Chapter 10
Sofia
Isincerely hoped that waking with a marching band parading through my head wasn’t going to be a regular occurrence. It was the second time in as many days I’d woken up with my head thumping.
At least, this time, I was in my own bed.
It took several seconds to realize the pounding wasn’t just in my head and that someone was knocking on my door. I jumped out of bed, the sudden movement giving me a head rush, and nausea churned in the pit of my stomach.
Looking around my room for a robe, my gaze darted to the bathroom when Miles strolled out, freshly showered if his damp hair was anything to go by. My cheeks heated in an instant as the memory from last night resurfaced.
He’d rejected me.
It had taken all of my confidence, and a hell of a lot of champagne, to build up to putting that damn outfit on, something I’d been fretting about since the minute the stylist showed it to me.
She’d winked conspiratorially about giving my new husband a night he wouldn’t forget, oblivious to the panic she’d stirred.
After all my fretting, he’d done exactly as I thought he would. The rejection stung. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a tiny part of me that wanted him to take one look at what I was wearing and fuck me into oblivion, but I should have known better.
“I’ll get that, shall I?” His scowl scorched me as he marched to the door and whipped it open.
My heart plummeted when Papa and Rafe appeared, Papa’s eyes seeking me out. In a beat, my embarrassment at Miles’ rejection changed into guilt. Papa was going to do something to Rafe because I’d failed. I had to warn him somehow.
“Good morning,” Papa said, turning his stare onto Miles. Whatever I thought about my new husband, I had to admire how he never showed any fear when it came to Papa. “I trust you slept well?”
My heart sank even further when Miles’ glare moved from Papa to me, and back again. “Let’s not beat around the bush, shall we? You and I both know why you’re here.”
Um…what?!
Papa tilted his head in Miles’ direction, his calculating eyes fixed on him. “And what is it I’m here for?”
I held my breath; worry, fear…morbid curiosity at what was going to happen next, pounding through me. For several seconds, Miles stared at Papa, the tension between them stifling.
My gaze jumped from Papa to Rafe, who looked like he was struggling to hold back his temper, and back to Miles, whose face was devoid of any emotion until a devious smirk tugged at his lips. My heart tumbled the rest of the way to the soles of my feet.
Not looking at me, Miles charged over to the bed and ripped the sheets back. A soft, almost inaudible gasp left me when my eyes landed on the bloody stain right where I had been lying moments ago. My body began to shake.
I had zero recollection of anything happening between Miles and me; the last thing I remembered was hiding under the sheets, too embarrassed to face him. Had he had sex with me while I was asleep?
It didn’t feel like it. Between my legs, there was no ache like I thought there would be when I finally lost my virginity, but the blood suggested otherwise.
“Is this what you wanted?” Miles snapped, his venom aimed at Papa. “Does this make you happy to see your daughter’s blood mixed with my come? Or perhaps you’d like to see the blood smeared on her thighs? I didn’t let her wash it off, so you could see for yourself.”
Bile crept up my throat, and without thinking, my gaze lowered to the hem of my nightdress. Aware of the three sets of eyes watching me, I hesitantly lifted it, stopping at the first sign of blood mixed with dried white stains coating my skin.
“Oh, god,” I whispered, swaying on the spot and earning a scowl from Miles.
Papa stroked a hand down his immaculate tie. “As a matter of fact, it makes me very happy.”
If it wasn’t for standing near to Miles, I would have missed the curse he hissed. He marched back to where Papa waited, and with the way his fists were clenched, I was certain he was going to throw a punch in Papa’s direction.
“I’m glad we’ve cleared that up,” Miles sneered.
“But I’ll say this once. This is the only time you get to know about mine and Sofia’s sex life.
What I do to her is none of your fucking business.
In fact, let’s extend that past our sex life, shall we?
She’s a Wolfe now; you don’t get to know anything my wife does from this point onward. Am I understood?”
I gaped at Miles. No one had ever spoken to Papa like that. I expected Papa to argue; to tell Miles that I would always be a Bianchi, even if my last name had changed. But to my utmost surprise, Papa clapped Miles on the shoulder, a deep, dark chuckle rumbling from him.
“Relax, Miles. I’m not interested in anything my daughter does,” Papa said, stabbing an invisible knife into my chest. Not that his lack of interest in my life should have been a shock. “She’s yours to do with as you wish. I simply wanted confirmation of your union, which I now have.”
Miles’ fist clenched tighter. “Good. Now, if you don’t mind. I’d like for us to get going as soon as possible. I’ve got work to be getting on with.”
He nodded to the door, and a huge part of me wanted to throw my arms around Miles for having the balls to kick Papa out of my room, something I’d never been able to achieve.
With a smirk in my direction, Papa walked out without another word, leaving Rafe hovering by the door. He’d remained quiet throughout the whole interaction, his features stoic, but as soon as Papa’s footsteps disappeared, he bolted inside, slamming the door behind him.
He grabbed Miles by the collar of his shirt, whirling him around and shoving his back against the door. “What the fuck did you do to my sister?” he hissed, his voice low. “She was in no state to consent, you fucker. You raped her!”
Before I could leap to Miles’ defence, because I was absolutely certain Miles hadn’t raped me—even if I couldn’t explain the blood—he shoved Rafe back before powering his fist into the side of my brother’s face, the thump reverberating around the room.
Rafe fell back, landing on his ass with a thud and rubbing his jaw.
“Rafe!” Snapping out of the daze I’d been stuck in since discovering the blood on my thigh, I rushed to my brother’s side, crouching down beside him. “Are you okay?”
Miles towered over the two of us, and we both tilted our heads back to look at him. Fear crawled through my veins at the way his features were twisted in vicious fury.
“Don’t you ever, ever, accuse me of being a rapist. I didn’t fucking touch her.” His eyes darted to mine, and my breath hitched at the hurricane brewing in his dark orbs.
“Explain the blood, then,” Rafe barked, rubbing his jaw.
Miles’ eyes narrowed on Rafe, and for a second, I didn’t think he was going to answer, but when he held his hand up, my mouth fell open at seeing the cut across his palm.
“Thank your sister for letting slip that your old man was going to hurt you unless she seduced me.”
Rafe’s head whipped to me, his brows sky-high, but all I could do was stare up at Miles. He’d purposely cut himself and made it look like he’d taken my virginity, just to stop anything happening to Rafe.
I didn’t know what to make of that. Why would he do that? He hated me, and I was pretty certain he wasn’t fond of Rafe, yet he’d gone to those measures to stop either one of us getting hurt.
Slowly, I got to my feet. “You…you did that to stop Papa hurting Rafe?”
“I did it for a fucking quiet life. Now, if you’re both done accusing me of being a rapist, can you please get yourself dressed so we can get the hell out of this place? I’ve had enough of you Bianchis to last me a lifetime.”
“I didn’t accuse you,” I said defensively.
“You didn’t need to. Your face said it all,” Miles retorted, betrayal clear in his voice.
I dropped my gaze as shame flowed through me. He was right. Initially, I had thought he’d taken advantage of me in my unconscious state.
Next to me, Rafe stood, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. “Miles, I’m…I’m sorry, man. I shouldn’t have accused you.”
Miles pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes briefly shutting. “I don’t want your apology. I just want to get the fuck out of here, is that too much to ask?”
“Yeah, course. I’ll…um…I’ll leave you to get ready,” Rafe replied sheepishly, apparently as remorseful as I was. He turned to me, stroking a hand down my arm. “I’ll come to see you before you go.”
I nodded, giving him an appreciative smile. When he closed the door behind him, I returned my gaze to Miles, who was still glaring at me, his fury showing no sign of relenting.
“Miles, I-” I started after several strained seconds passed between us.
“Get. Dressed.”
A flash of anger rolled through me. He’d ordered me around last night, and he was doing it again. I was used to Papa telling me what to do, but I’d be damned if Miles was going to start. Besides, I wanted answers.
I folded my arms across my chest, holding his furious stare. “No. Not until you tell me why you did that.”
“I told you. I want a quiet life, something I don’t think I’ll be getting with you around.”
He ripped his gaze away and crossed to the other side of my room to put his holster on. I remained on the spot, refusing to move until he answered my question properly. “I want to know why.”
“Yeah, well, it’s about time you learned that you don’t always get what you want.”
I rolled my eyes. It pissed me off that from the minute Miles and I were reacquainted, he’d had this belief that I was spoiled and got whatever I wanted, when that couldn’t have been further from the truth. If he bothered to take some time to get to know me, he would have discovered that.
But, hey. If he thought I was a spoiled brat, who was I to disappoint?
I followed in his wake to where he was shoving his guns in the holster. “Fine. Answer me this. Are you going to do that every time Papa demands to know how our union is going?”
“Nope. Did you not hear me tell your father that your life was no longer his business?”
“You’re an idiot if you think Papa will leave it at that,” I huffed. “And I can’t lie to him.”
“Not my problem,” he snapped dismissively as he put his jacket on, covering his weapons.
Frustration pounded through me. This conversation wasn’t getting anywhere. Time for a different tactic.
“Fine,” I shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe I’ll find someone else to fuck me. At least then, I’ll be able to be honest with Papa when he asks me if I’m sexually active. And you never know, I might get something out of it.”
Miles spun around, his nostrils flaring.
In two strides, he was in front of me, gripping my arms, his snarling face not even an inch from mine.
“I swear to god, Jailbait. If you let anyone else put their hands on you, I’ll make you watch as I peel their skin from their body, pluck their eyeballs from their skull, and rip their cock off with my bare hands, do you fucking hear me? ”
Huh. That sounded an awful lot like jealousy to me.
I tugged my arms out of his grip, my own fury gathering momentum. “So, let me get this straight. You won’t fuck me, but no one else can either? I’m supposed to stay a virgin for the rest of my life.”
He straightened, a cold smirk twitching on his lips. “You catch on quick. You’re not just a pretty face, are you, Jailbait?”
“Fuck you,” I hissed, unable to stop myself.
He rolled his eyes. “If you’re quite done. For the love of all things holy, can you please get your ass dressed?”
“No, I’m not done.” Just like I had last night, I poked him in his rock-hard chest. “If I don’t get to fuck anyone else, then neither do you.”
“No issues there,” he growled, knocking my finger away.
His response took the wind out of my sails. I’d fully expected him to say I had no right to make demands of him, and that he would fuck whoever he liked, just not me.
When no words came to mind, my body slumped. Taking advantage of my sudden silence, Miles grabbed my arm and dragged me over to the bathroom, shoving me inside. “For the last time-”
I cut him off when I flung the door shut, locking him out and leaving me alone to stew in my fury.