8. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Finn
A ria looks beautiful in her bloodstained wedding dress. Good enough to eat.
She also looks good helping me dispose of the body.
Since we could have been caught on security cameras, we need to get rid of this car and this man so no one will ever find them. I put the car in neutral and motion to Aria to get behind it.
“Now, we’re going to push.”
She scrunches up her nose. I would never tell her this but she actually looks cute when she does it. “I’m going to ruin my dress.”
“It’s already ruined.” I point at a bloodstain. “There’s no saving this dress.”
“But it’s my wedding dress.”
“And yet, you didn’t want to get married, so I don’t see what the problem is.”
She huffs and places her hands to the back of the car. “Just shut up.”
She’s also cute when she gets feisty. Most people are terrified of me because I make them terrified of me. And while I’m sure Aria does fear me, she never shows it. I’m fascinated by that kind of strength.
Every moment more I spend with her, I become more intrigued. That’s unusual for me. Most people annoy the shit out of me after just a few hours.
Sure, Aria is annoying. But she doesn’t annoy me as much as I normally get with people. There’s something about her that makes me want to see more of what she can do.
We’re married now. I guess we have the rest of our fucking lives to learn more about each other.
I flash Aria a grin that makes her roll her eyes as we push the car towards the lake. Aria’s foot slips on a patch of mud and she falls face first onto the ground. I can’t help it: I laugh.
“You asshole,” she grumbles, sitting up. I offer her my hand and she glares at me as she swats my hand away. “I can do it on my own.”
“I thought a princess like you would appreciate the help.”
“Not from you.”
“We’re married now, Aria. Might as well start getting used to me.”
“You forced me into it.” She manages to get back on her feet and without another look in my direction, starts pushing the car again. It’s not hard between the two of us to get the car into the lake.
The car hits the surface and lingers there for a moment before sinking down. The man in the front seat will never be found.
“I feel bad,” Aria murmurs.
“Why?”
She flashes me a glare. “Because his family will never know what happened to him. That will kill them.”
“Huh. Never thought of that before.”
“That’s because you lack all empathy.” She huffs, her arms slapping at her sides. “Now what? We don’t have a car anymore.”
“There’s a spare car at the house I own that’s not too far from here. We’ll just have to walk.”
“What if we encounter anyone on the way?”
I give her a look and she flushes. We both know I’ll have to kill anyone if they see us. Witnesses are never a good thing.
Aria grumbles under her breath as we walk through the woods. Less likely to be seen this way. Her dress keeps getting caught on branches. It rips at one point. She’ll have nothing left of it soon enough.
That’s fine by me. Ever since I saw Aria naked, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. She has a great little body, one I would love to fuck.
She’ll never let me though. But the challenge will be to get her to want me. Nothing will be sweeter than making Aria beg me for my touch. I love a good challenge.
She keeps sneaking glances at me but I keep my head forward. I won’t give her the satisfaction of my attention at this moment. Let her stew it out.
We reach my house after a few hours through the woods. It’s a simple cottage style. More cute than I normally buy but I liked the location so here we are. I knew it would come in handy someday.
“You didn’t tell me your house was hours away from that lake.”
“If you had known, you would have bitched about it the whole time. Come on.”
Aria’s eyes widen when she steps inside. “It’s like something out of a fairytale in here.” The kitchen is quaint and the living room is cozy. A set of stairs lead up to the bedroom.
“I never would have expected you to own a house like this,” she says.
“What can I say? I’m full of mystery.”
She rolls her eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone roll their eyes as well as Aria does. It’s really an art.
“Now what?” she grumbles, going over to the couch and flopping down. “I’m exhausted.”
“It’s getting dark out,” I comment. “It’s still our wedding night.”
I can see the way she tenses even from across the room. “I am not having sex with you.”
“I figured as much. But let me help you out of that dress. It’s filthy now.”
“No thanks to you.”
“Come on,” I say, sitting down beside her. “You didn’t even want to get married in the first place. You can’t actually care about this dress.”
“I don’t,” she snaps, though something in her tone tells me she does care.
“Really.”
“Really.”
“Ok. Then you won’t care if I cut it off you.”
She scrambles to her feet. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“I just might.” I spread my legs to take up more space in the small living room. I want Aria to feel my power no matter where we are.
“I can get it off myself.”
“But you don’t have any other clothes.”
Her mouth opens and closes as she thinks of an answer. “But you have clothes here. I’m sure you do. I can just borrow something of yours.”
“I never said you could wear my clothes, princess.”
“I am not walking around naked in front of you. Not again.”
“That’s a shame.” I let my eyes rake over her. “You have a sexy little body.”
“Ew.”
Her utter disgust makes me laugh. “Fine. The bedroom is upstairs. Go take your dress off. I won’t bother you.”
“You won’t?” The disbelief in her voice is strong.
“Call it a wedding gift from me to you. For tonight only, I’ll let you be.”
She eyes me over with distrust but she still heads upstairs as fast as she can.
I just made Aria my partner in crime tonight. The only person I’ve ever worked with before as a true partner was Aiden. I thought my brother would be the only one I’d ever want as a partner in crime.
But I didn’t mind it with Aria. In fact, there was something exciting about it.
For the first time since meeting Aria, I feel a strange softness for her. What the hell is happening to me? I don’t get attached. Aria is my prisoner. She is my key to destroying Dante.
But she’s also my wife now.
And I don’t know how to feel about it.
Aria
The bedroom, like the rest of the house, is small in a cute way. It’s comfortable, not cramped. That’s unusual for me since my bedroom back home is bigger than most peoples’ apartments in New York.
But I’m not in the city any longer. I’m in some backwards small town, having helped cover up a murder, and now, I’m trying to take my wedding dress off.
The problem is: it’s a lot harder than I thought it would be.
The sales woman at the store helped me into this dress. I never got out of it since we bought the dress with me in it and left. My hands strain to reach all of the buttons. I can get some of them undone but I can’t reach them all.
My hands flap down to my sides. This is so stupid. I can’t get the dress off.
I imagined my wedding day and wedding night for years. How my husband, strong and handsome, would carry me to bed and undo my dress with delicate, respectful fingers. Except, the man I am now married to is the least delicate and respectful man ever. He’s a colossal asshole.
How can I be married to a man like him? He ruined my life with this. Even if Dante manages to find Finn and kill him, I’ll be tainted. No man will want me now. Finn has effectively destroyed me for all future men. Even if he dies, he’ll be haunting me from beyond the grave.
I can’t get this dress off and I really don’t want to sleep in a dirty, muddy, bloodstained gown all night.
With one last ditch effort, I try tearing the dress to get it off but it’s a lot harder to tear fabric than any movie has led me to believe.
I’m stuck in this dress.
There’s one way out of it and it’s not something I want to do: I have to ask Finn to help me.
With a shudder, I head back downstairs. Finn’s smile is smug like he knew I would come back to him. Bastard.
“Yes?” he asks, opening his eyes wide and pretending he’s innocent.
“I need help with my dress. I can’t get it off.” I turn my back to him. “Get it off me.”
“So bossy. But you’re not in charge here, princess, I am.”
“Just get it off me!”
I can feel Finn step up behind me. His presence is strong and large and warm. It makes me swallow hard. He has so much power within him. I wish I knew what that was like.
His fingers skim along the exposed parts of my back, making me shiver and gasp.
He touches the buttons I can’t reach but doesn’t do anything about it.
“Well?” I demand. “Get this dress off me. I never want to see it again.”
“That’s a shame. I thought you looked beautiful in it.” Finn’s voice is softer than I’ve ever heard it before.
Finally, he unclasps the buttons I can’t reach and before I can react, shoves my dress down my body so I’m in nothing but my bra and underwear. He’s seen me naked and yet, this feels more vulnerable than that.
He settles his hands on my hips. “You are mine now, princess.” His voice is seductive and makes my stomach flutter with an emotion I never thought I could feel for Finn: desire.
But that’s absurd. I don’t want him. I want nothing to do with him.
And yet, there’s a dark part of me that wants him to bring his hands lower down my body. There’s a dark part of me that wants to let go of the expectations placed on me, even the expectations I’ve placed on myself.
To feel free to live a life as wild as Finn’s. To not worry what others think of me. To not worry about my status.
To just give in.
I find myself leaning back towards him, sinking closer to his body. His hands are so warm on my hips.
I can’t deny that I find Finn distractingly handsome. I hate him, don’t get me wrong, but he’s still good looking. Every time he looks at me makes me nervous but not in the way I should be. I’m not nervous he’ll kill me.
I feel nervous like… like a schoolgirl with her very first crush.