6. Caterina
Shutting my bedroom door behind me, I lean against it, breathing heavily and trying to stop myself from crying. I almost cried in front of Emilio. God. I could never live that down. He would mock me forever.
All because he spanked me. Freaking spanked me!
The audacity of that man. The way he thinks he owns me and can boss me around and do whatever he wants to my body. And the fact he thinks I’m an easy slut on top of it all. If I could go out there and slap him in front of everybody, I would. But I don’t want to make my father upset. He wouldn’t understand why I was acting that way, and then I’d have to explain it to him, and then my entire secret life would be exposed.
Stupid, dumb, handsome Emilio.
That bastard has it in for me. He’s determined to make my life a living hell, and we’re not even married yet. What will life be like after we’re married? I shudder at the thought.
I flop down onto my bed and stare at the ceiling, willing my tears to leave me.
The spanking hurt. I can feel it on my ass still. There’s probably going to be bruises there tomorrow.
But I think deep down the reason I want to cry is because … I kind of liked it.
The way Emilio’s large hand touched my ass was electric. It made me want more. Granted, not more spankings but more touch. I want to kiss him again and longer for just a few seconds. I want him to grab me and show me pleasure for the first time.
If Emilio is even capable of that. He’s such a selfish asshole he might be that way in bed, too.
Ugh. I can’t win with him. How am I in the wrong? I just want to get to know him and have some fun in life, but Emilio acts like I’m the second coming of Satan.
Screw that. I’m not going to cry in my bedroom and give him that satisfaction. I’m going to go back out to the party and show him he can’t bother me or control my life.
No one controls my life but me.
When I rejoin the party, I see Emilio talking to some other guests. My eyes land on the rest of his family. At least they’re cool. It’s nice to know I won’t have to deal with problematic family members. There’s just one problematic family member, and I have to marry him.
Emilio doesn’t see me, but I’m going to make him see.
I spot the first cute guy I can find and walk up to him. I don’t know the man’s name, but I’m pretty positive he works with my father. He’s young—younger than Emilio but still older than me.
“Hi,” I say, batting my eyelashes.
He looks me over. “Hi back.”
“I’m Caterina.” I extend my hand, and he takes it gently and kisses the back of it.
“I’m Jack.”
“You work with my dad?”
“I do.”
I flash him a smile. “Great. So, Jack.” I run my hand down his arm. Jack likes it, given how his eyes linger on my breasts. “What do you say we get out of here?”
“I wouldn’t mind that. But aren’t you getting married?”
I shrug. “So? Do you care?”
“Well, I just don’t want Emilio De Luca to murder me. That’s all.”
“Oh, he’s fine. It’s not like we’re going to do anything. How about we just dance. There’s music playing. Someone needs to dance to it.”
“A dance won’t hurt.” He sets his drink down and joins me in the middle of the backyard where a makeshift dancefloor has been set up.
Jack and I don’t dance intimately. There are no hands on my low back or chests touching. But we do hold hands and dance, keeping space between us.
I notice people looking in our direction. My dad doesn’t seem to have an issue with this. He starts clapping his hands and smiling.
A few other people join us and begin to dance themselves. When I look in Emilio’s direction, I see he’s gone. I freeze. Where did he go?
The whole point of this dance was to make him jealous and prove he doesn’t bother me, even after humiliating me with a spanking.
Well, whatever. I’m going to enjoy my time and dance with Jack.
“Who are you looking for?” he asks.
“No one. Let’s dance closer.” I put my hands on Jack’s shoulders, drawing our bodies close enough to touch.
“Are you sure? I don’t’ want to upset your future husband.”
“Forget about him. You can’t upset him because he’s not even here.”
Jack and I spend the next few minutes dancing. No one says a word, and Emilio doesn’t show up. Where the hell is he?
After a while, I pull away from Jack. “Ok, that’s enough. I need to use the restroom.”
I hurry back inside and make my way to the bathroom.
“Enjoying yourself out there?”
I gasp and jump back, exiting the bathroom. Looking down the hallway, I see Emilio is leaning against the wall. “You startled me.”
“You think you can play games with me?”
“I think I can do whatever I want.”
When he walks right up to me, I smell his yummy musky scent, and it makes me want more. “You made a fool out of me dancing with another man. You promised you wouldn’t anymore.”
“Well, that was before you spanked me. So …” I flash him a smile and try to enter the bathroom, but he stops me.
“Is this a game to you?”
I stare at Emilio and realize he’s being serious. “Of course not. This is my life we’re talking about. But you refuse to get to know me, and you refuse to let me in, so what I am supposed to do? I’m not going to be a sweet, submissive wife, Emilio. I never will be. You can spank me all you want. It’s not going to change me. I don’t want to fight with you, so stop making it so hard.”
His eyes widen slightly before his usual stoic expression takes back over. “You make it hard with your attitude and the trouble that follows you.”
“Clearly, we’re different people, but I’m not the one with an attitude.”
He scoffs.
It makes my blood fucking boil, and I stand up straighter. “I wouldn’t have an attitude if you stopped bossing me around. Did you ever think about that?”
He leans in close I have to back up an inch to feel like I can breathe again. “Maybe I wouldn’t have to boss you around so much if you stopped with your attitude.”
“You’re impossible,” I hiss.
“And you drive me fucking crazy.”
Before I can react, Emilio grabs the back of my head and draws me in for a kiss. Our lips meet with passion and hate and lust all rolled into one. I kiss him back with everything I have within me. My hands clutch his shoulders, drawing him closer.
He growls low in his throat as he walks me back into the bathroom, then slams the door shut behind us. A muffled moan escapes me as we kiss harder.
Emilio pushes me against the counter as his hands roam down to my waist. I arch into him. This is what I was looking for. Connection. Something from Emilio beyond his typical grumpy guy persona.
But almost as quickly as the kiss began it ends with Emilio pulling away. I gasp and stumble forward.
“Why did you stop?” I ask.
“Because I can’t let things go too far. I can’t fuck you on the bathroom counter for the first time.”
“Why not?” Not that I really want my first time to be on a bathroom counter.
He looks at me like I’m deranged. “Because even though you drive me insane, we’re still going to be married. You’ll be my wife. I can’t fuck my wife on the bathroom counter.”
“At least not until we’re married.”
“You speak like you’ve fucked men on bathroom counters before. Have you?”
“Does it matter?”
“Just tell me, Caterina.”
I walk up to him and poke him in the chest. “If it bothers you so much, that’s your problem. Not mine. You don’t get to kiss me, then stop, then toy with me, then slut shame me. I’m not doing that.” I open the bathroom door and step out.
“I could just drag you back in here and spank you all over again.”
“You could,” I say, not looking back. “But you’re not going to.” I leave Emilio standing alone in the bathroom, hopefully contemplating what an asshole he’s been.
I’m not going to let him get me down.