Page 39 of Sins
Me either.
“Now you do.” Grim’s lips brushed my ear. “Let’s go, sweetheart.”
I held up the earring. “Thanks for returning it.” I smiled at Emiliano.
Grim pulled me away toward Minnie and Tess, who tapped their champagne glasses together with Cheshire Cat grins.
They were always causing shit.
His hand stayed firmly planted on my waist as we walked, and when we were far enough away from Emiliano, he cleared his throat. “I told you to stay away from him. I don’t like to repeat myself.” His face positively glowered.
I glanced around and saw an older couple gawking at Grim’s expression. I smiled, not wanting to make a scene. “First, he approachedme,and second, who are you to tell people who I belong to? We aren’t even dating.”
He spun me and pressed my back to his front then slid a hand around my stomach. “When I have you in my bed,” he inched his fingers down and pressed them against me, “you belong to me and only me.”
My jaw dropped, and I fought to curb my temper. “Says the man who has women dripping off of him whenever he wants.”
“I’m not sleeping with any of them.” His other hand slid up over my mouth. “Fight me all you want,” he kissed my neckagain, “but we both know it’s where we’ll end up. Where we belong.”
I went from fuming anger to a sudden, deep sadness. Everything hit me at once, and my chest heaved at the realization that I wanted more from Grim. I wanted it all. His arms loosened when he sensed my change in attitude, and I whirled to look up at him.
His face fell when he saw the pure devastation written across my face. I didn’t want to want Grim, but no matter how much I tried to push the feelings away, they somehow returned. He only saw me as a sex playmate, and the worst thing was, that was all my fault.
He reached out, and I stepped back. “What the hell just happened?”
“Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends.” Elio’s voice carried through the mic and around the room. I looked over and found Minnie watching me with a concerned expression.
“Nothing.” I swallowed back my heartache and tuned in to Elio.
“As you know from personal experience or from the articles released about our story, things have been anything but easy these past few years.” The crowd chuckled. “After much hard work, we are proud to say the Capri blood will live on as the one true blood to rule all of Italy.” He reached for Sienna and threaded his fingers through hers with a smile that would have melted the sun. “And the next in line for the thrones,” he laughed, “are our twins Marabella and Filippo He waved to the stairs, and we all turned to see their two youngsters., Filippo dressed in a black tux with a gold tie and Marabella in a black dress with gold flakes in the tule around the skirt. They held hands as they took the stairs carefully, one by one. The crowd clapped and cheered, and their little faces glowed with excitement.
Something caught my attention, and I swung my gaze over to Trigger dressed in a handsome suit and a scowl. Tess smirked at me. I knew she loved it when he had to dress up because he positively hated every minute of it. I had to smile, and I gave her a wink before I moved my attention to the stage.
Elio handed Sienna the mic, and she waited for the crowd to quiet down. “I know many of you still wonder about the future. I’ve been asked many, many times which of our twins will rule one day, who will run the family business, but we’ve decided they can do it together, or perhaps one can take the lead, but only time will tell. That is for them to decide.” She looked at Elio and mouthed “I love you,” then looked back at the crowd. “I think our own story is proof that making such large decisions for someone else is not always the right choice.”
“I love you, too.” Elio stepped forward, dipped her backward, and kissed her. Everyone went nuts, and I got it. They were madly in love. I felt despair, then it turned to disgust. What was I thinking? This wasn’t me. I didn’t want to be in love.
My head swam, and it felt like the room was too small.
I vaguely heard Elio announce something before a video came on of an old woman with devilish eyes. She hissed at the camera. The screen then split in two, and another man came into view. He had heavy bags under his eyes as he begged for mercy.
“We have provided a viewing room for those that wish to see the final moments of the Coppola bloodline.” Elio held up his fist. “History will be made on this day.
I decided I’d skip this one. A double murder wasn’t something I wanted to view on any given day.
“I need some air,” I muttered at Grim. I knew he couldn’t come after me because Elio was about to call him on stage. He’d warned Grim to be ready, as he wanted to thank him for his help.
“Hey, babe, where’s the fire?” Rail took a sip of his beer and soaked the cigarette that hung from his lips. He too was dressed up, minus the biker boots that peeked out from under his pants.
“Restroom.” I didn’t give much more as I rounded a corner and walked down a few halls then found a door that had been left open to reveal a lovely garden.
The garden was a great place to think. There were so many little pathways and turns. I was able to take a deep breath and mentally kick my own ass for being that person. Falling in love, that just wasn’t me. Then why did I feel the way I did, damn it? The soft earth under my heels made it easy to walk, and the smell of the fresh flowers helped ease the storm inside.
Deep breaths, Kenna.
It was then that I tuned in to a strange sound. I started to follow where it came from but stopped short when I caught sight of Vinni in a passionate kiss with another man.
I had no idea he enjoyed men. I turned around slowly, not wanting to break their moment, to find Sienna in front of me.