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  With his friends around them, he told her father that he was taking her home, to his home. She didn’t want to leave, but holding her father a little too tightly, she knew there was nothing he could do.

  This was over now, and she hugged Mary last, holding the woman tightly.

  “You’ll be fine, sweet child.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  She left her family behind and went with the family she’d been joined with. There was no happiness here, just a duty.

  Chapter Four

  Daniel said his goodbyes to his friends at the door. Vincent and Ronnie didn’t have much to say back to him. They all knew that Natalie didn’t want to be here. She’d not spoken a word to him in the car, or to anyone else. She had withdrawn into herself. He’d asked Mary about her often over the past week, finding the cook a valuable source of information when it came to his wife.

  Natalie was hurting, and rather than explode she pulled her anger and fear inwards, not allowing it to show. He was upset that she didn’t trust him with this.

  Closing the door, he found her standing at the windows. The Solanos only dealt with luxury, so his apartment was the best that money could buy.

  “This was a gift on my eighteenth birthday,” he said, holding his key.

  She didn’t turn around to look at him. “Must have been nice.”

  “You didn’t get a present on your eighteenth? I thought everyone did.” He was trying to make light of everything.

  “My dad came to my graduation and gave me a thousand dollars for my new life. I’d already been living by myself as part of our agreement. It felt like the best gift in the world because he accepted what I wanted.” She finally turned to look at him, and he didn’t like the pain in her eyes. “I should have known it wouldn’t last. Women are disposable, right? You can get us anywhere.”

  “I don’t think you’re disposable.”

  “I never got that though. I mean, sure, men are strong, and normally assholes who think it’s there right to rule the world, and women are just there to look pretty or to screw, when in fact, if women turned around and said screw it, the entire race would cease to exist.”

  “That would be cutting your nose off to spite your face.”

  “Women wouldn’t do that though. You see, women know and understand that you need men and women. We’re equal. It’s just men that can’t seem to want to share that kind of power.” She shrugged. “Sorry.”

  “No, it’s fine. You tell me everything you want to say.”

  “There’s a lot I want to say that I’m not going to. I’m not good at this.” She looked nervous, and he hated that.

  Stepping up close to her, he took her hands and pulled her close. Their dance together had been so wrong, so there in his sitting room, he placed a hand on her back and took her other in his, resting it against his chest.

  “What are you doing?”

  “You need to relax. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

  She tensed again, and he cursed. No matter what he did, he couldn’t win with this woman. It was starting to drive him insane, and they’d only been married a matter of hours.

  He reminded himself that she didn’t want this.

  “I thought you looked incredibly beautiful today.”

  “Thank you.”

  Daniel liked her so damn much, and that thought alone scared him. He wasn’t used to liking anyone, and yet, with her, he did. She was so beautiful, so tempting, and amazing. She didn’t see her own charm.

  He didn’t like that she compared herself to Louisa a lot. From his talks with Mary, he discovered there was no love lost between the two. Natalie had tried to make friends with Louisa long ago, but it never happened. If anything, it made her life harder as Louisa would often mock her attempts.

  “I want us to be friends, Natalie. To make a chance at this.”

  “Have you ever been friends with a woman?”

  “Yes. Lots of times.”

  “That you’ve not had sex with?”

  He sighed. “There’s not a lot of chance to have something like that in the lifestyle we have.”

  “Nope, you’re right.”

  “Are you a virgin?”

  And like that, he ruined everything.

  She tensed up and tried to pull away from him. “Let me go.”

  “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “You just want to know if I’m a virgin. Yes, I am. I’ve not been with another man. Does that make you happy?”

  Fear flashed within her gaze. He was much stronger than she was, so he pulled her against him, holding her close. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  He cupped her face, tilting her head back, staring into her brown eyes. He’d never thought brown eyes were all that beautiful until that moment. When it came to Natalie, she really made him think and feel, and fuck! He didn’t want to. His father had been pissed when he pulled that stunt in Alfie Valenti’s office, but Daniel wouldn’t budge. He didn’t want to marry a woman he couldn’t stand.

  In their life, he’d seen it done so often. The women miserable as fuck, the men screwing around, taking whatever they could get from someone else, while hurting the woman that bore their name.

  He wouldn’t do that to Natalie. In the few hours he’d spent with her, he’d had more than an entire lifetime of fucking faceless women. For all of his thirty years, he’d followed instruction. He’d done everything that was demanded of him.

  Only this once had he done what he wanted without looking back. Natalie was his reward as far as he was concerned. He’d never hurt her. He’d never take from her what wasn’t freely offered. She didn’t know him yet, and he hated that she was scared.

  Tears glistened in her eyes, and she didn’t believe him.

  “Consummating the marriage?” she said. She spoke through gritted teeth, and he shook his head.

  “They don’t have to know. We’re not going to do that tonight,” he said.

  She frowned.

  “When we fuck, it’s going to be because you want it, not me taking what’s mine.”

  She looked so confused.

  He was a monster in every single sense of the word, but tonight, he refused to be.

  “Tonight, we’re going to dance, and enjoy the fact we’re married, and we’re going to take our time getting to know one another.” Anyone else could have thrown her to the bed and demanded their rights there and then. He wasn’t like that. He didn’t want to take from her. He wanted Natalie to give to him. She didn’t relent at first, and he didn’t mind. Holding her hand close to his heart, he closed his eyes and simply waited for her to finally melt against him.

  It didn’t take long before she did as he asked. The moment she did, it was a precious and beautiful thing, one he didn’t want to let go of.

  “You’re a little strange. Anyone ever tell you that?” she asked.

  He’d take whatever she wanted to talk about.

  “I think being in this world, you’ve got to be a little strange. Especially this life. It’s not for the fainthearted.”

  “No, I don’t imagine it is.”

  “I don’t always like it, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  She tilted her head back to look at him. “You don’t get off on the power that you have within your grasp?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t get off on anything, baby. It’s not who I am. Not now, not ever. I do what has to be done. It’s what I was born to do.”

  “You guys have a lot more freedom than the women.”

  “I get that. We’re allowed to have a time where we can play around, get everything out of our system to settle down.”

  “While the women can be passed around from the moment they’re eighteen years old. A lot of girls are already sold in the name of peace and deals before they’re even sixteen.”

  “Marriage never happens before they’re eighteen though.”

  “Doesn’t make it right. I wonder how the men would fa
re if the women went out, screwed around. Found random men to slake their thirst on. I doubt it would be all that much for all of you.”

  He smiled. “Louisa seemed to be doing a fine job of it. I saw the way that kid was looking at her.”

  “The soldier?”

  “Yep. It wasn’t hard to see. I’m surprised your father didn’t.”

  “He has other things on his mind.”

  “Keeping a war from being unleashed is exhausting.”

  This time she giggled. “Louisa has always been a handful. I’m sure he’s pissed that you didn’t take her off his hands.”

  “Do you think he’d have given her the same consideration as you? Letting you go?” he asked, curious.

  She shook her head. “Louisa wouldn’t have been able to deal with the hard work. It’s not inside her to break a nail over something as trivial as doing the dishes.”

  “You’ve not had a problem with it.”

  “I preferred to spend my time with Mary rather than my own mom, Daniel. She was a lot nicer to me, and she wanted me around. Also, the bonus, she didn’t try to kill me.”

  He stroked the base of her back. “I don’t want anyone to ever hurt you. I won’t let them.”

  “I hate to be the party pooper here, Daniel, but if someone really wanted to, you couldn’t really stop them.”

  ****

  Natalie didn’t even know why she was talking about this. She had wanted to be the horrible woman, keeping Daniel at arm’s length, making him wish he’d not picked her, but he was proving to be difficult to ignore. Not only did he make her feel safe and secure within his arms—and he did—but there was something … amazing about him.

  He wasn’t going to try to force her to sleep with him tonight, and she had been a little scared he’d do so.

  The tales she’d heard were so damn scary.

  Men raping their wives on the night or taking when they begged them not to.

  Then of course all of Louisa’s stories swirled around her head, and even though she knew they weren’t true, once they were there, it was next to impossible to forget about them. It was driving her insane just thinking about it.

  His thumb stroked her back, and she stared up at her.

  “Haven’t you realized anything yet, Natalie?” he asked.

  “What is that?”

  “That when I want something, I can be a very persuasive person.”

  “Agreed. You got my dad to back out of our agreement within a few minutes.” She leaned back, smiling at him. She wasn’t about to blame Daniel. He’d not wanted Louisa, and he’d done what he could to win her.

  No, it was her father, refusing to step back and allow her to have her freedom that she blamed more than anything.

  “Now that was the best victory of my life. I didn’t think I’d be able to win that battle.”

  She chuckled. “You thought you had a battle on your hands?”

  “Your father loved you. There wasn’t a lot of love lost for Louisa. He wanted to protect you.”

  “The needs of the many far outweighed the needs of the few.”

  They both came to a stop when there was a knock on the door.

  “Food?” he asked.

  “We ate at the wedding.”

  “Nah, we didn’t eat. We were both pushing food around our plates, and I’m not interested in all that fancy party stuff.” He released her, and Natalie refused to think of how lonely she felt not having his arms wrapped around her. It didn’t mean anything, not to her.

  Still, she couldn’t help but miss him. She hugged herself, watching as he opened the door.

  Ronnie and Vincent stepped in, along with the sweet, amazing scent of Chinese food. Her stomach rumbled.

  She’d relaxed enough to finally feel hungry.

  “Still alive then,” Vincent asked.

  “Yep, I am, and hungry too.”

  “Good. We came with lots of offerings,” Ronnie said.

  They all sat down in the living room. Natalie took a seat on the floor, crossing her legs. The wedding dress spread out around her. Some of her hair was escaping the pins that had been keeping it in place.

  Ignoring everything that was out of place, she grabbed a carton and a pair of chopsticks, and began to enjoy the delicious food. She loved Chinese food, but seeing as Mary cooked everything, she rarely got this treat anymore. It was an expense she couldn’t afford.

  “So, how is married life treating you?” Vincent asked.

  She looked up, slurping some noodles. “Can’t complain. We’ve only been together for a couple of hours.”

  Daniel had come to sit next to her, and every now and then, she chanced a glance at him. He surprised her all the time. The few times they’d been together prior to his wanting to marry her, she’d enjoyed his company.

  Mary had even warned her not to get stars in her eyes, that he was destined for someone else. Only now, he was her husband.

  “Ignore them, they’re going to try and stir up shit.”

  She giggled. “So, you’re all best friends?” She looked at each of them.

  Vincent and Ronnie smirked.

  “Actually, we’re his dad’s bastards,” Ronnie said, being the first to speak up.

  Her mouth fell open, she was sure of it. What then added to the certainty was the way Daniel reached over and closed it. She was thankful she didn’t have any food in her mouth at the time.

  “You’re Frank’s love children?” She looked among the three of them, seeing the similarities.

  “My father is a real hero. We’re all the same age.”

  “He knocked three women up at the same time?”

  “Yep,” Vincent said.

  “My mom was the lucky one,” Ronnie said. “She wasn’t part of the life, so she didn’t have to deal with his ass all that much.”

  “This is crazy. How are you guys like not angry about this? Daniel’s the oldest, and that makes you guys the oldest.”

  “We share a birthday. We’re all the same age, and Daniel is the son with the name. We don’t hold the name,” Vincent said. “No biggie. We’re Daniel’s protectors.”

  “They’re my brothers and my best friends. I wouldn’t let anything happen to them,” Daniel said.

  She saw the love among them, and she was a little jealous at how close they were. “I wish I had that. Louisa couldn’t stand me. I don’t make friends easily.”

  Her cheeks heating, she looked down at her food.

  “As it happens we all make amazing friends. We’d gladly take you under our wing, show you the ropes of friendship.”

  She couldn’t help but look toward Daniel.

  He held his hands up. “I’ve not got a problem with this. When we’re around the elders though, try to ignore them.”

  “Yes, it would seem elders don’t like bastard children having a place,” Ronnie said, winking at her.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said.

  “You’re really not a mafia brat, are you?” Vincent asked.

  “I never really fit in. No, probably not. I guess having your mom trying to kill you on more than one occasion would do that to you.”

  She saw that she’d shocked them all.

  “She tried to kill you?” Ronnie asked.

  Nodding, she took a bite of her noodles. “A couple of times. I think it’s why Dad was so nice to me. He didn’t like that she tried to kill me.” She shrugged.

  They all finished their food, and she loved the time spent with them, but of course, it wasn’t long before they had to leave, and the nerves kicked in.

  She didn’t know why she felt nervous.

  Daniel had told her he wouldn’t do anything with her unless she wanted it, and she didn’t know if she wanted it or not.

  Gathering up the empty cartons, she placed them in the trash and waited.

  Sitting down on the stool, her hands linked together, she watched him come back.

  “Do you want to see our bedroom?” he asked.

  Locking her finge
rs together, she stood up and followed him. His hand rested at the base of her back, and even as her heart thumped, she tried to ignore it.

  Entering the large bedroom, she saw the bed, which looked imposing and huge.

  “Where will I be sleeping?”

  “Here, with me.” She made to protest, but he simply kissed her lips, silencing any further refusal. “Nothing is going to happen tonight. Trust my word on that, but we share a bed, that is the final word on it.”

  “You can’t be swayed?”

  “Not with this I can’t.”

  “Okay.” She stared at the bed a final time, seeing there was no point in arguing. “Would you undo the zipper of my dress?” She presented him with her back.

  Her stomach clenched as his fingers grazed her side. She closed her eyes, thankful that he couldn’t see her.

  “I know you’re affected by me,” he said, lips brushing her neck.

  Opening her eyes, she stared at him. She’d been so drawn to the bed she’d not noticed all the mirrors.

  “You like to watch something?” she asked, feeling her skin heat up.

  “I like to do a lot of things, Natalie.” The zipper slid down her back, easing open with each second.

  His touch was light, and yet it set a fire within her.

  He didn’t let her go right away, drawing her back against him.

  Staring at their reflections, he placed his hand over her stomach, the other taking hold of one of hers. “You’re beautiful.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll never do anything to you that will scare you, okay.”

  “I believe you.”

  “I want this to work. I know you probably hate me for taking you away from a life you wanted, but I will make sure you don’t regret it.”

  He kissed her neck and let her go.

  She stepped into the bathroom. Staring at her reflection, she looked … a mess. Her hair was all over the place. Her wedding dress was falling down, but obviously, that was because he’d opened it.

  “You can do this, Natalie. It’s fine.”

  Taking a shower, she freshened up, taking care of her teeth afterward.