, then glances up at me again. Lifting my hand to her mouth, I free her lip before brushing the pad of my thumb over the indent her teeth left.
No kissing.
Fuck.
It’s the only thing she’s asked of me, and I intend to respect her request.
Taking a step back from her, my eyes drift over her bare arms where new bruises have joined the old ones.
Anger explodes in my chest, and for a moment, I play with the idea of taking Giorgio’s other arm.
I lift a hand to her bicep and brush my fingers over the purple and brown marks. “I dealt with Giorgio tonight, and he’ll never touch you again.” When her eyes widen and her lips part, I say, “Don’t bother covering for him. I allowed you to lie to me once when you said you’re clumsy. I won’t tolerate it a second time.”
When my eyes lock with hers, she nods before asking, “Did you kill him?”
I shake my head. “Not yet.”
Not wanting to get into the gruesome facts, I turn around and start to unbutton my vest. “I’m going to shower. Change out of the dress into your pajamas.”
I remove my weapon from behind my back and place it in the bedside drawer where I can easily get to it during the night.
Because she’s a God-fearing woman, I know Vittoria won’t try to kill me.
“Ah…”
I glance at her and lift an eyebrow. “You’re sleeping in the same bed as me. It’s not negotiable.”
“It’s not that.” She wraps her arms around her middle. “I don’t have anything suitable to wear for a wedding night.”
The corner of my mouth lifts, and going into the walk-in closet, I pull one of my T-shirts from a hanger and take it to her. “Wear this.”
Her eyebrows draw together as she takes it from me. “Your shirt?” “Yes. I want you to sleep in my shirts,” I spell it out for her.
“Oh…okay.”
“Only the shirt, Vittoria. Don’t wear anything else,” I order before grabbing a pair of sweatpants and walking into the bathroom so I can shower and get back to my innocent little deer.