Doe
It had been weeks since I killed Vadik. Weeks since I broke the chains he had on my soul. It still felt surreal, knowing that he was gone. That I was finally free.
I still saw him in my nightmares some nights. His face. His eyes. His touch. In my dreams, whenever he touched me, spiders crawled all over me, covering me from head to toe until I couldn’t breathe. Some nights, I would cry myself awake, but most of the time Antonio would wake me, softly placing kisses on my forehead, brushing his fingers through my hair. Only he had the power to chase away the demons in my dreams. And once he managed to pull me from the nightmare, he would make love to me. Worship me. Cherish me. Every time.
We never spoke about what happened that night, the way it affected him watching how Vadik touched me, and almost raped me. I guessed it was something Antonio didn’t want to relive. It was something he tried to forget, just like I tried to forget every second I had ever spent in the clutches of that madman. But I knew it wouldn’t be possible. A part of me would always return to the past during a moment of weakness. I was okay with that…as long as I had my king.
“You okay?” I turned to see Antonio leaning against the doorframe.
I smiled. “I’m fine.”
“I don’t know if anyone told you this, but you do this thing with your nose whenever you lie.”
He walked closer, and I cocked a brow. “What thing?”
“Almost like you’re scrunching your nose. As if the lie makes your nose itch.”
I chuckled. “A lie makes my nose itch?”
“Something like that.” When he reached me, he placed his hands on my shoulders. “Seriously, are you okay?”
I took a deep breath. “I know he’s dead, Antonio. But he will never disappear completely.”
His features hardened. “I know that. At least you have the peace of mind that he can’t hurt you anymore.”
I only nodded. What was the use in telling him that Vadik hurt me every time I dreamt about him? Just thinking about him was hard.
Antonio leaned back slightly, staring at my neck as he pushed back the braid which hung over my shoulder. “Does it still hurt?”
I shook my head.
His fingers brushed against the Band-Aid before placing my braid over my shoulder, as it was.
“What did you do with it?”
He pressed his lips together, his fingers still lingering on the braid. “I took care of it.”
“How?”
“Don’t worry about it too much, Doe.” He touched my cheek. “I took care of it in a way that you never have to worry about it ever again. Trust me.”
The dark eyes which had become the center of my existence were filled with adoration as he stared down at me. It was when I lost myself within the earthy brown tones of his eyes that I felt most at peace. Well, that and whenever he claimed me, moving inside me, proving to me he owned me, body, mind, and soul.
Laughter came from outside and caught our attention, and I turned to look out the window. It was Rafe and Dante playing in the garden. Layla was standing a few feet away, laughing, watching her son and the man she loved play.
My heart bled.
Antonio wrapped his arms around my waist, settling his chin on my shoulder. “It’s good to see their little family reunited.”
“Yeah. It’s a shame they had to be apart in the first place.”
Antonio heard the regret in my voice. “Stop doing that, Doe. It’s not your fault.”
I remained quiet, silently watching. Happiness was painted in bright colors on his face while he swung his son in the air. And Layla, she was a striking beauty, and I was convinced it was her love for Dante and her son which made her so beautiful—inside and out.
My heart ached thinking of what Vadik had taken from me. How he ripped my God-given right to bear a child from my body. “I can never give you that.”
“Doe—”
“I can’t give you a child, Antonio. A family.” I placed my hands on my stomach. “Vadik made sure of that.”
With a swift twist of my hip, he turned me to face him. “Don’t. All I want is you.”
I struggled to keep the tears at bay. “That’s what you say now. But is that how you’ll feel in two years, five years, ten years’ time when everyone around you has their own families?”
“Doe,” he pulled me closer, pushing his hard body against mine, “all I’ve ever wanted was to find something as pure and as powerful as what we share. There was a time when I thought it wasn’t meant for a man like me. But here you are, and I love you so much it fucking hurts.”
A tear slipped from my eye and down my cheek. “I love you too, Antonio. That’s why I want to give you everything you—”
“But you are, Doe. You are. You are everything I want. Everything I’ll ever want.”
“How can you say that when the blood of your enemy runs through my veins?”
“Stop that.” His voice was hard, demanding. “I don’t give a fuck whose blood runs through your veins. I don’t care that you’re the daughter of my enemy. Stefano is dead. The fucker is no longer able to hurt anyone. And as far as I’m concerned, you’re Doe, the woman I will love until I take my last goddamn breath.”
After that night with Vadik, I never pressed Antonio for answers about why he chose to keep the truth from me because I already knew. I knew deep down he kept it from me because he wanted to protect me. I would have done the same, made the exact same choices if the truth had the power to hurt someone I loved. So, I couldn’t blame him…and I didn’t.
Antonio wiped a tear off my cheek with the pad of his thumb. “You’re my woman, Doe. And I want to live every day to the fullest with you.” He shrugged. “Besides, when the times comes, and it’s something we both want, we can adopt.”
My heart fluttered. “Adopt?”
“Yes. There are lots of kids out there who need people to take care of them.” He smiled warmly. “People like us.”
“But the child won’t be blood. And blood is important for a family like yours.”
His eyebrows almost touched his hairline. “Lorik ain’t blood. Not even close, and yet here he is.”
I had to laugh. The love-hate relationship between him and Lorik was very amusing. Not a day went by that I didn’t laugh at the two of them.
“Did I hear my name?”
Antonio closed his eyes, and I smiled when Lorik peeked into the room.
“We were kind of in the middle of a private conversation,” Antonio said with annoyance.
Lorik walked in. “Yeah, so, here’s the thing…I don’t care.”
“Of course, you don’t,” Antonio mumbled before turning to face him. “What do you want, Lorik?”
Lorik’s eyes grew wide, the smile on his face even wider as he held up his hands. “It’s my fucking wedding day, baby. Jesus, there was a time when I seriously thought this day would never come.”
Antonio snorted. “Yeah, and there was a time I seriously hoped it wouldn’t.”
“Nah.” Lorik waved it off. “You love my Albanian ass.”
“My feelings toward you have abso-fucking-lutely nothing to do with your ass, Lorik.”
There was a knock on the door, and I frowned, thinking no one ever knocked around here.
“Is Lorik in there?” We heard Karina’s voice from the hall.
“I’m here, babe.”
“Don’t come out,” Karina said quickly. “It’s bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding.”
Lorik rolled his eyes. “Babe, we’ve been trying to get married for months now, thanks to your fucking brothers and the mountains of shit that always seem to follow them. I’m pretty sure we’re all bad-lucked-out.”
I let out a laugh.
“Lorik,” Karina continued, “I’m only here to get Doe. The make-up artist and hairdressers are here. So, if you would please just fucking behave and not come out into the hall, I’d really appreciate it.”
“Babe, but I really want to see—”
“Lorik!” Her voice rose an octave. “I’d really appreciate it if you would not piss me off on our wedding day. I’d hate for this day to end with my stiletto heel up your ass.”
Lorik’s eyes grew wide. “Ouch,” he whispered.
I snickered then turned to Antonio. “I better go.”
He leaned down, soft lips brushing against mine, reminding me how easy it was for him to affect me. Even the simplest kiss from him had the power to disarm and ensnare me at the same time.
“I have a surprise for you later, after the wedding,” he whispered, a mischievous glint in his eye.
“What is it?” I whispered back.
He took my hand and gently placed it in his jacket pocket. When I felt the silk rope against my fingers, my entire body was instantly electrified.
“Antonio.” I searched his face, hoping this meant what I thought it meant. For weeks, I’d waited for this, for him to take me in a way we both knew he wanted—in a way I wanted as well. But he wasn’t ready, and he was concerned I wasn’t either. But deep down, I craved it. I needed it. And I prayed the day would come when he would allow me to walk on that thin line between pleasure and pain once again.
“Antonio, does this mean…”
He nodded. “It’s time.”
***
Antonio
I righted my tie, checking my reflection in the mirror. The black suit and crisp, white shirt was fine, but I hated the red tie. Karina knew I always wore a black tie. Always. But when she started scolding me in Italian, telling me it was a tiny sacrifice on my part since she had to wait so damn long to get married, I gave in. So now I was forced to wear the goddamn red tie.
Doe was wearing red as well. Last night, I made her try it on, and the sight of the red silk hugging her newfound curves turned me into a goddamn animal. It took every ounce of self-control to stop myself from tearing the five-thousand-dollar dress off her body and using the silk to tie her wrists and ankles to my four-poster bed.
After fucking her out of the dress, feeling her warm, sweaty body against mine, all I thought about was how she would look all tied up, with ropes and knots in all the right places. And for the first time, it didn’t feel like I would lose my shit while thinking about it. That was how I knew it was time. I was ready. She was ready. And tonight, it would be me and my pretty, broken girl.
There was a knock on the door, and Lucio came walking in wearing jeans and his leather jacket.
“Why aren’t you wearing your suit yet?” I looked at his reflection in the mirror while smoothing out the lapels of my suit jacket.
He pulled his hands through his dark hair. “I’m taking off.”
I turned. “You’re not attending the wedding?”
“Sorry, cous. You know me. I don’t do weddings.”
“Not even when it’s family?”
“Nope. All this love and romance and shit make me want to hurl.”
I smiled. “I knew you’d have a hard time with all the love, flowers, rainbows, and unicorns in the air.”
He faked a gag. “Believe me, I wanted to choke myself to death a few times during the last few weeks. All this peace and quiet and happiness were fucking with my head.”
I snickered with my fist in front of my mouth. There was only one like Lucio. Guy had a heart of stone, but one day he’d meet someone with a jackhammer and a wrecking ball who would finally be able to crack through the walls he built around his soul.
I placed my hands in my pants pocket. “Where you headed to?”
“Back to New York. I have some shit I need to sort out.”
“Family?”
“Something like that.”
Leaning my head to the side, I stared at his neck, part of the Band-Aid visible above his collar. “You gonna be okay with that?”
He placed his hand against his neck. “Another reason I thought it best that I leave. And, cousin, you know I can’t come back here. Ever.”
I knew this day would come. Especially since Lucio volunteered to take the burden off our hands. At first, I wanted to do it, make sure only I knew the whereabouts. But Lucio insisted, saying stuff like the risk was too great since I was too close to Doe. Lorik and Dante weren’t even an option, and neither was destroying the chip. It was too valuable. I clenched my jaw. “As long as you have it, you’ll be a target.”
A wicked smile spread across his face. “Dude, why the fuck do you think I agreed to this?” He pointed to the bandage on his neck. “I’m counting on this motherfucker keeping my life interesting.”
We laughed, and then I turned all shades of serious. “Thank you, Lucio.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“I’m serious. I owe you everything.”
Lucio walked up, and we gave each other a good old-fashioned bro-hug. “Take care of her, Antonio. That girl has been through enough.”
“I plan to.”
Lucio smiled when he pulled back. “But something tells me you two are going to rule this city with iron fists. You managed to make quite a fierce queen out of her.”
I cocked a brow. “You crushing on my woman, Lucio?”
“Nah. But she did make me realize what kind of woman I want.”
“What kind is that?”
He smirked. “The kind who loves getting her hands dirty.” He winked and waved before walking out the door. I was going to miss having the twisted fuck around.
I took a deep breath, roughing my hands through my hair, when Dante came walking in with Karina behind him. When I saw my sister in her halter-neck wedding dress, straight cut and embroidered with pearls, I had to swallow the lump in my throat.
“You look beautiful, Karina.”
“Thank you.” She smiled shyly.
Dante stepped in next to me, admiring how gorgeous our sister looked. “Dad would have been proud.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “I wish he was here, you know…to give me away.”
I walked over to her, taking her hands in mine. “He is here. He lives through us.”
“I know.” She nodded.
“But Dante is right,” I continued. “Dad would have been really proud.”
She smiled. “I can’t believe this day is finally here. We’ve waited so long.”
Both Dante and I groaned while I rolled my eyes. “Okay, we get it. Dante and I caused a slight delay in your plans.”
Karina lifted a brow. “Slight delay?”
“Okay, fine. Do you want to get married or not? I’m sure Dante and I can go out there and cause another shit storm to delay this marriage even further.”
She scowled. “Don’t you dare.”
I only laughed and stepped in next to her, holding out my elbow. Dante did the same on her left.
I glanced down at her, my heart swelling with pride at how far our family had come. And here we were, stronger than ever.
“Ready to be given away by the two best brothers in the world?” I teased.
She smiled. “More than ready.”
After everything our family had been through—everything Karina, Dante and I had endured—it finally felt like this was it. It was our time now. There were no wars threatening to happen. No rival family or Russian fuckers to worry about. We survived so much, and all three of us managed to finally find our happily ever afters.
Karina and Lorik.
Dante, Layla, and Rafe.
Me and Doe.
It was the perfect fucking ending…for a mafia family, anyway.
~The End~