Did you know she likes to have her hair pulled while eating dick? I thought you should know I fucked your dear mommy to get back to you for talking shit to my fiancée in school.”
Will made a horrified little noise. “You bastard…”
I tightened my hold.
“You think that money is going to protect you in this city?” I growled, fingers digging into his skin. “My brothers and I got rid of many rich cocksuckers when we claimed power in the West. If you aren’t careful, you’ll be next.” I pulled my knife and rested the tip against the sensitive skin under Will’s thumb. He squirmed with a whimper.
“A punch made you cry?”
He began to shake in my hold. My lips curled. I wasn’t used to this kind of cowardice. In the Camorra, we honored bravery and strength but in the outside world these values were lost.
“Savio,” Gemma said quietly.
I nicked his skin with the blade before I lowered the knife. Will’s eyes practically bulged. I released him and he dropped to his knees, peering up at me. Gemma still hovered behind me, her expression frozen in shock. “Fuck off,” I told Will. He shot to his feet and disappeared.
I turned to Noemi who quivered. She didn’t have to worry I was going to hurt her physically. That wasn’t my style with women. There were better ways to pay her back. “Given your miserable skills, I guess Will taught you how to suck cock?”
Her cheeks turned red, her eyes darting to Gemma.
“You were the worst lay of my life, so run after Will. His standards are lower.” She dashed away, looking like she was about to bawl.
Gemma held her purse in a death grip, her cheeks bright red. “You slept with Noemi?”
That was why she looked so glum? I sheathed my knife. “I slept with many girls. It’s why dear Mrs. Reynolds was in favor of hosting this party. She didn’t want word about our intermezzo to get out.”
Not to mention that Mr. Reynolds didn’t want people to know that he preferred the dicks of ladyboys to his wife’s pussy any day.
Gemma’s face flashed with horror. “You slept with Will’s mother?”
I paused, reconsidering how much I’d share. I’d done many things with Mrs. Reynolds. Her tastes were of the kinkier sort. “It won’t happen again, believe me. It was only a revenge fuck. I prefer younger women.”
Gemma’s expression morphed into anger. She raised her hand with my ring. “What about this? Doesn’t this mean anything to you?”
“It means you are mine, and that I’m going to crush every fucker who doesn’t get the message.”
She threw her purse at me, hitting me square in the chest. I laughed in surprise. Then she took her pumps off and threw them at me as well, but I managed to dodge the pointy things. “Keep the stupid purse and shoes. I don’t want your gifts!”
“That dress was a gift as well,” I said teasingly.
For a moment, she seemed to consider taking it off, but then Gemma whirled around and stormed away.
What did she think? That I was going to turn into a monk because of our engagement? I picked up the purse and pumps from the floor and followed after her at a leisured pace.
18 months later
I stared down at the obnoxious ring, how Diego put it. The cursive S and the F held the diamond between them. Diego was absolutely right. This wasn’t a heartfelt engagement ring. For Savio, it had been a joke, a game. It hadn’t changed anything for him. He’d staked his claim, and everyone backed off.
When in the past, everyone in school had whispered behind my back because of my modest dresses, they did it now because of who owned me. It wasn’t really more than that. Not for Savio. He’d wanted me for himself and so he’d staked his claim.
Then he’d moved on. He didn’t wear a ring. Nothing in his life showed that he was mine like I was his.
Feeling eyes on me, I looked up to where Diego leaned in the doorway to my room.
“I told you it was a bad idea,” he said.
“Thanks.”
He walked in and sank down on the bed beside me. “Savio is a player, Gemma.”
“At some point he’ll have to stop. I’ll turn eighteen in two days and he hasn’t even talked to Dad about a possible date for our wedding.”
“Because he doesn’t want to give up his man-whoring ways anytime soon. He enjoys his bachelor days.”