Luca Vitiello (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles, #0)

by Cora Reilly

Until her. Until Aria. With her, I didn’t have to cover up my darkness. Her light shone brighter than my darkness ever could. With her, I didn’t want to be the monster. I wanted to shield her from that part of my nature. But I was born a monster. Raised to break others.

Aww

“Born in Blood, Sworn in Blood. I enter alive and I leave dead,” I said firmly. “You are a Made Man of the Famiglia, Luca. You will kill and maim in my name. You will break and burn.”

I was still the spitting image of my father, same cold gray eyes, same black hair, but I’d never wear it in that disgusting slicked-back way he did.

His expression darkened. “She’s the most beautiful woman the Outfit has to offer. A real stunner. Golden hair, blue eyes, pale skin. An angel come down to earth, as Fiore put

I’d never forced myself on a woman, and Aria was only a girl. My fiancée. Mine. Mine to protect.

oh thank god he isn’t going to do anything to her

What kind of man hit a woman? And Aria? No, the mere idea set my teeth on edge. She weighed less than half of me. She was innocent and vulnerable. “She didn’t disobey me.”

“I trust you’ll keep Aria safe from male attention,” I said coldly, fixing Scuderi with a hard look. “I don’t want him anywhere near her. If I hear that someone as much as looks at her the wrong way, nothing will stop me from dragging Chicago into the bloodiest war you can imagine. I don’t share what’s mine, and Aria is mine. Only mine. She’s

under my protection from this day on.”

“You’re like a skittish doe in the clutches of a wolf. I’m not going to maul you.” I’d do many other things to her, but she’d enjoy them all.

Aria was gorgeous. She was honorable. She was my wife. Grace was nothing.

Aria let out a bell-like laugh. Stunned by the first carefree sound I’d heard from her, I glanced her way. She was beaming at her younger brother Fabiano, who stood with his arms crossed among the men. Would she ever look that happy when she lived with me in New York?

“I can’t deny you something that you don’t have the right to take in the first place. My body doesn’t belong to you. It’s mine,”

Yes girl tell him!!

Tears had never weakened my resolve. But before now, those tears had never belonged to my wife, to the woman I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with.

Some girls were ugly criers. I didn’t think Aria could ever look anything less than stunning. The deep blush on her cheeks made me hate myself even more for my weakness. I could have had her beautiful body beneath me tonight, but instead I was painting a fucking picture with my own blood for the fucking furies of my family.

There was the tiniest smile tugging at her lips, and the sight of it shouldn’t have made me feel so…content.

My wife. And because of that. I wanted to protect her, even from myself—the hardest task of all.

“When I claim your body, I want you writhing beneath me in pleasure, not fear.” Aria’s eyes

She knew what I was, and for some reason that made me want to be good to her, to show her that there was more than brutality. At least when she was concerned.

Scuderi, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care that someone spoke like that about his daughter. If I ever had a daughter, I’d cut off anyone’s head who dared to talk that way about her.

“I did. And Father will choose some bitch that’ll make me miserable for me soon enough.” “So you rather choose your own bitch who’ll make you miserable.” He shoved my hand away, looking pissed. “Gianna isn’t a bitch.” “You want to hit me because of her.”

She seemed so fragile and innocent. What if my darkness was too much for her?

“Don’t mention my wife again, understood? And don’t think I don’t know you talked shit to her on our wedding day.”

My heart pounded in my chest, not just from the sprint, but from worry over my wife. My crying, hurt wife.

We’d been searching for Aria for almost two hours, but there was still no sign of her. My temple was throbbing, and I actually considered calling Scuderi after all. Screw the consequences. The only thing that mattered was getting back Aria.

Scared. Scared of me. Fuck. Aria. My wife. Mine to protect and honor.

“We were kissing, and you said you wanted to fuck me more than any other woman. Of course, I pulled back. I’m not some whore you can use when you feel like it. You’re never home. How am I supposed to get to know you?”

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

Mine. Only mine. So fucking beautiful.

Aria lifted her hands and touched my cheek, warm and soft and careful. I blinked, my focus shifting to her face, to her fear-widened eyes, the barely contained terror in her expression. Man or monster?

today, you would have lost control. The only reason you didn’t was because I treated you like my husband, not a monster.”

“You are far too beautiful and innocent to be married to someone like me, but

I’m too much of a selfish bastard to ever let you go. You are mine. Forever.”

My eyes dipped to the golden crown of Aria’s head—a beacon of light even in the dark of the room.

“You’ve got your Aria expression on again.”

frowned. “What the hell is that supposed to be?” Matteo smirked. “It’s a mix of protectively murderous and dreamily reverent.”

Aria’s soft voice tore through the dark once more. “You know, sometimes I wish I could hate you, but I can’t. I think I love you. I never thought I could.”

“But you don’t love me,” Aria continued, her words a slur filled with misery. “You don’t want to make love to me. You want to fuck me because you own me.”

Aria glanced up at me with a small laugh, and I knew I’d burn down the world to protect this woman. I’d start with killing my father, even if it meant ruling over a torn Famiglia until I’d removed every single one of my enemies.

I’d sworn to be gentle with her, sworn I’d protect her, and now when she needed me to be gentle the most, I acted like a fucking caveman.

Fuck. I wanted to protect and care for this woman.

My wife. The woman I’d protect at any cost, even if it meant killing my father.

Aria nodded, but she didn’t look crushed. She actually looked determined. “Then so be it. I’ll go where you go, no matter how dark the path.”

The only light in my day was when I returned to my wife, saw her beautiful smile and worshipped her body.

I loved every little thing about her, even her frustrating emotionality. Love. I loved Aria.

“You won’t ever touch my wife, Father. Aria’s a queen, and I’ll treat her like one. I won’t be like you. Your legacy dies today. Matteo and I will make sure of it.”

released my guns. I’d put my life down for Aria. I’d do anything for her.

For a second I was sure she was dead, that I’d lost the one person I loved more than my own life. I’d never known

love meant being scared all the time, scared of losing someone you couldn’t live without.

loved this woman. The words lingered on my tongue, but everyone was watching and I couldn’t say them, not now.

Only a small scar, nothing else, but I doubted I could ever forget the moment I thought I’d lost her. “I won’t ever lose you, principessa,” I murmured against her temple.