Binding Rose: A Dark Mafia Romance(92)

“You can turn the T.V. on if you want,” he says as if reading my thoughts.

“Are you sure?” I ask, eyeing his laptop.

“A little noise won’t disturb me from doing my job.” He chuckles under his breath.

“Okay.”

I turn on the T.V. and scour it for something to watch. Since I’m not in the best of moods, I pick a stand-up comedy, hoping some light humor will shift my disposition. As it goes on, Tiernan begins to laugh at a certain joke, closing his laptop and settling into the couch. I place my now empty mug on the coffee table and lean back into the cushion. I stay like that for a minute or so, before Tiernan’s arm reaches over my shoulders and tugs me into his side.

He’s still laughing away at the jokes being told, but his grip on me only tightens until I’m fully relaxed at his side. I take advantage, looking at him when his attention is diverted to the T.V. screen.

“You wore blue,” I state, staring at his jeans and navy long sleeve.

“Aye. It’s not the midnight blue you wanted, but it’s all I could have come up with on such short notice.”

I’m not sure why Tiernan indulging me by wearing a different color than his usual black has my heart pitter-pattering in my chest, but it does. I snuggle in closer to him, nestling my head on his shoulder, praying to Virgen de Guadalupe that this isn’t some mean trick he’s pulling on me. That this man who is being so thoughtful and kind lingers on, and that the man who only takes pleasure in seeing me crawl on my knees for him disappears once and for all.

And as if she heard my prayers, for the rest of the week, Tiernan works from home, taking long intervals just to be with me. It’s as close to happiness as I’ve ever been with him since he put a ring on my finger. The only thing that dims its shine is the realization that I might be falling in love with him.

Or worse.

That I already have.





“Pizza’s here,” Tiernan shouts from the elevator, carrying a large box of sizzling pepperoni goodness in his hands.

“Oh, good. I’m starving.” I jump off of the couch to help him bring our dinner in.

“It’s hot, acushla,” he warns when I try to take the box out of his hands. “Go and grab us some napkins and a couple of beers, and I’ll set this up in the living room,” he says before placing a chaste kiss to my cheek.

I don’t even find it odd anymore that Tiernan has been so affectionate with me lately. For the past week or so, we’ve spent most of our time together. He’s even slept in my room, holding me in his arms throughout the night. He hasn’t tried to seduce me in any way, for which I was grateful in the beginning. Now I’m just frustrated.

I want him to kiss me.

Say all those naughty words that set my skin on fire.

To take me like a man who needs to own every part of his wife would.

I just need him.

And that need both irritates me and consumes me.

I take two bottles of Guinness out of the fridge, grab two plates and napkins, and walk over to the living room, taking my seat at his side.

“Have you picked something for us to watch tonight?”

“I have,” I smile wickedly.

“Should I be concerned?” He laughs when he sees the mischief in my grin, placing a slice on a plate and handing it over to me.

“No. I don’t think so. I think you’ll actually enjoy this movie.”

“Is that so?” He continues to chuckle.

“Aye,” I retort, using his preferred dialect to drive the point home.

“Hmm. I’m intrigued. What’s it about?”

“Mobsters.”

He lets his head fall back and laughs a good-natured laugh, one that I seldomly hear from him and lap up like it’s pure sunshine.

“If it’s Goodfellas, The Untouchables, or The Godfather, I’ve already seen it. Besides those movies are more centered on La Cosa Nostra and The Outfit. Not really my cup of tea. I’m more of a Boondock Saints man myself.”

“Of course, you are.” I giggle. “And my baby brother Francesco prefers to binge Narcos.”

“Have you talked to him recently?” he questions absentmindedly, taking a big bite out of his pizza while I pick out the movie on Netflix that I want him to watch.

“I have. I called him this morning. Thank you again for giving me a phone. Talking to him makes me feel less homesick.”

“It was long overdue. I was just being a prick not giving you one sooner.”

“Wow. Honesty,” I tease.

“I’ve always been honest with you. You just never liked hearing my truth.”

“I like hearing it now.”

He snaps his head my way, his gaze falling to my lips for the smallest of moments and then back to my eyes.

“Put the fucking movie on, acushla,” he mumbles, ripping another bite out of his pizza before he decides to take a bite out of me.

“Okay. You asked for it,” I taunt, pressing play on the movie.

We both eat our dinner in silence as the story about a mafioso kidnapping a woman in the hopes she will eventually fall in love with him unfolds on the screen. Tiernan huffs and mumbles at the incredibility of a few scenes that depict our world, but for the most part, he’s attentive. Interested in the outcome even. It’s only when the sex scenes start that he goes rigidly quiet.