Why did that just sound so good?
Oh my God. Fiona and Gerardo are gonna lose their shit once I tell them about this.
I glance over at the priest and his cousins as they discreetly move to the far end of the room, giving us space.
“Will you grant me a divorce once the DeLucas are dealt with?”
“Sure,” he replies smoothly. “Unless, of course, you find yourself enjoying this marriage.”
I laugh, sharp and bitter. “Yeah, that’s never going to happen.”
He tsks under his breath, a playful but dangerous glint in his eyes. “Such little faith.” His thumb lightly traces my chin, and without warning, his mouth hovers closer. “I could be a very good husband, you know.”
His lips brush against mine, and the world tilts, the last of my resistance slipping away. My hands instinctively find his biceps, solidand frustratingly addictive. I want to rip his shirt off and climb him like a tree…which would be bad, considering I suck at climbing and would probably fall flat on my ass.
Still, I bet he’d catch me and tuck me against his broad chest…
Focus, Emilia. Jesus.
“How is this marriage going to work?” I push off of him. “If you think you’re going to have me followed or chauffeured around like some rich bitch, think again.”
He laughs. “Fine. Please, wife, enlighten me on what you’d like this marriage to look like.”
The moment he calls me “wife,” it hits me like a physical force. My heart skips a beat, a rush of heat flooding my body.
It’s just a word, but the way he says it, so possessively…it sets something in motion inside me. Something I’m not sure I’m ready to confront.
“I don’t want to be followed.”
“That’s fine.” He shrugs.
“Really?” This can’t be that easy.
“Yes. There are other ways.”
Here we go…
“What other ways?”
“I can always put a GPS in you.”
“I’m sorry,what?”
“How else can I keep you safe?” He gathers my hand in his and kisses the top of it.
“This is insane.”
“You keep saying that. But it doesn’t have to be bad for you. All your life, you didn’t have anyone protecting you, not really. I know you’ve come to depend on yourself, and that’s important. But now you have me. You have a whole family who would die for you. Don’t you want that?”
Yes…
He makes it all sound like a fairy tale, like he’d give me the family I’ve always wanted to have, but we know that fairy tales are all a lie.
“None of this is real. Once you’ve taken care of my death threat, I’ll just be your assistant again. I don’t mean anything to you.”
A crooked smile spreads on his face. “You underestimate the power you have over me.” He kisses the tips of my fingers, and that sweet gesture, those words, send a shudder through me. “You’ll have everything you could ever want. Just behave, and the rest will go smoothly. And imagine how fun it will be when I’ll get to enjoy seeing you at work, then every night in my bed.”
His bed…
