Chapter 35 – Penelope
S pending all day with Serena at the spa, I knew exactly what I was going to use my magical yellow square of paper for. It was the perfect idea. As I wrangled myself into the soft purple gown this evening, I began to put the plan into action. Finally dressed, I tapped my freshly painted nails against the phone screen, dialing the brand-new number that wasn’t being traced. This was my last phone call of the evening. After a whirlwind of text messages, group messages, and three video calls, the details were finally falling into place.
My cousin’s voice was light and breathless coming over the speaker call. “Penny! Hi, how are you?”
“I’m great, actually. The girls tell me you’re settling in well,” I nudged.
“Yeah, I’m renting a cozy little cottage in town. Nice neighbors on both sides, and your brother Theodor’s house is the next street over.”
Relief swelled through me. My sacrifice wasn’t all for nothing. “I’m so glad for you!”
Poppy’s voice held a touch of sadness. “What’s up?”
I chewed on my words. She’d taken to small town life, but to hear my sister’s chatter, Poppy wasn’t a big socializer. After Serena’s admission about how sheltered life as a mafia princess was, I better understood Poppy’s hermit-like ways.
“My sisters are planning a visit to Chicago. We haven’t settled on the date, and before I booked their flights, I wanted to extend the invite to you too,” I said cheerfully.
There was a long, drawn-out silence.
“Poppy?”
“You should know better than anyone why that’s impossible,” my cousin said quietly.
I frowned. “It’s not, though. I have Alessio’s card, so the tickets aren’t an issue. I’m actually planning a little party for his sister—”
“Penny.” Her voice shook, but without seeing her face reading whatever emotion was there was next to impossible. “I’m not leaving Carrington. I’m safe here.”
Leaning on my vanity, I spun the phone around. “I don’t believe Alessio holds any ill will toward you.”
Quite the opposite, in fact. He’d mentioned on numerous occasions how it was me that he fantasized about. My cheeks warmed, but I couldn’t resist taking a peep at my reflection. I looked damn good, like a movie star seductress. Not only was the purple shade perfect for my suntanned skin tone, but the lines of the dress were sexy without being too revealing. The hair and makeup appointment Serena made for us seemed ridiculous until the final result looked back at me now.
Yeah, I can see it. I would want a piece of that if I was a man.
“I jilted him,” Poppy said, snapping me out of the lust-filled swirl of thoughts. “That’s not something a man of his position is going to easily forgive.”
I frowned at the phone. “Really, I think he was more than okay with the switch.”
Poppy sighed. “It sounds like you two are getting along—which is great! I’ve lit candles for that very thing. But just because Don Mancini is pleased with his new wife doesn’t mean his pride will let him forgive me.”
I wanted desperately to tell her she didn’t know him.
But I bit my tongue.
A voice in the far reaches of my mind begged me to consider what she said. Maybe, just maybe, there was a small truth to her fear. She did grow up in this world after all.
“Do you think you’ll ever feel comfortable visiting?” I asked quietly. “Can’t this be water under the bridge?”
“Made Men don’t change,” Poppy said reluctantly. “They aren’t the heroes in these fantasy books. They are ruthless and self-serving. I find them akin to the villains.”
The need to defend Alessandro was strong. It roared inside me.
I managed to wrestle it back, and instead, I asked her about the books she read. It turned out that in her new, simple life, living off the small stipend her mother set up, Poppy was content to turn into a bookish cat lady. It was shocking how many novels she consumed in a week, sometimes two a day!
We chatted for a bit longer, but a knock on my door ended the call quickly.
“Come in,” I called.
The don stepped through the door. His gaze locked with mine in the mirror. It was rewarding to see the great beast go completely still. Those dark eyes heated, and I felt a rush of hunger swept through me.
My voice was a breathless rush. “I just have to put my shoes on and we’re ready to go.”
“Wait.” That single word was rough against my skin. Alessandro prowled across the room only to stop before me and crouch. Slowly, those large hands pushed the long, full skirt over my legs.
A shiver of heat prickled across my skin.
“I’ll do it,” he rasped, looking up at me. Hunger showed in those black depths.
An embarrassing rush of liquid heat spread between my legs. No doubt the cotton strip in the thong was drenched.
“I’m not helpless,” I protested, but the breathless quality of my voice begged to differ.
With quick, nimble motions, Alessandro snapped the delicate straps of the shoes in place. “There’s a difference between being helpless and allowing yourself to be adored, vespina.”
The air hitched in my lungs. Adored. Did he mean that?
Pulling a velvet box from the inside of his tux jacket, Alessandro plucked a shimmering strand of amethysts. My heart faltered as he reached to unclasp my charm bracelet. Once it was replaced by the lighter, unfamiliar cuff of gems, the desperate need to tear it off consumed me.
I struggled to swallow the reaction.
“Che cazzo, they are going to see you shine at my side and wonder how I was so fortunate to claim you,” he murmured, sliding his hands up and down the smooth skin of my legs. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are, Penelope?”
My heart stung. I lifted the bracelet, playing with it in the light.
“Do you like them?” he pressed. “I paid Blau a visit this morning and saw them. I knew they would match your dress.”
I forced the hurt out of my voice. At least he’d been thinking about me. “They’re nice, I suppose.”
The don frowned. So I forced a smile, determined not to let him see how much the gesture, right after his brutally honest confession, hurt me. It shouldn’t. I knew not to expect anything real from him.
But it did hurt, despite my best efforts. Because this was more proof that he thought he could buy me. He still didn’t understand I wasn’t a possession; I wasn’t impressed with his opulent gifts.
Capturing my fingers, he ran his over the back of my hands. “Everyone will see you next to me. I want them to know that you are mine.”
Any hope in my chest died.
Alessandro pressed his lips against my calf, continuing to stroke my leg and my hand at the same time. But the heat in my veins was gone. “Don’t leave my side tonight, vespina. We are going to send a clear message that my marriage to you only strengthens my position. Those who whisper will know that I have a treasure, and that I own every fucking part of you.”
Blood rang in my ears. This had quickly gone from romantic to nightmarish.
“If anyone tries to use you against me,” he continued, “things will get bloody.”
I pulled away and pushed to my feet. Snatching my phone and the tiny clutch that didn’t hold anything more than the device and lipstick, I battled the rage stirring in my chest.
How dare he. How fucking dare he!
“Vespina?”
Rounding on him, I stabbed a finger in the air. “You can’t solve your problems by shooting everyone, lupo. ‘Things will get bloody’ —what the hell kind of line is that?”
His brows drew together and a dark scowl played on his face. “It’s the reality of this life, Penelope.”
I shook my head, Poppy’s warning ringing in my ear. I hated, hated that my cousin’s words shattered the cozy illusion. Recent events made me want to see my husband in a different light. That he was actually human.
But then he said things like that—his wife was a possession, he owned me; he would spill blood.
Villain, Poppy called him? Yes, that was exactly it.
“Let’s go,” I barked, storming to the door.
Alessandro took two quick steps and pushed the door closed before I could escape the suddenly suffocating bedroom.
“Penelope, what the fuck just happened?” he growled.
His presence was everywhere. The heat radiating off his body, the woodsy clean scent of his cologne and him invading my nostrils, the volatile energy that no matter how pissed I was, my traitorous body hummed desperately to have—it was too much.
“Let me go.” The words sounded calmer than they felt. He began to protest, but I shoved my hands against the door. “Let me out of this room, Mancini! Your prisoner needs air.”
The air around us crackled with a sudden burst of ice.
“Very well,” he said coldly.
I refused to name the ache in my chest at the chasm yawning between us. He moved away just enough for me to tug the door open and slip out. In the hall, Serena emerged from her room. Her eyes widened as she read whatever was scrawled on my face.
I forced a tight smile. “Ready to party?”
Serena shot a glance behind me.
“You look lovely, sorellina,” Alessandro said, voice full of ice.
“Thanks, you look great too,” she responded warily. “And, Penny, wow! I’m glad the dress code was mandatory colors. Normally these stuffy functions are black tie, meaning ladies where black or other non-imaginative shades. But since it’s for the children’s society, we can be as vibrant as we want.”
She was trying, really trying, to be a good girl friend and take my mind off whatever catastrophe she’d sensed.
“Well, you look hot in fuchsia,” I smirked. In a whisper, I added. “Too bad Dante won’t be there.”
Serena shook her head. “I told you already, he doesn’t feel that way about me.”
It was true. He had someone else. But I felt bad, because Serena wasn’t social enough to meet other men.
Well, that ended tonight! There would be plenty of interesting people for her to meet if she wanted. Taking long, purposeful strides away from the monster in a black tux, I joined her and looped my arm through hers. “I need a damn strong drink. Think the booze at these galas is any good?”
Serena’s normal confidence wavered. “I would imagine with what we pay for a plate, donating to their cause, that we will have a decent selection of alcohol.”
“Perfect.” I nodded tightly, ignoring the thundercloud looming behind us. “What’s your poison, dear? I’m a whiskey girl.”
Serena snorted. “Of course you are, cowpoke.”
Although it was forced, her haughtiness returned, gathered round herself like the protective armor I knew it to be. I’m going to have to work on my own armor. But first, I was going to survive the night.