"Cecilia!" His Italian voice called for me from downstairs.
I jumped from my spot on the bed too nervous to keep him waiting.
"What have you done all day sugar?"
I had laid in bed and watched the tv all day. What a waste. Because I was too chicken to shop with Romeo. I couldn't tell him that. He'd think I was dull.
"Um. . ." I bit my lip trying to think. "I-uh. . ."
His eyes started sneaking selfish glances down at my body as I stuttered. Hands harshly grasped around my waist pulling me into a desperate body.
"Have dinner with me Cecilia." He closed his eyes and pressed his lips together awaiting my answer.
"Why?" I asked surprised.
"Gotta eat sometime." His beautiful voice sent shivers down my spine in his hold.
"No, I mean, why are you doing this." I fought him for a second.
His grip only tightened. "I'm doing what I thought you wanted. A date."
My eyes widened at the thought. He wasn't capable.
"Do you want to see what I got you?" His face unbearably close.
I nodded in hopes he'd let go. He pulled away reaching for a few bags and boxes.
He proceeds to pull beautiful expensive clothing out.
"Romeo!" I laugh as he holds up a gorgeous dress to my chest.
"Mettilo per me."
(Put it on for me.)
I eyeballed him questionably but as his eyes grew dark when I hesitated I decided to strip in front of him. I slid on the thin blue dress over my body.
"Beautiful." He gave me a slight kiss on the cheek.
"Down on your knees."
"Romeo-"
I glared at him from under mascara eyelashes.
"Close your eyes and open your mouth-"
"ROMEO!" I protested.
"Do as I say Cecilia!"
I obey reluctantly and cringing. Something sweet and sticky lands on my tongue. He pulls me to my feet sharing the chocolate. He laughs pulling away.
"That was cruel." I reply wiping off my mouth.
"You don't know the meaning of cruel." He hands me a jacket leading me to the car.
"Why do I have a feeling your going to teach me?" I smart back.
"Do you have some sort of hunch I don't know about?" He smiles amused.
"You mean that you're a raging sadist? No, I already knew that." I buckle up prepared for his reckless driving.
"Don't get too excited. My playrooms not as accurately equip as Christian Grey's."
My cheeks burned and we sat in silence. I was far too innocent. How could I ever maintain conversation with him if it always ended like this?
"Reservations for Montana." He handed the man at the door some money.
"Ah yes. Right this way." He took us through the restaurant and up a set of stairs to the roof.
A few other couples were dinning up here as well relieving the awkward tension.
"Whenever your ready." He handed us two menus.
"We'll have the shrimp garanzini with white pasta and a Valentino wine." He handed the menu back.
"And I'll have the chicken flamingo with white pasta please." I glared at him.
He opened his mouth to say something but decided against it cursing under his breath.
"Don't forget you belong to me tesoro, and you do as I say. Slip again and my knife might slip on your little pinkie." He continues to scold me once the waiter leaves.
"I may be your wife Romeo, but I do not and will never belong to you." I narrow my eyes.
"You don't like your pinkies?"
"So help me God, I'll throw myself off this building right now before you touch me." I protested.
A smirk spread wide against his beautiful Italian face. I took a sharp breath feeling those long fingers graze my knee from across the table.
"Still don't want me to touch you." He asked looking down at his hands.
I pushed my chair out from the table standing. I looked at him to see if he would stop me. He just smirked allowing me to walk myself over to the edge.
"Do you need a push sweetheart?" He gulped down a drink of his wine.
Before I knew it I was falling off the two story building and Romeo was right there to pull me back up.
"Fine. I acknowledge you. Happy?" He drug me back to the table displeased.
"A little." I took a sip of mine with a smile.
"Shrimp garanzini, and chicken flamingo. Anything else I can get you?" The waiter asked setting our food on the table.
"No." Romeo started digging into his plate.
I more carefully twisted the noodles around my fork.
"Do you want it to be a girl or a boy?"
"Huh?" I raise an eyebrow confused.
"Our child." He doesn't look away from the food as if it were casual.
"Oh. I don't want kids. Besides, does it even matter if it's not a boy?" I looked to the sun in the west.
"That's unfortunate. Yes. Our first child doesn't have to be a son." He looked up to me.
"How do you figure?" I turned my attention back to him.
"There's different superstitions, positions-"
"Romeo, please!" I begged throwing down my silverware.
"Hi! I'm Samantha. I'll be taking care of your table the rest of the night. Anything I can get you?" A very chipper fake blonde flashed her toothpaste commercial white teeth at Romeo.
"No thank you." He turned her down continuing with the pasta.
She didn't even glance at me. It was as if I simply did not exist. Which doesn't sound too bad right now.
"Everything tasting okay?" She tried again.
"It's fine." Romeo gave her a look so frightening jungle cats feared.
She frowns turning back to the other tables.
"Did you mean it when you said you'd rather die than bare my children?" He asked seriously wiping his face.
"I don't want to bare anyone's children. So maybe it was a little out of context." I finish my plate.
He gave me another chocolate setting it in front of me this time.
"What is this? A treat?" I ask looking at the tiny square.
"I thought I was being kind, but maybe I'm subconsciously rewarding you for not pissing me off every five minutes." He shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm full." I push the chocolate back to him.
"Do you prefer it the other way?" He raised a wicked eyebrow.
"Why don't you eat it Romeo? So I know you're not trying to poison me and all." I roll my eyes.
He placed the chocolate on his tongue mischievously. His tongue pokes out to the side of his mouth as he pretends to have a reaction.
I throw my napkin at him annamused.
"Don't be such a fuddy dud Cecilia." He threw it back at me.
"You want me to throw myself off the roof again? I thought that was pretty entertaining." I cross my arms.
"Not for all of us." He sighs.
"This doesn't feel like much of a date." I drink down the rest of my wine. He pours me another.
"Like you've been on one."
"And yourself?" I ask.
"Touché. Ask me a question." He leans back at attention.
"What did you do to my uncle?" My voice drops my eyes narrow.
"I don't think that's really date conversation." He clears his throat. Those sultry eyes go dark darting across the room for listeners.
"We have to be honest with each other babe." I condescendingly reached across the table for his hand.
"Well babe. . ." He reciprocated my hold much tighter.
Give Romeo an inch and he'll take a mile. Otherwise give him a small squeeze and he'll rip your arm off.
"I made a set up to look like I had murdered his children before slitting his throat and stringing him on your clothesline."
I stare at him unable to speak with my jaw on the floor. I could feel my bottom lip start to quiver staring at the sadistic, stone cold, bolder carving of a man.
"What did you want me to say cupcake? That I was just playing? I let him down and we had a good laugh?" He almost meant it to be funny.
I prayed to God he wouldn't go on another control trip. I attempted to pull my hand away only finding myself fighting him again. My stomach dropped and then began to turn with his lack of sympathy.
"It's business Cecilia. That's all." He says lightly.
"Then why even do this? Why not lock me in a room every day as you once did?" Tears fell on my pale cheeks.
He would punish me for crying later.
"We don't do things in the mafia for any other reason than to survive. I'm sure your romantic American mother never bothered to teach you that. I'm jealous of you CeCe. You can do things I can't. If I'm doing anything right now it's probably so I can try to understand you. I'm sure you know I'm a master manipulator."
"Like what?" I blinked the tears out of my eyes.
"Feel. You think I'm allowed to feel anything for Dante? I know he's trying to steal my empire out from under me. I'll most likely have to kill him."
"But he's your brother."
"Half brother. And that's why he can't be Don." Romeo paid the check.
He walked me back to the car.
"Wait, that's why Dante can't be Don? I thought he was younger." I buckled in prepared for Romeo's reckless driving.
"No, he's just a bastard. Tell me about your family." He keeps his eyes on the road.
"What don't you already know?" I asked knowing he had seeked out all of his enemies on my side.
"I don't know much about your brothers." He pressed his lips together in thought.
"Lucca is twenty-seven. He used to play with me when we were younger but he started ignoring me when I was twelve. Brendon is twenty five. He's sweeter. He isn't around much but when he is he he'll do anything for you. And David is twenty four. He's very protective. We were pretty close. My father was very fond of him. Until they decided to sell me to you and he started cutting them out." I looked away trying to block out the memory.
"I know Lucca. We trained together. There's something wrong isn't there? He always wants to fight." Romeo's fist ball up.
"I don't know him that well." I try to focus on the road ahead.
He only nods in response. He could tell I was trying to suppress the feelings. I prayed he wouldn't dig them up.
"I tried to kill him." He blurts.
My head instantly spins in his direction. He looks ahead with his lips tightly pressed together.
"How?" I asked instead of why.
"I caught him going through my things. . .and I tried to stab him." He admits coldly.
He knew it would affect me so he held back from saying more.
"That's where he got the scar."
"Yep." He takes a deep breath uncomfortably.
"Where are we going now?" I asked nervous.
"The beach." He replied.
"Can I ask you something?"
He contemplated for a minute as people usually did not have this opportunity with him.
"Yes."
"If this were an actual date right now and I was to ask you what you did for a living, what would you say?" I asked foolishly.
He laughed a little. "I would say, I'm the CEO of a large organized political group for justice. Or maybe law enforcement." He grinned with a joker smile.
"Of course you would. Leave it to you to talk about organized crime in one sentence and not even relate the two words. That was a stupid question anyways, as if either of us would actually be caught on a date." I rested my head in my hand drifting towards the window.
"Say this were a real date. Me and you. Organized crime aside. What would you actually want to do?" He refused to look at me too prideful.
"I wouldn't go on a date with you. First of all I'm far too dull or outspoken for your taste. And second of all, organized crime aside, you scare the fuck out of me."
"You've made your point. If I were anyone else cara mia."
(My dear)
"I think. . .I think I'd want to go to an amusement park. I guess it wouldn't matter." I blushed.
"And I suppose you'd want him to win you one of those cliche stuffed animals?" He turned his nose up at the horrendous thought.
"The biggest!" I smiled.
"You are so predictable." He shook his head.
"I wish I could say the same about you, yet all that comes to mind is neurotic, or freaking psycho." He had some audacity.
"Honestly, I thought I've been especially well behaved." His perfect eyebrows tightened together again.
"And thank God for that!" I emphasized meaning exactly that. "Maybe you deserve an award."
"Oh really." An expression appeared across him any woman would fear.
"No! I meant-You're taking what I said out of context!" I protested.
"Gelato?" He asked instead.
"Si. Like gelato." I crossed my arms pleased at his restraint.
"On your tities." He added.
"NO!" I cried innocently.
"Calm down pussy cat. I don't want to fuck you unless you want to fuck me. I'm not into rape." He revealed.
"Then all of that stuff you said before? About wanting to fuck me bloody?" I asked.
"I wanted to scare you. I hated you. Maybe not necessarily you, but what you stood for. It's not like that anymore."
"What's it like." My voice filled with too much hope.
"A trophy."
"Oh." I replied disappointed but not surprised.
I jump when the car comes halted to a stop at the side of the road.