AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Suna
Today hadn’t gone as planned. I had hoped to be halfway to Canada by now, with a shiny new identity and a lot of pilfered cash. I had not planned on having the hottest experience of my life in the back of a luxury, bulletproof town car with the man who made my skin feel two sizes too small.
Vincenzo was an absolute terror. He had me followed, had my staff spy on me, and caught me in the act of escaping. There was no chance he’d let me out of his sight before the wedding. He was behaving unreasonably. Surely a marriage to each other wasn’t in his best interests. If I flaked on the wedding, he was still within his rights to demand that my father work with him. It could have been a win-win. Instead, he’d scooped me up, turned me inside out until his filthy words were all I could think about, and taken confident ownership over my body. And now he was keeping me prisoner in his huge, palatial townhouse overlooking the park.
I stood in the doorway of a vast bedroom. High ceilings reached above me, and honey-colored wood shone on the floor. A breeze ruffled white curtains, and I felt drawn to the space. It was calming, and I liked it, even if that was impossible to admit. Worryingly, an enormous bed dominated the middle of the space.
“Is this my room?”
Vincenzo brushed my arm as he passed me and walked across that gleaming floor. “It’s our room, yes.”
“Our room? You think we can sleep together, night after night?”
“Of course. We’ll be married, Suna, and I don’t expect my wife to sleep in another room.”
His deep voice left little room for argument, and I’d be lying to myself if there wasn’t a thrill of excitement at those possessive words.“You think you have carte blanche over my body because of what happened in the car?”
He turned before I could move and backed me against the wall, sending my breath whooshing out my chest lightly and my heart racing. He leaned one arm on the wall near my head, and I couldn’t stop thinking about where those long fingers had recently been. “If you’re implying that you wouldn’t be wet and ready for me at any point, I told you, Suna, it’s a dangerous and easily disproved claim.”
My mouth went dry at the thought of Vincenzo checking the state of my excitement. I knew I’d be embarrassed to be found out. My body wanted this man, craved him even.
“And I do have carte blanche over your body, and your future… your father has given it to me. So, why don’t we try to get along? I’m sure you knew it would come to this one day. It would be me or someone else. I want you to choose me. I’ve already chosen you.”
I swallowed the knot of powerlessness in my throat. Wasn’t he right? My father was always going to give me in marriage for strategic reasons. Wasn’t there a part of me that was glad Vincenzo Luciano, in all his sexy, powerful, and charismatic as hell glory, was the chosen one? Didn’t I want him as much as he wanted me?
“Maybe I wouldn’t wish to get married at all,” I muttered finally, unable to take the sheer, overwhelming heat of being so close to this scandalously charismatic man who saw right through me.
“That, sadly, is a wish I cannot grant you.” Vincenzo pulled away after a long moment and straightened his tie.
It seemed as if tangling with me ruffled his usually serene feathers. Good. Why shouldn’t he be affected even a little by me? It was only fair. I had a meltdown every time he was within touching distance. At the realization, a tiny tug of power swelled in my chest. I affected this man. I affected this powerful, rich kingpin who held the city at his feet. His heart beat quickened, and his blood surged for me. It was a good feeling. Addictive.
“I have to go. Make yourself comfortable.”
“My father won’t like me staying here before we’re married,” I pointed out.
Vincenzo tossed me a grin as he strode from the room. “I don’t care.”
* * *
That night,the dream came. I hadn’t had it in years, but it was back. I woke up to the sound of harsh, ragged breaths and a pounding heart. It took me a full minute to realize the breaths were mine. I stared around the dark bedroom. Nothing was familiar. A long shadow stood in the doorway, and fear threatened to choke me. For a moment, the shape and posture of the figure sent me spiraling back in time to four years ago, the night that had changed my life and shattered my safety in the world.
“Miss Song, is everything okay? You seemed upset.”
A deep voice spoke to me, and I recognized the shape of Vincenzo’s personal guard, the one he had introduced me to earlier. My deadly, well-armed babysitter.
“It was a dream. How did you know? Don’t tell me Vincenzo has a tracker implanted in my arm or some other dystopian shit,” I muttered, raising my arms in the moonlight filtering in the window to check. I wouldn’t put it past him.
Matteo shook his head.“I heard you cry out when I patrolled past. You sounded like you were arguing with someone, so I took the liberty of entering to check you were safe.”
I nodded, reaching out for a drink of water from the glass at my bedside.“I was talking? What did I say?” What if Vincenzo found out the truth about that night four years ago? Would he spurn me? Maybe the truth was all I needed to put him off me for good. The idea should be more heartening than it was.
Matteo hesitated.“You weren’t speaking English.”
Relief filled my chest, so strong I couldn’t think about it too closely. I nodded and offered the guard a weak smile.“Well, thanks for checking on me. Where’s your boss?”
“He’s working. I’m not at liberty to say more than that.”
“Fine.”
I waited until Matteo left the room and closed the door behind him before padding toward the doorway. I inspected the lock. I was certain I’d locked the door from the inside last night, but now, the inner key had disappeared, and clearly, Matteo had been able to enter at will. A stark reminder that my husband saw all and controlled everything in his domain, including me. I didn’t know why I wasn’t madder about it. Maybe I was burned out on stress and things to worry about. Or maybe, nothing seemed to matter as much after the dream.
I wandered back to bed, passing by a mirror on the way. My reflection caught me. I was pale in the silvery light from the window, more like a ghost than a person. Resting my hands on the dresser top, I stared at my face in the semi-darkness. The dream lay over my shoulders like an itchy shroud, drowning me in the past.
What would Vincenzo think if he knew? What would he do? Would it always be a secret between us? The thought of living with Vincenzo for the rest of my life was daunting enough, but the extra strain of hiding a past he was curious to know weighed even heavier. I didn’t want that secret between us. It was the first time I had wished to share my burden. And with my unwanted fiancé? I was losing it. I pushed the mad instinct down deep and went back to bed, hoping my mind remained empty of monsters.
