Chapter 11
11
CELIA
I n my dressing room, Sofia tried to make small talk with me as I changed back into my dress, but I couldn’t escape my own whirling thoughts to respond.
I needed answers about the past. And in the present, I needed to understand why Dante had come to me instead of Gabriel. Was Gabriel hurt? Had he simply not wanted me?
Had Dante made a bargain somehow that would cost him later?
I didn’t want him to suffer because of me.
What if I lost him?
Only Gabriel could answer these questions, and I couldn’t bear another moment without knowing Dante was safe.
I darted into the hall.
Sofia called after me, her voice sharp with concern, but I didn’t stop. I flew through the corridors, my bare feet almost silent against the cold marble floors.
I turned a corner and came face to face with my husband. I almost collided with him, and he reached out to steady me.
His powerful chest filled my vision, and his throat bobbed with his Adam’s apple as if he were swallowing some emotion. Though I’d been looking for him, coming face to face with him still overwhelmed me.
When I looked up, there was nothing on his face but the usual cold, beautiful lines.
“Celia,” Gabriel’s voice was low. “You never cease to surprise me. You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”
I was weighing my words when he traced my lips with his thumb. “You bite your lip when you’re thinking about lying to me,” he said softly. “If you’re going to lie, save it for this question. Did you like having them watch you? Could you have enjoyed that moment if it had been me and you out there?”
“I did what was necessary,” I replied, my voice steady. “You wouldn’t want me to cause a scene, would you? I was supposed to go out there and take…whatever I was given.”
Gabriel’s lips curled into a sardonic smile, his thumb still pressed against my mouth, a silent threat. “Necessary, hmm?” he mused, leaning in so close that I could breathe the dark, spicy scent of his body, more intoxicating than his aftershave. “Was it necessary that you enjoy it so much?”
He knew, then. He had sent Dante to me for some reason. My mind whirled. Why had he been so furious over yesterday’s kiss if he’d send Dante to me tonight? Was it merely a matter of control? He could share me, at least for a night, if he set the terms?
I raised my chin, meeting his gaze frankly. “Why shouldn’t I take pleasure where I can find it?”
He leaned against the wall, caging me in with his braced over my shoulder. I bit my lower lip, wishing I could take back those words.
Then he leaned in and kissed me. His kiss was hard, claiming, brutal.
And despite myself, my fingers fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer.
“I should have fucked you myself,” he growled, before he spun and walked away.
“Don’t walk away from me,” I told him.
He stopped. “You don’t want to give me orders, Celia.”
“I know your secret.” My voice was a whip-snap that brought him up short.
“I have many secrets, wife.” He spoke the word wife like an accusation. He swung his arm toward his dressing room. “If we must. Let’s speak in private.”
I waited until I’d stepped inside, until he had closed the door.
“You didn’t kill David,” I said.
And if you didn’t kill David , there was no reason for me to hate you …
There was nothing to stop me from loving the good parts of Gabriel.
He let out a laugh as he picked up his suit jacket and began to put it back on, as if he were buttoning all his emotions away. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“Maybe.” Maybe I was dreaming that Dante was David, that the man I had loved since I knew what it meant to feel love was still mine. “But that doesn’t change the truth. How did you do it?”
“You’re losing it. David’s gone. Because of you, remember?”
My mind wound back in time, remembering every time Gabriel had mentioned David.
He spoke of him as gone . He spoke of the years without his brother. He spoke of being a changed man because of his absence.
He never spoke of him as dead .
“You won’t lie to me about it, will you?” I whispered. “The truth is sacred to you. You’re a terrifying man, yes. But you’re not a man who would kill his own brother. You saved him somehow that day.”
“You’ve lost your mind,” he said again, managing to sound sympathetic and condescending all at once.
But he still didn’t say the words: David is dead .
“Well, madness might be a blessing in a world like ours,” I replied. He was mad, too, in his own way, to keep these kind of secrets. “Why did you send Dante instead?”
“I gave you Dante because I knew it would make you happy. You can have the man you kissed on our wedding day.” He gave me a cold smile. “You’ll never truly have me.”
“No.” I shook my head. “You think you can twist everything around, make me doubt what I saw, but I’m not stupid. I’m not weak. I’m not some pawn in your sick games.”
His jaw tightened. It was the only sign that my words had any effect on him. “You are my pawn, Celia. Do you want me to pretend you are anything else? I never wanted a wife, and if I did, I would want one who was loyal to me.”
“Loyal?” I scoffed. “What would you know about loyalty? You just want someone obedient!”
His expression was chillingly composed. “I’d love to have someone obedient. But it seems I have you, and we will have to manage.”
It was exasperating I couldn’t get him to talk to me when I was so close to the truth. “I want to see Dante!”
“No,” he scoffed, as if I was foolish. “I have work to do upstairs. I’ve done you enough kindness for tonight—undeserved as it was—and I’m not going to risk you being caught with another man and forcing my hand. I don’t care about you, Celia, but I do care about our power.”
I shook my head, rejecting his words.
“You need to go home, Celia,” he said finally, the steadiness of his voice almost more fear-inducing than if he’d shouted.
He moved past me, as though I was nothing more than an obstacle between him and his “business” upstairs. But I couldn’t let him go. Not like this. Not without answers.
I grabbed his arm, desperately, feeling the strength of his muscles beneath his shirt. “Please, Gabriel, just tell me the truth. Please.”
His response was immediate, but not what I expected. Without hesitation, he wrenched his arm from my grasp, picked me up as though I weighed nothing, and started for the door.
“Enough of this nonsense. It’s past time for you to leave,” he growled, making his way with long, controlled strides. I struggled in his arms, hitting his chest with my fists, but his grip was unyielding.
When we reached the crowded corridor, I made one last attempt to break free, but the eyes on us stopped me cold. People were watching, whispering, and I could see the envy in their eyes.
I couldn’t show them the cracks between Gabriel and me. They thought they’d just watched him fuck me in the most tender, loving way.
So, I did the only thing I could think of.
I kissed him. Hard and desperate, pouring all my frustration and confusion into that kiss.
To my surprise, Gabriel responded, his lips moving against mine with a wild hunger that made my body ache. When he kissed me like that…I didn’t believe he could be a monster.
I could hear the hushed whispers around us. A woman murmured, “God, look at them. What I wouldn’t give to be in her shoes for just one night.”
Gabriel smiled against my lips as he kept carrying me through the crowd. Then I heard a man say, “Fuck, Gabriel Caruso has the best of everything, doesn’t he?”
Their words only fueled the fire between us. I tangled my fingers in Gabriel’s hair, pressing myself closer to him as we moved through the crowd. It was a performance for our audience, but I still loved the feeling of his body against mine. Despite everything, I wanted him.
We finally reached the parking garage, the cool air a stark contrast to the heat of our embrace. Gabriel set me down, his eyes glittering with something I couldn’t quite read. Before I could catch my breath, he opened the trunk of his sleek black car.
“What are you doing?” I asked, suddenly wary.
His smile was sharp, dangerous. “Ensuring you make it home safely.”
Realization dawned on me a second too late. With one swift movement, he deposited me into the trunk. I stared up at him in disbelief, fury burning through my veins.
“You bastard!” I hissed, struggling to sit up in the confined space.
Gabriel’s grin widened, a wink accompanying his words. “I bet you’ll be calmer when I see you again, tesoro.”
The trunk slammed shut, plunging me into darkness. I pounded my fists against the lid, screaming obscenities that I knew he couldn’t hear.
But as I came to a stop, panting, I realized that this horrible moment didn’t matter compared to the truth I’d encountered tonight.
Gabriel was a filthy secret-keeping bastard, but he wasn’t a murderer. At least, he hadn’t killed his brother.
And I would find out exactly what happened.