Page 10 of His Vicious Vow
CHAPTER 4
Sandro
Watching the way Carina flees the room as if she were running for her life, I wince at how badly I fucked up.
I had a clear, concise plan. Then she appeared and all thought short-circuited. Carina is indeed all woman. She’s also unbelievably adorable and so fucking sexy she made every inch of my body hard. I like Tony Sabatini, I respect him, I would have no problem putting my life on the line to protect him. But seeing his hand at her back, I wanted to tear him apart piece by piece for touching her.
Her green eyes were wide and staring up at me. She was so small, so delicate, her youth shined from her eyes. Pink hair was in two mini-buns like Sailor Moon. There was nothing unique about her heart-shaped face, or even her long, thin nose over her wide, lush mouth. Yet I couldn’t take my eyes off her face.
Rhinestones trailed along the top of her eyelids to the end of the eyeliner wing. Her pink button-down shirt was held closed by two buttons over a silky white camisole. The two buttons were right beneath round, heavy breasts drawing any red-blooded man’s eyes to them. The skirt she wore looked like it was a Catholic school girl thing and was too fucking short. I could see her thighs easily.
Carina’s body is a luscious wet dream. I wanted those thighs in my hand, her legs wrapped around me and those plump lips in a fuck me red wrapped around my cock. Instantly, I hated myself for wanting her when she was so much younger than me. And like the fucker I am, I took it out on her.
I told her what I planned, in a rush without thinking. She flinched, I was going to apologize then she opened her mouth and told me to fuck off. It didn’t matter I deserved it. Her talking back pissed me off. Women didn’t tell me no—no one told me no.
I tried to remember everything I planned but when she said she wasn’t going to marry me, all I wanted to do was throw her over my shoulder and carry her back to the hotel with me and show her just how much she belonged to me. I had no doubt she felt it, that insane need that surged through me was on her beautiful face.
The only thing that held me in place was awareness Carlo was watching, if not watching the bastard was listening. There was no way he could know how badly I wanted her. If he did, he’d use it against the both of us.
It didn’t help when I tried to follow her and ran into Tony with a look of disgust on his face. He didn’t need to say it, I knew what he thought of me. And fuck it all, I deserved it. She’s a kid compared to me. I should have handled her softer.
Carlo called me into his office, her mother was nowhere to be found. “Are you fucking kidding me? Do you have any idea what I went through to get Cassandra to say yes to you marrying Carina? Then I got to worry about you and her having kids and how people are going to see you both being Filipino and—”
“Are you serious? Look, you racist fucker. My mother was half-Filipino. I’m not half the way everyone keeps fucking saying. Because no one listens, all they hear is I’m not full Italian.” I’m so angry, I don’t trust myself not to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze.
He shakes his head. “Whatever. With you two combined it’s going to be enough for people to tell. It’s going to be bad enough but they better have my last name.”
“No fucking way will they have your name. Why should they when she doesn’t? Our kids will have my last name and when you die your name will die with you.” I walk away before I give into the desire to wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze.
How dare the motherfucker say shit about our kids that I’m not even thinking about. Our kids were going to be fucking adorable, girls all of them and a half dozen of them if I had anything to say about it. The thought stops me short, kids? No this isn’t about kids it’s about this fucker treating his daughter like shit because she wasn’t one hundred percent Italian. I slam out of his office. Refusing to consider if it’s disrespectful or not. Because killing him would be much worse.
I’m in the back of the SUV with no idea where the fuck I’m going. I give in and tell the driver to take me to Dominic’s club. I need liquor and space. If I go back to the hotel I’m going to get so drunk I can’t walk let alone think.
The guy at the door lets me in with a nod, remembering me from the time I was here last year.
I’m at the bar sipping on scotch when Luca sits down next to me. “You look like shit. Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?”
He chuckles. “My wife is with her mother. I hate being in bed without her there. Pop is wondering if you’re trying to make it so Carina doesn’t want you. He’s not sure if he should help you or not after all.”
I swallow the glass and hand it back to the bartender for another pour. “She’s a kid. Twenty-two or not, Luca. She hates her life so much she’s hiding in cosplay and pretending to be something else. I don’t care how many men she’s fucked but I’m going to need her tested before I touch her. The girl is a mess. I’m supposed to take her into my home with my little sister?”
Taking my glass from the bartender he swallows the pour and hands it back with a wink. “You’re telling me you wouldn’t want to be someone else if you’d gone through what she has? Carlo doesn’t care about the girls. He made it known not just to la familia but to their faces. Every insult you could think of, he’s said to them.”
He counts off on his fingers. “Too fat, not pretty enough, he wished they were boys, they were a waste of money and time. All those things you showed up for Bianca: band, gymnastics, dance—all that shit. They didn’t get to do any of it. They went to school then straight home. Carina’s been working for her own money since she was fifteen, they didn’t have an allowance or get money handed to them. Not even college. Milos set up to pay for Celia but Carina was on her own completely.”
Christ. Carlo hadn’t acted like he cared about Carina, but I couldn’t imagine growing up hearing that shit day in and day out.
“People might call them mafia princesses, but they aren’t, not really. Their grandmother raised them, she was the only adult in their life who gave a shit about them. When she died, they were fifteen and sixteen and lost the only person who gave them any kindness and love except each other. Then Celia goes off to school, leaving Carina alone.”
Well fuck. “That shit wasn’t in her file.” I attempt to defend myself.
He rolls his eyes. “Maybe if you’d tried talking to her instead of telling her how things were going to go, you might have gotten more from her.”
My stomach growls.
“Ricky, get us some gnocchi in pesto and linguini with clams, and a big ass order of cheese bread. We’ll eat, and I’ll help you out some. So next time you see your fiancée you don’t have her wanting to run for the hills.” Luca mutters as he pushes away from the bar.
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