I leaned close to Will, whispering, “Your mother deep throated me a week ago. Did you know she likes to have her hair pulled while eating dick? I thought you should know I fucked your dear mommy to get back to you for talking shit to my fiancée in school.”
Will made a horrified little noise. “You bastard…”
I tightened my hold.
“You think that money is going to protect you in this city?” I growled, fingers digging into his skin. “My brothers and I got rid of many rich cocksuckers when we claimed power in the West. If you aren’t careful, you’ll be next.” I pulled my knife and rested the tip against the sensitive skin under Will’s thumb. He squirmed with a whimper.
“A punch made you cry?”
He began to shake in my hold. My lips curled. I wasn’t used to this kind of cowardice. In the Camorra, we honored bravery and strength but in the outside world these values were lost.
“Savio,” Gemma said quietly.
I nicked his skin with the blade before I lowered the knife. Will’s eyes practically bulged. I released him and he dropped to his knees, peering up at me. Gemma still hovered behind me, her expression frozen in shock. “Fuck off,” I told Will. He shot to his feet and disappeared.
I turned to Noemi who quivered. She didn’t have to worry I was going to hurt her physically. That wasn’t my style with women. There were better ways to pay her back. “Given your miserable skills, I guess Will taught you how to suck cock?”
Her cheeks turned red, her eyes darting to Gemma.
“You were the worst lay of my life, so run after Will. His standards are lower.” She dashed away, looking like she was about to bawl.
Gemma held her purse in a death grip, her cheeks bright red. “You slept with Noemi?”
That was why she looked so glum? I sheathed my knife. “I slept with many girls. It’s why dear Mrs. Reynolds was in favor of hosting this party. She didn’t want word about our intermezzo to get out.”
Not to mention that Mr. Reynolds didn’t want people to know that he preferred the dicks of ladyboys to his wife’s pussy any day.
Gemma’s face flashed with horror. “You slept with Will’s mother?”
I paused, reconsidering how much I’d share. I’d done many things with Mrs. Reynolds. Her tastes were of the kinkier sort. “It won’t happen again, believe me. It was only a revenge fuck. I prefer younger women.”
Gemma’s expression morphed into anger. She raised her hand with my ring. “What about this? Doesn’t this mean anything to you?”
“It means you are mine, and that I’m going to crush every fucker who doesn’t get the message.”
She threw her purse at me, hitting me square in the chest. I laughed in surprise. Then she took her pumps off and threw them at me as well, but I managed to dodge the pointy things. “Keep the stupid purse and shoes. I don’t want your gifts!”
“That dress was a gift as well,” I said teasingly.
For a moment, she seemed to consider taking it off, but then Gemma whirled around and stormed away.
What did she think? That I was going to turn into a monk because of our engagement? I picked up the purse and pumps from the floor and followed after her at a leisured pace.
18 months later
I stared down at the obnoxious ring, how Diego put it. The cursive S and the F held the diamond between them. Diego was absolutely right. This wasn’t a heartfelt engagement ring. For Savio, it had been a joke, a game. It hadn’t changed anything for him. He’d staked his claim, and everyone backed off.
When in the past, everyone in school had whispered behind my back because of my modest dresses, they did it now because of who owned me. It wasn’t really more than that. Not for Savio. He’d wanted me for himself and so he’d staked his claim.
Then he’d moved on. He didn’t wear a ring. Nothing in his life showed that he was mine like I was his.
Feeling eyes on me, I looked up to where Diego leaned in the doorway to my room.
“I told you it was a bad idea,” he said.
“Thanks.”
He walked in and sank down on the bed beside me. “Savio is a player, Gemma.”
“At some point he’ll have to stop. I’ll turn eighteen in two days and he hasn’t even talked to Dad about a possible date for our wedding.”
“Because he doesn’t want to give up his man-whoring ways anytime soon. He enjoys his bachelor days.”
I swallowed down my hurt, embracing my anger. “Has he slept with half of Reno?”
Shortly after our engagement, Remo Falcone had sent Savio and Adamo to Reno. For one, the designated Underboss was still a teenager, so it was Savio’s job to keep everyone in line up there because he didn’t have a family to take care of yet. Since that day I’d hardly ever seen him. I wasn’t allowed to go up to Reno, unlike Diego who’d spent a couple of weeks at a time there over the last sixteen months.
Diego avoided my eyes. “There’s a reason why Remo sent his brother away, and it wasn’t only because of the teenage Underboss. He wanted Savio away from you because even Remo didn’t trust his brother to keep his hands to himself.”
I huffed. “It’s not as if it was only his choice. Trust me, I wouldn’t have let him touch me after all the girls he’s been pawing.”
Diego gave me a look. “Maybe now you wouldn’t. Back then you were still more infatuated. Now you see him for who he is: a player.”
That was true. I was still infatuated. However, being engaged to the man of my dreams was far from the fairytale I’d hoped for. Savio kept sleeping around. Maybe I should have seen it coming. We weren’t in a relationship yet. An engagement in our circles was a formal statement, nothing emotional, especially for the men.
“He’s coming back to Vegas tomorrow,” Diego said suddenly.
My heart sped up. “What?”
Diego regarded my face with blatant worry. “Like you said, you’re almost eighteen.”
“What do you mean? Is he going to agree to a wedding soon?”
Diego groaned. “Gemma, that’s not why. Savio thinks you’re ready to be plucked now. Remo didn’t want that to happen as long as you were still too young, but now he won’t stop his brother anymore. Savio will amp up the charm to get into your pants.”
“Good luck with that,” I muttered. “How many girls has he been with while you were around?”
Diego got up. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”
“I want an answer, believe me.” I needed an answer because I needed my fury as armor against Savio and my still simmering crush.
“Too many to count, and I doubt he’ll stop now that he’s back here. Not unless he gets it from you, but even then…”
I jumped to my feet, too agitated to stay still. “He won’t get anything before we’re married. If he thinks this stupid ring entitles him to anything, I’ll kick him in the balls.”
“Oh, he won’t get a chance to try anything. I’ll make sure of that.”
“You don’t have to hover all the time, Diego,” I muttered. “I can handle myself even against Savio.”
Diego hesitated. “The Falcones are powerful. Remo is my Capo and Savio is my boss, too. He might think he can break the rules of our world and do things before you are married. Savio knows how to sweet talk girls into doing what he wants.”
“I hear you aren’t bad at sweet talking girls into your bed either,” I teased to lighten his mood. His constant worry about me and our financial situation had turned him way too serious.
Diego let out a groan. “Don’t listen to stories about me. They’re not meant for your ears.” He became serious again, leaning forward to stare in my eyes. “I’m serious, Gemma. Dad and I gave you a lot of leeway when we allowed you to fight, but I need to make sure you don’t cross other boundaries as well.”
I rolled my eyes at him, but the worry in his eyes stopped me from provoking him. “Diego, you don’t need to worry. I believe in waiting until marriage,” I said quietly. This serious sex talk drove a blush into my cheeks. “Maybe I like to fight and use words I’m not supposed to, but I’m still a girl. A girl raised with Mom’s values and no sweet talk will make me give anything away before I’m married.” Especially not after how Savio has been acting. He had a lot to make up for. Maybe now that he was back in Las Vegas, he’d finally try to build our relationship and prepare everything for our wedding.
Diego’s eyes softened and he touched my leg, looking proud.
I squirmed. “Don’t look so proud. I didn’t win the Nobel prize.”
Toni and I spent the afternoon of my birthday in a beautiful spa, getting massages and rubs—a gift from the Falcone clan, whom I’d only met at the engagement party so far. Kiara had invited me over for dinner a couple of times, but without Savio, I’d been too shy to follow the invitation. I hadn’t seen Savio yet, so I wasn’t sure if I’d get a present from him as well.
“You need to give him the cold shoulder,” Toni said again. “From what I hear, Savio’s messed around with Dakota.”
I froze. “You’re joking.”