揃ecause of her bond to Clifford, Anna has more freedoms than most girls in our world. I抦 sure Clifford has told her so. He doesn抰 strike me as someone who cares what she does before marriage and possibly not even after.?
The disapproval in Dante抯 voice surprised me. He and Valentina had decided to enter the bond with the Clarks but I supposed it was a bit like the deal with the devil. Necessary at times, but not pleasant. Dante didn抰 like Maximo Clark, not even his own wife did.
揊idelity isn抰 guaranteed in their, nor in our world,?I said. I抎 had too many affairs with married women who sought comfort in the arms of another man after being cheated on for years and suffering in silence. Maybe that was why I no longer believed in marriage or love. My parents had loved each other, and it had almost killed Dad when Mom had died. Love fucked you over either way.
揑n our world, any man would know better than to betray Anna.?
揟hat抯 true.?Most would shit their pants out of fear of Dante. 揃ut Anna is tough. I抦 sure she抣l wrap Clifford around her finger in no time.?The words really cost me. Anna was a major pain in the ass and drove me up the wall almost every day, but she was also a mafia princess, proud and clever, not to mention gorgeous. She deserved better than Clifford. She deserved a man who knew her worth, who really understood who she was and the weight she carried on her shoulders. Clifford was too wrapped up in his daddy and mommy issues, not to mention planning his future career to realize what kind of gem he was given without any work of his own.
揥hy I抦 bringing this up is because while I want Anna to enjoy Paris, even attend the occasional party with you at her side, I still need you to make sure she abides to our rules and is safe.?
揑 assume you are talking about boys.?
揑f Clifford and the Clarks decide to break the engagement for whatever reason, they抮e not bound by our oaths and honor so I won抰 rule it out completely, I need to make sure Anna won抰 face an unfortunate scandal if she enters a marriage with one of our men. Our world remains old-fashioned in this regard and my and Valentina抯 efforts to lead to a change haven抰 been successful, at least in that point.?
揑抣l make sure Anna stays away from boys, don抰 worry.?I抎 thoroughly enjoy cockblocking any guy who wanted to put his paws on her. I tried not to dwell on why this gave me such a fucking thrill.
揑 appreciate it,?Dante drawled and slowly strode closer to me. Now it was coming, the warning I抎 been waiting for. 揂s a father, I try to ignore certain developments, but I抦 not blind to the fact that Anna has become a beautiful young woman who抣l soon be of age, and you aren抰 committed to anyone. Living in such close quarters might make Anna or you forget certain boundaries.?
I chuckled as if this was completely unrealistic. 揟rust me, neither Anna nor I are at risk to lose sight of any boundaries. Anna is very driven and dutiful. She抣l focus on her studies, and if she fawns over a boy, it抣l be some Frenchman who抯 into drawing and the opera. But even if Anna suddenly had any interest in me, I抦 not in the slightest interested in her. I抳e always been more drawn to older women.?That was the absolute truth. All of my affairs and even short-term girlfriends had been older. Arturo, in a rare moment of being funny, had called me the MILFinator once. I wasn抰 sure what it was about Anna that was different, that made me show even the slightest interest in her. But it sure as fuck wouldn抰 be enough to make me land in bed with her. I抎 go looking for a nice French MILF to keep me company. 揗y Dad was more worried about me making the moves on your wife than Anna when I started working here,?I said in a true foot-in-mouth moment. One day I抎 end up with a bullet in my head, because of my dick or my mouth.
Dante抯 eyes flashed, and he raised one eyebrow. 揟hat抯 certainly reassuring,?he said in a low voice.
I decided to keep my mouth shut before it spewed some even stupider shit. Dante was a controlled man and even more controlled Capo, which saved my life right now.
揑 don抰 think I抣l have to tell you what will happen if I find out you acted in any way inappropriate to Anna, or my wife, in Paris or at any other place.?
揑抳e been your Enforcer, Capo. No need to give me any details. And knowing Arturo抯 freaky brain, he抣l probably see it as an even greater challenge to torture me.?
揜est assured, I抎 handle you myself in this case.?
I chuckled and nodded. 揥hile it would be an honor to die at your hands, I assure you it won抰 come to that.?
Today was Clifford抯 eighteenth birthday, which meant it was the beginning of August and only two more months before our engagement and six months until I抎 move to Paris temporarily.
I already had a list of events I抎 have to fly to Chicago for to uphold my social responsibilities but I was still excited.