Dark Blood: A Mafia Hitman Romance (13 page)

“It’s not only about that,” Abbate explains to me patiently. “It’s the fact that you’re with my son now. Matteo belongs to the mafia family that has been your famiglia’s enemy for decades. Your cousins won’t easily accept that.”

I contemplate his words, realizing they are true. The fact that my father forgave Matteo and me is a small miracle in itself, as he was definitely one to hold grudges. “I’m not giving him up,” I say softly. Honestly, I can’t picture my life without Matteo anymore. He is as much a part of me as I am a part of him.

“I know,” Abbate sighs. “And that’s what’s going to make things difficult for you, cara.”

I look at my mother’s grave again, but this time, I don’t find the inner peace within myself. All I find is worry about the punishment awaiting me for betraying my family.

A
s soon as
I notice Bianca’s gone, I panic. But Carole assures me she only wanted some peace and quiet. I do my best to keep my mouth shut, even though all I want to do is strangle the woman who let her leave with only one guard. She’ll hear about this when she comes back, that’s for sure. I may have to spank her as punishment…. The mere thought makes me hard, but the moment is short-lived as soon as I remember what situation we’re in the middle of.

Leo and Romeo are two of the biggest jackasses I’ve ever come across. They’re convinced they can waltz in here and steal Bianca’s empire, her inheritance.

The problem is, they’re smart, young and charismatic jackasses. And we are at a disadvantage because we disappeared at a crucial time for Bianca’s family. Now they think they can simply take over her famiglia as if she’s merely a pawn. And worse, they seem pissed about the fact that she’s with me now.

Her father may have forgiven us, but it seems the cousins are less lenient.

When Bianca walks back through the door, I rush to her side and block out the screaming cousins for a second. I’m so fucking relieved she’s all right. I just need to feel her body against mine. She looks beautiful even after such a long flight and jetlag. But as soon as I have her in my arms, her body slumps, and she starts to cry ever so softly. It breaks my fucking heart. It looks as if the events of the past few days are finally catching up with her, and it hurts like hell to see her hurt this way.

“You need to leave,” I bark at her cousins.

“We’re not finished here,” Romeo hisses.

“Yeah, we still need to talk to Bianca. Think of a punishment.” Leo grins, looking like a vicious little beast. I want to smack that smile off his face, the petty young bastard. I promise myself to beat the shit out of him the first chance I get.

“Get the fuck out!” I roar at them. “My girl’s tired, and you’re trespassing.”

“What are you gonna’ do?” Romeo mocks me. “Call the goddamned police?”

I let go of Bianca for a second and she wobbles on her feet. In two swift steps, I reach her insolent cousin and punch him in the face, sending him flying halfway across the room into the wall. Leo glares at me in shock and with something that looks surprisingly like admiration.

“Get. The. Fuck. Out of her house.” I stare them down and Romeo starts throwing insults at me in Italian. I don’t give a fuck, though. All I want is for the two of them to get lost once and for all. Or at least until tomorrow, when I’ll be able to deal with them better.

“Fine, we’re leaving,” Leo grunts in my direction, helping his brother get up from the floor where he’s wiping blood from his mouth. “But we’ll be back, and you, cazzo, will pay for what you did to this family.”

“Looking forward to smashing my fist into your face next,” I threaten, and walk back over to Bianca. A guard escorts them out of the house and I hold onto my girl, scooping her up in my arms. She’s so helpless, she just wraps her arms around my neck and cuddles closer to me.

“Are you all right, princess?” I ask her, and she simply nods. I don’t ask another question, knowing she’ll tell me what happened in her own time. Instead, I carry her into her bedroom and lay her down on the bed. She yawns as I undress her slowly and help her put on a nightie..

“I’ll be right back,” I tell her as I tuck her into her bed, pulling the covers up around her neck.

“Where are you going?” Her voice is heavy with sleep already.

“I’m just going to check on Cristiano.”

She smiles triumphantly, so damned pleased that I care about the kid. I return the smile and kiss her forehead. “Sleep, princess. A guard is right outside, and I’ll be back in a little while.”

She nods and closes her eyes. It seems as if she’s asleep in mere seconds, as her breathing evens out and she snores softly. I grin to myself as I leave the room. She’s so fucking cute.

I head down the hall towards the room we’ve given her brother. For now, it’s just a guest room, but Bianca already made arrangements with a designer to come and help give Cristiano everything he could possibly want. The kid worries me, though. I don’t know why, but there’s something about him I don’t trust completely. I’m worried about him – he seems like he’s hiding something. But for fuck’s sake, he’s just a child. He’s barely ten. I needn’t worry.

I crack open the door leading into his bedroom and peek inside. The kid’s head is poking out from the duvet, and he looks ridiculously small in the enormous bed. I step closer, letting a small sliver of light from the hallway seep inside the room.

I reach for the kid, stroking his flop of messy hair. He needs to get that mop of hair fucking cut. He looks like goddamned Tarzan.

As if he can read my mind, Cristiano’s eyes fly open.

“What want?” he asks me in his broken English. I stare at him for a long time, unsure of what to tell him.

“Don’t hurt her,” I finally say. “I love that girl.”

“Sister?” He asks sleepily.

“Yes, Bianca.” I stare at him, and he is a good looking child. And I hate goddamned kids. Especially at his godforsaken age – I remember what a pain in the ass I was when I was ten.

“No hurt her,” he tells me.

“I won’t,” I say.

“No,” the kid yawns. “I no hurt her. I like her.”

I stare at him for a long time before nodding. It looks like we’ve come to some kind of agreement. I ruffle his hair and grin at him. “Get back to sleep.”

“Like you too.” The kid grins back. I hide my second smile of the night and exit the room, leaving the door open a crack so he doesn’t get scared of the dark during the night.

* * *

I
wake
up in the middle of the night with a delicious pair of lips wrapped around my cock.

Bianca’s between my legs, looking right up as she sucks.

“Fuck,” I curse out loud, barely awake. “What are you doing, baby?”

She lets go of my dick with a slurp, and I nearly fucking lose it right there. “Taking care of you,” she says innocently. “And I needed you in my mouth so badly… Don’t be mad.”

“Jesus.” I rub my eyes as she gets back to work. I don’t know how long she’s been doing this for, but my cock is hard as fuck and I’m ready to burst already. “Bianca. You need to stop.”

She ignores me, only going harder on my cock. Fucking hell.

“I can’t hold back,” I tell her, grabbing her hair and forming a fist around it. “I’m gonna cum down your throat, baby. Open up.”

She does as she’s told, and her eyes roam upwards toward my face. She looks so fucking innocent it’s tearing me apart. I thrust my hips into her mouth and she moans, the vibrations from her throat massaging my cock. Jesus fuck, this won’t end well for her.

I can feel myself getting ready to burst. “I’m sorry, baby,” I tell her, my voice hoarse. “You might not like this… But I don’t fucking care.”

I push her head forward until she chokes, and even then, I don’t let go. She looks up at me with pleading eyes as I fuck that pretty little mouth, and her pupils dilate as she feels my cock throb, ready to release its load.

And I feel it coming, building up inside me. I ram my cock down her throat one last time, and she whimpers. Those pretty eyes fill with tears and I’m a sick bastard, because it only turns me on more.

“Jeeeesus, baby, suck it all up,” I order her as my cock erupts. She doesn’t even get a chance to spit, because I shoot my load right down her needy throat. My shaky hand reaches for her neck and I massage it gently, making sure she swallows every drop. Pretty black tears run down her face.

I let go when her breathing slows down, and she crawls up to me. I wrap her up in my hands and she nestles her head in the crook of my arm. “Naughty girl,” I tell her. My voice is just a soft caress, and she mewls as I hold her.

She’s so tired and sleepy. But I can’t bring myself to let her rest. I turn her onto her back and she stretches like a sleepy kitty cat. I move her nightie over her belly and slide down her panties. She’s looking at me sleepily, half lost in dreams already. “What’re you doing?” she asks softly.

I shush her and slide down her body. My hands go to her ass and I lift her up so her center is at my mouth. She’s moaning already, my needy baby girl. “Let’s try something else,” I tell her with a wicked grin. She arches her back like a good girl, and I touch my lips to her pussy.

She moans right away, pressing it closer to my hungry mouth. I part her folds with my tongue and taste her, something I’ve wanted to do for a month now. Jesus fuck, she doesn’t disappoint. Her pussy’s sweet and so damn delicious. I could get lost in her wetness for days on end.

“Fuck,” she mewls, arching her back again. I squeeze her ass and get to work, my tongue licking everything but that needy little button of nerves she keeps pushing in my mouth. “Fuck, Matteo. More please… Don’t stop.”

And I don’t. I can feel my cock getting hard again as I devour her, and she gets wetter with each flick of my tongue. Her little pink slit is a mess of her juices, running down her thighs but not getting far, because I lick it all up.

I take a break for a second and she squirms in my arms, protesting with loud whimpers. “More, Matteo, more please,” she begs me. I grin at her, licking my lips to taste her again.

“One day,” I tell her. “I’m going to make that perfect little pussy squirt.”

She blushes so deep it almost makes me laugh out loud, but I’m too eager to get back between her legs. This time, I give her what she wants, sucking her throbbing clit into my mouth, grazing it gently with my teeth.

She goes fucking crazy, bucking her hips into my mouth, begging, saying things in Italian that are so incoherent even I don’t understand them. I lick relentlessly, feeling my cock throb again even though I just came minutes ago.

“I’m gonna cum,” she says, sounding out of breath. Her eyes are closed.

“Look at me when you do,” I order her.

“No, I can’t.” Her voice is desperate and she’s blushing again. I graze her clit with my teeth again, rougher again.

“You will fucking look at me,” I tell her. “Or you won’t cum tonight.”

“Please…” Still, her eyes fly open and she looks into mine. She’s whimpering as I stare her down, my tongue on her bundle of nerves. We maintain eye contact and I lick only once, a mere flick of my tongue against her most sensitive spot. She’s whimpering, twisting her body this way and that. She blinks, but she doesn’t stop looking. And then she cums.

Her body bucks against mine and I press her belly down, sliding up and entering her in a single, long thrust. I pump inside her faster than ever before, and she can’t stop. She’s saying my name like a prayer, her walls tightening around my cock as I feel my second release building up.

I don’t let her stop looking at me until we’re both cumming together. She looks beautiful with her parted lips, wild hair and blushed cheeks. My beautiful princess.

“Fill me up,” she begs me. “I need it dripping down my thighs, please… Matteo.”

I don’t need to be told twice. My cock erupts deep inside her and a low, long moan escapes her as I pump the last of my seed inside her. Her arms fly above her head and she grabs onto the bed frame. She’s still cumming long after I’ve filled her to the brim.

“Such a fucking dirty girl,” I tell her, biting down on her nipple. “Can’t wait to see you lose control completely.

I
’m woken
up by someone calling my name repeatedly. Sleepily, my eyes flutter open and I feel the weight of Matteo’s heavy arm on my chest. “I’m up, I’m up,” I say, rubbing my eyes and groaning as I come to. “What is it? House on fire?”

“Your cousins are here.”

I look up and see Carole is the one waking me up. I stifle my yawn and gently disentangle myself from Matteo’s embrace. I place a finger on my lips, begging Carole not to wake him, and she nods knowingly. Climbing out of the bed, I blush lightly when I realize I’m stark naked. But Carole doesn’t seem to care, and she passes me a light dressing gown without lingering on my body.

I make sure Matteo stays asleep and follow her out of the room. I shut the door softly, but as soon as we come to the hallway, I can hear the loud voices of Romeo and Leo. “Jesus, what the hell do they want now?” I murmur to myself. Carole shrugs and gives me a sympathetic look before leading me into the lions’ den.

“There she is,” Romeo says with a wicked grin. “Goddamn it, Bianca, we’ve been waiting ten minutes.”

“You’re in my house.” My voice is cold. “I’ll make you wait as long as I fucking want to.”

Leo advances on me, his eyes blazing fire, but Romeo holds him back. I’m pretty sure that if he wouldn’t have, my cousin would have slapped me in front of everyone. I glare back at him, trying to steady my breathing. I’m not about to be molested in my own house. My heart pounds knowing the boy is asleep a floor above us. I don’t want him involved in this… If it were up to me, Romeo and Leo would never even find out about him.

“So we’ve decided,” Romeo says lazily.

“Decided what?” I push my hair out of my face and give him a look heavy with expectation. If he thinks I’m going to follow his orders, he’s got another thing coming. Daddy left me the famiglia for a reason, and I’m not about to bend to the will of two sullen teenagers.

“Your punishment,” Leo laughs in my face.

“And what am I being punished for?” I’m trying hard to stay calm, but my heart is pounding with adrenaline. I wish I could slap that smug look off their faces.

Leo approaches me and I force myself to stay in place and not shy away from his threatening look. “For betraying the famiglia and shacking up with the goddamned enemy,” he hisses at me

“And what gives you the authority to do that?” I want to know next.

Romeo comes forward and grins. It is then that I realize they have another ace up their sleeves, and they’re about to milk it for all it’s worth. I’m wading in deep here, and I’m starting to get scared.

“We have sworn allegiance from three quarters of the famiglia,” Romeo tells me sweetly. My blood freezes in my veins. “We have them all in writing, and everyone will pledge in person too, if dearest princess wants to hear it. You know what that means, don’t you, cousin?”

I do. It means they’re taking the famiglia, and as a member, I’ll have to bow to their will or be kicked out. And I know my Daddy would die all over again if I left the Da Costas. But I know this would hurt him even more.

“What is my punishment?” I keep my head raised up high.

Leo looks thrilled to deliver the news, and my hatred for him grows with each second that passes. “You will be whipped,” he says simply.

“How old fashioned.” My heart is beating faster than ever, but I’m still trying to keep a straight face.

“We’ll see if you’re still so brave when the whip breaks your skin.” Romeo and Leo look at each other with wide grins. “It’s happening tomorrow at noon. And make sure to tell your lover his own punishment will be carried out soon enough, too.”

“Whore.” Leo spits at my feet before they walk out, and I start shaking all over. They walk out the door and I hear Carole calling my name, but it’s all too far away now. All I know is that the darkness is going to pull me under, and I am thankful for it.

When I collapse, I fall into a pair of arms I’ve come to know very well. And the last thing I see before it all goes black is Matteo’s face. This is going to hurt him more than it will hurt me…

* * *

T
he day
of the punishment is here. I wake up with bated breath, as if I’m already expecting the worst to happen. After days of withholding information, I finally told Matteo what happened. He was angry as hell, and punched a hole in the wall when I told him. I was afraid he’d straight up murder Leo and Romeo, but instead, he withdrew into his mind and started trying to find a solution.

He never told me what he was thinking about, and when the day of my punishment comes, he is nowhere to be seen. I’m terrified when Carole comes into my bedroom with a sympathetic smile. She helps me get ready and keeps me company, and I feel sick to my stomach the whole time.

Exactly at noon, one of the guards delivers a note in an envelope with our famiglia’s crest. I open it with shaky fingers, nearly dropping the letter opener in the process. The note is simple. An hour and a location, letting me know I need to show up in a warehouse that belongs to the Da Costas in a few hours. I know that if I don’t follow the rules and obey, I’ll be dragged there by my guards.

I swallow the lump in my throat and try to stop the bile from rising all day long. By the time it’s time to leave, I’m anxious as hell. Where is Matteo? Surely he is trying to stop this any way he can… But he hasn’t even showed up to check on me.

My guard approaches me, a menacing, broad shouldered figure. “It’s time to go, Miss Bianca,” he tells me.

A small sob escapes my lips. I’m glad Cristiano is safe with Carole and doesn’t need to witness this. I’ve kept him in the dark about the whole ordeal. We’ve grown close over the past week, and it truly is starting to feel like we’re family. Even Matteo has grown to like him.

“I…” I swallow thickly. “I’m coming.”

There’s no point in objecting, is there? If I don’t come with them of my own free will, they’ll drag me with them. I get up on shaky feet. I’m dressed in a white dress, reminiscent of the one I wore when I was kidnapped by the Abbates. Compared to what I’ll have to go through today, that seems like a damn walk in the park.

I let the guard lead me away. His grip on my wrist is strong and unrelenting. Even if I tried to make a run for it, I wouldn’t make it more than a few steps. And I’m sure I’d be punished further for my disobedience. At least this way they might go easy on me if I bend to their will.

I don’t understand why Matteo isn’t here. As I’m put inside the car which will drive me to the warehouse, I’ve never felt more alone. A guard sits in the back with me with two more in the front of the car. I feel unwell already, barely able to stop myself from throwing up.

The drive passes too fast, and soon we arrive at our destination. Two guards have to hold me up as I get out of the car on shaky legs. I can’t even support my own weight. I’ve never been this terrified in my whole life.

I’m marched into the warehouse, and a crowd of stony faces greets me upon arrival.

They’re people I know, and that hurts the most. There are distant uncles, cousins, people I met at family gatherings and people that my father introduced to me with pride. I wonder briefly if my would-be husband is in the crowd as well.

I’m lead into a back room where three women strip me of my pretty dress unceremoniously. I’ve never felt more humiliated in my life. Time is passing so damn fast and Matteo’s still not here. He needs to save me. I find myself praying softly, and I notice it makes the women around me uncomfortable. They talk in fast, sharply accented Italian which I don’t understand. It makes me ache.

I’m put into a simple white silk robe, under which I’m naked. When they’re satisfied with my appearance, they lead me outside of the back room. A small whipping post is in the center of the space, with a group of stone cold faces surrounding it.

One of the women leads me to the post and I stare at the floor, my cheeks burning up. I feel ashamed. If my Daddy knew what they were doing to me, he’d have all their heads.

“Well, well, well, cousin,” Romeo’s voice cuts through my thoughts. I look up through eyes heavy with tears to find him and his brother looking at me from the center of the crowd. “Finally came to your senses.”

I spit at his feet, but he merely laughs at me. I’m just a puppet not. They’ll do anything they want with me.

“Bianca Da Costa,” Leo starts to speak. “You’re going to suffer the punishment for betraying your family. You slept with the opposing famiglia’s heir, and you do not deny that you intend on staying with him for the foreseeable future. From today on, you will no longer be a member of this famiglia. And you will suffer the consequences.”

My blood freezes in my veins. They are taking this even farther than I thought they would. They want to shun me completely. I can’t let them do that to me. I would lose everything. Matteo, Cristiano, my house. Everything I have left.

“Do you accept your punishment?” Leo asks me, stepping closer.

I give him a defiant look, but he merely laughs. “You may choose not to repent. I’m sure you’re going to hell anyway, cousin dearest.”

A few people in the crowd look away, obviously feeling uncomfortable. And it makes me feel good. They should regret what they’re doing to an innocent girl. My only crime was finding love in a place they deemed wasn’t right.

Fuck them.

Matteo… Rescue me, please.

No sign of him.

“Bring out the whip,” Romeo says dismissively, motioning for his brother to join him as they walk away. “Let’s not dirty our hands with this further, brother.”

I know exactly what he’s doing. He can’t stand watching me get roughed up and bloodied, and he’s not even trying to hide it. I wish I could spit in his face this time and call him a goddamn coward.

I close my eyes tightly, preparing for the worst. The crowd that has gathered to watch my punishment is eerily quiet, and the only sound I hear is footsteps approaching. They’re slow, heavy and they make me tremble. Slowly, I open my eyes.

A masked man is standing in front of me. His face is covered by an animal mask so I can’t see his face.

But I don’t need to. I know who it is. Antonio. The man who kidnapped me. I would recognize that mask anywhere.

I open my mouth to scream, but he is too fast for me. He stuff a rag in my mouth and before I can get away, he’s got me tied to the whipping post. I’m screaming, but the sounds are coming out muffled. Desperate eyes searching for a friendly face in the crowd. No one will meet my eye.

I will die. If he lays a hand on me, he won’t be able to stop. Doesn’t matter how he got here, doesn’t matter whether my cousins know who’s carrying out the punishment. Today, I will die at the hands of the madman who tried to hurt me once before. And Matteo won’t even know what happened.

My wrists ache as he secures them to the post. Without so much as a warning, he rips away my robe, revealing my skin to the biting cold air. I inhale, my breath whizzing and barely there. I think I’m having a panic attack, and nothing has even happened yet. I’m almost falling unconscious, but I can’t quite let the darkness take me, and that is the worst part. If only I could pass out now and not remember this.

Antonio leans down next to me and I scream louder. No one cares.

“Time to play, birdie,” he whispers in my ear. A tear rolls down my cheeks, and his boot kicks me in the ass, sending me to my knees.

I start to pray, one name forever in my thoughts. “Dio salvami,” I keep repeating in my head. “Dio salvami. Dio salvami.”

And then the whip cracks down.