“I’ll tell you why I agreed to marry you, Sofia… if you tell me why you agreed to marry me.”
I meet his gaze, my chin lifted in defiance even as my heart twists with pain. “I agreed to marry you because my father is dying, Dominico. He wanted to see me settled and secure before he passed, and an alliance with your Family was the best way to protect my sisters.”
Dominico’s eyes widen, surprise and something else flickering across his face. He takes a small step back, his grip on me loosening slightly.
“Sofia, I… I’m sorry to hear about your father,” he says softly, his tone genuine. “I had no idea he was ill.”
His unexpected sympathy catches me off guard, and I feel my throat tighten with emotion. “I did what I had to do for my family, Dominico. The Sicuras are our strongest allies. I couldn’t risk leaving my sisters vulnerable.”
He nods slowly, his expression thoughtful. “I understand. But Sofia, you must know that our Families would remain allies regardless of our marriage. That bond should never be in question.”
I blink back the sudden tears that sting my eyes, my heart clenching at his words. I’ve been so focused on being strong for my sisters, on putting on a brave face in the wake of my father’s diagnosis… that I haven’t allowed myself to grieve, to feel the full weight of my own pain.
But here, in this moment, with Dominico looking at me with such unexpected compassion… I feel something inside me break.
A single tear slips down my cheek, followed by another, and another. I try to turn my face away, to hide my weakness from him… but he reaches out, his fingers gently cupping my chin.
“Sofia,” he murmurs, his voice soft and tender. “It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to feel the pain of losing your father.”
And with those words, the dam inside me shatters.
I bury my face in his bare chest, my body shaking with sobs as the grief I’ve been holding back for so long pours out of me like a flood. Dominico’s arms come around me, holding me close as he strokes my hair.
God, some wedding night.
We stay like that for a long moment, my tears soaking into the fabric of his shirt as he murmurs soft words of comfort against my hair.
As I cry into Dominico’s chest, I feel a shift in the air between us. The electric current of attraction that has always simmered beneath the surface of our interactions suddenly sparks to life, igniting a fire in my veins.
I look up at him, my eyes still shimmering with tears, and the intensity in his gaze takes my breath away. There’s a hunger there, a raw, primal need that echoes the ache in my own body.
And then, before I can think, before I can talk myself out of it… he’s kissing me.
His lips crash against mine, hot and demanding, and I gasp at the sensation. I know I should push him away and slap him for daring to kiss me when I’m emotionally compromised.
But instead, I find myself melting into the kiss, my body eagerly responding to his touch.
It’s like no time has passed at all, like we’re still those same desperate, passionate teenagers who couldn’t keep their hands off each other. The years of hurt and betrayal fall away, and all that’s left is the searing heat of our desire.
Dominico’s hands tangle in my hair, tilting my head back as he deepens the kiss. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, claiming me, possessing me, and I moan at the taste of him.
It’s intoxicating, the way he makes me feel. Like I’m drowning and flying all at once, like I’m being consumed by a fire that will never be quenched.
I know it’s wrong. I know I should hate this, should hate him for making me feel this way.
But I can’t. I can’t deny the way my body responds to his, the way my heart races and my skin tingles with every brush of his fingers.
All those old emotions come rushing back, the love and passion and the desperate, aching need.
Dominico’s hands slide down my back, pulling me closer, and I arch against him. I can feel the hard plane of his chest against my breasts, the heat of his skin seeping through the thin fabric of my negligee.
I know I should stop this. I know I should push him away, should remind myself of all the reasons I can never trust him again.
But right now, I don’t care.
I don’t care that he’s hurt me, has made me feel like dirt under his shoe.
All I care about is the way he makes me feel, the way his touch sets my soul on fire and makes me forget everything else.
