Strapped: A Second Chance Mafia Romance (16 page)

I
t doesn’t take long
for the reception, which is being held in the bar of a very swanky five-star hotel, to get into full swing. The drinks flow freely and surprisingly the Irish and the Italians seem to be having a really good time together, which is shocking considering their volatile violent past. I’m on edge for a long time, expecting things to kick off in the way that they always do, but nothing seems to go wrong. It’s absolutely unexpected, and I have no idea what to think about it all.

It’s odd, but in a way I have to reluctantly agree that maybe this was a good idea. Maybe peace is better after all. When I think about the way that Mike was killed, and the impact it had on everyone around him, I realize just how different things could be.

“I’m going to get a drink,” Sophia’s voice suddenly bursts out next to me, dragging me from my thoughts. “Would you like me to grab you one too?”

I glance over to her, suddenly feeling guilty that I’ve been neglecting her for a good chunk of the night. At first it didn’t matter too much because she had her bridesmaid friend with her to talk to, but now she’s gone off flirting with some of my friends somewhere around the party, so Sophia is alone.

It’s safe to say that she doesn’t look like she’s enjoying her wedding one bit.

“No, no,” I insist, standing upright. “I’ll go. Is champagne okay?” She nods a little unsurely, and I head over to the bar, losing myself in my thoughts once more. Only this time, I’m not worrying about other people, I’m thinking about
that
kiss.

Wow, it was intense.

As the words
‘you can kiss the bride’
were spoken, I smirked arrogantly, as if I was totally fine with all that was going on, but that was purely to disguise my fear. Kissing a random girl in a bar is
very
different to kissing your new wife in front of loads of people – especially when you don’t know how she’s going to take it or what’s going to happen. Then, as her lips met mine and she molded into me, I found myself feeling all kinds of unexpected things – a deep lust, of course, there’s no denying that Sophia is gorgeous, but I’ve kissed lots of hot chicks.

No, it was something more, I’m sure of it.

And now I really need to make it my responsibility to ensure that she enjoys herself. It isn’t fair that the bride is having a lousy time at her own wedding. All of these bastards might have forced us into this thing, but they don’t have to control how we feel about it.

Screw the lot of them.

I grab hold of the drinks, and take them back to where we’ve been sitting, vowing to be a better guest… or husband.

Urgh, the word husband… it’s just too much.

“There you go,” I fake a smile at her, wanting to keep my emotions inside. She gulps the drink down quickly, and I do the same, needing some Dutch courage. Once we’ve both placed our glasses in front of us, I speak out once more. “Are you okay? Is this still a little weird?” I cringe at how weird I sound, especially since last time I was alone with her, I was flirting really heavily and intensely with her, but it seems like I’ve made the right decision because she nods, actually starting to look a little happier.

“Yeah… I mean, what are we supposed to do? This party has clearly not been thrown for us,” she indicates around the room at everyone else having a ball, and I can’t help but laugh at her brutal honesty.

“You know what,” I say determinedly. “Fuck that, this is
our
wedding.” I stand up and take her hand in mine, and she stares up at me confused. “Let’s go and dance.”

“What? We can’t!” She panics, looking everywhere but at me.

“Of course we can,” I insist, growing increasingly excited about the idea by the second. “We’re supposed to have a first dance as ‘husband and wife’ after all.” I tug at her until she’s on her feet. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

As we get onto the dance floor I find myself oddly disappointed that it isn’t a slow number. I was looking forward to having her pressed up against me, in a way that I was pretty sure would feel wonderful, but as she starts to shake her hips in time with the music, loosening up a bit with every beat, I’m actually glad that it’s worked out this way. I dance too, really starting to enjoy the night, and it isn’t long until we’re laughing happily and actually enjoying one another’s company.

“Hey!” Arial suddenly joins us on the dance floor with my friend Diego, and we all begin to dance together as a group, messing about and having a lot of fun. It’s certainly a turnaround from how it was only a few minutes ago, and I’m really pleased with myself for taking the first step.

Seeing us all have so much fun really breaks the ice with everyone else too, and soon the entire dance floor is filled with people laughing and having a good time. It’s a surprising turn of events that we’re all enjoying being together, but what’s even more shocking is how okay with it I am. I was the one who didn’t care about peace, and who really enjoyed the violence, but now I find myself over the moon that we can all just… get along.

* * *

T
he next few
hours pass in a blur of dancing, drinking, and fun. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much in my entire life. But there’s still one thing missing, and I really want it. A moment alone with Sophia. I feel like we started to build something of a bond earlier over all of this madness, and now that we’ve both had a few drinks, I feel like we’ll be able to speak even more freely.

“Come on,” I quietly whisper into her ear, tugging on her arm. “Let’s go and get some fresh air.”

As soon as we leave the party behind, I feel a strange aura hanging above us. The easygoing fun is still there, but there’s something else too. Something that’s much more intense.

“This is nice,” she muses, looking up at the moon that somehow must have appeared at some point during the day. “I think I needed a time out for a moment.”

“At least we’re finally having some fun!” I insist, chuckling to myself. “Despite the insanity of the day.” She remains silent, and I shake my head to myself. “I can’t believe that I’m married now… I’m your husband. It sounds so weird to say aloud.”

“Tell me about it,” she replies sadly. “I don’t feel grown up enough to be someone’s wife.”

“Did you… not want this?” I ask awkwardly. I know that she doesn’t, and I don’t either really, so I feel like we might as well address this head-on to get rid of any elephants in the room. We’re both in this mess, so why not discuss it as adults, as it is.

“No, not really,” she admits bravely. “I mean… no offense to you, but I had plans for my eighteenth birthday, and they didn’t involve me still being here, and being married.”

“What were they?” I ask, intrigued.

“I guess I wanted to get away from the danger and the mafia lifestyle. I wanted to start again, somewhere new, somewhere fresh.”

Wow!
I consider her words for a minute, really thinking about what it would be like to leave this life behind. That was never what I wanted at all, I really got stuck in as soon as I was able to, and that’s been my life ever since. I honestly don’t know if I could leave, even if I really wanted to.

“What would you have done?” I ask, desperately needing to know more.

“I’m not too sure,” She admits, shooting me an embarrassed look. “I’ve always wanted to dance or act. Something along those lines.”

“So yeah… this is the total opposite to that,” I reply lamely, wanting to make something of a joke of it. When she doesn’t laugh, I feel compelled to continue. “I didn’t want this either, I really fought against it, but as it’s a crazy political move, there wasn’t anything that I could do about it.”

“I know,” she agrees with me. “I don’t understand how we suddenly became responsible for the violence that they created.” She laughs loudly, and I join in, not wanting to confess that actually I’ve been a part of the problem, that I’ve been deeply involved in the violence. I guess that she doesn’t know that yet, and I’m not sure that I want her to.

“Well, I guess it’s done now.” I finish, banging my hip playfully against hers. “Neither of us managed to stop it, so here we are.”

“Yep,” she blushes furiously, looking cuter than ever before. “I guess so.”

In this moment, I desperately want to lean in and to recreate
that
kiss once more, but something is holding me back. I’m not totally sure that she’s into me, and since I have to spend my life with this woman, I don’t want to wreck things and make her uncomfortable already. That seems like a crazy rash move that could cause endless problems.

So I decide to test the waters a little, to try and work out where her head is at. If there is one thing I’m good at, it’s judging how a woman views me sexually. I’ve perfected that skill over time, and this is something that I’m clearly going to need to do here. If I can work out where her head is at, I can decide on my next move more wisely.

“At least you’re gorgeous,” I tell her honestly. “I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t.”

She giggles awkwardly, refusing to look at me directly in the eye. I quite like her coyness, it’s refreshing. I’m more accustomed to the sort of woman who will lap a compliment up rather than try to brush it away. “I suppose you aren’t so bad yourself,” she eventually replies, feeling a little braver with a few drinks inside of her. “Although I still don’t know what to do about it.”

Okay, so she’s hesitant, but she’s flirting back too. That has to be a good sign, surely?

I step closer to her, and I watch a hooded, desire-filled look cross over her eyes, giving me the green light that I so desperately need. I lean in, anticipation flooding through me as I get nearer and nearer to getting exactly what I want…

“Oh there you are…
hic
!” A drunk Irish guy stumbles outside, completely breaking the magic of the moment entirely. “Everyone is looking for you inside. I think you have to…
hic
… have to cut…
hic
… the cake or something.”

“Right thanks,” I reply flatly, shooting Sophia a look. She appears to be as resigned as I feel, which sparks a hope inside of me once more. Maybe we’ve missed our chance right now, but maybe we’ll get it back later on… “We’ll come inside now.”

I place my hand on the small of Sophia’s back and I guide her inside, with my heart pounding wildly. All of a sudden, this wedding is more about me and her, rather than everyone else, to me at least, and that’s refreshing.

I didn’t expect to feel anything other than anger on this day, and the fact that I do is very strange. All of the fighting against this day just melts away as I watch my
wife
walk inside.

Maybe… just maybe this won’t be as bad as I thought it would be after all!

I
t feels
like forever until the wedding is over, but eventually the party winds down until it’s only me and Enzo left. I’m absolutely shattered, but kind of happy too. Sure, my mind is conflicted and all over the place, but I don’t feel as bad as I once did. I certainly feel a lot better than I did this morning at any rate!

“Shall we go?” Enzo asks me, shooting me a really kind smile. I still don’t understand how I feel about him at all – one minute he seems horrible, the next lovely – which is driving me crazy. But I know that I won’t be able to get any sleep unless I leave this damn building!

“Sounds good,” I smile at him gratefully.

“Your dad has already sent over a bunch of your things to my place, so we might as well head there?” He forms this as a question, which makes me feel a little better about it all. As scary as it is to think about, I knew that this was coming so I might as well accept it.

But then his words from that moment alone in the hallway burst into my mind once more.

“We’re going to be expected to make a baby, which means we’re going to have to be fucking all the time. Everywhere and anywhere.”

I gulp my terror down and I nod quickly, trying not to focus too much on that. I’m definitely not ready for taking things to that level just yet, and I wonder how I’m going to address that.

As the car takes us across New York to a strange part of the city that I haven’t been to before, I try my best to accept that this is going to be my new life now. It seems weird to be leaving everything I know behind so suddenly, but it’s done now. I have no choice in the matter.

“Okay,” Enzo finally drags my face back towards him. “Here we are, this is my place.”

As I step out of the car, trying to navigate the wedding dress that I’ve been forced to wear all day, my eyes flick over the most amazing apartment that I’ve ever seen.

Sure, I’ve been used to luxury my entire life, but this is on another level. This really is something else.

And then he takes me inside.

“Wow,” I can’t help but gasp. “This is amazing! The mob business has done you well,” I joke, sending him a flirtatious wink.

“It certainly has,” he smirks, taking me from room to room. As he introduces his home to me, I can feel the heady lust in the air, and it’s taking all that I have not to react to it. I can’t deny that I’m attracted to Enzo, but I’m really not ready to go any further with this. It might be our wedding night, but to me it feels like a bizarre first date, and I can’t put out right away.

“So… this is my bedroom,” he says, suddenly sounding more nervous than I thought he would. What happened to his confidence, his arrogance? “Would you… like to stay here with me?”

My heart pounds wildly as I consider this. He’s basically giving me a get-out clause, and I really feel like I need it. “I don’t think I’m ready,” I tell him honestly – we might as well start this thing telling the truth. “Can I sleep on the couch?”

“Of course,” he insists, not looking annoyed at all. “I’ll get you some things.”

While I wait, I wander back into the living room, running my eyes over everything in Enzo’s home. I haven’t really considered what he would be like behind closed doors, but I didn’t expect him to have such good taste. There is some seriously nice art hanging on the walls, and some lovely antiques mixed in with his very modern gadgets. It’s actually kind of like how I would decorate my own place, if I had one of my own.

“Here we are,” I jump as Enzo reenters the room, disrupting my train of thought. He hands me a whole range of lovely looking bedding, plus my bag with my pajamas in it, and I smile at him gratefully.

“Thank you!” Then we stand looking at one another a little awkwardly, unsure of what to say to one another. “Erm… goodnight,” I eventually say.

“Yeah… night,” he replies sadly, before placing a quick kiss on my cheek.

Long after he’s left the room, I find myself holding my cheek as if it’s been burned. He certainly has left a mark upon me, and I don’t know what to think about that. How can I already feel so deeply for a man that I barely know?

Shaking my head, I get myself ready for sleep and I lie down on the couch, waiting for sleep to claim me, but my mind is buzzing a little too much and I begin to wonder that I’ll never be able to drift off…

* * *

I
wake
up with the sun streaming through the curtains, proving that I must have drifted off at some point, and I stretch my arms out sleepily.

I’m married.

That thought suddenly pops into my mind, reminding me of the craziness of the previous day. I’m a married woman now, and weirdly I ended up spending my wedding night sleeping on the couch… away from my husband.

I don’t feel as good about that as I thought I would. I thought I would be pleased to have escaped the typical ‘wedding night’ traditions, but I don’t. I feel oddly empty about that. I don’t know what it is, but I kind of wish that I’d continued with my bravery, and I hadn't bottled it at the last minute.

At least then it would be done, and we could decide what to do next with our lives.

As I drag myself from my mind, I suddenly realize that I can smell something delicious coming from the kitchen.

Is Enzo cooking for me?

I stand up and pad towards the kitchen, not even worrying about my bedhead and my makeup-free face. Normally I would be worried about a guy seeing me so natural, but this is my husband now, so we might as well be free with this kind of thing from the get go, or it’ll always be weird.

“Morning,” I say as I see him standing there in only shorts, frying up some bacon.

“Good morning.” As he spins around to face me, I’m taken aback by his amazing body. My heart pounds as he displays a very sculpted body in my direction.

Wow, he actually has an eight pack!

“I… erm… I…” I start to stammer, sounding more and more like an idiot by the second.

“You look lovely in the mornings,” he smiles at me, looking very genuine with his words. “Really sweet.”

“Thank you,” I reply, unsure of what to reply to that. I can’t tell him that he looks good too when he’s so naked. It’ll be too awkward with words.

“Now sit down, I have some breakfast for you.”

As we eat, we talk and laugh as if we’re old friends, and a sense of ease overcomes us. It’s as if we have been together for a very long time, which is weird because we haven’t even slept together yet.

The more we talk, the more I realize that I really,
really
want to.

There’s a buzzing that’s consuming my entire body and I keep finding myself leaning into him, as if I’m just about to make the next move.

Stop it,
I scold myself.
I can’t do this… can I?

“Thank you.” I murmur, standing up to hand him the empty plate, but as his hand brushes against mine, an intense spark races through my body, and everything else melts away.

My heart pounds heavily as we stare at one another intensely.

What’s happening? Where is this going to take us?

But then before I can say anything else, we’re kissing like there’s no tomorrow. I don't know who makes the first move, all I know is that I never want this moment to end.

This is crazy, it’s absolutely insane.

I force myself to pull back for a moment, just to take stock. But then I see the intense passion in Enzo’s face and I’m sucked right in again. An amber fire sparks in my panties, and I have to gulp the emotion that is coursing through my veins. Should I actually do this? Should I give in to the temptation? Will it be a huge mistake?

“Oh God.” I groan, knowing that I’m going to have to give into my body eventually – it will never forgive me if I don't, especially if it has a negative impact on this marriage that despite everything,
could
turn out to be amazing – so I grab his shoulders and pull him closer to me, wanting that body pressed up against mine.

This time as we make out like horny teenagers, I allow my fingers to trail down his body, getting a real feel of that body which is driving me crazy. Bolts of lust race right through me as I explore his muscles, and an involuntary moan escapes past my lips. His hands run all over me too, tugging at my pajamas, trying desperately to get them off me. I shrug off the top quickly, allowing his fingers to run over my breasts. As he moans loudly, and presses a thick erection up against my leg, I feel incredibly excited. Enzo seems like a very sexually experienced man, someone who has been with a whole lot of women, yet somehow I’m managing to turn him on and that’s absolutely crazy.

Enzo pulls back and looks up and down my body, somehow making me feel like a sexy goddess. Normally I’m body shy, and I don't like to be too scrutinized – especially not the very first time that I’m with someone – but the fact that he looks so excited by my body has me wanting him to keep on looking.

“Would you like to go to my bedroom?” He asks breathlessly, rubbing his hands over my curves, sending desire racing all over me.

I shake my head, not wanting to move from this spot, before gazing deeply into his eyes. He rests his forehead against mine, giving me a moment to look deeply into his soul, and I’m surprised to see that there really is a goodness there. There’s something different about him, something that isn’t like the other men in my life.

I place one chaste kiss on his lips, smiling at him sweetly. Then I do something completely unexpected, something that I really hope will shock him in the best way possible. I know that he’s more experienced than me, I can just tell, so I want to do something that will make me memorable.

So I slump to the ground, hitting it with my knees. Shock crosses his expression, which makes me smile to myself. It’s working, he didn’t expect this at all. So I slide his shorts and underwear down, freeing his thick, throbbing erection. I couldn't help but gasp in shock when I saw him exposed for me because he was far bigger than I’d expected... bigger than I’d ever seen before... and it suddenly made me feel very nervous.

I run my fingers experimentally up and down his shaft, just getting a feel of him, without even realising the effect that I’m having on him too.

“Oh fuck,” he suddenly groans, dragging my attention back to him. “That feels amazing.”

This gives me the confidence I need to move my lips closer to him. At first I just breathe on his length, then I kiss it gently, before wrapping my mouth around him. His body tenses up as I run my lips up and down him, flicking my tongue as I go, and I eventually witness him gripping the table behind him which means that I’m really doing it for him.

Perfect. I have him exactly where I want him.

I move my head up and down, really settling into a comfortable rhythm, but just before I get too enthusiastic, Enzo pulls me off of him sharply.

“No, no,” he insists. “Stop, I’m too close.”

As he pulls himself together, I stand upright and I kiss him once more, this time with tender love as well as passion. I don't know why, but as sexy as this is, I also feel really close to him too. I feel like there’s something more too.

“Ooh,” I squeal out as he spins me around, then he lifts me up and sits me on the table behind us. I giggle against his mouth, but then he shuts me up by kissing me harder and more passionately than I’ve ever been kissed before. I grip onto his strong shoulders as he drives me wild with desire. My hot, wet desire is desperate for him to explore it, and I’m not sure how long I can wait.

His fingers run up and down my legs and I gasp loudly against him. He gets closer and closer, without actually touching me, until I can longer cope for even another second. “Stop teasing me,” I beg. “I need you,” I don't know how I’m managing to be so vocal, so brave, but I am and it feels really, really good. Freeing.

“Why?” He asks, smirking once more. “What do you want me to do?”

This was a game of control, I recognised that, but it was kind of fun all the same.

“You know,” I smiled back at him flirtily. “I think that you know exactly what I want.”

“No,” he shakes his head at me. “I need you to ask, to beg.” This commanding, domineering nature isn't something that I’m used to at all, and I’m very surprised to learn that I like it.

“I need you,” I cave quickly, unwilling to fight him any longer. He pulls my panties to one side and slides one finger into me, causing me to gasp wildly with pleasure. Wow, this feels absolutely amazing, and I barely know what to do with myself. “More, please.” As he massages my insides, I feel myself go wild, and I eventually cry out in pleasure. “Fuck me, please.”

“You need to beg,” he sounds dominating now, and I weirdly really like that.

“Please,” I grip onto his neck, staring deep into his eyes. “I’m begging you, please.” This moment doesn’t feel strange at all, even though I’m basically pleading with a man that I’m married to, but I don't know, to have sex with me. Despite the weirdness of this, it actually feels really right.

Before I can say anything else, my panties are pulled from my body, as if they are the most inconvenient item in the world. I’m totally and utterly exposed for him, and I actually kind of like that. I feel sexy, desired, and that’s amazing to me.