While Dario, Niccolo, and the other men toiled in the moonlight, I sat in the parlor with my father. There were so many questions I had.
Once he had answered them all, Papa asked, “I have to know… are you sure this is the life you want?”
I knew what he meant:
The Cosa Nostra.
My father had fled from the mafia to be with the woman he loved…
And now I was marrying into it to be with the man I loved.
“I don’t know about the life itself… but I want Dario,” I said. “And I would do anything to be with him.”
Papa smiled. “I felt the same about your mother. I knew it would mean a life of hiding and secrecy… but I couldn’t live without her.”
Dario sent word to the house that it would be hours before they were finished and that my father and I should go to bed.
A servant arrived to take Papa to his own room at the opposite end of the house.
“Why so far from mine?” I whispered to the woman.
She smiled and whispered back, “So he won’t hear you when you’re with Don Rosolini.”
I blushed bright red –
But I had to admit, it was good foresight on her part.
After hugging Papa goodnight, I went back to my room and showered. Then I slipped into bed and fell asleep, exhausted.
I awoke at dawn as Dario slipped under the sheets beside me.
He had showered, too, and his hair was still damp. The only thing he was wearing was a pair of black boxers.
“Is everything alright?” I murmured sleepily.
“Yes. Everything’s taken care of.” He smiled at the ring on my finger as it twinkled in the early morning sun. “I like seeing you wear that.”
“Good… because it’s the only thing I’m wearing,” I said mischievously.
He raised one of his eyebrows. “Really.”
His hands roved under the sheets, and I felt his fingers brush against my breasts.
Immediately my nipples became hard at his touch.
He moved to kiss me –
But I stopped him by placing a finger on his lips.
“I have one thing to ask you,” I whispered.
He peered deep into my eyes. “What?”
“Our children…”
He grinned. “I like the sound of that.”
I smiled back. “I do, too.”
Then I grew serious.
“But I don’t want their father handing a pistol to my son when he’s 15 years old. I don’t want that for any of them. When Fausto was here, Roberto said the family would be legitimate in two years. Can you promise me that our children won’t have to be in danger like you and your brothers were? That they’ll be safe?”
Dario nodded somberly. “I swear upon my family’s name that they will not follow in my footsteps. They will inherit an entirely new life… one where they can be doctors, or lawyers, or actors, or artists, or anything else they want to be… but not mafiosos.”
I smiled and teared up a little. “Thank you.”
He kissed me softly…
And I reached down to his boxers and began to pull them off.
“I like this new side of you,” he said with a grin.
“I want lots of babies, so you’re going to have to make love to me a lot.”
He laughed. “Absolutely. Starting right now.”
