Borrowed Bride: Chapter 10

Gianna’s nails claw down my back, leaving red hot trails in their wake. I arch away from her writhing body with a growl and roll my shoulders, chasing the tingling sensations. Her pussy clamps tight around my cock, interrupting the flow of my thrusts inside her and as I move, her hands slide down my chest.

“Fuck,” she moans, tossing her head back and forth. “Don’t stop. Keep going.”

She’s so insistent and I have no desire to disappoint her. I resume my rapid pace of thrusts, tightening the arm I have around her waist that forces her body to curve, her hips to tilt and my thrusts to reach deeper.

Gianna whines and throws her arms above her head, spreading them wide and curling her fingers into the sheets below. Her breasts sway with each thrust, sweat gleams against her skin and each deep thrust makes her abdomen visibly clench.

I am in awe of her beauty. Dressed up, naked; it doesn’t matter. There’s just something about Gianna that’s under my skin and I never expected it. I could stay here forever, buried balls deep inside her, and just watch the pleasure dance across her body like an orchestra of twitches and movements.

My thighs ache and my left knee complains slightly but I ignore it and continue pounding into her. She was quick to correct me when I changed pace too much and I learned that she needs a specific constant once she’s found her pleasure.

Today it’s me fucking her as hard as I can with her back bowed to hit her G-spot with each movement.

She’s drinking it up like a parched woman. Her head tosses back and forth once more and her hands move to her own body, cupping and squeezing her breasts. I’d do the same, but my free hand is keeping one of her legs up parallel against my chest, allowing me to thrust even deeper inside her.

I never want to leave.

“Yes,” Gianna chants breathlessly. “Just like that. Just like that. Don’t you dare stop.”

There’s a sudden teasing temptation to halt my movements and force Gianna to lose her focus just so I can stay here longer. A delayed orgasm is always worthwhile, but I don’t have the heart to see the disappointment on her face so I resist.

This time.

“Fuck.” I turn my face into her knee, kissing the soft, tender skin there as the walls of her pussy ripple around my cock. It’s taking all my restraint not to come right this second, but I’m determined to make her come first.

It’s always sweeter that way.

Gianna cries out and both her hands shoot to her flushed face, then they drop back to her nipples. She twists them sharply, and her entire body bows into a deep curve as she comes with a loud cry.

“Marco!”

The sound of my name on her lips, wrapped in deep, lustful tones, is all I need to tip over the edge as I crash into my own orgasm with a deep moan. I bite her thigh, growling softly as my core clenches repeatedly and I pump my load deep inside her—well, deep into the condom wrapped around my dick.

But the illusion is hot enough.

Her body clenches and bows, writhing back and forth as pleasure overtakes her. By the time it’s over, we’re both panting and sweaty. I let her leg fall down to the bed, and Gianna groans, then she reaches for me, and I lean down on command.

We kiss lazily, and only for a few seconds until the chill in the air forces me to retreat and I pull out of her. I remove the condom with a snap of latex and toss it into the trash, then move to the dresser in my room in search of clothes. Giving Gianna her own bedroom works in terms of trust but with her lying naked on my bed, I oddly miss not seeing her things in the drawers next to mine.

Maybe one day.

Is that wrong of me to think about? That this could become a real thing? Something more than a deal and sexual stress relief?

Picking out a towel, I turn back to Gianna on the bed but she’s moved. She has one hand between her legs and the other in the trash can.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sticky,” she murmurs. “I’m never this sticky.” A moment later, she locates the condom and after a quick inspection, thrusts her finger through a tear in the latex. “Shit. Condom broke.”

“Fuck,” I snort, handing her the towel. “My father’s demands for an heir might finally come true.”

Gianna slumps back onto the bed with a groan. “Doubt it. I had a pretty bad case of mumps as a child. I doubt I can even get pregnant.”

Something about that sends my heart south in my chest and I’m not sure why. Am I … disappointed to hear that? Gianna must be confident in her words because she doesn’t appear that panicked at the broken condom, but I will respect her wishes.

“I’ll get you the morning-after pill,” I say. “Just don’t let Dante find out because he might end up spiking your drinks or some shit.”

“He’d do that?” Gianna asks, her cheeks draining of their red flush as she cleans herself up.

“Fuck knows. But if he finds out there’s a chance you’re pregnant, he won’t leave you alone.”

“Hm.” After a few passes of the towel, Gianna drapes herself back against my pillows and it’s killer that I have to get dressed rather than return to bed with her.

“I will honor my promise,” I assure her. “We will deal with the heir issue later. Right now, Leonardo is my focus.”

“And the snitch,” Gianna replies softly. She fixes me with a soft gaze. “You believe me, don’t you? That it’s not me.”

“Yes.” I nod, buttoning up my shirt. “You accepted my deal because you didn’t want to die. It would be counterproductive for you to reveal a secret and earn a quick way to a painful grave.” Dressed, I lean over her naked body and gently kiss her collarbone. “Have a good day.”

“You too.” She waves lazily at me and my chest squeezes at the sight. What I would give to return to her warm body and tender arms.

Instead, I have business to attend to. For the past few days, Leonardo Simone has been blowing up my phone with pictures of random women, along with the tagline Is this your sister? Each time I get a ping, my heart punches up into my throat as I fear he will send me a picture of the real Emilia.

So far, it’s been no one of note and I know he’s just fucking with me. He’s enjoying feeling like he has something on me, so I need to get to the bottom of it. I need to find out who betrayed that Emilia is alive. I questioned her entire team, and none of them had any phones beyond the ones I had given them, with no evidence of calls outside the home.

Emilia understood my concern, but I could tell she was pissed I spent hours interrogating the four people that have spent the past twenty years keeping her alive and safe.

Trust is hard to come by, and someone here has broken it. Whoever it is, I will crush them to fucking dust.

Striding through the estate, I’m on my way to the kitchen when another notification pops on my phone. Expecting it to be from Leonardo, I almost ignore it. Knowing I can’t, I check my phone and my gut clenches. It’s a message from one of the men I have tailing Leonardo who confirms Leo has stopped off at one of his warehouses and hasn’t moved for an hour.

Do I confront him? Do I end this game right now, head-on?

Yes, I do.

I send orders to Anton and Ben to keep Gianna safe, and head for the garage. Leonardo’s games end now.

When I arrive, there’s already a tense stand-off between my men and Leonardo’s men. I’m quickly informed that Leo was in the process of leaving so my guys stepped in to stop him since I was already en route. I thank them and stride into the building. The sharp scent of wrought iron, lead paint, and something acidic assaults my nose as I walk deeper into the building, passing countless wooden crates and forklifts on pause since the arrival of my men.

I walk around the corner and find several of my men with their rifles up and aimed at Leonardo and his men, of which they lack numbers. Odd considering this is Leonardo’s territory, but clearly he’s shoddy at running it.

“Oh,” Leo snorts, rolling his eyes the moment he sees me. “It’s you.”

“What a greeting. Are you always such a charmer, Leo?”

“It just comes naturally,” he mutters. “The hell are you playing at, Barrone? It’s like you’re begging for a war.”

“You think? We’re just having a friendly conversation,” I say, striding in front of my men until Leo and I are face-to-face. “I’m not the one playing fucking mind games here.”

“Oh, you got my text then?” Leo smirks. “You could have just called. You didn’t have to come all the way down here.”

I glance around, noting the numerous crates that are open and cast to one side, and the number that are still awaiting retrieval. A single spark and this place would burn faster than a bonfire.

“Stop with the games, Leo. You wanted my attention, you fucking have it. So out with it. What is it you think you know?”

“Do you think it will be that easy?” Leo rolls his eyes and crosses his large arms over his chest. “I know you, Marco. I know the sick and twisted games your family are involved in. There’s no way I’m giving this up easily without making you suffer for it first.”

“So you have nothing,” I sigh, trying to force him out of his bluff. “I should have known. Simones are nothing but empty threats and hot air, I should have known. But toying with my dead sister? You have a death wish and I’ll gladly oblige.”

“Ah-ah!” Leonardo holds up one hand, pausing my step forward and he reaches for something in his pocket. “You don’t want to do that because the second you spill a drop of my blood, this goes public to all of the other families. You’re strong, Marco, sure, but even you can’t take on everyone.”

I eye the white paper in his hand as the back of my neck prickles. He’s right, in a sense. We can’t take on every family in the state. At the moment, we can barely handle Leo thanks to my father’s poor planning. Gritting my teeth, I remain silent. I want Leo to think he has me, so that he will keep talking.

I know it’s worked the moment he smirks.

“I saw you at that party. People talking to you about guns and drugs as if they don’t know the truth.”

“The truth?” I prompt.

“Everyone knows the real Barrone meal ticket is sex trafficking,” Leo spits in disgust. “Everyone knows your currency is people. Slaves. They just don’t talk about it.”

A coldness slides down my spine like a sliver of ice and disgust curls in my gut. Anger boils up in my chest, igniting a smothering heat across my skin, and it takes every ounce of my strength to remain standing in place and not rip Leo’s throat out.

“That’s what people know, do they?” I reply tightly.

“You don’t even deny it,” Leo snarls. “I knew it. You’re fucking disgusting, Marco. Just because you have an old name and a fancy estate, people are willing to look beyond your crimes but I noticed. All the women and children that go missing around you?”

Leo begins to pace, unfazed by the rifles trained on him. “When Elodie went missing, and her husband turned up dead after you went there for dinner? I was suspicious. There was no way you were killing everyone in that house and she was quite a woman.” Leo’s mouth snaps shut with a click. “So I started digging. The Netcis, their don was found floating in the river and his two daughters? Gone. The Calderones? His wife went missing and then a month later, his three kids were gone. Then he ends up dead. The Morellis? Same thing. Dead husband, missing wife and kids. The list goes on.”

Leo paces back to me and we lock eyes. “I looked into it. All those people had dealings with you, Marco. In the dark, they whisper that you’re the devil. You snatch the women and kids to sell, then you off the rest of the family so no one comes looking. You’re a fucking curse, Marco.”

So, that’s Leo’s angle. He acts on incomplete information and now he taunts me with my sister for what reason? Revenge? Payback?

“And my sister?” I bite out through tension so strong it’s a wonder my jaw even opens.

“No wonder she ran away from a monstrous family like yours. She knew, didn’t she? She probably feared she was next the second she stepped out of line.”

Leo strides forward and weapons click, ready to fire the moment he acts. He doesn’t strike me, though. Instead, he shoves the paper against my chest.

“Well I found her, Marco. And I will keep her safe. And if you want to see her alive ever again, you will do exactly as I demand.”

My attention drifts to the paper, which is an enlarged photograph of a woman. My heart seizes painfully in my chest because I expect to see a photo of Emilia, and Leo’s words scare me for a split second—how did he get ahold of her?

But it isn’t her.

I let Leo leave because I want him to think he has the upper hand, and part of me is still rooted to the spot as a cold realization creeps over me. This woman isn’t Emilia, but why does she look so familiar?

I don’t know her—but somehow, I feel like I should. Leo is so completely convinced that she is linked to me, and that concerns me far more than Leonardo’s threats.

Who the hell is she?