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John Bianchi puts the fear of God in you. Because he is god. As the Don—the ringleader of the Italian-American Mafia—he decides when your time is up and how you pay for your sins. He was born in New York, but he and my uncle moved to Las Vegas when my father was fourteen. Uncle Marco was twelve. The laws in Sin City were more fluid back then, so my father was able to get his hands dirtier. He likes life messy.
“Never let anyone stand in your way, son. Not even fucking blood. They’ll be the first to undercut you, and they should be the first to die for it.”
It’s all about the hunt. That’s what makes this so exciting and gets my blood pumping. I was raised on violence.
My father doesn’t show favoritism, not even to his own sons. You either kill or get killed. It’s the Bianchi way.
We’re the Bianchis, the Italian-American Mafia who runs most of Las Vegas. We’ve all got bounties on our heads and are always a target. If you don’t take out your enemies, they will take you out first.
I didn’t have a choice. Twenty-two years ago, I was born into it, and I’ve been proving my worth and loyalty to my father and his men ever since. This trip will not be any different. I made this trip to show my loyalty to Nite as he has shown to me and my family. Heads will roll. Literally. And it’ll be by my bloodstained hands.
I wish that had deterred me from falling in love with him. Sadly, when I found out, I was already too far in. That’s the scary thing about love; it blurs the lines of right and wrong. You choose to ignore what you should question because it’s dangerous and thrilling at the same time.
He wraps his free hand around my waist and pulls me to him. I don’t pull away. Fuck, I’m just as bad as Emilee. Dick whipped. Good dick will make a girl stupid. I should become a lesbian.
“I pulled up that naughty picture I took of you last week.” Oh, shit. “The one where you’re lying on my bed naked with your hand between your legs. I stroked my cock thinking of you.”
“And I imagined you on your hands and knees while I fucked that pretty little cunt from behind.”
I willingly gave him my virginity. Our first time wasn’t slow and sweet because that’s not him. It’s not me. I like when he hurts me. When he chokes me. Or when he rips my shirt, throws me on the bed, and fucks me until I can’t walk. He takes great pleasure in making my body weak.
“Cancel,” he repeats, now panting. “Tell me I can spend the rest of the day drowning in that pussy of yours.”
“You’re right. You won’t.” His eyes skim over my heaving chest, naked torso, and yoga pants-clad thighs. “But you will be a Bianchi, nonetheless.” He leans in closer, his lips nearly touching mine, and I have to swallow the bile that wants to rise at his closeness. He reeks of cigarettes and whores. The cheap kind. “And the Bianchis share everything they have.”
He no longer looks like the boy I once fell in love with. He was always on the skinny side back then, but he’s filled out in all the right places. From what I can see, his arms are bigger, and he no longer shaves his face. He keeps it trimmed short, giving him a five o’clock shadow. And I hate how much I like it. How much it makes him look like a man.
He still takes me as a naïve woman who will believe everything he says. I’ve changed just as much on the inside as he has on the outside.
“You don’t have to pretend you want to be with me. Don’t do me any favors.” I turn, giving him my back, and return to the house. He follows me, but he remains silent.
“You belong to me now, Haven. And it’s time to go home.”
“I love you. We can do this. I know we can. We deserve this chance, Luca. To be free and live our lives together. Like we’ve discussed so many times.”
“I meant it when I told you I loved you, Haven. More than anything in this world.” Her eyes light up with newfound hope. “And, of course. I’ll do it for you. For us.”
I LIED TO her. It’s easy to feed someone lies when you know they’re starving.
I was called to serve, and no one runs from the Mafia. Not even Luca Bianchi. They would have skinned me alive for my betrayal. It would have been painful. I’ve seen it done, and I would have ended up in a shallow grave after a week of enduring the torture.
Even if I had to rip up the floor underneath her feet and carry her out kicking and screaming, she would be mine.
“You handed her over. She no longer belongs to you and no longer answers to you. She is now mine. I will do with her as I see fit, and I will punish her how I see fit. Do you understand me?” I’m shouting. I can feel my pulse jumping in my neck. My body physically shakes with my anger.
I won’t treat Haven the way he treats my mother. I will stand up for my wife. But I will make sure every motherfucker knows I control her. I own her.
don’t know what hurts more. The fact that he so easily said goodbye, or the fact that I can’t help but still love him.
I’ve dreamed of him telling me that before, but it wasn’t because he bought me. It was because he couldn’t live without me. My parents threw me to the wolves, knowing he could rip me to shreds.
Careful what you wish for. Your dream can quickly become your worst nightmare.
His lips devour mine a second later. His kiss is like pain—it demands to be felt. So fucking much that it makes me weak in the knees.
“But I need you to understand that when I tell you that you will be my wife.” He pulls back and hard eyes stare down at me. “I will be your husband. And we will share this bed.”
I left Haven standing in our room earlier today and haven’t seen her since. I had work to do. Honestly, I’m pretty pissed at her. I thought she’d be happy. She’s always wanted marriage, a home, and children, and I’m going to give her that. I think she was more upset that she had been sold than the fact she had to marry me. I wasn’t going to tell her that I bought her. I had planned to keep that a secret, but my brother fucking ruined it. Just like he does everything.
“I’m not sure what you expected,” he continues. “You left her. She’ll always hate you for that.”
“What’s done is done.” I made a decision, and I’ve lived with it for almost two years now. She’ll either get over it, or she won’t. At this point, it doesn’t really matter. The world will know she’s my wife.
If she decides to leave me, she won’t get far. I don’t think she’d chance her freedom. If she did, she wouldn’t like the consequences that would follow.
The last time was before I left her. When she used to stay here, she always made the house feel like a home. It’s been silent and empty ever since.
She was the last one because I knew she would be the only one to fight me. But in the end, she would lose.
The woman knew how to use that mouth. Even if at times I wanted to duct tape the damn thing shut.
I want to make her my queen and give her anything she wants. All she has to do is ask, but I’m starting to lose my patience. And that is not a good thing for her. She’s going to push me to the point I’ll no longer give a fuck, and then she’ll hate me even more.
She wants me. She always has. I’ve been able to push her in ways that no other guy could. Ever since I saw her in grade school, I wanted her. She wasn’t like all the other girls who wanted to be seen with me. She didn’t care one bit.
She slaps me across the face. “I’m not for sale, Luca. I’m not going to give you my body because you wrote a check.”
“Let’s get one thing straight, Haven,” I growl in her face. “We can do this one of two ways. One, you cooperate, and I’ll treat you well. Or two, you be a fucking bitch, and I treat you like one. Do you understand me?”
I am Luca Bianchi, and I always get what I want. Even if I have to lie, cheat, or steal for it. She will be my wife and the mother of my children.
“You can’t be serious?” I growl. He’s going to make me a prisoner. His plaything that will only be meant to satisfy him in the bedroom. The other ninety-five percent of the time, he will run around on me with whoever he pleases whenever he wants. We’re going to be just like his parents.
“Nothing here is yours. Everything belongs to me. Even you.”
I want to punch him. Fight him. I want to tell him that it’s ugly and over the top, but it’s really all I ever wanted.
“This is all my doing, Haven. Make no mistake about that. I wanted you, and now I have you. Today, tomorrow, forever.” He kisses my forehead gently.
Luca controls me. I’m his puppet.
The wife in question will produce three living heirs. Two of which must be sons. All cases after that will be up to Luca’s discretion.
“I’m not a Mafia whore,” I spit out. “I will not be some fucking trophy for you to parade around in public while you fuck around behind my back.” I pick up a glass paperweight and throw it at his head, cussing when I miss him by a mile. Damn drunk aim. I would have been spot-on if I was sober.
“You will give me as many children as I want. You were born to fucking breed, and that’s exactly what you will do. You’ll give me an army of men who I will train to run this world. Just as I was.”
“You see, Haven, we all play a role in this life, and a woman is very useful if she knows her place.” Then he stands, turns, and walks out of his office.
