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“Cierra la boca,” I hissed at her and opened the backdoor. Emma immediately turned to look at me as I slid in beside her. “We’ll be heading back to the estate now,” I told her, “and I’ll present you to my father.”
Emma visibly shuddered. I couldn’t blame her for the reaction, but I had to make her understand what she was walking into. “You can’t show your fear,” I said. “When you meet him, stay calm, and if he speaks to you directly, you can answer him, but otherwise —”
“I should just keep my mouth shut?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
We’ll have to work on the tone, I thought. That same attitude had gotten my nose broken and jaw bruised when I was a boy, and while Padre might not strike a woman openly, he had his ways of disciplining anyone who mouthed off to him. “Exactly,” I said. “Padre has a very traditional view of a woman’s place, and as my wife, there will be expectations you will need to fulfill.” She swallowed hard and looked a little sick. “If you’re going to cry, it would be best to do it now,” I said. “You don’t have to be happy in front of Padre, but you can’t be sobbing either.”
Tears immediately welled in her eyes, but she didn’t cry like I thought she might. “If your father doesn’t like me, will I be killed?”
That dark thing that had awoken in my chest when we kissed snarled.No onewas going to take her from me. No one touched what was mine. “You’re under my protection now,” I assured her. “To harm you would be an act of war.”
She made a distressed sound. “Even your father?”
“Padre has his honor,” Omar said from the front seat. “No one does lasting damage to the spouse of another.”
A bubble of near-hysterical laughter sprang from her throat. “Lasting damage,” she said mockingly.
I reached out and put my finger under her chin, forcing her to look at me. “No one will touch you,” I declared gently. Emma nodded, and she was quiet after that. I tried to look out the window, to allow the scenery to distract me, but my eyes kept dragging back to her.Mi esposa.
Yesterday, the thought of a wife set my teeth on edge, and a large part of me still resented my father for forcing me into it. But looking at Emma? I wanted more of that taste. I wanted to know what she looked like spread across my bed.
My thoughts were interrupted when we passed the security booth and entered the estate. “Padre is in his office,” Lili said, looking at a message on her phone. “He’s expecting you.”
The Rover came to a stop, and I opened my door and climbed out. Emma was stock still in her seat; she didn’t make a move to open her own door. I reached for her hand. “Come,” I said.
She stared at me, afraid, for a moment, and then I watched the wall come down on her expression. It was just like before when I snapped at her for smiling: she schooled her face into something more neutral. Then, she put her hand in mine and let me draw her out of the car.
We walked into the house with her arm in mine. The distance between the door and my father’s office felt like a death march, but despite the grip that Emma had on my arm, her face was calm and collected.
My father was seated at his desk, looking through some document or other but clearly waiting on us. “Padre,” I said. “May I introduce my wife, Emma Castillo.” I looked at her. “Emma, this is my father, Gustavo Castillo, the head of our family.”
“You may call me ‘Padre,’” he said. “You’re my daughter now, after all.”
Emma jerked at that, and I tightened my grip on her arm, stilling her. Padre rose from his chair and came around his desk. “It’s nice to meet you, sir,” she managed to say with a steady voice.
Padre smiled, and for a moment, he played the part of the jovial father-in-law. “She’s prettier than you let on,mijo,” he said silkily, and the words dropped into my belly like lead. He stepped closer to us, and he reached out to her. I knew what he was going to do: he was going to grab her chin, study her like she was one of his horses or hounds.
Something hot boiled in my gut, and I yanked Emma behind me, just out of his reach. No one was going to touch her. Shebelongedto me now. Padre dropped his hand, and while his smile didn’t change, there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. He didn’t like being denied. “Welcome to the family,mija,” he said, eyes on Emma.
She was quiet for a moment, and then she said, “Thank you, sir.” Her voice quavered just a little.
My father laughed. “Such a timid one, you’ve got here,” he said. “Come, let’s toast.” Padre motioned to the sideboard where he had chilled rum and some shot glasses. He made his way over and started pouring out the shots.
I went to take a step, but Emma seemed to be rooted to the floor. “What?” I hissed at her.
“Can I pass on the shot?” she asked, voice barely audible.
“No.”
Her face twisted with worry, but when I pulled her along to the sidebar, she came this time. My father handed us each a shot glass. “¡Por los novios!” Padre announced and clinked his glass first into mine and then into Emma’s.
I slugged the shot back in one motion; Padre did the same. When Emma tipped her head back, she started choking immediately and nearly dropped the shot glass clutched in her hand. “Sorry,” she said, wiping at her mouth. It smeared the lipstick that she had put on. Fucking pathetic, really.
As the future matriarch of the family, Emma was going to need to be a proper host. She’d need to be able to toast and keep a smile on her face andnotchoke up the expensive liquor like it was some well variety at a bar.
I sneered but took the handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to her. “Wipe your face,” I told her, pointing to a mirror on the wall. “You look ridiculous.”
She took the piece of silk from me. Her eyes were alight with anger, but she turned and went to fix her face instead of saying anything.Maybe she can learn, I thought. “You do have your marriage license, yes?” Padre asked, pulling my focus back to him.
