Chapter 4
After fifteen minutes, Lucrezia sighed and moved from the spot Romero specifically told her to stay in just to spite him.
As much as she hated the idea of taking orders from another man in her life, she couldn”t deny how Romero made her feel wanted. He wasn”t treating her like some burden he was saddled with, like her father. Nor did he flat out ignore her, like Carlo.
She set down her handbag and meandered to his desk, running her hands over the simple oak.
Nothing in this office was opulent like his one back home. The wallpaper was yellowing and frayed. The floorboards creaked beneath her weight, and the clock didn”t work.
When she plopped down in his desk chair, one of his rickety filing cabinets under the desk began to slide open.
Lucrezia”s first instinct was to immediately shut it, but her curiosity got the better of her. Soon, her fingers were rifling through the paperwork and tax forms that her brain couldn”t decipher.
When she flipped through the pages, the most she could make out was that Romero was under-reporting what he was making in various businesses or not reporting at all. He was running tailors, markets, this gymnasium she was sitting in, and more. When she did the math in her head, the amount he was bringing in annually nearly sent her out of her chair.
She began skimming through a letter sent to Romero that ended with the initials for an accountant, and it all made sense now.
”What do you think you”re doing, perla?”
Lucrezia jumped from the chair, dropping the documents on the desk.
”I-I”m sorry, the drawer just fell open and-”
”And your sticky fingers got the best of you, did they?” Romero pulled a cloth from his pocket and wiped his bloodied knuckles.
Lucrezia gulped.
”I didn”t mean to! You had just been gone a while and-”
”And nothing, I told you to stay where you were, and you didn”t. I just spoke to you about this, didn”t I?”
Romero was firm but not condescending. He didn”t even raise his voice as he slowly advanced on her.
“Romero-” she mumbled, not using the term he was so insistent on her calling him.
She couldn’t deny it made her tummy flip flop.
”Answer the question, Lucrezia. Did I not just tell you that there would be reasons for my demands?”
She nodded, ashamed that she would snoop.
He walked behind the desk and plucked the papers, licking his finger to flip through them.
”Hm. You found some very important and very incriminating documents of mine.”
”I didn”t know what they were.”
”But you do now?”
”A-a little.”
Romero”s chest rumbled as he forced her to look at him.
”I can understand that you were curious, but I gave you an order. What should I do with such a curious little girl?”
Lucrezia pulled her face back.
”I”m not a little girl! I’m not a dog, either. I don”t take orders.”
When she turned her heel to leave him, he seized her by the waist and brought her down on the chair with him.
Lucrezia began to fight him as the world spun, and she found herself over his lap.
”What the hell are you doing? Let go of me-ah!”
Without warning, his hand slapped her bottom through her mourning dress.
Stunned silent, her body froze.
”Romero! What. Are. You. Doing?” she asked through clenched teeth.
”I”m spanking you.”
He said it matter-of-factly, as if every man did this.
”Why?!” Lucrezia craned her neck back.
”Well, for one, you didn”t listen when Daddy told you to stay where I wanted you. I”d say that warrants a few slaps to this little ass.”
Romero kept a hand firmly on her lower back and anchored her kicking lower legs in place with his calf as he continued.
”And two, because snooping isn”t very becoming of a wife of mine. Especially when I know she was taught better in whatever stuffy girls’ school her parents sent her to.”
Smack!
His palm landed again. The sting was already becoming too much.
”It hurts!”
”Well, if it didn”t, I suppose I wouldn”t be doing my job as your husband. Would I, piccola perla?”
”What job? You aren”t my husband yet!”
Lucrezia fought his grip, trying to walk on her hands to peel herself off his lap.
But it was no use. He was too big and strong. Too commanding and calm at the same time.
”You”re not going anywhere until you”ve learned your lesson, sweetheart. And we”re only weeks away from our wedding. I”d say that”s close enough for your Daddy to begin disciplining you when you”re a bad little girl.”
Lucrezia bit back a curse and seethed as his palm came down on her bottom. The fabric of her clothing began to chafe the skin, making her squirm and tighten her thighs as she tried to shimmy free from this madman.
Every so often, he would stop and rub the warm mounds, massaging them and shushing her when she began to cry.
”Romero, stop! I won”t do it again!”
”I know you won”t do it again, but I”ll need to install locks on all my office drawers now, won”t I?”
He tutted and began inching up her skirt, revealing her slip and rayon stockings held up by her garters.
”No! Nooo! You can”t look at meee!” Lucrezia cried out, unsure if it would be a blessing or a complete humiliation if one of Romero”s men ran in here to see what the trouble was.
The fact that someone wasn”t running to her rescue now should have been testament enough.
They expected this.
The cold air chilled the backs of her thighs as he began pulling on the garter and letting the material smack back against her skin.
”Mmm, there”s something about the underwear you women wear. It”s so delicate and pretty.”
”And it”s not supposed to be seen by you! Let go of me!” Lucrezia screeched like a banshee.
”Oh, come on now, this isn”t the stone ages. I think I can tastefully look at my wife-to-be. I want to know what you like to wear so I can buy you more. Maybe even prettier lingerie if you be a good girl.”
He chuckled and let his hand travel further up, touching the hem of her slip.
Again, his palm came down and startled her into near submission.
He was actually spanking her layer by layer.
And there was only her girdle beneath this one. But he wouldn”t be able to get to her most intimate parts unless he removed it. As much as he seemed to be enjoying the fabric of the personal garments, something told Lucrezia he didn”t care how pretty it was. But it was a fairly tough material. He’d have to be superhuman to tear it.
Lucrezia wailed when he held her wrists behind her back, effectively removing any chance she had of escape.
”Why are you doing this to meeeee!”
”I would much more like to know why you’re getting excited by this, perla.” He stopped for a moment and released her legs, pushing on her inner thighs.
No...is he?
She snapped her legs shut in protest, fishtailing over his lap.
”Ah, ah, I know what I saw. Show Daddy, now.”
Lucrezia puffed her red cheeks in embarrassment. He couldn”t make her show him how wet she had become being hauled over his lap.
She let her head hang, little strands of her hair falling from her simple updo as she could only let him examine between her legs. Lucrezia heard the rustle of the fabric being moved away, slightly awkward with everything else she had on. His two fingers exposed her shame, accumulating the arousal fluid and holding them in front of her face.
”It”s all right, Lucrezia. There”s nothing to be embarrassed about. It means you”re a healthy woman capable of experiencing pleasure as the blood rushes here. This’ll make sure that I don”t cause you pain on our wedding night.”
”I know what it means, God damn it!”
She was grateful Romero couldn”t see her face, but she paid for that little outburst when his hand resumed its punishing treatment.
”Ah, ah, that’s not how you talk to Daddy. I suppose you wouldn”t mind telling me more about what it means, since you want to be so smart about it.”
Lucrezia could feel the smirk on his face.
”No!”
Another slap on her ass came down.
”I won”t say it!”
Romero smacked again at his unchanging pace.
”Noooo!”
She could almost visualize his hand in the air as he waited for her to finally give in to him. The anticipation brought more of her tears dripping to the floor as her ass shook with each sob.
Then, when she calmed, he smacked again and repeated the cycle.
The heat behind her punished ass became too much, and Lucrezia bit the bullet.
”It means I”m aroused! There!”
It did nothing to make his hand cease.
”Why are you aroused?”
”I won”t say that, either!”
Smack!
”Damn it, Romero!” Lucrezia growled like a caged animal.
The more he punished, the more she pressed her abdomen deeper into his thigh until she felt something hard beneath her.
He sucked through his teeth.
”Keep this up, princess. I like how you feel over my lap. I think my cock does, too.”
Another smack came, enraging her.
”You”re filthy.” She shot him a glare.
”And you”re wet. So until you tell me why your untouched little pussy is so ready, this continues. Well?”
Lucrezia bit her tongue to keep from obeying him, which would be both her savior and enemy. Admitting that he stirred feelings in her body that she had never felt before would both tether her to him and save her from his punishment.
Her overworked body became limp over his lap, and finally, she gave up her fight amid tears.
”I”m wet because of you! I”m sorry!” Lucrezia sobbed as he sat her upright on his lap, saving her bare ass from further punishment.
Frantically, she tried pulling down her skirts and fixing herself and wiping her face all at once, but he held her hand.
”Shhh, it”s okay. Daddy”s got you. All over, now.”
Romero rocked her back and forth, kissing away her tears and fixing her hair.
She wailed in his chest as every suppressed emotion she had felt in the past week came crashing over her body like a tsunami.
The only thing that kept her grounded on earth was Romero gently rubbing her reddened bottom.
When she settled down, he pulled another cloth from his pocket and wiped her cheeks, then her running nose.
When Lucrezia tried to turn away in embarrassment, he simply forced her face back to him and resumed. There was truly no escape in Romero Mancini”s arms.
”I didn”t mean to make you mad.”
Lucrezia wiped her nose with the handkerchief he gave her, gasping and blubbering like a child.
”Who ever said I was mad? I would never spank you out of anger.”
Romero sat her up straighter.
”Then why did you?”
”Because I need you to understand that should something happen to me, if the feds find a way to take me down, it”s best that my wife knows as little as possible about exactly how I conduct my businesses and make my money. We”ll be husband and wife very soon, and they can”t force you to testify against me, should the worst happen. So that helps. But if they ever tried to use you against me and get you to talk-”
Romero rested his forehead against her arm. ”Everything I”ve built will come crashing down. Then you would be in a position where I couldn”t get to you. I won’t allow even the slightest chance of that happening. If they don’t suspect my wife knows anything about what I do, then you’ll be left alone.”
She saw the fear ghost over Romero”s face and how eerily foreign it seemed as a million scenarios likely began playing out in his head. Now, she felt truly sorry for snooping.
Lucrezia rubbed her sore backside.
”You could have just told me, you know,” she grumbled.
”But throwing you over my lap and reddening your ass was so much fun, wasn”t it?”
He flashed her another charming grin, the fearful look on his face disappearing as fast as it came.
Lucrezia huffed and didn”t dare refuse him as his hands began to wander back under her dress.
”I can”t wait to watch you dress in the morning; I want to be part of every single step. And you”ll let me, won”t you?”
Lucrezia gasped as he snapped the garter near her inner thigh again. It sent tiny shocks right between her legs as he began inching his fingers up and dangerously close to her sex.
”What are you doing?” Her body trembled as he hiked up her skirt even more.
”I”m checking how turned on I made you.”
He found the delicate skin between her legs. Her wetness sounded obscenely loud in the room.
Romero purred as he reassuringly stroked her side with the other hand, shushing her as she whimpered.
”That”s my good little girl. Exactly what I like to see. It would be better if I could take all of this off you and let you relax. You can barely spread your legs wide enough for me in all this mess.”
”I”m just fine with my undergarments on, thank you,” she snapped at him and unwittingly bucked against his hand.
Lucrezia shrieked when his fingers made contact with the little button. She didn”t want to like the feeling of her arousal against her underwear, but she was sure she”d cry if he stopped.
”Oh, you are? You can open these thighs and come like a good little wife?”
Lucrezia threw her head back as his fingers slipped entirely beneath her chemise and girdle.
Her knees fell open but instinctively shut as he began lightly stroking her.
Between gasps and pitiful squeaks, Lucrezia tried talking some sense into her fiancé.
”I can”t! I”ve never-”
Romero”s hand froze as he looked up at her in shock.
”What do you mean you”ve never? Never what?”
His wrist was practically shaking.
Lucrezia desperately wanted to rock against his hand. Desperately wanted to know what the pleasure of married life was. Desperately wanted to come.
”You asked me the day we met if Carlo had ever...you know.”
”Yes, and you never answered because you slapped me and called me a snake. I won”t even lie to you, I almost wish you would do it again.”
His husky tone slipped into every pore of her skin, making her rock her pelvis into his hand.
”Carlo never came to bed with me.” She squeezed her eyes shut as her knees closed in embarrassment.
Why would he want an untouched woman who had no idea how to receive and deliver pleasure to her husband?
The inferior thoughts creeped back into her mind, threatening to spoil the moment with Romero.
He roughly stood her up while he remained in his chair. For a very brief moment, Lucrezia believed he would turn her away in anger, but that faded when his hands were diving under her skirt and roughly tearing her stockings from her garters. Then he procured enough of her girdle between his fingers and tore it, freeing her abdomen of the restrictive material.
”Romero! What are you doing! Those were my best-”
He pulled her back into his lap again and forced her thighs open, resuming his pleasurable touches.
”Keep those legs open, princess. It”s time you knew how a real man makes his wife come.”
”But I”m not-”
His hand slapped between her legs, stunning her.
”Quiet. The only sounds I want to hear are your moans and you calling me what we both know I already am. Do you hear me?”
He gripped the hair in her updo and forced her head back, drawing a gasp from her throat.
”Yes! Yes!” She cried when he tugged just a bit harder.
”I get to be the first. I get to be the first and last man to have you.”
Romero frantically worked her between her thighs, letting his fingers trail over the dark curls at the apex.
”God, that”s beautiful.”
A strange pressure began to warm her belly, encouraging her to buck against his hand.
”Daddy....Daddy!”
Lucrezia couldn”t deny how she loved the name. The way it rolled off her tongue effortlessly made it sound natural in the throes of lust. It also made her feel safe in the presence of a man for the first time in her life.
Lucrezia gripped the arm of the chair as the warmth in her abdomen turned into a rapidly spreading fire.
“Something’s happening,” Lucrezia gritted her teeth, fighting against the overwhelming pressure and wanting to run to it.
He flattened his hand and applied more pressure, causing involuntary shakes in her legs.
”Don’t hold back, perla. I know it’s scary, but I’m right here with you. Just relax and let it happen.”
He was right. Lucrezia”s body began to give up the struggle and beg for the impending climax by arching her back away from his fingers and pushing her hips up against them, giving in to what it wanted.
She wanted to surrender to him. To submit.
”I”ve got you, babydoll, I”ve got you. I’m going to make you feel so good.”
He growled in her ear, giving her a few good slaps between her legs and catching her lobe with his teeth.
”Call me Daddy again. You know it’s true. I knew the second I saw you that you were my little girl. Say it! I want to hear it.”
Lucrezia would say anything to get him to keep going. The muscles in her midsection tensed like a vice inside her as her body prepared itself.
”Daddy!”
”Again.”
”Daddy!”
It sent her fiancé over the edge. He determinedly rubbed the epicenter of her clit until she began screaming.
The second she gave her mind over to him, her body took care of the rest, relaxing in his hold and allowing him to take charge.
The pressure exploded in her core, and stars formed behind her closed eyes.
She did just as he instructed, announcing perhaps a little too loudly that she was coming in a blackened haze.
Her fiancé drew it out as long as he could, not stopping until her thighs closed on his wrist, threatening to separate it from his forearm.
Lucrezia’s breath took forever to catch up with her as the aftershocks sent her body in tiny spasms. Her head limply rested against his shoulder.
Romero”s arms encircled her in the warmest embrace she had ever felt. He applied slight pressure to her belly, chuckling when he felt her womb jump at his touch.
”Daddy”s so proud of you. You did so well. Only now we have a dilemma.”
Her head limply turned to him, where he rewarded her with more kisses.
”What?” she murmured in her post-orgasmic haze.
”How the hell am I supposed to wait a few more weeks to marry you when I know what you look like when you”re coming? You expect me to go home and be a patient man?”
For the first time in a long while, Lucrezia actually laughed. At the sheer state of herself and the situation as a whole, all she could do was laugh. If she didn”t, she would cry.
”Why do you call yourself Daddy?”
”It”s a term of endearment. Just like I call you my perla or my little girl. You like it, don”t you?”
Lucrezia played with the hem of her dress, unable to deny that she came to him today an anxious, tense mess. And now, she was relaxed and being cared for on his lap. He took charge of her body, commanding it as if he owned it. Though, she supposed it would be truly his on their wedding night.
Lucrezia silently nodded, squirming in his lap as her abdomen tightened again.
”You think you”ll like being my little girl? Being cared for in every way like a man was supposed to care for you?”
”Well, would you like being...my Daddy?”
”Perla, I was your Daddy the moment you sauntered into my house demanding things from me and my men like you owned the joint. I knew you needed a firm hand and guidance then and there. Carlo put you in a very dangerous position, and I thank God it was me he was dealing with and no one else. I can”t even think about what could have happened to you.”
Romero”s head came down on her shoulder again, breathing deep.
“It takes a brave girl to do that, baby. That’s what makes you the perfect little girl for me, But you don’t have to worry about any of that anymore. You’re mine now.”
Her fiancé slowly swayed their bodies back and forth as if he wanted to lull her to sleep.
She would if he kept it up.
”He wasn”t very nice...” Lucrezia mumbled, thinking back to how her first husband barely cast her a second glance most days, that was when he hadn’t lost money. If he had lost, then he would yell and break things.
”Well, that”s all changed now. As your Daddy, I”ll be taking over your care the way you should have been cared for by the men in your life all along. Then you never would have been thrust at the altar to damn Carlo Russo.”
Romero sneered at the mention of her cold parents.
She couldn”t help but acknowledge to herself that if they had never married her off to Carlo, she never would have met Romero.
Minutes passed before Lucrezia shakily stood up, looking down at her ruined stockings and feeling for the wet and torn fabric of her girdle.
”These were my best, you know.”
”I”ll buy you more. Anything you want.”
He tapped the desk.
”Up here. I”ll help you look more presentable to meet the winner of the fight.”
Lucrezia sat on his desk and shyly offered one leg with torn up hosiery. She wasn’t sure what would hold them up now, since her girdle was kaput.
Her question was answered when he simply began removing them.
”You never elaborated on that. Why did you even ask me to come here? I doubt spanking me and making me....you know, was on the agenda.”
Romero smirked at her reddened cheeks as he rolled down the stockings and put her shoe back on her bare foot, then repeated on the other side.
He couldn”t resist running his fingers over her naked legs, sending a shiver up her spine.
”You”re not listening to me.” Lucrezia crossed her arms, making Romero laugh.
Little wrinkles formed in the corner of his eyes when he did. It made her heart warm. He really was unbelievably handsome.
”You”re already becoming a true bratty boss” wife. And yes, I am listening. If your body wouldn”t distract me at every second.”
He helped her up and walked them to the large window overlooking the rest of the gym, with a boxing ring at the center of it all.
”You see those men? They’re my soldiers. I had my capo organize a competition to box each other. Winner gets a nice pay raise and a promotion- the important job of guarding you with his very life.”
Lucrezia whipped her head around, stopping him from taking down her bun and pulling it back in a simpler style.
”I don”t need a bodyguard!”
”You do now.” He gently pushed her head to look straight, but she turned back again.
”I don”t want one!”
”It”s non-negotiable. And believe me, you”ll find I can be quite agreeable to compromises. However, this is not an option. Face forward so I can fix your hair.”
He raised an eyebrow as his hand ghosted down her hip and squeezed.
”I won”t hesitate to redden that little ass again, perla.”
Lucrezia crossed her arms with a huff, but obeyed. She could see his satisfied smirk through the window reflection.
”Why do I need a babysitter?”
”Like I said, I can”t be everywhere all at once. There will be times where I may need to leave you alone for hours at a time; days if things go wrong,” he explained while he took a comb from his pocket and began brushing the flyaways from her face and tucking them back into a simple braid.
The thought of something potentially bad happening to Romero filled Lucrezia with unfamiliar dread. What terrified her even more was the even slimmest possibility that her life could be in danger by being his wife. She bit back nausea.
”You don”t have to pay one of your men to do it. They have agencies for that.”
”These are the only men I trust, perla. They”re loyal to me. Like I said, it”s non-negotiable.”
Before she could protest, men in groups of two began knocking gloves until another soldier acting as a referee began to count. As she watched and nervously chewed her nails, Lucrezia observed one soldier lasting for maybe one or two rounds before being pinned. This continued for what felt like hours as Romero stood stoically above the world behind her, ever watchful.
She winced at a particularly bad injury; the victim hobbling away, dragging his foot behind him.
If she squinted, she noticed a few bloody teeth scattered across the ring.
”Someone is going to get killed. And I”d rather it not be because you”ve bribed them with the promise of a raise just to protect me.”
Romero dragged the back of his finger down her arm.
”It”s sweet that you care, but they”ll live, sweetheart. My men have been through worse than this.”
Finally, a victor emerged in the form of the man she had met in Romero”s office the day this whole rollercoaster started.
The capo raised the sweating, heaving man”s arm, declaring him the winner.
He spat out his mouth guard, now a bloody mess on the floor.
Romero startled her by knocking on the glass, motioning for her new body guard to come up.
Lucrezia looked down at herself, sure that he would know what they had just done up there.
”Relax, he won”t be concerned about anything but swearing his oath to you.
”An oath?”
Romero clasped his hand around the back of her neck, ensuring she wouldn”t run from this.
Her cheeks flushed at the drenched man wearing nothing but boxing shorts.
He looked to be around the same age as Romero, and about the same height. Instead of piercing green eyes, Tony had icy blue ones. One of them was hidden by rapidly growing swelling.
His hair was damp and unkempt, but it was slightly longer than Romero’s. He favored a mustache as well, which was soaked with blood from an injury to his nose.
Lucrezia couldn’t help but feel responsible for the wounds he had sustained, as well as every other man who willingly volunteered to beat each other senselessly.
She couldn’t understand it for the life of her, but as her fiancé stated, this was a necessity.
”Congratulations, Tony. I always knew you had talent in the ring.”
Romero gently nudged Lucrezia forward until she firmly planted her feet. Any closer, and his smell would be too overwhelming, bless him.
”You”ve already met my bride-to-be, Lucrezia Sindetti. Perla, this is Tony Bianchi. He’s my cousin on my mother’s side. From now on, wherever you go where I am not present, he comes with you. When you”re alone in the house, he”ll be right there. I”d list off the rest of his achievements, but Tony is humble.”
He looked up at his cousin.
”Tony, my expectations regarding Miss Sindetti”s protection are no different than my own. I want eyes on her no matter where she goes.”
He pulled out a shiny case containing his gaspers and lit up another.
Lucrezia glanced at his mouth encircling it and how the veins in his hand moved when he flicked his lighter.
Romero pocketed it again and took the cigarette out of his mouth, letting the smoke escape.
Somehow, it was the most erotic thing she had ever seen.
”We clear, Tony?”
”Yes, boss,” his cousin answered, wiping sweat off his forehead and still panting. ”Miss Sindetti?”
He got down on one knee, grimacing slightly when he put weight on it.
Lucrezia cringed, wishing she could look at anywhere but Tony.
”I swear on my life that you”re safe with me. I pledge my loyalty and trust just like I have with Romero.”
“This really isn”t necessary-” Lucrezia began to protest, but Romero wrapped a hand around her waist, pulling her flush.
”Oh, this is very necessary. You”re going to learn that everything we do in this organization is based on pledges of loyalty and respect. You”re lucky I”m not making him sign his name in blood.”
The atmosphere of the room became almost deadly as the two men acknowledged each other.
”Miss Sindetti, you can trust that I”ll take a bullet for you just like I would for Romero. He”s even done it for me. So if he”s found someone he cherishes, this is the least I can do.”
He smiled when she gestured for him to get up.
”I appreciate it, Mr. Bianchi. Thank you.” Suddenly feeling awkward at this exchange, Lucrezia felt around her skirt for a handkerchief and gave it to him, reciprocating the kindness he showed her when she first met Romero.
”Thank you, ma”am. Romero?” He looked behind her as he wiped his face.
”That”ll be all, Tony. Thank you. Now, for God”s sake, go to the locker room and shower. You reek.”
The men laughed, and Tony flew down the stairs.
Lucrezia was left speechless.
”This is too much. I”m not a princess.” She hugged herself, feeling awkward.
”Lucrezia, I won”t tell you again that this is not negotiable. Now, do I have to bend you over this desk and do other sinful things to you before our wedding day or will you be Daddy”s good little girl and submit to his protection?”
He cupped her chin, not too rough to cause her pain, but hard enough to where she would be made to listen.
”You wouldn”t dare!”
She protectively held the material of her dress.
”Keep testing me, and we”ll see, Lucrezia. You don”t belong to your father or Carlo Russo anymore. You belong to me.”
Before Lucrezia could argue, he claimed her lips in a fiery passion. His day old stubble scoured her as he hungrily kissed down her jaw and neck.
”I have something else for you,” he groaned into her flesh.
Romero tore himself away from her body with a grunt as if loathe to do so.
He rummaged through the skinny top drawer and pulled out a money clip, licking his finger and counting.
”What are you doing?!” Lucrezia felt wildly uncomfortable with being given Romero”s money; ironic since it was all she ever asked Carlo; when the bills were coming in.
”I”m going to be paying for your wedding dress,” he said without looking up.
”What! No, I can wear what I wore to my wedding with Carlo.”
Romero”s fingers stopped counting, and his eyes darkened as he looked up at her.
”I don”t want a single reminder of that wedding in your head when you marry me.”
”But-”
”Lucrezia, don”t fight me on this.” Romero raised a brow but not his voice.
Yet, it still commanded her to hush.
”I”m not sure what the going rate is for wedding gowns these days. Then, of course, there”s the veil, the shoes...” He flicked more bills as he listed off the necessary items.
Just how much was he willing to drop on this wedding?
”This should cover it, perla.” He held out an obscene amount of money, more than enough in her opinion.
It still felt so wrong, and she backed away from the green paper, shaking her head.
”Lucrezia, this isn”t up for debate, either. Now, are you going to take this money and use it to buy yourself a beautiful dress with whatever accessories you like or will I need to have designers bring dresses to us in my house? Because, either way, it”ll happen with my money.”
Lucrezia hugged herself, becoming overwhelmed.
”I just don”t like being the center of attention.”
”I can understand that, but let me ask you this. Did you feel beautiful in the dress you wore at your wedding? Did it make you feel like a princess?”
Lucrezia wanted to scoff. Her first wedding gown was pretty, but not at all what she pictured. She had been poked and prodded as her mother fussed over her with her sewing needles, commenting on how if she actually had hips, it wouldn”t need to be taken in so much.
The memory put a bad taste in her mouth, as well as the thought of that wedding gown.
”No...it was simple and practical, though.”
Romero clicked his tongue.
”Not good enough. My wife will have the best and only the best, but within her level of comfort. You don”t want to stand out too much? That”s fine, you can buy something simple. I only ask that it be your choice. And that you only buy it if it makes you feel beautiful. Sounds fair?”
With her bottom still a reminder of what would happen if she refused him, she sheepishly accepted the money.
”Thank you, D-” She paused as she realized she was about to call him Daddy again.
It felt naughty, but a rush of heat spread through her belly if she said it in her head.
The air between them changed as she began to acknowledge her new role in this union.
”It”s my pleasure, sweetheart.” Romero tapped the tip of her nose with his finger.
”Oh, one more thing.”
Romero went to his desk again and procured a tell-tale velvet box.
”I suppose it”s good that you didn”t find this. It would have spoiled the surprise.”
He held it out to her, the box itself looking too pretty to open.
”We may not have a traditional engagement, but I want you to have only the most beautiful ring.”
He opened it himself, revealing a stunning white gold band with a pearl center, bordered with eight brilliant diamonds.
Lucrezia”s chest seized as the glimmering ring twinkled in the light.
”Romero...this is-how can I-how could I-”
She lost the ability to formulate words as he smiled, plucking the beauty from its box and sliding it on her finger himself.
Lucrezia moved her hand slowly in midair, afraid to do anything else with it on.
”Do you like it? I can pick something else.”
He pocketed his hands as if he were talking about a pair of shoes.
”This is the most beautiful thing I”ve ever seen,” she said without looking up at him. ”Am I actually wearing this ring, or am I dreaming?”
He chuckled and tipped her chin up, breaking the hypnosis.
”Yes, you”re wearing it. No, you”re not dreaming, perla. But you still haven”t told me if you like it.”
Liked it? Lucrezia could hardly take her eyes off it. She”d never been given anything so beautiful in her life. Come to think, she didn”t own much jewelry at all, save for a few nice earrings for special occasions. Her clothes, she made herself or just ordered from catalogs.
”I love it. It”s just that...”
”What is it, sweet girl?” Concern passed over his face.
Tears began to sting behind her eyes. Evidently, they weren”t quite done flowing yet.
”Nobody has ever given me anything like this before. Nobody has ever been so insistent on spoiling me the way you are. I don”t know how to feel about it. When you give me money and jewels...and a spanking, I have no idea how to respond.”
Romero growled, bringing his head down for another soul firing, possessive kiss.
”I understand. You weren”t treated the way you deserved to be from the moment you took your first breath, so it makes you uncomfortable. Baby steps, right?”
Romero picked up her hand, kissing it right below her ring.
”I”ll make you a deal, I”ll tone it down on spoiling you-just a little bit. And you do your very best to start seeing yourself as you should; beautiful, elegant, and absolutely worthy of everything in this world. You think you can try for Daddy, perla?”
Lucrezia”s knees started to wobble beneath her as warmth began spreading in her chest.
”Y-yes.”
Her fiancé raised a brow.
”Yes, what?
”Yes...Daddy.”
Romero rewarded her with more kisses before he walked her out of his office, hooking his arm in hers.
”How does next Thursday sound for wedding dress shopping? I”ll send Tony to your house, and he”ll take you to the best boutiques.”
Was that too soon? Would people talk?
All the mourners from her side of town at Carlo”s funeral that morning showered her with sorrows and their prayers. But she would be with Romero”s circle from here on out. Any and all from her previous life would be forgotten come her wedding day.
Lucrezia nodded before Romero hailed down a cab for her.
Once again, he saw to it that she was safely secured inside and instructed the driver to deliver her safely home and wait until she was inside.
”Just one more thing, perla.”
Lucrezia was ready to stop him from giving her another gift if he tried.
”What”s your favorite flower?”
She felt butterflies in her stomach. He really was thinking of her in all aspects.
”Lilies. I love lilies.”
”Then you”ll have lilies.”
Romero kissed her forehead and passed the driver more money.
”Be a good girl. Daddy will see you soon.”
As they drove off, Lucrezia finally gave her tears permission to fall as she gazed at her ring. She smiled amid her soft sobs, not going unnoticed by the driver.
”Everything all right, miss? You want me to turn around?”
Lucrezia blinked, then realized he was offering to deliver her back to Romero”s waiting arms. The prospect delighted her more than she was trying to fight it.
”No, I”m all right. Thank you. It”s...been a strange week. That”s all.”
”Well, for what it”s worth, miss, that fellow back there really seems to care about you.”
He smiled back at her.
”Yes...he does.” Lucrezia allowed herself to swoon, even if it was in the privacy of her thoughts.