Bound by Duty (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles, #2)

by Cora Reilly

Fate was cruel for ripping them apart, and even crueler for throwing me into the arms of a man who’d already found the love of his life once.

I didn’t like to give up on things. I was stubborn—too stubborn, as my mother always pointed out—but I seriously considered accepting that the marriage between Dante and me wouldn’t work. There was only so much rejection I could take.

I hadn’t stood a chance against Frank back then, and I was increasingly sure that I didn’t stand a chance against Dante’s dead wife either.

My first husband hadn’t wanted me because he preferred men, and my second because he couldn’t let go of a dead wife and because he preferred to brood over a glass of whiskey.

“So you didn’t mind the company of prostitutes, but you can’t take your own wife’s virginity?”

“You aren’t repulsive to me,” he said firmly. “Trust me, I find you attractive.”

“Aren’t you loyal to me?” he murmured. “Don’t you think you owe me the truth? Don’t you think it’s your duty? Not only because I’m the Boss of the Outfit, but because I’m your husband.”

“And you owe me a decent wedding night. As my husband, it should be your duty to take care of my needs. I suppose we both will have to live with the disappointment.”

“I’m a patient hunter, Valentina,” Dante said in a low voice that I could feel all the way to my core. “You will tell me what I want to know eventually.”

“I can see in your eyes that’s not true. You want to make love, but I can’t give you that. I do want to possess you, want to

own every part of you, but not for the reasons you want me to. I’m a heartless bastard, Valentina. Don’t try to see anything else in me. The business suit and emotionless face is the thin layer covering up the fucking abyss that’s my soul and heart. Don’t try to glimpse beneath it—you won’t like what you find.”

This was it. I wouldn’t try again. I’d have to accept that Dante didn’t desire me enough, that he wouldn’t sleep with me until it was absolutely necessary to produce an heir.

Not being able to move as I wanted to wasn’t something I’d ever thought I’d find sexy, but boy had I been wrong.

I wished I could have felt his skin, but even that wasn’t important right now. All that mattered was that Dante was finally making me a woman, finally allowing us to become close. Maybe this was a new beginning, the real start of our marriage.

There was relief over finally having gotten rid of my virginity, but there was also a strange sense of sadness.

I’d gotten my first real taste of pleasure; from now on I wanted to experience it over and over again.