woman full of verve and pride. I wanted to surround myself with her beauty, the air of innocence that reminded me of another.
I wanted my own version of Camelot, the term so often used when describing our private world of luxury and sin. Little did the outsiders know about what went on in the heart of our community.
My childhood had been filled with thoughts of great kings and castles, saving damsels in distress.
As if I could rule the world.
Then I’d been forced to understand I was just a dark prince, incapable of doing anything noble. My blood father had seen to that.
I rubbed my knuckle across my lips as I studied her, swirling the drink in my hand as I had for the last ten minutes.
She was an enigma, capable of turning off her emotions at a moment’s notice, although the electricity running through us would never sleep, would never leave us. At this moment, she wanted nothing to do with me. Hell, I didn’t blame her. I’d captured her in a dark parking lot, shoving her into the passenger seat and shackling her like a common criminal.
The hard fucking neither one of us had been able to resist, but she’d shut down, refusing to even look in my direction. She’d even moved to a seat on the other side, the wine I’d poured her remaining untouched. She was a ballbuster, determined to get her way.
She had another think coming. Now that my sadistic side had made an appearance, there was no going back. She’d broken almost every rule, continual punishment obviously necessary. I huffed under my breath given the controlling thought, the glee that it gave me. I needed a clear head in order to keep her safe.
We would be landing shortly and if I knew my brother, he’d made all the appropriate arrangements just as I’d requested. Where we were going no one knew existed, with the exception of Christian. It was a place of respite, although I hadn’t been to the cottage in almost a year. However, Capodanno Enterprises had people everywhere, ones who could be trusted in order to provide certain services, including opening up the house.
However, that wouldn’t include letting anyone else know where we’d gone. I’d insisted. I refused to trust anyone at this point. My years spent with Father McGivney were entirely the reason. I continued to find it hard to believe that Donovan would consider such an egregious move, both in giving his daughter to a true monster and in going against the sect.
Unless the senator was behind the entire scheme.
Or if whatever the Don Taglioni had on Mr. O’Brien was horrific.
Either way, the Council had determined that this was the only course of action. I bit back a laugh then took a swig of my drink, finally staring out the window. Maybe getting away was exactly what Winter and I needed.
I shifted in my seat, the ache in my cock continuing.
“Who was Marcus Crosby?” Winter asked.
The question was so out of the blue that it took a few seconds to sink in. “Why do you want to know?”
“Why do you care? If I’m going to be required to live as a duty-bound wife, I want to know exactly what I’m getting involved in. Who was he to the sect?”
I ran my fingers around my glass, studying the intensity in her eyes. Every leak had been plugged within the sect, which meant she’d been finding out information on her own. “I was very young when Mr. Crosby disappeared. However, he was important, a man that everyone trusted, including my father. From what I understand, he betrayed us.”
“Disappeared. You really mean murdered, right? His hands and feet cut off; his teeth ripped out of his head in an effort to avoid identification?”
A cough bubbled to the surface. I was rarely shocked by anything, but she’d certainly done her homework. The question was how. I hadn’t heard that Mr. O’Brien had been a part of the Council’s determination all those years ago. “I assure you that he simply disappeared, although I do believe with large sums of money. We aren’t murderers, Winter.”
“And you can cut the bullshit. I’ve seen the pictures.” She lifted her glass of wine, thrilled she’d surprised the fuck out of me.
“Pictures. From whom?”
“You have your secrets, Matteo, and I have mine. As I told you before, I’m not a stupid woman. I will find a way back to my life and if in doing so, I take others down with