her, moving forward. Everything we did, and will do, will be to ensure her safety, and as independent as Frankie was, I knew it was going to be a huge adjustment for her.
“Go to hell, Phoenix,” she spat scathingly.
“Baby, I’m already there,” I flung back. “What do you think the past six years have been?”
“You turning into a king,” she retorted. “You, Luca, and Ciro turning into royalty.”
“Luca’s the king,” I corrected. “And, yes, that makes me and Ciro royalty, but do you want to take a guess at what that makes you?”
Her eyes narrowed and there was all the hate in the world bottled up in those gorgeous irises. “I hate that I still love you,” she hissed.
“I know you do.” Because I did. The only thing that helped was that I wasn’t alone in that category. Of course, she’d always love Ciro, he was her brother, but I knew she hated that she still loved Luca. Her love for us kept her prisoner, just like our love for her made us weak.
My hand slid around to the back of her neck until my fingers dug into her flesh. “I know that you hate that you love me,” I told her. “I also know you hate the fact that your body craves mine. But you’ll either get over it or you won’t. Either way, it doesn’t change anything. You and I will be married by the end of the week, Frankie. We’re going to be married and you are joining the Benettis.” I leaned down and used my teeth to tug on her lower lip. “You’re also going to spread those creamy thighs for me every fucking night, baby.” My teeth nipped at her jaw. “I don’t care what you do with your day, but every night you will be in our bed with your thighs spread wide, waiting for me.” She moaned and I almost sank to my knees. “Whether I’ve just come home from the office or just walked in after blowing someone’s brains out, you will be on that bed, your sweet, tight pussy presented to me for the taking, Francesca. Am I clear?”
I was about to slide my other hand up her shirt when she pushed me away. She no longer looked angry, but she didn’t look quite overrun with passion either. Her eyes searched mine as she said, “There can only ever be me, Phoenix.” Shock rendered me still. “I…I know it’s customary for…some men to take mistresses, and that’s acceptable among The Family, but…but that won’t work for me.”
Was she fucking serious?
“That’s my only concession,” she went on. “If…if I have to give in, then I need to do it on my terms, as well.”
I stared down at the stunning beauty in my arms and wondered at what point in time had she lost her goddamn mind. “Are you fucking serious, right now?” I asked, mad as fuck.
“Phoen-”
And just like that, I went from kissing her to shaking the shit out of her. “I haven’t touched a woman in six fucking years, Frankie,” I said, in-fucking-furitated. “You were, and still are, the only female I have ever touched, much less fucked.” Frankie’s eyes glossed over as I ranted at her. “Do you honestly think that, now that I have you back, I’d seek out some random pussy on the side? Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“Phoenix, I-”
I stepped away from her, grabbed the first thing that was handy, and threw the lamp across the room with enough force, it shattered against the wall in a waterfall of glass and ceramic. “What don’t you fucking understand, Francesca?!” I was beyond livid. “It’s you! Everything is fucking you! In all these years, I never even tried to fill the void you left by fucking another woman. I can’t stomach the idea, Frankie. So, instead, I tried to fill the void by murdering as many motherfuckers as I could. I tried to fill the void by devoting my every waking breath to whatever I had to do to benefit the Benettis. I will never, ever touch another woman, Frankie. Never.” Before she could respond, I stormed over and snatched her by her arms again. “And, I swear to God, if you ever think to go to another man, for anything, I will fucking kill him and unleash a hell on you so brutal that you’ll wish you were dead.”
The fire in her eyes was back. “If I haven’t gone to another man in these past