Chapter 24
ALLEGRA
I'm startled awake by something hard poking into my backside. Momentarily confused, I slowly turn my head and am stunned to see Enzo hugging me from behind, fast asleep.
What's going on?
Frowning, I start recalling the events of last night, heat climbing up my cheeks.
I see myself, yet it doesn't seem like me.
I'd been… wanton.
Good lord, what have I done? I practically begged him to have his way with me.
And I do remember… the way he'd touched me, put his mouth on me… there.
My eyes widen as I recall the sensations he'd wrung out of me, how I'd felt things I never thought possible.
And so I find myself not knowing how to react.
It hadn't been bad… not how Lia had warned me right before my wedding. There hadn't been any pain. There had been nothing but euphoria.
I lift my hand to my forehead, feeling for a fever. My entire body is tingling with the same feeling as last night, and all of it is centered between my thighs.
I shake my head, trying to remove these thoughts from my mind.
He's just trying to tempt you. Make you drop your defenses so he can lull you further into sin.
But if sin felt like that, then I don't see why I'd resist.
"Awake?" he murmurs in my ear, his breath blowing hot into my face.
I quickly scramble away from him, holding two fingers in the shape of a cross in front of me.
"Away with you, devil!" I yell at him. It all happened because of that bubbly thing he fed me. There must have been something in it to make me behave like that.
Enzo raises an eyebrow at me, but he merely chuckles, sitting up. He's shirtless, but his pants are still on.
And oh my, what a chest!
God! I must still be under the influence of that potion. Maybe it was a love spell; otherwise, I wouldn't look at him and get so… hot.
"What did you do to me?" I spit the words out in disgust, making sure to put some distance between us, not trusting myself not to jump on him.
Yes, that potion was potent indeed.
"What do you mean?" He has the gall to ask innocently, but his subtle smirk gives him away.
"What did you give me last night? You drugged me, didn't you? Was it a love potion?"
Do they have those in big cities too?
There had been one too many times in my village when a man had succumbed to the wiles of a woman, and Lia had told me it had all been the work of witchcraft.
I hadn't heard of such a potion working on a woman, though.
Maybe they are just more advanced here—they are definitely richer and can afford it.
"Love potion?" he chuckles, looking at me with amusement in his eyes. "Don't tell me you love me, little tigress."
"Don't be ridiculous!" I cut him off. "It's all because of that thing you gave me to drink!
" I say accusingly, stopping to think about the date.
They say witchcraft is most potent during a solstice or equinox.
I'd once read a text about a witch performing her evil magic on All Saints' Eve, creating a pagan circle with the devil and engaging in fornication.
"It's called champagne."
"Aha! I knew it! It messed with my head. Did you plan that all along?" I narrow my eyes at him.
Enzo Agosti… He's dangerous. More dangerous than I thought he'd be.
"Of course it messed with your head! You got drunk," he tries to explain, but I'm not having any of it.
I've seen the guards drunk before. I've even seen how some villagers are when they've imbibed enough, and none of them had turned into a wanton mess.
They'd been sloppy and disoriented, their speech slow and slurred.
But they hadn't taken their clothes off and asked for the devil to have his way with them.
"I don't believe you!" I reply, maintaining my theory about the potion. It's the only viable explanation.
"Allegra," he says, shaking his head, his eyes crinkling at the corners. The green of his irises glints in the fresh daylight, making him entirely too appealing.
God! Is this permanent?
"For all your intelligence, you're too quick to believe in witchcraft. I thought you were more sensible than that."
"Stay away," I say, holding my fingers in position to form the cross meant to keep the devil away.
"Witchcraft is very real! It's been documented for centuries.
" Put off by his mocking smile, I start listing all the reputable sources that mention magic, starting with ancient texts and moving on to more modern ones.
"I've read testimonials, you know. The occult is real and dangerous, and I demand you undo whatever spell you've put on me. "
"Allegra," he says, taking a step toward me, and I prepare to run. "There's no spell, you have my word." He plants himself in front of me, his finger coming down to my chest and brushing past my nipple.
That's when I realize two things:
I've been arguing with him naked, and my nipples are stiffening under his touch, a shiver going down my spine and making me even hotter.
My eyes widen, and I set my deadly gaze on him.
"It's your body's natural reaction, little tigress," he says, lowering his head to bring his eyes to the same level as mine.
"And it only means one thing." He doesn't elaborate, leaving the room instead.
But he knows I'll fill in the blanks.
I want him.
Damn! Why couldn't it have been magic? At least then I wouldn't have been a willing participant.
Sighing deeply, I lower myself onto the bed, an expression of desolation enveloping my features.
This is it… The beginning of the end.
Ana assures me that Lucia is out with her friends, so I take advantage of the opportunity to get out of my room. It's not often that she's out of the house, and sometimes I prefer staying in my room just to avoid a confrontation.
I go straight to the library, hoping to put Enzo out of my mind. Closing the door behind me, I release a disappointed sigh.
"Aren't you supposed to be at work or something?" I ask when I see him lounging in his chair, reading the newspaper. He's always gone from the house around this time, so it's a surprise to see him here.
Damn it!
He's the last person I wanted to see—after Lucia.
"Have you had time to calm down, little tigress, or are you here to pick another fight?" He lowers the newspaper to regard me with amusement, a smile threatening to overtake his whole face.
"Couldn't you have been an ogre?" I mutter under my breath. If he'd been truly awful to me, maybe I could hate him wholeheartedly. I don't like that I'm wavering in my conviction.
"What was that you said?" His eyebrows shoot up, but I just shake my head and pick up a random book, ready to leave.
"No, no, no," he says, wagging a finger at me as if I were a child. "You can't take a book out. If you want to read it, you do it here."
I tilt my head to the side, annoyed at this sudden rule. But I can't blame him for wanting to be extra careful with his books. I look at the copy in my hands, debating if I should stay and read or just leave.
I won't let him bully me.
With a resounding humph, I plop myself into a chair, cracking open the book and starting to read.
It's only when his chuckling intensifies that I look up.
"What?" The word comes out a little brusquely. He stands and comes over to sit on the armrest of my chair, staring down at my book.
"I see you're not afraid to fall under my spell anymore," he mocks.
I close the book and lay it next to me, turning so I can look him in the eye.
"You took advantage of my inebriated state," I accuse.
"Oh, now you admit you were just drunk, not bespelled." His lip is quivering with amusement, and it only serves to make me angrier.
"Why do you enjoy tormenting me so much?" I ask him, my expression serious. Sometimes I find myself exhausted by our interactions.
"Because you're so easily riled up." He surprises me by moving to the floor in front of me. One hand goes to my face, brushing my hair to the side. "Why do you enjoy always going against me?" he retaliates with a question of his own.
"Because victory is sweet." I push my chin up, determined not to show any weakness.
"You know," he starts, his hand still on my face and trailing softly down my neck. It's like something inside of me ignites at this mere gesture.
My God! Did my body break?
"Submitting is not losing. You'll find that the end result can be much sweeter… like last night," he says suggestively, licking his lips. My eyes zone in on his mouth, and images from last night assault both my mind and my body.
His hand continues to leave a blazing trail in its wake, going lower—until I catch it.
"Stop that," I whisper, my voice lacking conviction.
"Why must you fight me tooth and nail?" The playfulness is gone, his tone serious.
And so I answer him truthfully for the first time.
"Because it's the only thing I can control," my voice is small as I admit this, and his eyes darken. I look away, not wanting him to see the vulnerability reflected in my gaze.
"Allegra," his hand is gentle on my jaw as he coaxes me to look at him, "what do you mean?"
All pretense is gone, and for the first time, I feel like he might take me seriously. I take a deep breath.
"You have no idea what it's like to grow up away from bad influences, because only then you'd be pure enough for your future husband.
To have someone restrict the way you dress, eat, and even think.
You want to know why everyone was making fun of my accent?
Because I've never had a proper English lesson in my life.
Everything I learned was by reading—and even that was forbidden to me.
My parents wanted to mold me into the perfect bride—biddable and ignorant. "
"They clearly didn't succeed," Enzo adds under his breath, and I slap away his hand. "Sorry," he says, but he doesn't seem in the least apologetic.
"I've never been allowed to do what I want."
Enzo looks pensive for a moment before asking.
"Then why were you so put off that you married me instead of Franzè? It's not as if he would have given you any freedom."
"Because at least then it wouldn't have all been for nothing!" The words are spilling out of my mouth before I can stop them. "At least I'd have my parents' approval."
"You do realize that nothing you could have done would have gained you their approval.
God, Allegra, they only wanted to use you.
Do you think they would have done anything the minute they saw your bruised and battered body—because trust me, Franzè is the furthest thing from a gentle man.
" I recognize the truth in his words, but it doesn't make it better.
"So I should just thank you, that's it, right?" I laugh drily. He still doesn't get it.
"I'm not your enemy, Allegra. I never was."
"Really?" I lean back, arching an eyebrow at him. "Then it seems we're at an impasse."
"Our world doesn't allow for many freedoms, especially for women.
But I'm not your parents, nor am I Franzè.
I don't want you to starve yourself, and neither do I want to restrict your thoughts—I happen to like them," he gives me a slight smile.
"We're in the same camp now, and for better or for worse, we are tied together forever. "
"That doesn't mean I have to like it," I grumble, my reserve of arguments depleting by the second.
"No, but maybe we can make the best of it. So as a peace offering, tell me, what do you want?"
I stare at him, my mind suddenly freezing.
What do I want?
"I…" I start panicking. I have my bucket list, right? Going to the opera, to a museum, driving a car, eating everything I want… so many things, why can't I pick just one?
"Let's do it this way.” Enzo takes my hands in his, his eyes focused on mine. “Every day we'll do something new, something you want. How does that sound?" It's like he's reading my mind, realizing that there are so many things I want to do that I can't just choose one.
"OK," I nod slowly, a little shocked by the outcome of our conversation. At best, I thought I'd scream some more insults at him, and at worst, that I'd tackle him to the ground.
"Good," he stands up, and he does another thing that surprises me to my core: he kisses my forehead.