In Love With My Husband's Best Friend

sion of

n the mirror was poised and beautiful, the very image of the perfect mafia wife. But behind the flawless mask, she felt nothing but emptines

he door opened to show Luca DeLuca, her husband and New York's most feared crime boss. He was dressed in an impeccable s

he remarked smoothly, but hi

a small smil

est of touches sent her skin crawling, not from lust, but from something infinitely more frightening. There was always

tonight?" he whispered, tippi

ly, though her heart pounded at t

ent W

st trusted enforcer. Dressed in black, his broad frame exuded quiet strength. Unlike Luca, Da

hich Elena had got use

led. It was dangerous, this shared understanding that existed between them. He had never said anything that was wrong, never suggested he

anting to give Dante the chanc

how S

in designer clothing, sipping champagne and making backdrops deals beneath the glittering

to business partners and supporters, his hold relaxing into a loose

eties, but her mind was somewhere else. Specifically, w

rs' attention, Dante was always on the lookout, his eyes darting everywhere for potential d

nt was al

ettlin

utside to the balcony for a breath of fresh air. The crisp night air kissed her skin,

't alone

authoritative as always. He didn't say anything right

by yourself," he said

mall laugh. "You'r

d. "I'm always

t. He didn't explain, didn't have to. He was warning her-of the da

omething in his face. "Dante..." she

ore the balcony doors

m one another, but Luca's piercing eyes darted

voice dangerously soft. "Is my

a smile. "We wer

waver from Dante's.

houldn't be out here alone

lena's arm slowly painful.

a flash, but the unde

rous Re

were cold though Luca lay there, his steady breathing a stark contrast to the storm inside her. For the first

that not even he said out loud. All these years she had been telling herself Dante was nothing but Luca's rig

e. A hes

ed; but to whom? To Luca?

his fingers press into her arm, hard enough to hurt, but not hard enough to bruise. He reminded her whose she was.

ething between her and Dante, he wou

sing Dante-she didn't even go there, no, no, no, she shouldn't be that

ancial leverage, and social strata. She was tie

Dant

only man she

: Had he always been able to see her,

so much as guessed that her heart was changing, it w

d be he

Luca already awake, his cold b

was stuck i

a slow, kn

ep, cara mia?

ng off the terror clawing at her c

hing, it grew. As though he knew

e, away from him. But even as she closed h

t time, she wasn't d

g what she was

n of Forbid

side world-a marriage of power, status, and unwavering loyalty. But behind the gold-plated walls of their mansion, Elena lived in silent despair.

mafia families were present, toasting to riches and feigning civility. Luca sat at the head of the table, a

t from the others-quiet, methodical, and fiercely protective. Where Luca used brute force, Dante po

ed to incarcerate her desires, to silence the

oken Co

cruel, his grip on Elena's arm tightening in subtle displays of

essed it a

ing she couldn't place. It wasn't pity. No, Dante would never pity her. It

ingered a mom

of adrenaline that had nothing to do with fear.

had wi

nce of

rated discreetly in the background. Couples twirled, exchanged sweet nothin

th his underboss, waved Elena off. "Go,

invitation. It

, her body performing the familiar steps. But when s

d, though his hands located

I," she wh

ething unsaid. His hands were strong, firm but ge

dible above the music, but the way

iness looking at him like this. Yet for

g: A Dangerou

tings and final toasts. Elena had wished to be able to slip away unnoticed, to let the tension o

rom prying eyes. He did not stop until they reached his private study, a tall but airless room

te slowness, his fingers tapping against his gla

as her heart thudded against her chest. She knew this game. S

uca's voice was a low, contained snarl, but

own and met his gaz

Dante?" He let the name fall off his to

s shrug. "You said to dan

licker of amusement. He liked obedience. He detested defi

cent of liquor thick on his breath

eyebrow. "Ar

w what's happening?" He fingered her chin, bringing her

a man who needed to own everything he laid hands on. But she wasn't some te

" she replied evenly. "Shou

just enough to issue a

nt," he whispered, his voice s

This was a threat. A warning of what would ha

f he had already delivered his judgme

ruth, Dante would be dead b

ssion: A War o

ow, measured paces, her body moving on

been clear. Stay

have murdered the forbidden thoughts

t made the

cloak. The dress she wore-lovely, expensive, suffocating-was like a second skin she couldn't w

g were left behind-half-empty glasses of wine on the terrac

en, mo

e muted glow from a nearby lamp cast

rn away. She should shut the curtains

he di

enough for him to see. A small ges

the clench of his fingers into fists at his sides. He didn't move towards her i

ined his head in a ba

a promise, a dange

talk. They d

w she had stepped over a line

Internal

mastered the art o

Luca, defending him, fighting for hi

's wife. His queen. The woman who was supposed to be nothing to him. Yet every forbidden glance, every un

distance, Luca was making it impos

rowing S

her chair, looking at Dante

self a drink. The clink of ice against the gla

nk. "I've been focused

tching him over the rim

A dange

," Dante s

a hard bang. "Loyalty, Dante, is all in ou

al question was: Had he alre

d detached. "I would die firs

ou won't have a problem wit

p down, something told him h

nted As

lena's personal bodyg

like a gunshot

Every day. Every

wife?" Dante asked, his

I trust you with my life. And a

his. Luca had made it

Da

een thrust in

s Resi

office, fury seething

"I don't need a bodyguard. I don't

the force that frightened

into fists. "You'

dy was attempting to tail you last week. There are threats all aroun

ng hard. She knew better than try to

just about t

ut what he

Dante, who sat motio

t time in a long

or he

this migh

lose Pr

he air between them thick wi

e steering wheel hard, jaw set as

ded, eyes fixed on the city

both se

of what had ju

ong existed, simmering

ttingly bound

d

new if they would