Chapter 6
Luca
My bride was truly lovely: supple and graceful in my arms as I guided her around the center of the ballroom for our first dance as man and wife. The warm lighting picked out the golden threads in her chocolate brown hair, making her shine like an ethereal creature, breathtaking and mysterious.
I couldn’t make sense of my new wife. She was so responsive in my hands, but she didn’t want the pleasure I offered her.
I could be demanding, and I understood that some women didn’t take kindly to being ordered around.
It posed a challenge, and the most savage parts of me liked that about her: she would be difficult to tame, and her surrender would be all the more satisfying.
But there was no trace of submission in her demeanor now.
There was no trace of any particular emotion.
She simply looked the part of a docile young bride, a soft smile curving her lush lips.
It didn’t touch her eyes. I’d seen her melt beneath me, and the woman in my arms wasn’t the same one who’d screamed in pleasure last night.
Her heart was shuttered, her composed mask concealing all emotion.
I didn’t like it. As much as I wanted her obedience, I preferred when the harpy was sniping at me, not this pretty doll in my arms.
I hate you. The memory of her venomous words poisoned my thoughts, and I frowned down at her.
The sign of my displeasure had no effect; not a single muscle on her serene face so much as twitched. It was unnerving. Disturbing. It was like she wasn’t even here with me.
I firmed my arm around her waist, and she swayed toward me without hesitation, allowing me to lead our dance. There wasn’t so much as a flicker of heat in her eyes, and not even a spark of lust passed between us. So different from our combustible chemistry in our bed last night.
My frown deepened.
I’d told her that her own happiness was her choice, but I found that I didn’t want her to hate me. I didn’t want to share a life with a woman who loathed me. She’d been enraged by my insistence that she accept the birth control shot, but I’d only been protecting our family.
I hardened my resolve. I would do what was necessary to keep her safe, whether she liked it or not.
We’d only been married for a day. She would soften with time, especially if I continued to flood her body with ecstasy every night. We would never love one another—that was an impossibility—but I would make her happy.
In that moment, I decided that I wouldn’t give her choice, after all. My new challenge, my new purpose in life, was to make my wife blissfully content to be mine. I would have everything I wanted: my birthright and a family. She would give me an heir.
Of course I’ll love my child, even if his father is a monster.
I struggled to keep the scowl from my face. Yes, I could be monstrous with my enemies, but never with her. I wouldn’t repeat my father’s sins.
The song changed, and other guests drifted onto the dancefloor to join us. We’d performed our part. It was time for me to do the far more important work of securing my birthright. I would have to talk to Nora’s father and pretend that I didn’t want to kill the traitorous bastard.
I placed her hand on my forearm and led her away from the dancers, toward the head table where my father sat with Giuseppe. Dad was beaming at me, clearly pleased with my choice of bride. I’d married his best friend’s daughter; why wouldn’t he be happy?
He had no idea about his consigliere’s treachery. It’d taken all of his strength to come downstairs for this reception. I wouldn’t deliver an emotional blow that might stop his failing heart.
We came to a stop across the table from my father and Giuseppe, and their attention immediately fixed on us.
Giuseppe’s eyes blazed at the sight of his daughter at my side, but the older man made no other move to express his impotent rage.
I’d bested him, and he would have to accept his new reality.
One day soon, he would serve me, and Dante would be eliminated.
“Elenora, you look lovely.” Dad’s voice was weaker than ever, his breaths too shallow. He did his best to sit up straighter and study my pretty bride. “I’m so happy you’ve chosen to marry my son.”
I felt her fingers flex on my arm at my father’s choice of words. No, she hadn’t chosen this. But it hadn’t been my preference either.
Other than that small twitch of her hand, Nora’s appearance remained composed, the perfect image of a serene young woman who was happy with her fate. Unease stirred in my gut. No, I didn’t like this strange side of my new wife. She barely seemed to have a soul, much less a will of her own.
Had I done this to her?
“I’m disappointed that you eloped, Luca.” My father called my attention away from my concerns over Nora’s behavior. “Even if I am pleased with your choice of bride.”
His disappointment needled at me, but I kept my head held high.
My father’s pride and acceptance meant everything to me, even if there was no love between us.
He had strict expectations of me, and I’d worked for my entire life to meet every one of them.
I’d been determined to earn my birthright, no matter the cost.
“I didn’t want to bother you with a big wedding,” I lied smoothly before shooting a sharp look at Nora’s father. “Giuseppe offered his daughter in marriage yesterday, and I didn’t want to wait. This way, you can see me married.”
Dad would witness the promise of the next generation, even if he wouldn’t survive long enough to one day meet my son. That would bring him some comfort on his deathbed. For all my father’s sins, I respected him, and he deserved a dignified end.
“I’d like a private word with you, Luca,” Giuseppe said. He glanced at my father. “I need to talk to him about his responsibilities to my daughter. The wedding happened so quickly that we didn’t have time for a proper discussion.”
Dad wheezed a laugh, not noticing the tension between me and his best friend. “He surprised you with the elopement too,” he surmised, waving his hand to dismiss us. “Don’t give him too hard a time, Giuseppe. This is a happy occasion, seeing our families truly united.”
I glanced down at Nora, who had remained dutifully silent while the men talked.
It was as though she wasn’t even a person, a beautiful statue.
She’d railed at me for treating her like a possession rather than a woman with her own thoughts and feelings, and now she was acting like no more than a pretty accessory at my side.
Was this her way of psychologically punishing me for how I’d treated her? By making me feel like the bad guy here? Surely, I hadn’t actually broken her.
Monster. Her accusation snaked through my mind.
I shook off the dark thoughts. I could deal with my wife’s strange demeanor later. If she was trying to be passive aggressive, she would regret it. I valued honesty, and I wouldn’t tolerate this kind of deceitful behavior. She wasn’t acting like her true self, and I didn’t like it.
I would return to her after I finished talking to Giuseppe. For now, I could leave her in my father’s care. I glanced along the high table and noted some of her cousins seated farther down. She would have some familiar company in my absence.
Far from satisfied with the arrangement, I removed her hand from my arm and brushed a kiss over her knuckles, playing the part of besotted groom.
“I’ll be back soon.” It was a promise and a warning. Nora would behave herself in my absence, or she would have a very sore bottom in a few hours.
She blinked up at me vacantly and smiled.
My stomach turned, but I forced myself to release her. I wanted to shake her instead. I wanted her to tilt her imperious chin and tell me exactly what she thought of me, even if the words might sting a little. Anything was better than this vapid doll act.
If I’d broken her…
I couldn’t think about it. Not now. If forcing the birth control shot on her had hurt her so deeply, I would hold her and make up for it later, when we had some privacy.
And if she was playing some kind of psychological game with me, she’d learn that I wouldn’t tolerate being manipulated.
My wife would not hate me, and she would certainly not break because of me.
Giuseppe stood, his body slightly stiff from his arthritis. But he was still an imposing man, and meaner than ever in his advancing age. I left Nora, accompanying him as we strolled out of the ballroom and down the hall toward my father’s study.
When the door shut behind us, Giuseppe rounded on me. “You little shit.”
I strolled to the drinks cabinet and snagged the decanter, pouring a glass of whiskey for myself and then one for him. I held it out to him with my brows lifted, refusing to reply when he spewed insults.
His thin lips pulled back in a sneer, and he crossed his arms over his chest, denying my offering of civility. I shrugged and placed the glass back on the cabinet before sipping at my own drink, as though this was a casual meeting between old friends.
I settled down in a burgundy leather armchair and swirled the amber liquid in my glass.
“I’m willing to forgive your betrayal,” I drawled, careful to keep the rage from my tone.
Anger would make me appear weak, and if I succumbed to my hatred, I might attack the bastard.
My loathing was far older than just a day; his sins against me ran deep, and I’d hated him for years.
“Your daughter is mine,” I continued, calm and reasonable.
I always had careful control of my emotions, and that long practice served me well now.
It was what would make me a good boss, a strong leader.
I wouldn’t become erratic and unpredictable like Dante.
Respect could be inspired by stability, not sadism.
My fingers clenched around my glass at the thought of Dante, my rival. The motherfucker.
I smoothed away my scowl before it could twist my lips and kept my full attention on Giuseppe.
“Your scheme with Dante is over,” I declared. “Your loyalty lies with me. We’ll put this behind us and move forward as a true family. After all, you’re my father-in-law now.”
“You’re not fit to take your father’s place,” Giuseppe seethed, gnarled fingers curling at his sides.
“No, you just don’t want me to because you think I’ll eliminate you at the first opportunity.” My hands itched with the keen desire to wrap around his neck and do just that. “But we’re allied now, whether you like it or not. I won’t kill a member of my family, and you won’t defy me again.”
His hazel eyes narrowed. “Or what? What will you do? Brutalize my daughter?” He shrugged, and my fists clenched with the need to strangle him.
Did he truly not care if I beat Nora?
No, the old bastard didn’t give a shit if I hurt her. I should’ve known. After the way he’d treated my mother, I knew the motherfucker was callous and cruel. I just hadn’t expected that indifference to extend to his own flesh and blood.
I sipped my whiskey and leaned back in my chair, drawing on all my willpower to appear unperturbed. “No, I’ll divorce her, and your entire family will be disgraced. You will fall out of favor, and your influence will wane. You can’t win this, old man.”
He jerked back as though I’d punched him in the face. “You wouldn’t. It would kill your father if you caused a rift between our families.”
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “My father is a dead man walking. I’m thinking of the future. I am the future. You can fall in line, or you can get left behind. It’s your choice.”
He gnashed his teeth. “Dante will kill you.”
“He can try, but he won’t get any help from you. Will he?” I had him cornered, and he knew it.
When he’d tried to arrange the marriage between Dante and Nora, it’d been a signal of his support for my rival.
Now that Nora was married to me, Giuseppe’s power play was at an end.
Any move against me, his own son-in-law, would be seen as a declaration of war, and he would tear our organization apart.
He would jeopardize his position of power by weakening our crime family and making us vulnerable to the Russians.
The old bastard wouldn’t risk it.
“Don’t make trouble for me, and I won’t make trouble for you,” I told him coldly. “You can keep your money and your influence. Your life will be unchanged. You will bless this marriage, and we will make peace.”
I stood and extended my hand between us.
My skin crawled at the prospect of making contact with the man I hated most in the world, but I would see this through.
I wouldn’t lose my birthright because I couldn’t control my own emotions.
I was stronger than that. Stronger than this motherfucker, who let spite and fear rule him.
He grabbed my hand and squeezed, as though trying to crush my bones. He was too weak to hurt me in the slightest. I reminded myself that I’d handled the threat, and I didn’t need to fracture his fingers. I didn’t need to wring his neck.
I couldn’t.
I released his hand and drained the last of my whiskey from the glass. “I need to see to my bride,” I told him, twisting the knife just a little with the reminder that his daughter belonged to me now. My triumph was complete, and Giuseppe would fall in line.
Nora was mine.