Page 36 of Vow of Desire

“Tell me.”

“I can’t. I shouldn’t have liked that.”

“Luciana. Just tell me.” I spank her again. “Tell me if you liked it or not. Be honest with me.” Spank.

“I liked it!” she shouts so loud, her voice echoes through the room. “Are you happy? I liked it. I really liked it.”

“So what’s the problem then?”

She pulls away from me and puts her panties back into place. “Because I shouldn’t have liked it. You put your mouth on me.” She whispers the words, which only makes her more cute. “You’re not a good man. I shouldn’t have liked any of it.”

“But shouldn’t a good wife do what her husband wants?”

“Yes. But I still shouldn’t have liked it.”

I reach out to her and she flinches but relaxes when I only cup her face. “As your husband, I want you to enjoy it. You’re doingyour duty to me by enjoying it. Stop fighting this so much. It’s going to kill you. I can tell you that it’s already killing me.”

“How?”

“Because I care for you, Luciana. I took my vows seriously. You are my wife now. I will always protect you. Just open up with me. So tell me. Why did you kiss me when I came home?”

She sighs and her shoulders slump like she’s trying to let all of her anger go. “Because I ran into this other mafia man.”

I tense. “What?”

“I’ve never seen him before. I accidently walked into his restaurant. He was… intimidating. I’m fine. Nothing bad happened. But when I came home, I felt.. relieved. Safe even. You still frighten me in some ways but at least I know you. I kissed you without even thinking about it. It just happened.”

“Who was this mafia man?”

“Dante Zaneli. That’s what he said his name was. I wasn’t sure if he was one of yours. He’s not one of Gabriel’s. I would have recognized him otherwise.”

“Dante Zaneli. I’ve heard of him. He’s an up and coming mafia man. Gaining ground but he hasn’t caused any problems. Yet. This is why I don’t want you running away. You could have been hurt.”

“I told you,” she says, pulling away from my hands, “I just needed some space from Enzo. That was all. I needed time to think on my own. I wasn’t running from you. Please don’t hurt my father over this.”

The pain in her voice draws me up short. She’s truly worried I’ll kill him. I know I did threaten him but that was before Luciana and I were married. I thought we were past all of that by now.

“I have no plans to hurt your father. That would hurt our peace deal. Believe me on that, Luciana. Take my word for it.”

“How can I trust your word?”

“It’s all you have. And have I tried to kill your father since we’ve been married?”

“No,” she mutters.

“Exactly. I haven’t and I won’t. Just promise me you won’t run away again. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Truly?” There’s a small flicker of light in her eyes that pains me. She really thought I didn’t care for her.

“Yes. I mean it. And you don’t have to fight so hard to go against me. Give in to us. Your life will be happier. I know mine will be.”

She stares down at her lap for a long moment. “I want to be a good wife.”

“So you’ve said.”

“No. I mean, I was taught to be perfect and I feel like I’m failing every day. It’s why I keep fighting you. I don’t know what else to do. I thought my life would go one way and instead, it’s gone the opposite.”

“But you were raised to be married.”