Chapter 17
Elena
My heart’s in my throat as I lock myself in my bedroom.
My thoughts stumble over each other as I try to untangle what just happened.
I keep coming back to that kiss, that orgasm.
He made me come and I liked it, again. This time was so different from the hotel room.
Not a movie kiss that’s sweet and romantic.
No, his lips on mine felt hungry, possessive, and all-consuming.
His fingers moved inside my pussy like he owned it.
I want to hate that kiss, and the way his hands feel on my body, but I don’t. My lips still feel swollen and tender, brutalized in a way I never knew I wanted. My pussy flutters, a little sore from his thick fingers, but not uncomfortable enough to keep me from wanting more.
This is bad. The hotel room was wrong enough, but this time was so much more intense. Now I’m even more conflicted over Maximo.
Catching sight of myself in the vanity mirror, I cry out. Not only do I appear ravaged, there’s a huge mark on the side of my throat. It’s a… hickey. Oh my god, how am I going to hide that in public?
Then it dawns on me. Maximo’s smirk. The satisfaction in his eyes. He did this on purpose. He wants everyone to see how he’s marked me, claimed me, as his own. Because this giant pink diamond engagement ring isn’t enough, is it? Nope. Not for a man like him.
Fury boils in my veins. He’s so… wicked.
My mind recalls his warning and my cheeks flame.
So very wicked. I believe him though. He will punish me next time I do something crazy, and it won’t be with orgasms and kisses.
So I won’t be ruining any more of his belongings, but there are other ways I can turn myself into the least desirable fiancée he’ll ever have.
This is far from over. He doesn’t get to win this easily.
Those orgasms only proved to me how disastrous it would be for me to give in and marry Maximo. He’d be my ruin. In every way possible.
At least now we both know the game we’re playing—as well as the stakes. Marriage or freedom. Only one of us can win in the end.
“Congratulations again on your engagement,” Sophia says over the phone, and I cringe.
I haven’t told her, or any of my family, that he’s forcing me into this arrangement.
“Maximo seems like a really great guy. I’m sure you two will be happy together.
Not to mention that the Pontrelli line will continue on with you both. Seems fitting.”
“Thanks.” My phone beeps. “I have another call I need to take. Have a good night.”
“You too.” She hangs up and I answer the next call. It’s been an entire afternoon of one family member after another either calling or texting. But this is the one I’ve been waiting for.
“Hey, Ven,” I answer.
“Elle, are you okay? I heard the news…” My sister goes quiet. She knows me too well to believe that I actually want to be engaged to anybody, much less Maximo, a mafia don.
I sigh. “Can you have Cian come over and kill Maximo? I know that won’t be good for the peace treaty, but I’m not sure what else to do.”
“Oh my god, are you hurt? Did he force himself on you?” Ravenna’s tone grows murderous. She’s always been protective of me growing up, and that hasn’t changed now that we’re both adults.
I blush so deeply, I’m glad she can’t see it. “No. Not really. I mean he hasn’t hurt me, or forced himself on me, but he did force me into this engagement.” I stop pacing and curl up in the fuzzy reading chair. “I don’t know how to get out of this.”
“Does this have anything to do with why you were in California?” she asks.
“Sort of. No, not really.” How do I explain this in a way that makes sense? “I just needed to leave everything behind for a while, but that didn’t really solve anything.”
A sliver of guilt pierces my stomach. Once again, I feel like the helpless little girl asking my much stronger sister for help.
No one believes us when we tell them I’m actually the older twin.
Of course they don’t believe it, why would they?
I’ve always been the meek one. The one who can’t seem to do anything on her own.
I’m so tired of it. I don’t want to be that person any longer.
What I most want is to be the main character in my own life. I should be the one calling the shots, standing up for myself, and overcoming my own obstacles.
But I can’t do that if I’m going to continue to sit back and watch other people run my life for me.
“Don’t worry, Elle, we’ll figure out how to get you out. I won’t let Maximo—”
“Stop.” My command comes out soft and gentle. If I’m going to start standing up for myself, and stop relying on my sister to save me at every turn, I need to just do it.
Now. No more waiting.
“What do you mean stop? Stop what?” Concern laces her tone.
“I’m sorry I asked you and Cian to fix this for me. It’s not fair. You’ve spent your whole life protecting me, and I don’t want to keep taking advantage of—”
“You’re not taking advantage of anything,” she says vehemently. “I’m your sister, and I love you, and I’ll protect you with my dying breath—even against Maximo Pontrelli.”
I wish I had her strength. I wish I could say that I tried to protect her with my dying breath when Mama and Papa took her away to sell her on the flesh market. But I didn’t. I stayed in my room where I was safe. I’ve always been so damn weak. That stops now.
“I know how much you love me.” I heave a sigh. “But I don’t want you to save me anymore, Ven. I need to do this on my own. Maximo is my problem. I’ll handle him.”
“Elle… I don’t understand where this is coming from all of a sudden.”
I stare out the window, thinking back to all we’ve been through together.
“This is long overdue. I know how Papa used to hit you, and how you used to take hits for me too. That guilt eats away at me, Ven. I don’t want to be the kind of person who’s okay with others sacrificing themselves for me. That’s not right.”
“You’re not like that. I’ll always protect you and be happy to do it.” She sounds so genuine, that I completely believe every word. But that doesn’t make it fair.
“I know that. But I need to learn to protect myself. Don’t you see?
Maximo is my demon to deal with and I need to do it on my own.
” I worry my bottom lip, still processing through my sudden decision to weather this storm on my own.
Can I actually do this? I think so, and I won’t stop until I see this through to the end. Whatever that end may be.
“If that’s really what you want, then I’ll step back until you need me. But if he hurts you, I’ll kill him.”
I smile at that. “I wish I was half as fierce as you are.”
“I think you are, you just need to find your own fire. But if you don’t want me to get you out of this engagement, then I’ll let you deal with it on your own. Promise. Just know that I’m always here for you. If things get too intense, Elle, you just say the word and I’ll be there.”
“I will.”
“Promise me?”
“Yeah. I promise. Just one thing though, keep this between us. I’m not ready to get our cousins involved.”
“Of course. My lips are sealed. So what’s your plan?” She’s always straight to the point. I smile again.
“Well, he thinks that I’ll be the perfect mafia wife. So my plan is simple: Prove him wrong. I already burned his favorite car and put holes in all of his designer suits.”
Ravenna gasps. “You didn’t.”
“I sure did.”
“Arianna would be so proud.” She giggles. “Did you know she set Dimitri’s apartment on fire when she woke up and realized he married her against her will?”
I laugh. “These men should know by now not to mess with Pontrelli women.”
“They should. We’ve gotten ourselves quite the reputation.”
“Well, I’m about to add to it. Maximo will regret the day he forced this engagement ring onto my finger. Mark my words.”
“I believe you.” She’s quiet for a beat. “I just hope you know what you’re doing. Remember, we’re stronger together, so keep me updated on everything that happens.”
I remove my glasses and rub the bridge of my nose. “I will. Actually… I could use some help brainstorming ways to make myself undesirable to him. Ideas?”
“I’m so happy you asked! I have plenty of ideas…”
We spend the next hour coming up with all sorts of wild ideas, which I jot down in a notebook. In the end, I have a ton of ideas to consider. But I also have to think about how he might retaliate. Am I willing to take the risk? An entirely indecent shiver coasts beneath my skin.