Arranged Mafia Marriage

Axel

“It worked though, didn’t it?’

“What?” She blinks.

“You stopped stuttering,” I point out.

“Oh,” her gaze widens, “that’s true. But I still don’t want you to kiss me,” she says in a small voice.

I lean back and peer into her face. There’s genuine distress and conflict in her eyes.

“What’s the problem?” I murmur. “You want me, and I have made it very clear just how much you turn me on, so why can’t we make each other happy?”

“It’s not that simple,” she replies.

“Is it because you’re a virgin?”

She reddens. “I never said I was.”

“You never denied it either.”

“That’s because, unlike you, I don’t lie.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I was there when you lied to Christian about Aurora’s ‘bargain,'” she makes air quotes around the word, “with you.”

“Did I?” I ask in a casual voice.

“Really, you’re going to make me rehash what happened?”

I release her, then fold my hands behind my neck. “Go ahead, please enlighten me about my misdeeds.”

She pushes away from me, then climbs off the bed as if wanting to put distance between us. I scowl. I don’t want her to be wary of me. No…hold on, that doesn’t sound right. I don’t care what she thinks of me, just as long as she submits to me.

“Well,” I drawl, “what do you have to say?”

“Didn’t you lie to Christian and tell him that Aurora had asked you to kill him?”

“She told me to distract Christian.”

She stares at me, “So you remember things now? Your memory is coming back?”

I drag my fingers through my hair; wince when I brush the bandage at my temple, but at least, the pain is bearable now. “When I don’t make an effort, things seem to filter back into my consciousness.”

“So, what else do you remember? Can you recollect why you made the deal with Aurora in the first place?”

“It doesn’t work that way.” I rub the back of my neck. “With every day that passes, my mind gets clearer. Then someone says something which triggers a thought, a layer shifts, and I recall another chain of events.”

“So, she told you to distract Christian?” she prompts.

“Which is why I shot at him.”

She stiffens, “You do realize that’s not the same thing, right?”

“Isn’t it?”

She gapes at me. “How can you say that. She told me that she specifically asked you not to hurt Christian, but at the most pivotal moment, you told him the exact opposite.”

“So?”

She blinks rapidly. “So, that makes you a liar. Not to mention, what you did was so wrong. You clearly came between them. It’s because of you that she returned to London.”

“I’m sure that only made him realize how much he missed her. Bet he went after her.”

She scowls at me.

“He did, didn’t he? Poor bastard must have groveled in front of her and now they are together.”

She flushes, “But they almost split up.”

“Only, they didn’t,” I point out.

“Are you taking credit for the fact that they are together today?” She stares at me.

“You have to admit that it’s only after my little push that he went after her?”

“Christian loves Aurora. He simply needed a little time to come to terms with it, and once he accepted it, he pursued her and brought her back.”

“And all I did was hurry things along. If it weren’t for me, they might still not be together.”

“You are delusional,” she mutters. “Fact is, you lied to their faces.”

“I was simply testing them. They should be grateful to me that I gave them a chance to assess their relationship beforehand. They emerged stronger for it.”All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

“Still doesn’t change the fact that you lied. Also, you did threaten to harm her family unless she cooperated with you in spying on the Sovranos,” she says in an accusing tone.

“So?”

“Jesus,” she throws up her hands, “can’t you see how wrong your actions were?”

“Nope,” I make a popping sound with my lips. “I did what was needed to survive.”

“Why, though?” She peers up into my face, “Why did you do all this? Why did you need to get information on the Sovranos? Although, considering you’re right here with them now, you don’t need anyone else spying on them. You can do it yourself.”

“You have a point, ” I concede, “but since I’m unable to go anywhere, it’s not the way I’d have chosen to get close to them.”

“Why did you do it? Did someone compel you to get information on them? Is that why you threatened Aurora? Is that why you shot at Christian?”

I take in her earnest features, the flush on her cheeks, the way she folds her fingers together as if she’s urging me to say that whatever I did was not by choice. “I am not a good man, Sunshine. You do realize that, right?”

“So, neither are any of the Sovranos. I grew up as part of the Mafia clan, you do realize that, right?’

“I am worse than the Mafia.”

She scoffs, “What can be worse than the Mafia?”

“Someone who had a choice to leave the life behind, and didn’t take it. Someone who’s pursued revenge over anything else. Someone who won’t hesitate to lie and kill, if needed, to get what he wants.” I stiffen as I hear my words. Goddamit, it rings true. All of it. It’s why I arrived at the deal with Aurora. It’s why I shot at Christian. It’s why I have been tracking the Sovranos obsessively most of my adult life.

“So, you do remember more than you let on?” An expression of hurt crosses her features.

My chest tightens. Why do I care that she’s upset? She’s just a means to an end, remember? So what, if I am attracted to her? It doesn’t mean anything. I roll my shoulders. “Like I said, I don’t even realize what I have remembered sometimes until I have spoken it aloud.”

“But you remember enough to realize that you want revenge?”

“What do you think?”

“I think you have spent most of your life searching for something. It’s what brought you here, but you are finally home, Axel.”

I stiffen. “The fuck you mean?”

She tips up her chin, “You are with your brothers. This is where you belong. You should have grown up with them in the first place. That didn’t happen, but you are here now.”

“For a reason. As soon as I am better, I’ll proceed with my plan.”

“You may have come here to hurt them, but you are not going to do so now.”

I stare at her for a second, then laugh, “You have a rather innocent view of the world, don’t you, Sunshine?”

“You mean, I believe in the basic goodness of people?”

“I mean you are rather naive.”

“I am not naive; your problem is that you’re too cynical. You think you are capable of hurting your brothers, but I don’t believe you will.”

“You don’t know what I am capable of.”

“I know that you stepped in front of me and took a bullet for me.”

“That was a mistake.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Better believe it.” I look her up and down. “As soon as I am better, I am going to make sure that the Sovrano’s regret what they did to me.”

“You are a Sovrano,” she points out.

“I wasn’t brought up as one. I sure as hell don’t feel like one of them. And I’m definitely not going to join forces with them.”

“Hmm,” she purses her lips, “I am guessing you haven’t been at the receiving end of one of Nonna’s speeches. She’s a very difficult woman to say no to.”

“I’ve faced killers and survived. I am sure I can handle an old woman.”

She bursts out laughing and seems to laugh even harder when I scowl at her.

“Nonna’s not your stereotypical old woman,” she cautions me after a few moments. “Michael may be the Don, but make no mistake, Nonna wields a lot of power over all of the Sovrano brothers.”

“You forget, I am not one of the Sovrano brothers.”

She blows out a breath, “You are; you just haven’t accepted it yet.”

“And I never will.” I yawn. “Now, are you going to help me shower or-”

“No, I am not. I told you already.”

“If that’s the case,” I nod toward the door, “get gone.”

She opens and shuts her mouth, “You’re so damn rude.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

She shuffles her weight from foot to foot.

“Changed your mind?”

She shakes her head.

“So, what are you still doing here?”

She turns to leave. That’s when Sheena pops her head inside the room.

“Can I get you anything, Axel?” She glances between us, “Oh, sorry, didn’t realize I was intruding.”

“You’re not,” I beckon her inside, “Theresa was just leaving.”

“I can come back,” she murmurs and I shake my head.

“I do need your help with something.”

“Sure. What can I do for you?” She takes a step forward.

“If you can help me to the bath and help me with my shower?”

“Of course.” Sheena walks over to stand on the opposite side of the bed from Theresa, who freezes. She scowls at Sheena, then at me. She opens her mouth, and when I raise an eyebrow at her, she glowers at me.

“You staying or leaving, Sunshine?”