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My heart skips a beat. So, I guess today’s the day I sign over the Carlotti empire to Rio Agosti. Unless I dare to defy him, of course. But if I do that, people I care about will probably end up dead.
* * *
It is done.The papers are signed, and Rio is now formally in control of the Carlotti empire that I never even knew existed until his men snatched me off the street and turned my entire life upside down.
I raise my eyes to Rio’s, ignoring the team of lawyers around the conference table who are shuffling contracts and paperwork back into their briefcases and making moves to leave the office where I’ve just signed over my life.
“Are you happy now,husband?” I don’t bother to hide the bitterness in my tone.
It isn’t that I want the money for myself. I would have no idea what to do with such wealth, or how to head up a cartel. And I don’t want to touch anything that is most likely created from blood. I have no idea exactly what my parents did to build the Carlotti empire, but I can’t imagine it was all clean and legal.
Not in this industry. Thislife.
No. None of those things lace my voice with vitriol.
What really has my gut churning is the way Rio went about securing my fortune as his. If my birth and heritage had been explained to me in a civil and rational manner, and I’d been allowed to make decisions for myself in relation to my life and my future, I may have been able to make a positive difference to so many people’s lives.
When Rio kidnapped me, had my friendsshot, and destroyed everything I ever knew about my life—including my very identity—he took away my ability to choose for myself. And despite the fact that his presence turns me on sexually, I can’t forgive him for removing the basic human right relating to choice.
There’s also a tiny part of me—a part I’m trying to ignore—that dreads the moment he announces that he no longer needs me. He has my money. My name. And the rights to my family heritage, such as it is.
He doesn’t need me anymore. I wonder if we’ll get an annulment or a divorce?
Rio meets my gaze, and a shaft of dread spears through me at the lack of emotion in his features. Even after the physical closeness we’ve shared, he seems completely unmoved by anything except business.
What if he doesn’t want a divorce? What if he simply has me killed? It would be far cheaper for him, I’m sure, to just put a bullet in my head and dump me with concrete boots in the river behind his estate.
As if he can sense the fear that ratchets up my pulse rate, Rio’s mouth lifts at one corner. Yet there is no humor in that smile of his, only derision. He places his hands carefully on the conference tabletop, fingers splayed, and slowly rises to his feet.
“I am satisfied with the outcome of today’s meeting.” His gaze shutters even farther, and he turns away before casually swinging back as if he’s only just remembered. “Tonight’s gala is a test. Fail it, and there will be consequences.Wife.”
His derisive grin widens, becoming wolfish, and then he’s gone in a flurry of movement, leaving me with a roomful of lawyers and a bodyguard who indicates with an impassive air that I should precede him out the door.
* * *
Rio
It goesagainst everything in me to allow Bianca to attend the gala this evening. There will be more than four hundred and fifty guests, including covert law enforcement, I am certain, given the guest list. And the event, to be held at the Renaissance Waterfront, will be extensively covered by the media which adds yet another layer of complexity to keeping Bianca compliant.
There will be many opportunities for my wife to slip away from me or speak up publicly about how our marriage came about. She will regret it if she does.
Many of the media in attendance are on my payroll, and those who are not can no doubt be persuaded to write what suits me and my family.
Still, I brief Danelli carefully beforehand, ensuring he understands the importance of keeping eyes on Bianca at all times. Even if he has to double the usual security or pay the team a premium. Whatever it takes for them to do their job, and keep her from running, has my approval.
I meant what I said to her in the conference room earlier. If she gets through tonight and behaves herself, she may earn herself more freedom. If she does not, there will be consequences, and she will feel my wrath.
The frisson that runs down my spine as I wait for her at the estate’s front entrance is not familiar to me, nor is the second-guessing going on in my head.
I do not second-guess. I know what I want, and I do what it takes to get it.
Control. And power. They go hand in hand. That’s how I was raised, and how I keep my position at the head of this family.
Bianca has created a tiny crack in my innate self-confidence. I need to remedy that. Soon.
And yet, I can’t seem to bring myself to get rid of her, even though we both know I no longer need her now that the Carlotti empire is officially aligned with mine.
Images spool in my mind. The way she glares at me with such hatred, and then her eyes darken and melt when I take her in my arms and claim her body. The way she rolls her bottom lip between her teeth when she’s nervous, but sways her hips with quiet confidence when she moves. The way her scent rises around me, sending my senses into overdrive every time she’s near. That tiny sound she makes when I thrust with my ready cock into her heated pussy—a cross between a moan and a whimper that sends an electrical charge straight to my groin.
