NOT SAFE
What's going on?
Besides the fact that I felt useless as a man because I couldn't provide a safe environment for my wife?
Not much.
I exhaled forcefully through my nose. "It's Annabella, she wants revenge. She's running the clan now and I need to be ready for when she strikes. That's why I went to the gun range tonight."
Carla sat up in bed and turned on the bedside lamp. Warm light flooded the room and our eyes met when she turned to face me. As promised, she was naked beneath the sheets. Her brown eyes, filled with trepidation, scanned my face in the low light.
"Why did you lie?"
Guilt gnawed at my belly. "Because I want to be a good man for you. Killer Dante and this Dante talking to you right now are two different people. When I have to kill, I go into predator mode and all I see is red. This thing with Anna is going to turn into a fucking war. The last time we went to war, people died."
"I know killer Dante. I've seen killer Dante. You never have to hide him from me."
You're right, baby, but you didn't fall in love with killer Dante. You fell in love with Dante, the protector.
Instead of answering, I acknowledged her with a curt nod.
"Why don't you talk to her?" Carla offered. "Maybe apologize if that would help."
"I never apologize for a kill. Every one of them is validated, otherwise, I wouldn't do it."
"Maybe I can talk to her."
"Absolutely not," I said. "She knows the only way she'll hurt me is if she gets her hands on you, and I'm not going to let that happen." Carla opened her mouth to say something and I cut her off. "The answer is no and I'm not fucking budging on that. Stay away from Annabella."
Her eyebrows furrowed and she turned her back to me and turned off the bedside lamp. "Good night. Talk to me in the morning when you actually give a damn about what I think."
"Cariño, fuck. It's not like that." I hugged her from behind and kissed the back of her neck. Her body remained stiff with tension and I despised being the cause of it.
"It's exactly like that," she murmured. "You're lying to me and making decisions about my life without consulting me."
"Everything I do is to protect you."
She turned to face me once more and stared deep into my eyes. "I'm not nineteen anymore. I'm not scared of your dark side. I knew what I was getting myself into when I agreed to be your girlfriend and then your wife. If we're going to war, we're going to war together."
I loved that she was willing to fight for us, but in this case, I wanted her far away from danger.
"No offense," she continued. "I know Annabella is your sister, but I will not hesitate to kill that bitch if she comes at us. I love what we have together and I won't let her take that away from us. She's taken enough. Eduardo. Mateo. Elisabeth."
I cupped her face and then in a stern voice said, "Baby, don't talk like that. You're not a killer."
Her eyes flashed with determination. "I've killed before. I won't let you do this alone."
"Hey, I'm not doing it alone. You keep me going. I'm doing this for us. My world would crumble without you."
"Then show me. Train me, teach me how to shoot."
I was silent for a long time, processing her request. It wasn't an outrageous one, but did I want to turn her into a killing machine?
One of the things I loved most about Carla was her innocence; how untouched she was by the more sinister things in this world.
She didn't have one evil blood cell coursing through her body. Contrary to that, the world had been evil to her: seeing her father get murdered in front of her when she was seven, her mother abandoning her, witnessing Eduardo's murder, and killing Santiago who then turned out to be the man who had murdered her father.
Maybe she needed this training more than I wanted to admit.
"Dante?"
"It's not a bad idea, baby. I'll teach you."
"Thank you."
"Self-defense only," I said gruffly.
"Of course," she answered sweetly and I watched a slow smile spread across her full lips.
Oh, baby, you're so fucking beautiful when you smile.
I kissed her mouth and her lips instantly parted for me. Her tensed shoulders softened in my arms and I felt the firm peaks of her breast pressing into my chest. My tongue swept the seam of her lips and then dived in to tangle with hers. She tasted like mouthwash and everything nice.
Her hand traced over my shoulder before gliding down my back. I groaned and forced her legs apart until I found her wet cunt. My fingers dipped between the valley of her lips and settled on her throbbing clit. A gentle press followed by circular rubs on her sensitive nub had her shuddering next to me.
Without warning, I sank two fingers inside her. Her heat welcomed the invasion, bathing my fingers with liquid honey.
"My love," she whispered, her need clear in her voice.
"I know, baby, I know."
It was impossible not to get addicted to my wife, especially when her warm walls gripped my fingers and drew them deeper inside her sacred heat. It was impossible not to crave her smart mouth which was perfect for kissing. I kissed her then, pouring my heart into it.
Could she feel and taste how much she meant to me?
I knew the moment I met her that I wanted to own her body. I loved exploring her mind, but I loved fucking her pussy and her mouth more. If I could live in her pussy, I would.
Her body was sheer perfection. That ass, my god.
"Get on top," I said in a husky tone.
I held my cock and watched her as she slowly sat on it, inch after inch disappearing into her wet core.
Clenching my jaw, I reached forward and grabbed her waist. She started moving slowly, sliding up and down my thick length with agonizing precision.
In the low light of the room, I could make out the outline of her breasts bouncing every time she hoisted herself and sat back down on me.
Fuck yeah, my wife was a goddess, her brown skin glistening in the evening light filtering through the curtains and the warm light of the bedside lamp. Right now, more than anything, I needed her to come for me.
I knew she was close. When it came to pleasuring her, I saw everything and missed nothing. I knew when she wanted it harder, faster, or slow and steady. I knew when she wanted to change position. Knew when she couldn't take it anymore.
Currently, she was enjoying herself, coasting the wave to her climax. I let her ride me how she wanted, holding back my pleasure until she shuddered and fell apart in my arms.
Fuck yeah, baby, come for your hubby.
I kissed her roughly and with her pussy still spasming around my dick, I thrust upward, lodging myself deep inside of her. She whimpered and I grabbed her breast.
"It's my turn, cariño." I pounded into her, every thrust deep and hard. "You're such a good girl," I said when I felt her walls clenching around me again. "You're going to come for me again, aren't you?"
She bit her lip and nodded, her eyes widening as the first wave of her orgasm crashed over her.
"That's it, sweetheart. Come with me. Come for your husband."
"I'm coming."
Her legs started shaking and I took that as my sign to finish. My cum exploded out of me like a volcano erupting. A harsh growl-like noise left my throat and I held on to her for dear life as my heart hammered wildly in my chest.
I let out a ragged breath next to her chest. Beads of sweat coated my forehead and I closed my eyes, resting my head on the swell of her breasts. My hands glided over her generous curves and she purred quietly.
"I love you, Dante."
I smiled to myself. Sex was never just a physical thing for us. It was always more. "You're my soulmate, cariño."
And nobody, not even my sister could come between our bond. We had the kind of bond that could traverse distances and span multiple generations.
Such a connection was rare to find these days, and that made me a dangerous man to anyone who threatened to destabilize our family.
My heartbeat slowed when Carla snuggled next to me, her soft breath fanning my chest.
I woke up the next morning, more determined than ever to keep my family safe. Carla was more than family, she was my everything, my heart, and my soul. She didn't have a dad and I didn't have a mom. Our remaining parents didn't care much for us. Her mother was busy traveling the world, and the dynamic with my father had changed ever since I decided to leave the clan without a successor.
And my sister was doing what betrayed little sisters were good at doing.
Right now, more than ever, it was me and Carla against the world. This war with my sister wouldn't be the end of us.
After kissing Carla's sleepy eyelids, I made my way to the kitchen. It was time to cook up my wife's favorite breakfast: churros con chocolate.
I made everything from scratch, even the dark chocolate milk. Our kitchen stood facing the east, and from the large bay windows overlooking the pristine meadow of rolling grass, I watched the first rays of sun dye the horizon pink as I molded the dough to make the churros.
Before long, the sweet scent of chocolate milk simmering on the stove while the churros baked permeated the air.
For myself, I made a large portion of huevos rotos: broken eggs over fried potatoes and chorizo. Knowing my wife, she was going to pick at my food and I didn't mind sharing.
I made breakfast almost every day because it was the only time we had to bond with each other over food since I spent most of my evenings at the restaurant cooking.
It never bothered me before, not having dinner with my family after I opened my first restaurant. It was just me and Anna and we planned to eat dinner between guests on our short breaks.
I wouldn't mind having dinner with Carla at the restaurant on some days, but she refused to set foot in the restaurant. I couldn't blame her after everything that happened with Eduardo and Elisabeth, them dying, and her friend Eli getting seriously injured.
Her therapist had been talking about exposure therapy, but I wasn't sure how that worked. It had been years and Carla's refusal to set foot in a restaurant was stronger than ever.
I must have been lost in my thoughts because the sensation of two delicate arms wrapping around my middle almost made me shit myself. I jumped and the fork almost fell out of my hand.
"Relax, love, it's just me."
I released a breath of relief when I heard her American accent in my ears. "Cariño, you're supposed to be in bed. You fucking scared me." I held her hand to my chest and then raised it to my lips to kiss her palm.
"I didn't mean to. It smells wonderful in here."
I turned around in her arms, and my eyes skimmed over the silky pajama set she was wearing. It was a dark pink set with white frilly edges. The top and shorts were a loose fit, but they couldn't hide her generous curves.
"I planned on treating you to breakfast in bed, but fuck it, plans are subject to change."
She grinned and then raised herself to her toes. Our noses touched as she stared into my eyes. With a subtle slant of her head, she leaned in and gingerly kissed my lips.
I touched the side of her face and kissed her back, losing myself in the soft strokes of her lips and the generous way her buttocks filled my palm when I grabbed them. Eventually, she pulled away and we were both breathing hard.
She walked over to the cupboard to grab a mug. "I couldn't sleep in any longer. I think it might have to do with the fact that your crazy sister is trying to murder me."
"And that's not going to happen," I said, reaching for the mug in her hand. "Sit. I got this."
She took a seat at the table, her observant eyes tracking me as I filled her mug with hot chocolate.
"Is it me, but are you unusually tense this morning?" she asked.
I sent her a slanted look. "What the fuck do you expect, cariño? There's a target on your back."
"I was just saying."
"Don't."
She pursed her lips but continued to stare at me with a focused glare. I moved around the kitchen gathering plates and utensils. When I finally sat down to eat, there was an uneasy tension hanging over the table.
At one point, I put my fork and knife down. "Carla, I promised to keep you safe, and I can't do that when I'm twenty minutes away from you for hours at a time."
She stopped chewing. "What are you saying?"
"From now on, I think you should work from the restaurant. There's an office with a printer at the back, and whatever else you need, I'll buy."
"No."
"No?" I repeated like a damn parrot.
"You heard me."
My eyes narrowed. "Of course, I fucking heard you, but did you hear me? This isn't up for discussion. You're not safe here."
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