Guns n' Boys Book 1 Part 2 (13 page)

“I started talking to her at a cafe because
she was pretty. And then it just progressed so quickly. She
pretended to be uninterested, but I knew how she felt,” he told his
mother, stroking her shoulder.

“How long has it been then? I can’t believe
you kept this a secret from me. Should I be expecting wedding bells
soon?” She looked into his eyes in anticipation.

Domenico stared at her, dumbstruck. “Uh, it’s
still a bit fresh, mother.”

She pouted at him and tapped her fingernails
on the table. “Sometimes it’s good to move quickly.”

Domenico groaned, finishing up his meal. “If
I asked for her hand so soon, she’d think I’m joking.” Seth seemed
to think their whole relationship was a big joke.

“I bet you can charm your way into her
heart.” She gave him a pristine grin. “Just clear up the
misunderstanding you two had, and that’s that.”

“You think?” He pushed the empty bowl away,
eager to have something sweet now.

“Sure, sweetie. You have everything. You’re
charming, handsome, cultured, you travel a lot, you have manners,
confidence, and enough money to support your family. And you can
dance as well!” Mother added, already getting up to fetch Dom some
dessert. “You couldn’t be more perfect.”

Domenico swallowed, looking at her with a
smile. He was envisioning Seth’s horrified face at the idea of
getting engaged... again. “So you think she’d say ‘yes’?”

“Just make sure you give her a nice ring,”
she warned him, cutting up a slice of cheesecake.

Domenico sighed, already reaching for the
teaspoon. “What kind of ring would you like if you were her?”

“I do have a soft spot for pink diamonds.”
She put a generously-sized piece of cake in front of him.

“That does sound good,” muttered Domenico,
digging in right away. “And how have you been recently? Anything
interesting happened?”

“I’ve been in Milan just before you called
that you were coming back home. I’ll show you what I got! A new
pair of Louboutins.” She rushed out of the kitchen and only now Dom
noticed she was barefoot.

“That’s nice. Just for shopping?”

“And I met up with friends,” she said from
the corridor and strutted back in in a pair of black high heels,
holding two more shoe boxes in her hands.

Domenico chuckled, happy to see her so
excited. He was proud she could live the lifestyle she wanted
thanks to his hard work. “I thought you mentioned just one pair,”
he said, already taking more cake. He could eat it all in one go.
So good.

“I went a bit overboard.” She giggled and put
the boxes on the table, opening them quickly and showing off the
shoes. “I got these Manolo Blahniks from the new collection, and
last but not least, a new pair of Dolce and Gabbana. Just look at
that golden embroidery. Aren’t they glorious?” She sighed and
kissed the tip of the shoe.

Domenico stroked her shoulder and leaned
forward to give her a chaste kiss on the lips. “They are. So, who
were you with?”

“Oh, just a friend.” She dismissed it with a
wave of her hand and took out her cell phone to show him some
photos. “Look, here I am in front of the Louis Vuitton in Gallerie
Vittorio Emanuele. It’s so amazing! I bet Sofia would love to go
shopping there.” She winked at Dom.

Domenico grinned and crooked his head. “How
about you show off those new shoes at the Villani wedding?” he
asked and knew he’d struck gold the moment her eyes lit up.

“I don’t know if it’s appropriate. Shouldn’t
you take some nice young lady? But then again, you do have Sophia,
it wouldn’t be right for you to take another girl. I’ll go then,
but only so that you don’t feel lonely,” she said and hugged one of
the shoe boxes with a grin.

“It’s settled then. I’m sure you have some
amazing dress from Milan as well?”

“Don’t you worry about that. Do you want more
cheesecake?”

He could already envision her roaming
through her closet until the early hours in the morning. “I’ll just
take this one to my room.”

They exchanged hugs, and Domenico watched his
mother go back up the stairs. He listened to her soft footsteps on
the floor above him until they stopped, and made his way to his own
room, close to the kitchen. The door moved as he pushed on the
handle, entering with the cheesecake in the other hand. In any
other place, he’d half-expect it to be stuffy, but his mother knew
he was back in town, so she must have opened the window
earlier.

It was small, cramped, but Domenico liked to
think about this room as cozy. It hadn’t changed much since the
time he started training at the Villani estate. He never had many
toys, so their place was taken over by books on a shelf close to
the window. He had a small, antique desk with a chair, and between
them and the single bed by the other wall, there was just enough
room to walk through to the window. He never had a lot of
decoration here so he smiled at the picture above his bed. It was a
pretty watercolor print commemorating his first communion.

Domenico sat down on the bed with the
cheesecake in hand and looked at the cell phone again. There was a
text message.

He was so eager to open it that he never
noticed the cheesecake sliding off his thigh and only caught it as
it was close to falling to the floor. He groaned in relief and put
the plate on the rug, quickly opening the message. His stomach
twisted in tension.

‘You lost your cuff link. You can pick it up
tomorrow. If you want.’

Domenico frowned and quickly looked at his
cuffs. Both were there.

He swallowed hard, stroking his phone with
his thumb before he started typing.

‘Thank you, I was looking for it.’ He hit
send and picked up the cake, digging the spoon into the middle
because he didn’t have to follow rules in his bedroom.

Seth sat on his bed looking into the mirror
in the open wardrobe. So this was it. His wedding day. He felt
numb. His suit fit perfectly, but he didn’t feel all that handsome.
All he could think about was the wedding night coming his way like
the bumper of a truck. Having his first time with a woman made him
queasy so he didn’t even have breakfast. But what next? Would he
move in with her soon? Lucrezia Villani. He supposed it sounded
nice. Seth just felt sorry for her ending up with a gay guy. All he
could do was try to make it nice for her somehow.

“Be tough,” he whispered looking at his
reflection and ran a comb through the longer hair on top of his
head. The zero hour was approaching, and he couldn’t even tie his
tie right. It was pathetic. A sudden knocking at the door did
nothing to improve his mood.

“Who is it?” His voice turned out harsher
than he would have wished.

The door opened, and Domenico’s dark figure
entered the room. It was as if he sucked in all the light inside,
and Seth couldn’t utter a word as he watched him lock the door. His
stomach twisted, which made him glad he hadn’t had that breakfast.
He got up and went for the desk where he left the cufflink. It
wasn’t Dom’s, and Seth knew it, but it was as good an excuse as any
other. He wanted Dom around but didn’t know how to start a
conversation about it.

When he turned around, Domenico was already
approaching. Silent, sleek like a panther, in a pitch-black suit
that fit him so perfectly Seth couldn’t help but imagine him naked.
When Domenico stopped, he was merely inches away, looking into
Seth’s eyes without a word.

He cursed his heart, which drummed in his
chest like mad already. It was as if he was conditioned to be drawn
to the smell of Dom’s cologne. Yesterday’s violence was all too
fresh in his memory though so he took a step back and hit the desk
with his ass. He held out the cuff in his hand.

Domenico blinked, and his jaw moved
ever-so-slightly before he spoke. “You look good.”

“Y-yeah, thanks. My wedding
after all,” Seth uttered and pushed the cuff into Dom’s palm.
Wasn’t his
pride
offended anymore?

Domenico dropped the pin into his pocket and
retrieved his ever present pack of cigarettes. “That was thoughtful
of you.”

“I don’t think my bride will like me smelling
of cigarettes.” Seth slid farther away along the massive mahogany
desk. As he made the distance between them bigger, a part of him
wished Dom would pursue him. He wasn’t proud of that part’s
existence, an ugly, lustful longing for a violent man who could
protect him as easily as hurt him.

“Is she a non-smoker?” asked Domenico,
following him with the cigarette already between his lips. He lit
it with a lighter, which he dropped back into his pocket.

“I don’t know. Whatever.” Seth didn’t even
know how to talk to Dom now. “Maybe she isn’t after all.” He
reached into Dom’s packet to get himself a cig as well.

He stiffened when he saw Dom burning through
a third of his cigarette in a single inhale.

“You seem concerned about her well-being,”
growled Domenico, spitting the words along with the smoke like a
mad dragon.

“Lucrezia is in my thoughts day and night.”
Seth leaned against the table and lit his cigarette.

Domenico’s face went aflame. “So she has a
name now? I thought we’d be gentlemanly and stick to calling her
‘that woman’, but it doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.”

“I might as well call it as it is.” Seth
looked to him with a scowl. Even the smoke wasn’t soothing his
nerves. Dom looked too handsome, even when Seth was angry with him.
The bastard. With that elegant suit, the sleek black hair, a slim
tie that made him look like a fashion model, he looked good enough
to eat.

Domenico bit his lip, stuffing both his hands
into the pockets of his slacks. The silence was getting so
uncomfortable Seth started thinking of leaving his room early.

“I said I was sorry, but you didn’t,” Seth
said in the end, with his gaze at his feet. Domenico’s shoes were
polished to perfection, but they didn’t even move.

“For what?”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Seth
snapped at him and pushed his shoulder. “You attacked me!” He
couldn’t believe how little meaning he had to Dom. “You know what?
It doesn’t matter, just go, enjoy the fucking wedding cake.”

Domenico grabbed his hand, yanking Seth
closer as he hissed through his teeth, “I don’t want your fucking
cake!”

“How about a piece of Lucrezia’s cherry pie?
You up for that?” Seth pushed him away with a growl.

Domenico shuddered, but his
face froze in a fake grin, with the bulging vein on his forehead
more pronounced than ever. “Why, you want me to pop
her
cherry as
well?”

Heat flushed all over
Seth’s cheeks.
Asshole.
“No, I’d want her to have a pleasant experience.
Something you’re not that good at providing.”

That must have hit home because Domenico
pushed him back with a low growl. “The fuck does that mean?”

“It means you shouldn’t stick your dick in
without lube, and wear a condom when you’re asked for it!” Seth put
out the cigarette on a plate, never looking away from Dom.

Domenico drew in a sharp breath. “I always
use lube!”

“How kind of you,” Seth hissed and spread his
arms to the sides. This was unbelievable.

Domenico knocked his index finger against
Seth’s chest. “You cheated on me, and now you’re trying to make me
look like the villain?”

“‘Cause you treated me like shit! I don’t
know how to deal with you anymore!” Seth grabbed his hand in
annoyance.

Domenico snarled at him. “You were quite
enamored just two fucking days ago! And now what? Looking for an
excuse to run off with someone else again? Better. Fucking. Not.”
He rummaged through his pocked and raised his hand, holding up a
small sealable plastic bag.

Seth gasped, letting go of
Dom and stumbling back a few steps. There was a human ear in the
clear plastic. Clean, without even a trace of blood, it looked like
a well-made prop, but deep down, Seth knew it wasn’t. He could now
take back everything he said before. He
was
fucking scared.

“What the fuck is that?”

Domenico’s face tensed into a mask of anger.
“Brian sends his regards. He decided he needs a change of
career.”

Seth covered his mouth, bile rising in his
throat. “What did you do to that poor guy?” he whined, pushed out
of balance.

“He should have known better than stay in
town after yesterday. Found him in the fucking grocery store,” spat
Domenico, his teeth clenching so loudly, Seth could hear them
grind. “I bet he’ll take the next flight home.”

Seth just stared at him. Was this the man he
wanted to be with forever just two days ago? He had always joked
about having poor taste in men, but this? “How the hell was he
supposed to ‘know better’? “You can’t do that to people!”

Domenico crossed his arms on his chest but
seemed more pleased with himself than moments before. “It was as if
the knife moved on its own.”

Seth looked to the bag again. If a cat
brought mice and little birds, it only made sense this was what a
panther would bring. It was one of those unwanted gifts you threw
away and forgot your sweet kitty could ever do such a thing. “Only
it didn’t. You were the one to move it.”

Domenico rolled his eyes. “You keep clinging
to details whereas the bottom line is, one move of his ass, and you
went after him like fucking Hansel to lick the witch’s cunt in the
gingerbread house.”

The last thing Seth wanted
to hear about today was licking anyone’s cunt. He looked away from
the ear, chilled. “You didn’t have to bring this here! I said I was
sorry! What more do you want?” He pointed to the bag in horror and
moved behind the desk, to have something between them. He wanted
that thing out of his sight. And he was done suggesting to Dom that
he should apologize. Seth was physically incapable of explaining to
Dom how violated he felt yesterday. He’d have to talk about
freaking feelings, and fear, and shame… he was
so
not going there.