Arranged Mafia Marriage

Aurora

“What are you doing in here?” Nonna strides in, followed by Cassandra, who wrings her hands.

“I … I couldn’t stop her,” she grimaces.

“Damn right.” Nonna fixes her with a stern look. “Don’t forget whose employ you are in right now, young lady.”

“That’s not fair,” I begin to protest, and Nonna turns on me.

“I know you young people like to pretend that we’re all born equal, but the fact is we are not, and the faster you reconcile yourself to that, the quicker you’ll be able to find some measure of happiness.”

“Is that what you did?” I frown. “Reconcile?”

“Not a word you like, I take it?” She draws herself up to her full height. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. There’s a measure of comfort to be found when you acknowledge that things are not always in your hands. The sooner you learn to give in to the inevitable, the better it’s going to be for you.”

“I’ll never do that.” I fold my arms around my waist. “I am never going to settle for something that is below my expectations.”

“Is that right?” Nonna’s lips curve in a smile.

Next to me, Christian stiffens. I sense him shoot me a look, but I don’t acknowledge it.

“And you?” Nonna arches an eyebrow at my fake fiance. “Any words of new-age wisdom that you’d like to add to the conversation?”

“Me?” the rat’s ass says with an innocent expression on his features. “You know me, Nonna, I’m a man of simple pleasures. The basic needs of life are what I aim to fulfill, which is why I couldn’t stay away from my lovely fiancee.”

What the-? I cannot believe he just said that. I try to pull away, but his hold around my waist tightens.

“You don’t fool me, either.” Nonna scowls at the asshole who just seconds ago had his dick down my throat. Right before he pulled me to my feet and kissed me as if his life depended on it, as if he couldn’t go another second without twining his breath with mine and drinking from me. Because that’s what it was-him trying to inhale me, trying to claim me, trying to … share some of that grief that lurks inside of him with me? And then, just when I thought that he was going to release me, he softened the kiss. He held his lips to mine, shared my breath, gazed into my eyes as if he was searching for the answer to those secret questions that you ask yourself when you think no one else is listening. When you are on your own, adrift, alone and sure that you’ll never find another soul who’ll understand you, who’ll want to know you, to be with you, the one you’ll want to share your life with.

Do I want to share my life with this … this … overbearing, hard, overcome-with-sorrow alphahole? I glance at him sideways and find him training his gaze on his grandmother.

“You wound me, Nonna.” He finally releases me and closes the distance to the old woman. “I was simply ensuring that my future wife is comfortable and has everything she needs.”

“Hmph.” Nonna looks him up and down. “I’m not that old that I don’t know when a man and a woman have been going at it.”

“Please,” I burst out, “will the two of you stop already?”

Both of them turn their gazes on me, and I freeze. “I mean,” I raise my hands, “this was just Christian being Christian, and I know I should not have agreed to meet him without a chaperone, but you know how persuasive my fiance can be, Nonna.”

She glances between us, and a sly smile curves her lips. “Are you defending him?”

“Umm,” I shuffle my feet, “not really.” I hesitate. “Okay, maybe I am. I mean, it’s not like I don’t appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Nonna, truly, but he’s leaving now. My virtue is still intact”-technically-“so can we just forget about what happened?”

“On one condition.”

“Which is?”

“You promise to turn him away the next time he turns up.”

“And we both know how impossible it is to say ‘no’ to him.”

“Have you tried to say ‘no’ to him?”

I hesitate.

“That’s what I thought.” Nonna smirks. “The fault lies with both of you. After all, you need two hands to clap, don’t you?”

“You’re really serious about doing this wedding by the book, aren’t you?” Christian glares at his Nonna.

“Deadly.” Her smile widens. “It’s my hope that before I die, at least one of my grandsons will indulge me with a traditional Sicilian wedding where all of the traditions have been met.”

“Emotional blackmail doesn’t suit you, Nonna,” Christian protests.

“Whatever it takes,” Nonna raises a shoulder. “And I’m warning you right now-no stabbing your bridegroom in church,” she tells me.

“If I do, I’ll be sure to cause a lot more damage,” I say under my breath.

Christian hears it, though, because he shoots me an amused glance over his shoulder. “I’ll be more than happy to stab you back in return; just not with a knife,” he says in a voice low enough that only I can hear it.

“Ugh.” I grimace. “That’s a terrible joke.”

“Not a joke; a promise.”

“Enough time to make promises when you stand in front of the altar,” Nonna admonishes us. Jeez, did she overhear the rest of our X-rated conversation too? Not that it would shock her. Very little seems to pull her out of her comfort zone, at any rate.

“You,” she stabs a finger at Christian, “out.”

He turns to me, closes the distance between us, then grabs the back of my neck and pulls me close. He kisses me soundly, and by the time he releases me, I am panting. Turning on his feet, he walks over to Nonna. “I’d kiss you on the cheek, but I just French-kissed my bride-to-be, so I’m sure you’ll understand if I pass.”

“Leave now.” Nonna sniffs. “And be sure to clean up before dinner.”

Christian ambles over to the doorway. He jerks his chin in Cassandra’s direction before he leaves.

“Shut the door and come sit over here,” Nonna tells Cassandra before she walks over to sit down in a chair.

Cassandra follows her bidding before she joins me.

Nonna glances between the two of us. “This can’t happen again.” She shakes her head. “I trusted you, Cassandra, to keep him out. And you…” She scowls at me. “I thought you wanted to follow the conventions leading up to your wedding.”

“I do, but-”

“No buts.” She taps her fingers together. “I agreed to help you only because I thought you were serious about being away from him before the wedding. If you’re not-”Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

“I am.” I hold up a palm. “I promise, the next time he comes in to visit me, I’ll … I’ll scream.”

“Not too loudly. If I’m asleep, I don’t want to be woken up.”

“Of course, not.” I blow out a breath. “Like I said, it’s difficult to say ‘no’ to your grandson when he has his mind set on something.”

“Well, he needs to realize that he can’t always get what he wants.”

“Can’t he?” I can’t stop the bitter laugh that escapes me.

“You do know you’re strong enough to stop him, don’t you?” Nonna trains her gaze on me. “Unless, of course, you didn’t want to?”

“Nothing like that.” I shuffle my feet. “Honestly, I was just swept away in the moment, and he seemed so fierce, so overbearing, and so confident that-”

“You found yourself agreeing to do whatever he wanted?”

“Something like that…” Also, I didn’t want to feel like I had a choice. It’s much easier to simply follow his lead because I always enjoy the results. Even when he pushed me down on my knees and thrust his cock down my throat, I enjoyed it. The flesh between my legs quivers. I squeeze my thighs together to tamp down on the emptiness that gapes there. Shit, just thinking of how he fucked my mouth is turning me on. And that’s crazy. I should be upset about how he had his way with me, but my body seems to have other thoughts. As a doctor, I have seen first-hand how much the heart and mind influence the body. But this time, it seems, despite my wanting to not be attracted to him, my body has already made the decision to be turned on by his proximity.

“If you want my help, then I need to be assured that you are doing your best to resist him,” Nonna says in a smooth voice. “Do I have your assurance, Aurora?”

I blink, then nod. “Of course, you do.

“And you?” She turns to Cass. “Can I count on you to stop my grandson the next time he comes around, failing which you need to alert me?”

“Yes, Nonna,” Cass folds her fingers together, “you can count on me.”

Just then, a loud clanging reaches us.