“Valentina,” Dante said tersely.
“What I said in the living room was the truth.” I was relieved and terrified when the words were out of my mouth. How much longer could I have kept up the lie anyway?
Dante nodded, a strange look on his face. “That’s what I thought, but now I ask why?”
“Why is it such a surprising thought that Antonio didn’t want me? Maybe he didn’t find me attractive. You obviously don’t, or you wouldn’t spend most evenings in your office and your nights with your back to me. We both know that if you wanted me, if you found me desirable at all, I’d have lost my virginity on our wedding night.”
“I thought we agreed on the fact that I wouldn’t force you,” he said. I searched his eyes because there had been a trace of anger in his voice.
“But you wouldn’t have to force me. You are my husband and I want to be with you.” Heat flooded my cheeks. “I’ve practically thrown myself at you for days now, and you didn’t even notice my body. If you found me attractive, you would have showed some kind of reaction. I guess I’m just lucky to always end up with husbands who find me repulsive.”
“You aren’t repulsive to me,” he said firmly. “Trust me, I find you attractive.”
I must have looked doubtful, because he closed the distance between us. “I do. Do not doubt my words. Whenever I catch a glimpse of the creamy white skin of your thighs…” He traced my thigh through the high slit of my nightgown. I had to stifle a surprised gasp at his sudden proximity. Goose bumps erupted all over my body. “Or when I see the outline of your breasts through the little nothings you wear to bed…” He ran his finger gently over the lacy edge of my nightgown, right above my breasts. “I want to throw you onto our bed and bury myself in you.” He dropped his hand, back to not touching me again.
My eyes widened. “You do? Then why—”
He cut me off with a finger against my lips. “It’s my turn to ask questions, and you promise not to lie.” I stared at him, nodding. Had he said the truth? Did he want me?
“Why did Antonio not sleep with you?” Dante asked, still standing so close that his warmth flooded my body. I could hardly focus.
“I promised him not to tell anyone ever.”
“Antonio is dead,” Dante said. He didn’t sound sorry. “I’m your husband now, and your promise to me is more important.”
I averted my eyes. He was right, but I’d carried the truth with me for so long, it had almost become a part of me. Dante would probably figure it out eventually.
“Valentina?”
“Antonio was gay,” I blurted. Finally the burden of Antonio’s lie didn’t rest on my shoulders anymore. It felt freeing.
Dante seemed stunned for a moment. “I never suspected anything. Are you sure?”
I rolled my eyes. “He brought his lover home sometimes.”
“Why didn’t he sleep with you to create offspring? That would have fended off possible suspicions.”
I hesitated. “I don’t think that would have worked. You know…” I gestured in the general direction of Dante’s groin.
“He was infertile?”
I flushed. “No, he mentioned once that he couldn’t get one up with women.” The words rushed out of me.
“Who was his lover?” he asked casually, but I knew better than to trust his outward disinterest. His eyes revealed a hint of his fervor to get an answer from me. I had a feeling that he was trying to use my emotional state against me, but I wasn’t that easily thrown off my guard.
I shook my head. Frank was still alive and still very much not a member of the Outfit. If Dante found out that Antonio had dated an outsider… I didn’t even want to consider the consequences. He wouldn’t stop until he found the person, and I knew exactly what would happen to Frank then.
“I can’t tell you. Please don’t make me.”
Dante touched my upper arms without any pressure. “If it’s someone from the Outfit I need to know, and if he isn’t…the Outfit comes first. I need to protect all those placing their trust in me.”
He would kill Frank, and maybe even have him tortured first to make sure Frank gave away the names of all the people who knew about Antonio.
I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if that happened. I wanted to close my eyes against Dante’s piercing gaze, but I knew it would be a bad idea. “I can’t tell you. I won’t. I’m sorry, Dante, but no matter what you do, I won’t give you a name.”
Anger flashed across Dante’s face, fiercer than yesterday. This was real fury, and for the first time it was directed at me. What had Bibiana said? Dante didn’t tolerate disobedience. “You’ve lived a sheltered life, Valentina. I’ve had hardened men say the same to me, and in the end they gave up all their secrets.”
“Then do what you have to do,” I snapped, pulling away. “Cut off my toes and feed them to me. Beat me, burn me, cut me, but I’d rather die than be responsible for the death of an innocent man.”
“So he’s an outsider.”
I stared at him agape. That’s what he gathered from my outburst? God, he was good at this. He hadn’t hurt as much as a hair on my head and had already gotten information out of me. “I didn’t say that.”
But it was too late. Dante smirked. “You didn’t have to.” His eyes were keen and eager. He looked like someone on the hunt. “If Antonio took his lover home, I assume you’ve met him and know his name and can describe him to me.”
I pressed my lips together, glowering at him. Not in one million years would I tell him what he wanted to know. I’d already said too
