Leonas made a sullen face. “Yeah.” I pushed him gently toward the piano then headed toward Anna who stared at her fingers with forced concentration. I squatted beside her stool. Her long brown hair trailed down her back and I gently smoothed it out. Anna turned toward me, her blue eyes swimming with worry. Whenever she looked at me, my breath stilled for a moment. She was such a beautiful girl, inside and outside.

“Does Dad kill every traitor? Even family?”

Anna had loved Orazio and she had been sad when he’d disappeared. I wished she’d have never found out he’d become a traitor. “Dad tries to be a good leader for his men and a good father for you and Leonas, Anna. Don’t worry about these things. They don’t concern our life.”

It was a lie of course. The mob ruled over every aspect of our life.

Anna pursed her lips. “It’s why I’m not allowed to go to a normal school.”

She was right.

“It’s because you are a girl and can’t protect yourself,” Leonas butted in.

Anna glowered at him. “You can’t protect yourself either!”

“Can too. That’s why I can go and you can’t!”

“Enough, Leonas. Focus on your practice.” I touched Anna’s hand. “Your Dad is a bit more protective about us girls than about Leonas.”

It had led to an argument between us when Leonas had started private school almost two years ago while Anna kept being home-schooled but Dante hadn’t budged. He wanted Leonas to be surrounded by other kids, so he’d learn to assert himself. Anna, on the other hand, remained in her sheltered cocoon at home.

“Do you want to attend Leonas’ school?”

She bit her lip and nodded.

“We’ll see what we can do. Maybe next year.”

“Okay,” she said. I stood and left them to their practice.

I wouldn’t start a discussion about school options with Dante today. He wasn’t in a state of mind to do so. Instead, I headed into my office to make plans for my upcoming visit to our biggest brothel, one frequented by Chicago’s elite, mostly politicians.

The kids and I had dinner alone, which almost never happened anymore. I refrained from knocking at Dante’s door to ask him to join us. He knew we always ate at the same time.

Once the kids were in bed, I changed into my nightgown but sleep evaded me, so I headed back to my office to work some more but shortly before midnight I decided to look for Dante once more. He couldn’t hide in his office forever.

I knocked and again barged in without waiting for a reply. It annoyed Dante, but sometimes it was the best way to get a quick reaction from him and not give him time to compose himself. I hated it when he tried to put up a mask in front of me, even if he only did it to protect me.

Annoyance flashed across Dante’s face. He was bent over the desk which was covered in a wild array of papers. His jacket hung over his chair and his vest lay on the floor beside his feet. Usually he never let his clothes drop to the ground. That he didn’t care showed how occupied his mind was. “Val, I told you I need to work.”

A half empty whiskey tumbler sat precariously close to the edge of the desk where Dante seemed to have put it down without much care. His narrowed eyes took me in and something in them sent a little shiver down my back. Slowly, he dragged his gaze over my body. Barefoot and in my nightgown, he had a lot to take in. “It’s midnight. Come to bed.”

He straightened with a look somewhere between anger and a familiar hunger. The top two buttons of his shirt were open and he’d rolled his sleeves up, revealing muscular forearms. I walked closer and his eyes followed the shift of my hips then drifted higher to my breasts. My nipples hardened under his scrutiny. “When will you learn to do what I say?”

I stopped on the other side of the desk. “When you start taking better care of yourself. It’s late. You need to rest.”

“I don’t want to rest,” he said in a voice I felt right between my legs. Whatever had happened today, and I’d find out what it was—later—had shaken up Dante more than anything had in a while. He was tense and angry. He needed to let off steam and seeing him like that turned me on.

Dante surprised me by leaning across the desk, grabbing my neck and pulling me in for a harsh kiss. When he pulled back, both hunger and anger had intensified in his eyes. “Fuck it, Val. You are too damn stubborn.”

I could tell that Dante had every intention of punishing me today. It had become our own little role play, sometimes more serious than other times. It was a chance for both of us to relieve tension, and Dante needed that today.

Dante released me and took a sip from his scotch before he ordered. “Get changed. I expect you to be ready when I arrive.”

Biting my lip, I hurried upstairs and put on a flimsy Negligee that barely covered my butt, panties with a slit in the crotch for easy access and suspenders. We’d given up heels a while ago. They just made things too uncomfortable.

Just waiting for Dante in our bedroom, I got already wet. When he finally stepped inside with an expression of dark hunger and dominance, I had to stop myself from throwing myself at him. “Grab onto the bedpost. Your back to me.”

I obeyed at once and clamped my hands around the wooden post as Dante’s shoes clicked on the floorboards. Dante’s heat pressed into me and he bound my hands to the post with a satin band. He tugged at my arms, then gave a satisfied sound when I couldn’t free myself. With my arms over my head, I waited for Dante’s next move. He wrapped a shawl around my eyes, taking my sight. I shivered at the loss of this sense.

I loved our little role plays. They kept things interesting even after years of marriage and two kids.

Then Dante stepped back, depriving me of his warmth.

“Bend your back and spread your legs wider.”

I did as he demanded and waited. I was already so eager for his touch, for his cock, it was driving me insane.

The rustling of clothes and soft click of his Budapesters told me he was close, but I couldn’t feel him yet. A finger dipped between my folds and I bit back a moan. “I love it when you give me easy access to your pussy.” He dragged his finger over my opening, drawing out my wetness. My teeth dug into my lower lip to keep me from making a sound.

“You’re always dripping for me, Val, aren’t you?” he rasped, pulled back and I heard him lick his finger clean. I shuddered, jutting my ass out even more, a silent beg.

“You tried my patience today, Val. I won’t make this easy for you.” His palm slid up my inner thigh then his mouth followed, hot and wet. I whimpered. “Please.”

“No sound,” he growled, and I became even more aroused. My body hummed with need, my toes curling as my insides tightened in anticipation for Dante’s touch. He released a hot breath and trailed his tongue along the edge of my suspender. I bit my lip, desperate and eager, and close to losing it. If my hands weren’t tied, I would have plunged my own fingers into me but as it was, I had to submit to Dante’s torture. He bit my skin lightly, making me moan against the post. And then finally, he touched two fingers to my opening and pushed in slowly, gently. But I needed more. I jerked my hips.

“No.”

I stilled, whimpering as Dante slowed his fingers even more. His breath was hot against my inner thigh. I knew he was watching closely as he slid his fingers into my pussy and the knowledge alone tripled my lust. “Spread your legs wider.”