"Have you tried to say 'no' to him?"
I hesitate.
"That’s what I thought." Nonna smirks. "The fault lies with both of you. After all, you need two hands to clap, don’t you?"
"You’re really serious about doing this wedding by the book, aren’t you?" Christian glares at his Nonna.
"Deadly." Her smile widens. "It’s my hope that before I die, at least one of my grandsons will indulge me with a traditional Sicilian wedding where all of the traditions have been met."
"Emotional blackmail doesn’t suit you, Nonna," Christian protests.
"Whatever it takes," Nonna raises a shoulder. "And I’m warning you right now—no stabbing your bridegroom in church," she tells me.
"If I do, I’ll be sure to cause a lot more damage," I say under my breath.
Christian hears it, though, because he shoots me an amused glance over his shoulder. "I’ll be more than happy to stab you back in return; just not with a knife," he says in a voice low enough that only I can hear it.
"Ugh." I grimace. "That’s a terrible joke."
"Not a joke; a promise."
"Enough time to make promises when you stand in front of the altar," Nonna admonishes us. Jeez, did she overhear the rest of our X-rated conversation too? Not that it would shock her. Very little seems to pull her out of her comfort zone, at any rate.
"You," she stabs a finger at Christian, "out."
He turns to me, closes the distance between us, then grabs the back of my neck and pulls me close. He kisses me soundly, and by the time he releases me, I am panting. Turning on his feet, he walks over to Nonna. "I’d kiss you on the cheek, but I just French-kissed my bride-to-be, so I’m sure you’ll understand if I pass."
"Leave now." Nonna sniffs. "And be sure to clean up before dinner."
Christian ambles over to the doorway. He jerks his chin in Cassandra’s direction before he leaves.
"Shut the door and come sit over here," Nonna tells Cassandra before she walks over to sit down in a chair.
Cassandra follows her bidding before she joins me.
Nonna glances between the two of us. "This can’t happen again." She shakes her head. "I trusted you, Cassandra, to keep him out. And you…" She scowls at me. "I thought you wanted to follow the conventions leading up to your wedding."
"I do, but—"
"No buts." She taps her fingers together. "I agreed to help you only because I thought you were serious about being away from him before the wedding. If you’re not—"
"I am." I hold up a palm. "I promise, the next time he comes in to visit me, I’ll … I’ll scream."
"Not too loudly. If I’m asleep, I don’t want to be woken up."
"Of course, not." I blow out a breath. "Like I said, it’s difficult to say ‘no’ to your grandson when he has his mind set on something."
"Well, he needs to realize that he can’t always get what he wants."
"Can’t he?" I can’t stop the bitter laugh that escapes me.
"You do know you’re strong enough to stop him, don’t you?" Nonna trains her gaze on me. "Unless, of course, you didn’t want to?"
"Nothing like that." I shuffle my feet. "Honestly, I was just swept away in the moment, and he seemed so fierce, so overbearing, and so confident that—"
"You found yourself agreeing to do whatever he wanted?"
"Something like that..." Also, I didn’t want to feel like I had a choice. It’s much easier to simply follow his lead because I always enjoy the results. Even when he pushed me down on my knees and thrust his cock down my throat, I enjoyed it. The flesh between my legs quivers. I squeeze my thighs together to tamp down on the emptiness that gapes there. Shit, just thinking of how he fucked my mouth is turning me on. And that’s crazy. I should be upset about how he had his way with me, but my body seems to have other thoughts. As a doctor, I have seen first-hand how much the heart and mind influence the body. But this time, it seems, despite my wanting to not be attracted to him, my body has already made the decision to be turned on by his proximity.