Blood & Marriage (Dark Mafia Romance) Read online

  Chapter 2

  In the movies, when men are in need of blowing off steam, they box a sandbag or get into a fight, but that wouldn’t do in my case. When I was younger, my sister and I both went to karate classes, but kicking and punching people started feeling unladylike as soon as I realized I was growing breasts. I’m not sure anymore how much of it was my father sneering at our hobby and how much was my own discomfort, but I gave it up. Mona didn’t care as much and now was a brown belt.

  I took up swimming instead, and every time something weighed on my conscience or burned my fingertips hard enough to make me clench them into fists, my first instinct was to dive deep into cool water.

  This time, burning the energy created by the day’s events took ages. I swam as fast as I could, relishing in the soreness in my muscles, but Santo’s words still echoed in my head as if he stood right by me and whispered them into my ear.

  He had no idea what he was talking about. Who did he think he was anyway? He was lucky I’d spared him and hadn’t told my father what had happened. Then again I knew that sparing him was only part of my intentions. In reality, I was scared that there might have been consequences for me if Father found out I kissed a man I had just met.

  I tapped the wall at the shallow end of the pool and stopped for air. I didn’t even realize how hard I’ve been working out until my muscles started trembling slightly. I took deep breaths of warm air, glad that I didn’t have to drive anywhere for a swim. The pool was in the basement of our villa, and I studied the space above me, hit by the realization that not only was I getting married soon, but I would also be leaving behind the place I called home and all that came with it.

  I looked beneath my feet, to the octopus mosaic illuminated by blue side lights. I’d been the one to choose the pattern when I was only five. When my mother was still alive, and my parents’ marriage a happy one.

  I glanced up, startled by a movement to the side. For a split second I was certain I’d spotted Mona resting on one of the sunbeds, but when I realized who it really was, I froze.

  “You can’t smoke here,” I choked out in the end, watching Santo make his way toward the edge of the pool in slow steps. I still remembered the faint taste of tobacco on his tongue, under the mint. Why would he come here, in his clothes at that? In the corner of my eye I saw he’d changed into jeans and a black T-shirt, but I was certain he didn’t come to swim.

  “Don’t worry, the ventilation’s on,” he said, strolling along the edge toward me.

  I took a deep breath and kicked myself away from the rim of the pool, fighting the ache in my limbs as I swam across its length for a moment’s peace. The front crawl allowed me to keep my face underwater for the most part, but my lungs constricted when I turned my head to catch some air and saw him following me.

  I couldn't help feeling annoyed that I was wearing my sports swimsuit, a blue one-piece that flattened my breasts. They weren't big anyway, and I wouldn't have minded some padding right now. Or for that matter, I wouldn't mind having on the black D&G swimsuit I’d bought the other day. That one was all straps and eyelets. Not for Santo's viewing pleasure of course, but to drive the message home that he wouldn’t have me.

  “Is there something you nee—” I wanted to ask in annoyance when he put out the cigarette, but breath caught in my lungs when Santo casually reached to the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it off in one graceful move. The sight it revealed made me still in the water, afraid that I might just reach out to that ripped stomach, were it any closer.

  I was ashamed to admit it, but his body was a work of art. He couldn’t have been older than twenty five, and the muscles in his body revealed why there was so much confidence in the way he moved. Wide shoulders narrowing down into a slim waist, and along the way, a pattern of small scars scattered, as if the artist who’d created him had decided he needed to mar the perfection so that it wouldn’t seem unrealistic.

  I forced myself to look up as soon as my eyes attempted to follow the trail of hair under his navel, but instead of at his face, as I’d planned, they stopped at the base of his neck where a thick, red horizontal scar cut from one side of his throat to the other.

  “I came for a swim,” he said, opening his belt as if to distract me. It wouldn’t help. I knew he was here to steal more of what wasn’t his to take.

  I opened my mouth, but it took me several seconds to produce a sound as I made my way to the ladder in the corner. “Make yourself comfortable,” I told him, hoping he would leave me in peace while I grabbed my towel and ran.

  Pulling myself out of the water, I have never felt so ungraceful, with the heat of his gaze burning my back through the rivulets of water cascading down my body. I wasn’t ready for this. I’d even removed all my makeup before coming here, and the little wet bundle of hair on top of my head was unflattering. He shouldn’t have been allowed to see me without my armor.

  “You do know I was only joking about the teeth, right?” He raised his eyebrows and carried on undressing, pushing his jeans to the side with his foot. Those black Armani boxers were definitely not meant for swimming in.

  “I bet the kiss was a joke too,” I said through clenched teeth and wrapped myself in the towel. My fingers snatched at the hairband and let my damp hair fall around my face. This way, I felt a tiny bit more secure.

  He sat at the other side of the pool, sliding his legs into the water and watching me like a cat ready to pounce. “Oh, no. That was all real.”

  I didn’t know what to say at first, compelled to tell him off right away and yet so flattered at the same time. It has been a good kiss. In fact, it has been amazing, and that was exactly why it should have never happened. “I thought you were my future husband! It was so inappropriate.”

  “In that moment I thought I was your future husband.” Santo smirked and slid into the water. The blue light only made it easier to ogle him, which was the last thing I wanted to do, but I still did it. The light reflected off the moving surface of the water, painting lines on his flesh, and I had to look away.

  “You cheated me. What if someone saw us? You’d be in trouble. Do you have no sense of self-preservation at all?”

  “I wanted to soften the blow of the news that Seth wasn’t coming.” A stupid, flirtatious lie. I could hardly believe the audacity of this guy. And he wasn’t even swimming, he was slowly walking my way in the water, like some sea god trapped in a pool.

  I gathered my hair to one side and twisted it to get out excess water. Unable to stop myself from noticing his approach, I leaned down ever-so-slightly so that my breasts would be affected by gravity and appear that tiny bit larger than they were. Just to show him what he’d be missing.

  “I bet you think you’re so funny.”

  The way he forced back a smile told me all about the answer to that question. “No. I am fun though. Since Seth didn’t come, how about I become your fiancé for a few days?” He leaned his muscular arms on the edge of the pool, spending too much time ogling my bare legs.

  This was all a game to him. My life, my future--a toy in his hands.

  “You are disgusting,” I said, my mouth clenching as I tried to stifle the emotions that washed through me. “If you’re bored, there’s plenty other girls to toy around with.”

  The bastard only smiled. “I’m obliged to stay here. You don’t even know what Seth looks like. Don’t you want to experience an adventure before settling down? I know you liked the kiss.”

  “My life is not an adventure!” I yelled at him, only to close my mouth tightly, listening for whether someone had heard me upstairs. My heartbeat quickened, and I counted to ten, clutching at the towel at the front of my body.

  "It could be with me." Santo's eyes bore into mine, and for once it was my face that he was staring at. Blue light played in his green eyes, making him look mischievous like a young demon, who didn’t yet have the heart to torture people in Hell.

  My cheeks tingled, but I shook my head. “I agreed to marry Seth Villani, not
to be made fun of by his entourage. There will be no adventures. I will have to leave home and move somewhere else. I don’t need any problems on top of that.”

  The smile was gone from his face, and Santo frowned at me, laying his cheek on his forearm as he reached out for my toe. “You do know it’s not a real marriage, don’t you?”

  “Of course it’s a real marriage. What do you think’s gonna happen?” I muttered and pulled my foot away.

  “I know of one thing that won’t happen. There will be no honeymoon, because Seth is scheduled to leave for New York after the wedding. Is that what a real husband would do?” He pulled himself up at the edge of the pool and water slid down his body once he got up. Even his presence made me nervous.

  A tremble went through my insides, but I kept my cool. This was nothing I hadn’t expected anyway. Everything I’d ever pictured for myself when my life was still carefree has been a mirage, a luxury I could never have. “So? I’m marrying him even though I don’t know him. Do you think I expect things to go like in a regular relationship? I’m not stupid.”

  He slicked back his slightly longish hair and leaned against the wall next to the bench. “What do you expect, then?”

  He was so close now I could sense the heat of his body. Or was it just my imagination? “I expect to be respected by my husband’s family, but I already see I was mistaken.”

  Santo bit down on his bottom lip with a long exhale through his nose. “Give me a chance, and I will respect you all night long.”

  My eyes grew wider, and heat trailed up my neck when I imagined him crawling on top of me in bed. No matter how much I didn’t want to think about it, my brain still suggested that all his sturdy muscles would be heavy and pleasant.

  I shot to my feet and rushed past him on my way to the door, only to be stopped by a warm hand closing around my wrist. I froze on the spot, afraid to even look back at him.

  He was touching me. Would anyone hear me if I screamed?

  I heard him clearly despite his words being only a whisper. “All I’m saying is that if you want to try something real before you marry, I’m your man. No guilt, no strings, no one would know.”

  It was a temptation.

  But I knew exactly how following your passions ended for women like me, and I yanked my hand back so hard it hurt for a moment after slipping from between his fingers.

  I ran away but he didn’t follow me.

  Chapter 3

  I didn’t really want a bachelorette party, since I didn’t even know if I wanted to celebrate. But Mona insisted that she booked a VIP room for us in a club in Cosenza. She seemed anxious to treat me, so a part of me was instantly suspicious, but on the other hand, I was her only sister. It made sense that she’d want to party with me. That, or it was an excuse to get her underage ass into a club. Father didn’t let her go out to nightclubs unless she was with me.

  Either way, there I was, sitting in a small room with violet plush sofas and tacky red lights, drinking away my fears to the muted rhythm of techno music outside.

  Mona had an odd look in her eyes when she poured me more of the cocktail we’d ordered in a pitcher. Our girlfriends all gravitated to the dancefloor as soon as they heard a summer smash hit from the early 2000s, leaving the two of us alone with one of Father’s men tucked away in the corner with his eyes glued to his smartphone. I knew he was there for protection, but I hardly believed anything could happen to us in a private room.

  “Are you having fun?” Mona asked, massaging my hand on the table top.

  I put on a smile, to not disappoint her. I knew how much care she put into organizing all this, and I wanted to make her feel appreciated. “It’s lovely. If you want to dance too, I don’t mind. My feet are hurting in those new shoes, and—”

  “I can’t bring your dress to the wedding,” whimpered Mona, casting her eyes down and squeezing my fingers.

  I froze, sure that I was making an ugly scowl without even seeing myself in a mirror. “No…why?” I was somewhere between the urge to drink the whole pitcher and throwing up what I’ve already had. “It’s the one thing I want. Can’t my life at least look the way I want it to on Instagram? Is that too much to ask?”

  “I tried, okay?” Mona chewed on her lips and let go of me, flushing dark red. “I’m still trying, but I need to tell you so that you don’t end up disappointed. Father’s suspicious, and he suggested my luggage will be inspected before we leave for your wedding. Apparently, he doesn’t trust me not to do anything ‘aggravating’,” she said, making air quotes with her fingers. The exasperation with which she spoke made me feel ill about the way I reacted. How much could I expect of a sixteen year old anyway? She was doing all she could.

  “I was thinking about shipping it somewhere, but I don’t know anyone in the area, and that dress is so expensive. I can’t just ask a stranger to pick it up for me and then somehow get it to your husband’s house on the day.”

  ‘Husband’s’. The word made my stomach hurt, so I downed my cocktail to soothe the discomfort. “I get it,” I mumbled, unable to hide my disappointment. “Maybe I’ll talk to Father about it again.” But I knew I wouldn’t. He believed it would be good luck for me to wear my mother’s dress. No matter how much I had loved my mom, I couldn’t disagree more. If anything, I was afraid that the dress would cast a dark shadow over a marriage that was already becoming a prospect more daunting than I’d thought it would be.

  “I’m so sorry.” Mona stroked my arm and poured me more of the alcohol.

  I swallowed the tightness that grew in my throat and drank, but then the door opened and my friends poured in, along with the loud music, and the conversation couldn’t continue.

  I stood up with my smile number five firmly plastered to my face, but the fake happiness didn’t survive the sight of Santo walking in with his arm at the back of my former classmate.

  Because he was here of course. As if one bodyguard wasn’t enough. He was back in his stylish turtleneck, but I now knew it hid an ugly scar, just as Santo’s handsome face hid an ugly man.

  “Rosa! Come over, I love your dress! Let’s take a selfie.” I urged my friend away from Santo’s proximity. What did he think this party was? A pussy buffet? It was my party.

  Rosa smiled widely and grabbed herself a drink from the table before posing for the photo. I didn’t mind Santo watching. Actually, I’d made a point of wearing a sexy mint bodycon dress for the party, because I might not get the chance to do that so often, if my future husband turned out to be a prude or too jealous to let me dress sexily.

  I looked great in the photo, so it went to my Instagram account.

  “So, can you finally share any pictures of your fiancé? Why keep it a secret? You want to do a reveal after you two elope?” Rosa asked, poking me. I came up with this ridiculous cover story, because I was too embarrassed to admit that I’d never met my future husband. The wait for the inevitable was almost worse than the unknown that awaited me, especially now that I found out that every single detail would be out of my grasp.

  I heard Bianca’s horse laugh all too close, and I knew she’d had too much to drink before she even spoke. “I bet he’s too ugly to show to your followers, but come on, we’re all friends here!”

  “He’s not ugly!” I hissed, even though I had no idea if that was the truth. “He just likes his privacy.” I raised my eyebrows, and it shut Bianca up with the suggestion that he was someone important. Or from the mafia, for that matter.

  I pulled my skirt down my butt when I noticed Santo staring a bit too eagerly. The man was like a fly-trap for women, with his gorgeous face and calm demeanor. All the girls probably found him mysterious, and it gave me a little tingle of satisfaction that I’d seen him smile and they hadn’t.

  Rosa leaned over to him and stroked his arm. “Santo likes his privacy too. He won’t tell me what his type is.”

  “That’s because I’m here to be Mona’s company,” he said smoothly, walking up to my younger sister, who stepped b
ack until she was sitting on the table.

  “Isn’t this a bachelorette party? The whole point is for it to be a girls’ night out,” I said, keeping my voice neutral, but when Mona grinned and grabbed his hand, I couldn’t help but clench my teeth.

  It wasn’t her fault, I knew, but Father shouldn’t have sent a guest with us. If he was so afraid for our safety, he could have sent one of his older, married men to guard us. That way, there would be no flirting with the minders, and we could all have some fun together instead of everyone pining for the bull with the longest horns.

  Santo briefly caught my gaze, and I looked away, returning to my cocktail. I couldn’t believe how insolent he was being. First he tries to seduce me, and now, put his hands on my sister? I would make sure they were watched at all times, because I couldn’t tell Mona what he’d done. She’d yap about it to Father in good faith, and it would all collapse over my head.

  Rosa sighed, but pulled on my hand. “Exactly! Let’s go dance.” She gave me a toothy smile, and for a brief moment I wondered if she would visit me in my new home, or if I would even miss her.

  Santo whispered something into Mona’s ear, and she giggled like crazy, triggering a pang of jealousy in my chest. Not over Santo, of course, or his attention, but over how carelessly happy she seemed. Would I be as happy if Santo whispered sweet nothings into my ear?

  She pulled him through the door, back into the colorful lights of the dance floor, where music thumped so loudly the rhythmical base did weird things to my body.

  Left without a choice, since I wanted to watch over Mona, I went out into the main room of the club, followed by almost everyone else. It was only once I got into the dancing that I realized I’d been missing out on the relaxation it provided. But even as I screamed over the music to communicate with my friends, I never took my eyes away from Mona and Santo for longer than a couple of seconds.

  They danced quite close together, but as far as I could see, nothing pervy was going on, and Mona seemed to enjoy herself in Santo’s strong arms. I knew he smelled so good too, and when he pressed her closer to him, it tugged on my nerves so hard I needed to look away for a while.