Page 75 of Bound By A Promise
“We can make small but significant contributions to achieve our own dreams.” She laid her hand over her midsection. “When Camila explained her situation, I went to Aléjandro. I respect his position in the cartel and our family, but I didn’t ask. It’s a new thing for me. It wasn’t that way before. I explained and reiterated my stance to let women be involved in the marriage discussion.” She shook her head. “I don’t believe Rei would be a bad husband. Someday he will be a great one. I’m not sure he’s ready to marry now. I think it was Andrés working to prove to Jorge that he wasn’t Gerardo.”
“He’s not,” Mama replied. “He’s not Gerardo. To me, Rei was the better choice because you knew him.” She smiled in my direction. “I didn’t know you knew Dante.”
“Speaking of knowing him,” Cat said, “when I asked how you were, I wasn’t talking about going to Kansas City. I was talking about…well, if you were married last night, how did after the wedding go?”
Warmth crept from my neck to my cheeks. “I’d say my expectations were low. I mean, you told me it gets better.” I looked at Mia. “You weren’t all that optimistic either. I expected terrible.” My smile grew. “It wasn’t terrible.”
Mia grinned. “Who knew my brothers would turn out to not be the asshole our father was?”
Cat reached for my hand. “I’m so happy to have you close. Oh, you can spend time with Ariadna Gia and me.”
“I want that. I’m also going to keep up with my classes.”
Mama’s eyes widened. “You asked Dante?”
“Not really. It was more of a discussion. He said he’d agreed to that stipulation when Dario andel Patr?nwere in negotiations for me.”
“Good for you,” Mia said. “I’m going to spend the next week catching up with Giorgia and Mom. I’m excited to be back inKansas City, but I don’t want to be gone from Aléjandro for too long.”
The sun had set by the time we landed, and our clocks went forward two hours. As others deboarded, Dante came back to me. Once we were alone, he grinned his handsome smile. “I’ll carry you over the threshold of our apartment.”
Inhaling his heavenly spice and leather scent, I laid my palms on his shoulders. “You don’t need to carry me. I can’t wait to be a couple, a real couple.”
As our lips made contact, the stress of the last few days eased as if my body was releasing our past and making room for our future.
“I can’t wait to have you alone, Mrs. Luciano. If you’re still sore, we can find other ways to bring you to orgasm.”
I tilted my forehead to his chest. “Is it bad that just hearing you talk about it makes me wet?”
He lowered his face to the crook of my neck, inhaled, and moaned. “I can tell. You smell of cinnamon and sex.”
“You can’t tell that from my neck.”
“I can. Your sex pheromones are sweet and make me fucking hard.”
Swallowing, I shook my head. “Are you teasing me?”
“Not yet.” He took a step back and reached for my hand. “Come, let’s get home and let the teasing begin.”
There was a chill in the night air as we stepped out of the fuselage. “Where is everyone?” I asked, looking out at the tarmac and seeing only one car, a green Aston Martin.
“I told Dario I wanted to drive you home without company.”
“What about my suitcases?” I was relatively certain they wouldn’t fit in the car on the tarmac.
“They took them. Armando will deliver them to our apartment.”
My smile grew as I lifted my face to the sky. “We really did it.” I looked up at his handsome features. “We’re married.”
“We are.” He gestured toward the car. “Your chariot awaits.”
“Surely, this car hasn’t been waiting here since you flew to California.”
Dante opened the passenger door for me. “I had Giovanni bring it here and take back the car I drove yesterday.”
The interior smelled of expensive leather. Most of the interior was soft and velvety to the touch. I watched with appreciation as Dante folded himself into the driver’s seat and gripped the steering wheel. “Will I be able to drive this car?”
His smile quirked. The dashboard illuminated with a green glow, matching the color of the exterior paint. “We have a lot of cars to take your pick. You might want something with a little less horsepower.”