26
Michael
"Goddamnit, missed again," I straighten, then slam my cue against the edge of the billiards table. It promptly snaps in two. "Che cazzo!"I glower at the half-broken cue in my hand, then raise my hand to hurl it.
Seb steps aside. "Watch it, Mika," he murmurs. "Your temper is getting the better of you."
"There should be a rule that you cannot defeat the Capo at a game," I lower my arm and glare at Massimo—thepezzo di merdawho smirks at me from across the table.
"Giving up so easily,Padrone?"
"Vaffanculo!"I growl as I fling the broken half of the cue on the floor. It’s her fault that I am in this state. Every night I sleep next to her… No, not sleep. I lay awake next to her, breathing in her sweet scent, aware of her luscious curves next to me on the bed. And the little noises she makes sometimes in her sleep, or the way she sometimes turns over and snuggles into me. The first time that happened, I tried to move away—yeah, me, the man who never denies himself pussy, tried to put distance between himself and his wife… So, yeah, tell me again, how that happened?—and she simply followed me, insisting on cuddling into my side, as I lay there with a fast-thickening erection, that I had to jerk off to in the bathroom, trying not to make too much noise before leaving before dawn. And even after leaving and trying to get some work done in my study, the scent of her followed me. Images of her assailed me, as if determined to burn right into my brain.
Che cazzo!I am really losing it. I glare around at the faces of my brothers. "What?" I growl at Christian who’s staring at me over his knitting needles. What the— I do a double take. "Is that what I think it is?"
"You mean this?" He holds up the knitting needles, and nope, na-a-h I wasn’t imagining things.Stronzoactually does have a pair of—you heard that right—knitting needles, held between his fingers.
"What are you doing?" I snap.
"What do you think I’m doing?"
"I am not sure." I rub my eyes, "Tell me you are not knitting."
He glances down at the needles. "I am…not…knitting." The clackity-clack of the needles fills the space.
"Shit, he’s actually knitting," Massimo turns to gawk at him.
"Why the hell are you knitting?" Seb mutters from his position against the wall—he’s put a fair distance between us, I notice,bastardo.
"Maybe he’s trying to get in touch with his feminine side?" Xander offers.
"That’s the kind of shit we expect you to pull," Adrian retorts, "But Christian? Naw." He scratches his chin, "It must have something to do with a chick."
"A chick?" Seb scoffs, "If that were the case, surely, he’d need to be using a completely different kind of needle?"
Adrian shoots him a sideways glance, "Was that a joke? Because I don’t get the joke."
"You wouldn’t get the joke because you have no sense of humor."
Adrian laughs, "So speaks the most serious of all the men in Sicily."
"I’m not serious; you are serious."
"I’m afraid, in this regard, I have to side with Adrian," I state. "You are going to make a very effective Capo, but you could do with a little bit of loosening up."
"Yeah, you take everything too seriously," Christian drawls from his position in the armchair. Fucker is sprawled out, and with the reading glasses he has on… He resembles a more serious version of the brother I know.
"Not all of us can be happy-go-lucky and waste time trying to explore our feminine side or some such shit," Seb growls. "Some of us have had to fight for everything that comes our way."
"Here we go again," Christian mutters, "like we haven’t already heard about how your being the half-brother means you always get the raw deal. When you know it’s not true. Not only did our mother embrace you as her own son, but she also worked herself to an early grave taking care of the both of you, in addition to her own five sons."
"And look where that got her," Seb pushes away from the wall. "Her own son, your own brother turns on his own flesh and blood and helps his Capo’s wife escape… Now, that’s something to make her turn in her grave, for sure."
"Don’t talk about her that way." Christian rises to his feet, still holding those goddamn knitting needles. He takes a step forward and the ball of yarn falls to the floor next to him.
"I ain’t telling a lie here and you know that," Seb scoffs. "Askfratellone,here, and he’ll only confirm it."
"Don’t bring me into this, you guys," I mutter. "Luca has his punishment coming to him, when I finally catch up with him. So, whatever this unresolved business is between the two of you, it’s up to you guys to sort it out."