Stolen Mafia Bride by Mae Doyle

Tess

Ihonestly do feel like an imposter in this dress. Even though I know that Marcelo loves the way it looks on me and is more than happy to buy me expensive clothes, I still feel strange when I wear them. This is the world that he grew up in, not one that I ever thought I’d be a part of.

But I have to remember that Arabelle was the same way.

No, Airy. She calls herself Airy.

Now she carries herself like she owns this world, like nothing in it scares her. I want to be like that. I watch as she pops her hip out and looks at Marcelo like they’re old friends. Even when she speaks, and I hear what she’s saying, I still can’t quite believe what’s coming out of her mouth.

“Well, it’s not a terminal illness,” Marcelo says, then he turns, his hand going to his pocket.

Wait. I know what’s happening. I’ve seen Hallmark movies before.

My hand flies up to flutter against my chest as everything seems to go into slow motion. This really can’t be happening, can it? There’s no way in hell that Marcelo Bonanno is proposing to me. I never saw it coming, never once thought that he’d want me to be more than his little kitten.

But he pulls something from his pocket. His hands are so huge, more like paws, really, that I can’t see at first what it is.

God, is that really a ring?

The fact that that thought even runs through my mind terrifies me. I wanted so badly to get away from this man at first, but now I want him. I want to be owned by him, to belong to him. I want to be at his side during the day and underneath him at night.

I belong to Marcelo Bonanno in a way that I’ve never belonged to anyone ever before. It’s unbelievable, to feel like I finally belong somewhere, and I don’t want the feeling to stop. I want to make sure that it’s always like this.

“Tess.” His voice is a low rumble and even though Airy and Salvatore are still standing right here with us, it honestly feels like Marcelo and I are the only two people left on the planet. His eyes lock on mine and I feel everything else around us recede into the background.

My name hangs in the air and I swallow, letting him take my left hand. It’s trembling and probably a little sweaty right now, but I can’t do anything about that.

“You’re everything to me,” he tells me, finally opening his hand so that I can see the glint of the diamond he had tucked in there. “You belong to me. I knew it from the moment I saw you, and couldn’t possibly live with myself if I ever let you get away. Marry me.”

My heart beats as wildly as a caged bird trying to escape. Swallowing hard, I try to speak, but it honestly feels like my entire mouth has just been packed with cotton. Finally, I nod.

“Kitten. Answer me.”

I swear, it feels like the entire earth is spinning faster than normal. The fairy lights around us are all blurry and I think that I must be having a stroke until he reaches out and gently wipes a tear away from my cheek.

When did I start crying?

“I’ll marry you,” I whisper, forcing myself to look up at his face. He’s so gorgeous, so darkly handsome, that it honestly feels like I’m looking into the sun. If I stare at him for too long I’m sure that I’m going to hurt my eyes but I can’t seem to take them away from his face.

He slips the ring on my finger and I finally glance down, gasping when I do.

It’s beautiful. I mean, fucking incredible. I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen smaller rings on Hollywood starlets, and everyone knows that they’re all in competition to have the biggest rock that they can squeeze out of their boyfriend.

“You’ll marry me?” Marcelo asks, a hint of a smile in his voice. “You make it sound like you’re doing me a favor, Kitten.”

“Oh, she is, brother.” Salvatore laughs, then claps his hand on Marcelo’s shoulder. “Believe me, Tess here is not only doing you a favor, but also helping out all the other single women on the face of this planet.”

I think for a moment that Marcelo’s going to get pissed, but he grins and looks at his brother. “This coming from the man who had to kidnap his bride.”

“I guess that it runs in the family,” I hear Salvatore say, but I’m already looking back at Marcelo.

I’m going to marry this man. The thought runs through me and I shiver, but not with fear. I’m excited about what that means for me. I realize with a start that I want to marry him. I can’t wait to see him dressed in a tux and waiting for me at the end of the aisle.

Never in my life did I think that I’d want something like this. I’ve honestly never thought that I was worth the commitment of forever. It was always out of my reach, always pushed farther away from me the more that I wanted it by the men who have hurt me in the past.

“You’ll never get hurt again.”

I swear, sometimes Marcelo can read my mind. It’s like he always knows exactly what I’m thinking and what he needs to say to me to make me feel better about myself and whatever situation that I’m in. “You’ll never have to worry that someone is going to hurt you, or trying to bring you down. I love you, Tess. I’ll be at your side for the rest of your life.”

Tears are now streaming freely down my cheeks but I don’t even care. It doesn’t matter to me if I look a hot mess as long as I have this man with me. “You mean it?”

It’s a silly thing to ask. He murdered my foster father for me but I still need to hear it again. All the time.

“I’ll tell you every single day.” Marcelo takes my hands in his and squeezes them, grounding me. “No matter how many times you need to hear it, Kitten, I’ll remind you of how important you are to me. I’ll remind you that I’ll keep you safe and that nobody will ever be able to hurt you again.”

I believe him. I’m not entirely sure if that’s stupid or not, but I can’t help the fact that I actually believe him. Even though I would have run from this a few months ago, I now lean into it and into him, letting Marcelo wrap his arms around me.

“You built so many walls around yourself,” he murmurs into my hair before kissing the top of my head. “You don’t need to have those walls up any longer, babe. I promise you, Tess, I’ll be here to keep you safe. Always.”

For the longest time, he holds me. I know that I should thank him or at least let him know that I hear him and I believe him, but I don’t know if I can speak right now. Whenever Marcelo takes me by surprise like this then it’s almost impossible for me to come up with anything to say. All I can do is cling to him like he’s the one thing in my life that can keep me safe.

Behind him, Salvatore clears his throat. “I think that congratulations are in order,” he says, and Marcelo finally lets me go, although he keeps his hand on the small of my back.

“They are.” Lifting a finger, he catches the attention of a waiter that I never noticed was standing in the shadows. The man walks over to us, a tray with four champagne flutes on it. Before taking one for himself, Marcelo hands me one, then lightly cups my cheek and looks me in the eyes.

“To my gorgeous future wife,” Marcelo says, holding his flute aloft. The rest of us do the same. I feel like I’m moving on autopilot, like my body is not my own, but I still hold my flute up. “And to the children that I’m sure she’s going to give me.”

“Hey now, that wasn’t part of the deal,” I protest. Airy laughs, and Marcelo turns his dark eyes on mine.

“I knew a long time ago that you would be gorgeous while pregnant with my children,” he tells me. “Don’t think for a moment that I don’t think about that every single time I fuck you.”

My face flames, but when I look at Airy, she gives me a soft smile and a shrug. I don’t know Salvatore very well, but from what I’ve seen, he’s just as protective and demanding as his brother. It must just be something in the Bonanno blood.

“As long as we get plenty of practice,” I joke, and Marcelo laughs.

“That’s my kitten,” he says, looping his arm around my waist and pulling me to him. I fit perfectly right up against his body, same as I did the first time that he touched me. “Now, let’s eat. Then you two leave, so I can start practicing with Tess.”

Salvatore laughs and kisses his wife before leading her to the table. I follow them, wanting to sit so that I can stop feeling like I’m going to fall over. I don’t think that it’s the little bit of champagne that I’ve had, but that could definitely be part of why I’m feeling a little wobbly on my feet.

Before I can pull Marcelo with me to the table, though, he moves his body in front of me, his eyes riveted on my face.

“You need to listen to me, Tess. I love you. You’re everything to me—everything that I’ve ever wanted. I know that it’s asking a lot for you to trust me, but that’s what I need you to do. Let me be the person who takes care of you, no matter what. Let me be the man who loves you and protects you.”

He’s never been this raw and vulnerable with me. Letting go of his hand, I reach down and admire the ring on my finger. The diamond is gorgeous. Up until now, I thought that it would be the only thing that I’d ever want.

But now I know better.

I want something else from him.