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I straighten my back, intrigued by the look in her eyes. Whatever she’s about to tell me is clearly non-negotiable. Interesting.
“I don’t want anyone but our families to know about our marriage. We’ll be getting a divorce in three years, and I can’t risk being known as your ex-wife for the rest of my life. I’d like to walk away with a clean slate and no baggage, and I can’t do that if I’m forever linked to you.”
She sighs and looks away. “I don’t want our marriage to impact my job either. For years, there have been rumors about me sleeping with you to get ahead, and I don’t want any of that to seem true. I’d like us to separate our professional and private lives.”
I don’t like the sound of that. My need to publicly claim her as mine is barely tolerable, yet I have no choice but to suppress it if I want her to marry me. Besides, there’s no way I can disclose our marriage even if I wanted to, not with the engagement hanging over my head. “Understood. But in return, I have some requirements of my own.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Valentina
Luca stares at me for a moment, a vicious glint in his eyes. I didn’t think I’d ever find myself in this situation, negotiating the terms of mymarriagewith a man I spent years hating.
Even now, my feelings for him are complicated. I hate that he’s using my weakness to coerce me into a situation I want no part of, and it pains me to know that even now, as he’s about to make me his wife, I’m nothing but a tool to him.
I’m unsure if I’ll be able to walk away in three years unscathed. I may pretend I’m made of ice, but there’s no denying that Luca affects me in a way no one else ever has. In just the last few months, he’s hurt me more than I thought he was capable of. How much will be left of my heart by the time we part ways?
“Tell me your requirements,” I murmur.
He nods at me. “My grandmother will have several rules we’ll have to abide by. I suspect they’ll be the same ones she laid down for Ares and Raven. Our marriage must last for three years, and throughout that time, we cannot be apart for more than three consecutive days at a time.”
I purse my lips and nod. “That won’t be a problem. We haven’t been apart for over three days at a time for years, bar a few holidays here and there.”
Luca smirks then. “It looks like you may be misunderstanding what I’m telling you. This marriage may be temporary, Valentina, but it’ll be very fucking real. I want you to move in with me, and I want you in my bed, every single night.”
I open my mouth to protest, but he holds up his hand and chuckles. “It’s no secret that I want you, but this isn’t a rule I came up with myself. It’s a rule my grandmother will lay down once she finds out what we’ve done.”
The mere thought of sharing a bed with Luca has me flustered. When he touches me, he makes me lose all reason, all restraint. I become a version of myself I hardly recognize, and the loss of control is daunting, yet entirely irresistible.
“Look at me.”
I bite down on my lip as I obey his words, heat rushing through me as memories come flooding in. The first time he uttered those words was when he had his fingers deep inside me. He was toying with my body the way he’s toying with my life right now.
“From this day onward, you’re mine, Valentina. Your body, your thoughts, your dreams. For three full years, I want all of you. Think about this carefully, because there’s no going back. I don’t do things halfheartedly.”
I nod and wrap my arms around myself, feeling oddly vulnerable. “I can agree to that,” I murmur, ashamed of the way my body still craves him despite everything. “But in return, you have to promise me fidelity. If you want me in that way, I need to know you’re not touching anyone else. Cheating is the one thing I can’t ever tolerate. I don’t believe in love, Luca, and I’d prefer a marriage without anything as complicated as that, but fidelity is something I can’t compromise on.”
For a moment, my thoughts turn back to the past, to a time I was foolish enough to believe my mother was wrong, and true love did exist, but she just hadn’t found it. I look up at Luca, my heart aching. I barely recovered then, but if I ever fell for Luca, it’d destroy me.
He looks at me in that way he does when he’s trying to read me, and I do my best to school my features. I don’t want or need him prying into my past.
“I will never cheat on you, Valentina. For as long as you’re my wife, there will only be you. You’re the only one I’ll touch, the only one I’ll desire. Not even my thoughts will stray. I can say that with full confidence, because you’ve dominated my fantasies for far longer than I care to admit. It’s unlikely to change anytime soon, if ever.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks, and I avert my gaze. He’s been… fantasizing about me? For how long?
“In return, I ask for your fidelity, too. I’ll fulfill all your desires, Valentina, so don’t you ever go looking elsewhere.”
I avert my gaze and nod. “I won’t ever stray. That isn’t something you’ll ever have to worry about. I’ll always be loyal and faithful to you, but that is all I’ll give you. Three years is a long time, and throughout it, we’ll no doubt confuse the lust and intimacy we feel for love, but I don’t want that to impact us. Love is fleeting. It’s a chemical reaction that fades over time, and it can’t be a factor in our marriage. No matter how we think we feel, I want us to end our marriage in three years, as agreed. No matter what. I’d rather know when it’ll all be over instead of waiting for the day an emotion as fickle as love finally fades. I want to be in charge of my life, not be at the mercy of some useless emotion.”
His gaze is searching, as though he wants to know what prompted me to tell him this, and whether another man was the cause of it. As always, though, Luca doesn’t pry.
“Are you telling me not to fall in love with you?”
My heart skips a beat, and I lower my eyes. “I suppose so.”
“Look at me,” he says again, his voice low, dangerous.
I can’t help the way my heart races as I lift my head, nerves stealing away my resolve.
