Will this little truce last? We'll see.
Walking into the reception, we are announced by the singer of the live band and brought over to a sweetheart’s table at a central point on the floor. We’re greeted with loud applause and cheers and ushered to our table by wait staff. They pass out the food soon after we are seated. The menu that we picked was flawless. A plated four course feast. We started with a grilled baby octopus served with orzo, sundried tomatoes, feta cheese, kalamata olives, and a lemon vinaigrette. That was followed by my personal favorite, a honey-roasted fig salad. The main course was a braised beef with a wild mushroom sauce. My mouth waters just thinking about it. Too bad that I barely tasted anything. Because my new husband couldn’t seem to keep his hands off of me. He pulled my chair so that I was snuggled up against him, his arm slung possessively over my shoulder. Whispering into my hair, Dante says, “Do you have any idea how hard I am right now, cara mia (my dear)?” His hands rub up a
I can admit that I am rarely at a loss for words. I have to be able to hold my own in a boardroom, a catty socialite circle, and with the media. It’s a skill that I have cultivated over a long time. But at the scene in front of me, I can’t find any words, not even to make my presence known. I see Dante say something to the woman on the floor, but all I hear is a dull ringing in my ears. When she leans forward, I find the ability to move and back out of the room. I walk down the hallway, not really seeing where I am going. It isn’t until arms wrap around me and a hand tilts my chin up to a familiar face that my surroundings come back into focus. “Q! Talk to me, love. Are you ok?” It’s Grayson. “No,” I say simply. There’s nothing else that I can say. Grayson looks around, finding one of the employees. “Take us some place where she can sit down.” I hear a murmured “Of course, sir.” We’re led down some back hallways and eventually make our way to the manager’s office. It’s
After walking away from Dante and Pablo, I quickly find Emily and Grayson. If looks could kill, the look that Emily is shooting Dante would have him pinned to the floor, bleeding out slowly from a thousand shallow cuts. “I can’t believe he did that. I was rooting for him. Especially with the way he was all over you during dinner!” she snarls. “Down girl,” I tell her, touching her arm and gratefully taking the water from Grayson with a smile. “It’s my own damn fault that let it happen. We all know Dante’s reputation. We all know what kind of a man he is. I should have expected it. I just honestly thought that the man would have more class at his own wedding. Guess I was wrong.” “I still say that we cut off his balls and use them as hacky sacks. My grandmother can do wonders with a sewing machine,” Grayson says, tipping a champagne flute towards Dante with a fake smile. “He’s not worth it, guys,” I wave it off. “Seriously. No harm, no foul. It just reminds me that I c
I’m waiting on the couch, my suitcases packed and a coffee in my hand, when Dante walks out of his bedroom. The housekeeper, Mrs. Hughes, is fluttering around me. “Ma’am, I can make whatever you want, I promise. A breakfast sandwich. Crepes. Waffles. You need food to fortify you for the day,” she says. “I promise, Mrs. Hughes, I’m perfectly fine. I never heat breakfast,” I smile at the woman, who truly is just trying to do her job. “But Mrs. Luciano,” she begins and I can’t help but cringe at the name. Dante, who I hadn’t notice come into the room while I was talking about Ms. Hughes, interrupts her from behind me. “It’s fine Mrs. Hughes. We’ll be on our private plane, so if Quinn wants anything later, she can get anything she wants.” Mrs. Hughes sighs. “Of course, sir. What can I get for you today? “ “A coffee and half a grapefruit. My stomach isn’t quite awake,” Dante says, causing the older woman to chuckle. “I’ll make sure to pack some of the sausage and eg
We fly on a private plane belonging to the Luciano family to Bora Bora. We’re spending our honeymoon at a luxury resort called Bora Bora One. The Luciano family have rented out an entire five suite villa just for the two of us. I had tried to convince the Don that it was too much for just Dante and me and if he was going to rent out so much space, then the whole family should come. At least then, I wouldn’t have to worry about having to deal with Dante all by myself. The Don told me that they rented out the whole villa for safety. Two of the suites would be taken up by our security teams and Dante and I would have the rest of the villa to ourselves. He didn’t want to get between Dante and my “bonding” time, as he called it. As much as the Don has treated this as a business transaction, I think that he and Emilia are secretly hoping that something might happen between Dante and me. How wrong they are. The entire flight to Bora Bora, all 18 and a half hours, are spent in si
The house is gorgeous. It’s a sprawling one story villa right on the beach. Five suites. A gym. An infinity pool. Even an organic garden for the chef to get food from. The place is insane. Like I’ve said before, my family is well off and I have traveled across the globe many times, staying in villas and five star hotels. But this place just obnoxiously screams “Small Fortune!” I mean, it’s fucking dripping money to the point that I’m afraid to touch anything. “Good Morning, Mr. and Mrs. Luciano.” The concierge, Teva, greets us with a bright smile. “Good Morning, Teva. You can call me Quinn,” I tell him. Dante just grunts at the man. Asshole. “Very good, Mrs. Quinn. Mr. Luciano. Chef is preparing you a meal, which should be ready in the next 20 minutes. Plenty of time for you to refresh yourselves and pick whichever suite that you would prefer. Of course, there is the main honeymoon suite, but some couples prefer one of the other rooms,” Teva states. “You ca
The next morning, I plan on going on a snorkeling tour of the Coral Gardens with a group. It’s early and I hadn’t planned on inviting Dante with me because of that. He just didn’t strike me as the early morning type. So, I got up around 6, doing yoga on the beach. It’s so calm and peaceful. When I was in college, I spent an entire summer with a friend on the Italian coast. I did yoga every morning on the beach. It was one of my best memories of living there. Just the calm that would come over me during that time. The sound of the waves, the heat of the sun, the call of the gulls, the scent of the sea spray. It grounded me for my whole day. I’m finishing my last sun salutation when Dante jogs towards me from the beach. Huh. Guess I had him pegged wrong if he’s already gotten a run in this morning. “Buongiorno (Good morning), wife,” he says with a smile. I squint at him through the early morning sun rays. “Wife? Really?” “What?” He gives me a panty melting smirk.
The water is warm and a beautiful opaque azure blue. It’s so quiet and peaceful beneath the water. Josiah, Dante, and our instructor, a young Polynesian man named Kaipo, are in the water with me, but with as quiet as it is, I could be here by myself. Sound comes out more a movement in the water and I can more feel when a fish or one of the men get close to me. Instead of doing pure snorkeling, Kaipo taught us how to use air tanks. It makes it so that we can stay underwater for longer and explore. I took what Dante said to heart about wearing something that he would jerk off to. I didn’t want to wear one of my more skimpy suits, since I needed to be able to move around without flashing everyone in the vicinity. However, all of my suits showed some part of my body that Dante has already stated a desire to get better acquainted with. So, I opt for a high cut, Brazilian bikini bottom with a top that gives good coverage of my cleavage, but has a cut out along the bottom of