Page 24 of Sacred Vow

When we parked in front of Feretti’s, my favorite boutique, our detail pulled in behind us. Carlo stayed with me while the others checked the store. When given the clear, I stepped out of the vehicle with Carlo shadowing me so close, I could smell his cologne. Inside the shop, Valentina, the shop owner, came and greeted me with a glass of champagne.

We did the double kiss cheek to cheek. “Welcome, Vittoria! It has been too long.”

Valentina had work done since last I saw her. Her lips were so full, they looked to burst if she kissed someone too hard. Is this what I had to look forward to in my future, plastic surgery, lipo and the latest fashions? The image didn’t really fit with what the young princess-me had envisioned if I ever escaped that tower—long flowy bohemian dresses with my skin kissed golden by the sun of some distant shore, running barefoot through the sand just for the thrill of running… Although once older, I’d added a child or two running beside me, screaming in frightful delight while a smiling man made monster faces as he chased us.

Picturing Romeo as that monster was surprisingly easy, only he was shrouded in darkness while the rest of us were lit by the sun. He could be that man, but first I’d have to let him in, and he’d have to want more than a marriage of convenience.

“Earth to Vittoria. Hello?” Valentina woke me from the sun-dappled forest and the bohemian dress back into the present. “What are you looking for today?”

I slipped my arm through hers and led her to the far side of the store.

“Sexy, slutty, and barely there. Do you have anything?”

She grinned. “I see. You are out to bag someone. Good for you, not that you need any help, Vittoria, you’re gorgeous already. But yes, the new Spring collection has arrived and lucky for you, there are a stack of ultra-revealing clubbing dresses included. They’ve become all the rage and the less material, the better.”

“Sounds perfect!”

“Step inside room one, and I’ll bring you some selections. Undergarments to match?” she asked knowingly.

“Oh no,” I giggled, “not unless they are even more suggestive than the dress.”

It was Valentina’s turn to giggle. She left, and I sat down with my champagne. From talking with Theo before he left, I’d learned that the family owned a ring of clubs, some legal and some not, but one, in particular, was favored by the Vitale brothers and run personally by Gio, Club Carnage.

I texted the chat room I had with my girlfriends under a false name on Instagram. I’d set it up while in high school so I could make plans with my friends without my father’s knowledge. I told them the time and place and put my phone away just as Valentina brought in my selections.

Carlo wouldn’t participate in helping me pick out a dress, and the giant I’d privately nicknamed Inch, was as useful as a wet paper bag. In the end, I sent pics to the girls of each outfit until we were down to the top three: a hot pink number that barely covered my ass and had a sizeable cutout on one side, a black mini with spaghetti straps and a plunging neckline, and my personal favorite, a red mini see-through sheath dress with sequins decoratively placed where my boobs, ass crack and vagina were. It also came with a plunging neckline and only a partial back. It had less coverage than the new bikini I’d ordered, and that was saying something.

Valentina, getting into the spirit of things, snapped away with my phone while I modeled. In the end, the girls all picked the red one as the winner, but I bought all three with matching lingerie and 6-inch heels.

None of the brothers were at dinner so after complaining of a headache, I excused myself and left the table. Time for a little trouble! I couldn’t wait to see Romeo’s face when he caught sight of me.

Grabbing a bottle of Amarone della Valpolicella, I escaped to our ensuite and ran the bath. I needed all my bits silky smooth for tonight. At 9 pm, Carlo and Inch showed up to chaperone me and an hour later, we pulled up outside of the club. Carlo escorted me out of the vehicle, and I caught a whiff of his cologne like earlier. I tried to place the familiar scent, but wasn’t fast enough to give my brain time to process it before it wafted away.

Carlo left Inch at the entrance by the bar to keep a lookout while he brought me over to my girlfriends. As I removed my coat, they all whistled and made playfully crude remarks. I watched Carlo in my periphery, expecting him to ogle me like all the rest of the guys in the club, but that’s not what I saw.

A flash of satisfaction that disappeared to be replaced with a blank expression that I almost thought I’d imagined. Could it be that he was actually happy for me to finally get out and have some fun? Well, I could work on discovering how deep Carlo’s sympathies ran later. Tonight, I was here for good times and hopefully super sex later on or maybe in the bathroom. It surprised me when an hour and four too many ouzos later, I hadn’t seen the men yet. Carlo stood guard by my table, watching me closely, almost impatiently. It was like he was waiting for something. Well, he’d been the one ordering our drinks all night, maybe he was waiting for me to pass out, but he had no idea who he was dealing with. I was a Calogerà!

Slamming back two shots, I wobbled onto the dance floor with my girls. The song that was playing was slow and dirty. Perfecto! We ground and teased and basically did a show. The floor cleared, leaving us plenty of space, the other patrons being more interested in watching instead of participating with us.

Then I felt it. Prickles along my skin. Someone was watching me, but it wasn’t my husband. I searched for the source and at the bar, a man glowered in my direction. Pretending not to notice him, I glanced away and moments later, the prickling sensation left as I lost myself in the dirty song with my bestie, Gia, grinding her ass against mine.

My eyes roamed the club and traveled up to a platform I hadn’t noticed before, where several sets of eyes were watching me. Then I saw them, the band of brothers. I knew they’d be here. Gio, Tano, Vinny, Tony, Fausto, and Massimo. My gaze settled on Romeo. His glare traveled down my body with a mix of hunger and anger. Staying true to my plan, but being a little drunk from the shots, I turned and wiggled my ass in his direction, then spun back around and blew him a kiss.

His glare seared me, sending tingles down to my core and zapping my clit with such intensity, that I almost stumbled on my six-inch heels. I couldn’t look away and neither, it seemed, could he. While my body danced with Gia, hers bumping and sliding along mine to the beat of the music. And just before he could unload inside of me, I watched as a waitress passing the brothers’ table paused, and followed their collective gaze, to me and the girls. She slammed her tray down, picked up a glass and poured its contents onto Gaetano’s lap.

Romeo leapt up with the rest of his brothers, and the spell his gaze held over me broke, leaving me weak-kneed and gasping. I watched in fascination as the waitress stormed away, with Gaetano, and Giovanni hot on her heels. I returned to my table to have another shot.

“I think you’ve had enough to drink, Mrs. Vitale.” Carlo said gently.

“Says who? My husband? Did he tell you to order me to stop drinking? I think not.”

Everything moved in slow motion as my fingers reached for the shot glass.

My girlfriends gasped, when a muscular hand gripped my wrist, the heat from the touch burning all the way through my body to my knees.

Romeo.

He tugged me to him and wrapped one arm possessively around me. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends, wife?”