Page 117 of Bene

Everything he wanted and needed from this woman.

All the things that no longer felt like his.

She shattered in his hold, her orgasm drowning him under a current of anger and lust all at the same time. Another three pumps of his hips, and he followed right after her, emptying himself deep as he held her tight to his cock.

Vanna whispered an apology again.

And a soft, I’d give anything to change this.

Yeah, him, too.

He was still as empty as ever when he left her spread open and leaking his semen on the counter when he exited the bathroom a minute later wishing so many things himself.

Too many things.

Impossible things.

Bene was still trying to shove the image of Vanna’s heartbroken face out of his mind as he reclaimed his spot in the dining room. No one seemed to notice him coming back, and the meeting at the table continued as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

They were only here to make a statement, anyway. They wouldn’t cause a problem as long as the Dettis didn’t react to their presence with violence. Seemed simple enough, didn’t it? That’s how Marcus intended it to be when he demanded they do this.

Bene went along with the plan because …

Well, Vanna.

That, and because when he heard she was engaged to the Detti boss’s son, he—and probably the rest of his brothers and the men in la famiglia—assumed this whole thing had been one big plan on the Camorra’s part. Put a woman in front one of them, see how close she would get, and go from there to adjust their plans accordingly.

Except in that bathroom, Bene learned that was likely not the case at all. This had been something Vanna did alone. After all, her desire to hurt them came from her own broken history. The Detti Camorra hadn’t fucked with the Guzzi family in decades; they didn’t have a reason to. So, that simply meant whatever the Dettis planned for the Guzzis came after Vanna was already involved. He found himself wondering why, and what might have changed for that to be the case.

And goddammit.

That just pissed him off more.

That he wondered at all.

The only thing he needed to worry about now was ruining that woman, and everything about her. Anyone fucking near her.

But her sad face drifted through his mind.

Those tears.

It felt like a betrayal to his family that he felt anything at all for her now, even if it was something like sympathy. It meant he had a heart—that he cared. It said he was a decent guy, but fuck … he didn’t want to be a decent guy right now.

She fucked him over.

Lied to me.

And she was engaged!

Bene didn’t have so much pride that he couldn’t admit her engagement was the thing that bothered him the very most. It wasn’t what made him want to commit violence—no, that was reserved for the fact he watched his mother cry one too many times since his father had been arrested because Gian still hadn’t been able to come home.

In his own heart, though?

The engagement hurt like a bitch.

While Bene had the chance, and he was sure the meeting would go off just fine without him standing in the corner, considering the number of men they brought along for their side of things, he slipped out of a side exit door. The alleyway beside the restaurant gave him a moment to breathe alone, and try to piece together the rest of the shit that still felt entirely unknown to him in this whole mess.

And what a mess it was.