Page 23 of Sacred Vow

Massimo calmed down, leaning back in his chair with his terrifying enforcer mask back in place.

“Come on, Romeo, are you telling me you can’t conceive of being in love with your wife? I know you don’t like distractions, but Vittoria is perfect for you in so many ways.”

Ha! Now I had him.

“Really, how so?” My voice had taken on an edge, one that was a warning not to push me and although it served me well outside of the family, Massimo generally ignored it. He was the only one I allowed to push me, just a bit, because he knew me better than anyone else. Had we been born twins instead of being brothers from other mothers, maybe we’d be running this empire as equals right now. As it was, I’m two years his senior and the Vitale heir.

“She’s a bit of a brat and likes to test you.”

“Pfft! Does she ever, but I hardly see how that is a valid point.”

Massimo continued as if he didn’t hear me. “She isn’t afraid of you, and that’s a first for you. She challenges you and you like to be challenged, at least in the sack you do. Remember that one at the club who you liked playing with the most until she found the guy of her dreams and married him? She used to play the brat and test you. As I recall, you loved it.”

Okay, he had a point there.

“And… she was raised as a princess, to one day be a queen. She has the right breeding and by the way you prowl after her, I can only imagine she’s good in the sheets.”

I processed his words and heard the grains of truth.

“I’ll admit, she is all those things, but that doesn’t mean I’m in love with her. Just that I hold her in high affection. And that is where I plan on keeping her, Simo, in a position of affection, and not one where she has wiggled into my heart. I’m not a nice man and don’t plan on changing who I am or what I do. She can fall in line, do what she’s told, end of story!”

Massimo regarded me but didn’t speak.

“Now that’s settled, let’s discuss security. Soon, my wife will be given permission to leave the property for short outings when properly escorted, and that means no less than a security team of four, Massimo, I mean it!”

“I hear you,” he said mildly, straightening up to a professional posture. “What do you need from me?”

“I’m seeing dead spots that the cameras aren’t covering,” I said, gesturing at the monitors. “I want those dealt with, and I need a stack of tracking chips. I don’t completely trust that my wife will stay with her security team. The more secure she is, the less distracted I’d be by her.”

If Massimo had seen through my act to what lay beneath regarding my feelings for Vittoria, then soon others would as well. I needed to keep a lid on things and no better way than to make her less available to me during the day.

“On it, boss.”

Massimo left and I returned the camera feed to cover the entirety of the estate. When I left, Massimo was laying down the law with Simon, our IT guy and the center of our security system. Time to make myself scarce.

Chapter Eight

Vittoria

“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”

Now I understood Juliet’s problem. Of all the men in the world to crave, I’d somehow fallen for the most capable of ruining my life. And yet here I was—pining for his gaze, his knowing touch, and feeling very much the star-crossed lover pining for her Romeo. What the hell was wrong with me? Sure, he had an icy glare and dominant demeanor and could be a complete asshole about obedience, but when the ice turned to a consuming fire, I couldn’t get enough of him.

It had been a week since our episode in his office and we hadn’t had sex since. I slept in an empty bed most nights or woke to see his retreating back as he left early in the morning.

He must be angry with me, but he hadn’t punished me and even my ass was missing the heat that his hand made when he spanked me. How had I become so desperate for one man's attention in such a short time? It was absurd. Only a week ago I'd been looking for any opportunity to escape him. Now I found myself listening for his footsteps outside my bedroom door and wondering why he'd suddenly decided to keep his distance. I should have been relieved. Instead, I was irritated enough to flirt with a guard or two if only to remind my husband I wasn't invisible. Not because I wanted anyone else—but because I wanted his attention. I had no intention of going further than a coy glance or giggle, of course, but surely there wasn’t any harm in making a friend… or making a friend think he stood a shot at something more.

Someone must have told him how close I was getting to Theo, because the day after our stroll in the garden, he was gone and replaced with a giant who didn’t speak. Typical of Romeo to give me a mute who seemed oblivious to my charms, but I still had Carlo, who didn’t say much, but seemed to be a sympathetic listener at least.

On the plus side, Romeo must have felt bad for not seeing me because he’d lifted the ban on me leaving the property. But it wasn’t like I was free either. I had four guards with me at all times. I expected as much. After all, my mother and I had been well guarded anytime we went anywhere. After she died, my father doubled my watch, even though my mother’s death hadn’t been the result of a mafia strike. She’d had a bad reaction to a new medication prescribed by her doctor. My father killed that doctor and the pharmacist who had approved it–a wild over-reaction that had only weakened his standing among the families. Perhaps that was why my guard doubled… but it didn’t keep me from escaping when I wanted to.

As a child, it had been easy to imagine myself as a little princess locked in a tower against my will. Now here I was, Mrs. Vitale, and not just a helpless captive princess, but a queen. I seriously needed to up my game. If Romeo wanted distance, then maybe I needed to remind my husband exactly what belonged to him. Think, Vittoria! Seeing me in little to no clothing seemed to have an effect on him. Most men were visual, which is why porn was so rampant.

I went to my closet, digging through all the drawers, and riffling through dresses in search of something he hadn’t yet seen me in. There were some nice items, designer expensive, but not slutty enough for what I had in mind. Time to see just how unlimited the credit card Romeo had slipped me was.

Grabbing my phone, I called Carlo. I could have probably just asked my new personal guard, but he would only clear it with Carlo anyway, so I went to the source.

An hour later I was sandwiched in the car with my mute giant on one side and Carlo on the other. Additional security followed in another car behind us. Smart, I guess; one could be a getaway car if the tires were shot out on this one. Morbid, I know, but the realities of my life weren’t lost on me.