Page 38 of Vow of Desire

Aurora joins us at our table before Sienna can respond. “Room for one more?”

“Of course,” I say, pointing at the spot beside me. I stare at Aurora for a moment as something crosses my mind. “You’re married. To Gabriel.”

“Yes,” she says. “But you’ve known that for a while now.”

“There’s something I want to ask you.” I can feel my face on fire. The last thing I want is to ask this question but I need answers to what I’m feeling.

“Anything.”

I glance at Sienna and she sighs, standing up. “You want to talk about marriage, don’t you? I’ll give you some space.” She heads over to a table along the wall covered in pastries.

Aurora leans in closer to me. “What did you want to ask me?”

“Do you…” I look around the room. All the other mafia women are talking to each other and not looking at me.

“Do I what?”

“You and Gabriel… are intimate, I’m assuming.”

Aurora’s eyes widen before she nods. “Yes. We are.”

“And do you enjoy it? Being with him?”

“Do you not enjoy being with Matteo? Is he hurting you?”

I wave a dismissive hand. “No. Nothing like that. I just want to know. Do you enjoy being intimate with your husband?”

Pink tinges Aurora’s face but she still gives me an answer. “I do enjoy it. I enjoy it a lot.”

“What does he do to you?” When her eyes widen, I quickly scramble. “I’m sorry. I just need to know.”

“Has something happened with Matteo? Tell me, Luciana.”

“He put his mouth on me,” I whisper. “And I don’t know what to make of it.”

“Ah.” Understanding fills Aurora’s eyes. “Did you not like it?”

“That’s the problem. I did. I feel like I’m doing something wrong. I shouldn’t like it. Right? A good wife is supposed to just lay there and let her husband do what he needs to do.” Yet, I’m completely incapable of that apparently.

“My husband does the same to me.”

“What? Really?”

Aurora nods. “We’ve done a lot of things together and I’ve enjoyed everything. What Matteo did to you wasn’t wrong. It would only be wrong if you didn’t like it. And you said you did like it. So I don’t see the problem. It’s nice to have a good sex life with your husband. Most of the women here don’t. Don’t be like them. Forge your own path. If you want to enjoy your sex life, then enjoy it. There’s nothing wrong with that. The bedroom is literally the most private space you have with your husband. Don’t let anyone else come in the way of that.”

Aurora’s words are game changing. I never knew any of this was true.

It’s only made me realize just how little I know and that makes me more angry than anything else.

Chapter Ten

Luciana

This anger inside of me turns to a burning inferno. Why wasn’t I taught anything? I thought I had been given an education. Sure, I was told how babies were made. But other than that, I wasn’t taught about female pleasure. I wasn’t taught what was acceptable to do with your husband.

I’m lost at sea and the person who did this to me is my father.

After the tea function, I tell Enzo to drive me to my father’s house. I walk with determination up to the door and pound on it. A few moments later, my father opens the door.