Chapter 3
I was recalculating the plan in my head as I led the little live wire back up the aisle. Her hand was drowned by my own as it fit perfectly within my calloused palms. The warmth of her skin against mine wasn’t something I was used to.
I couldn’t say I completely hated it, but then again, I didn’t like it either. It was an unusual feeling, and one I didn’t plan on working out. She was a pawn in my game, that was all. Nothing more, nothing less.
“I’m nobody’s, especially not yours.” Anastacia scoffed with disgust as we stepped outside, away from family and guests.
“Oh, really?” I smirked as we rounded the corner out of sight.
I pressed her delicate body up against the stone wall.
She didn’t falter or seem to fear me. Her eyes never left mine.
I couldn’t quite work out if she was challenging me or staring into my soul.
“Every inch of you is mine, wife. You belong to me, and there is nothing you can do to change that.” Her lips parted slightly as the gentle breeze blew her hair, the scent of her floral perfume filling the air around us.
“There is plenty I can do to change that. And most include you being six feet under,” she threatened, her anger rearing its ugly head.
“Now, can we get whatever shit you’ve planned over with so I can get this dress off?
” She sneered, a smile threatening the corners of my lips as she continued.
“And no, you aren’t taking my dress off.
If you ever try it, you’ll lose all ten fingers along with something else. ”
Shit, this was going to be harder than I thought. She didn’t seem like the type that was easy to break and dispose of.
“Anastacia, I think you seem to forget who you’re speaking to.
” There was no hint of humour in my voice, and she knew she was crossing the invisible line, but she didn’t seem to care.
She was already getting on my last damn nerve.
“Do you know what I do to people who speak to me the way you have over the last hour?”
“No, and quite frankly, I don’t give a shit what you do to people with an attitude like mine, and do you know why?” She smirked.
“Enlighten me,” I said, her eyes twinkling with happiness at getting to explain herself.
“Because you should see what I do to people with an attitude like yours .” She leaned into me, her tits now pressed against my chest. She craned her neck to look up at me, her once icy blue eyes darkened with mischief.
“I was trained by Aleksander Fedorov. He taught me every single thing he knew. Things that would make your insides churn and your toes curl.” Her mouth hardened as she finished her sentence.
I had heard of Aleksander Fedorov. There wasn’t a person in our world that hadn’t.
He was as psychotic as they came. A brutal bastard who trained his son to be a carbon copy of himself, and by the sounds of it, he chose Ana over Miles to focus on.
A choice some may have frowned upon, but seeing her here now…
He made the right choice. She wasn’t some delicate Mafia princess who wanted her husband's credit card for fancy shit.
No, she was something else entirely. The plan would never change on my part, no matter how turned on I was by her attitude.
It would be harder to execute, but I could do it. I had no doubt in myself.
“I may have married you, Ricci, but believe me, don’t think for one minute I’ll be sharing a room with you, sharing a bed, or even breathing the same air as you,” she snapped, trying her best to remove herself from my hold that only got tighter every time she wriggled.
“You sound so sure of yourself, wife.” I chuckled, narrowing my eyes as she rolled hers. “But you should know, I don’t like playing games as much as you seem to enjoy them,” I whispered in her ear, my lips brushing her earlobe.
“I don’t see myself enjoying anything when I’m in your presence.” She grimaced, her words spilling from her mouth like venom.
“How about when I fuck you until you’re begging for more, would you enjoy it then?” I tightened my hand around her waist, securing her to me.
“Nothing, and I repeat nothing , will ever happen between us, so you and lefty may as well get used to one another.” She smugly smiled, not batting an eyelid at my comments. She had a reply for each and every one.
“Or how about I fuck that pretty little mouth of yours instead?” I trailed the pad of my thumb across her lower lip before she turned her head away from me. “I can’t wait to hear you beg for it.”
“I have never been one to beg, and I don’t plan on starting when it comes to you.” She tried to sound convincing, but I could have sworn I heard her voice jump an octave.
“I wouldn’t be so sure.”
We were locked on one another for a second, her eyes not leaving mine. She was strong-willed, not wanting to look weak and gullible to someone like me. I had to admit, I admired that, even if it was just a little.
I felt Red silently join us, waiting for a moment before clearing his throat to speak. “The car is ready.” She snapped her head towards Red, who looked pretty sheepish, not knowing whether he should have interrupted whatever this was or not.
“Good. We’ll be right there.” I let my guard down for a second as she managed to free herself from my grip, a triumphant expression now gracing her breathtaking face.
“No, we’re coming now.” She smiled sweetly at Red, whose cheeks flushed the same colour as his hair. Brilliant . This woman was going to screw up everything. She stomped off to the waiting car, ready to head to the reception and not once looking back at the pair of us.
“This just got harder didn’t it?” Red asked, finishing his cigarette. “And no, mate, I’m not talking about your dick.”
“Fuck off, Red.” I snapped. “I was expecting her to be timid—a ‘yes sir, no sir’ kind of woman but she’s anything but, She’s a nightmare!” I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. “That family will pay, and trust me, no matter how strong she thinks she is, I’ll always be stronger.”
“If you say so.” He laughed, and I swore if he wasn’t one of my best friends he would have had a bullet in his head already. “You can always rethink the whole plan. She might be good for you.”
“How about you rewind and think about what you say before you say it. She won’t be good for me. The only person she’d be good for is the devil.”
“So, you, then.” He nudged me with his elbow before heading towards the driver's seat of the car.
I slid into the seat beside Anastacia, who didn’t even have enough respect to look at me. She kept her gaze trained on the window.
“Didn’t your father teach you any manners?” I asked, unbuttoning my suit jacket.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but he taught me very little actually. Besides, my father sold me to you. As far as I’m concerned, he’s dead to me.”
Brilliant. At this rate she wouldn’t even bloody care if I killed her father.
I caught Red glancing in the rearview mirror at me with an amused twinkle in his eye.
“What? No words?” She shifted in her seat, finally looking at me.
“Did you really think I’d be over the moon with this shit show?
That I’d thank him for selling me to you to save his alliance, the one that went to shit when he pulled the trigger on your backstabbing father?
!” Her venomous tone was enough to send me over the edge.
Red swiftly exited the car, leaving the engine running. I yanked her onto my lap as a gasp of shock left her lips. My fingers dug into her flawless skin. She didn’t have a chance to try and slip her mask into place.
“Say one more fucking word about my father, and I’ll pay your dear babushka a visit.
” I fisted her hair at the nape of her neck, bringing her ear to my lips.
“I noticed she wasn’t watching us get married today, meaning she doesn’t support what your father agreed to.
Therefore, she’s currently the only one you truly care about.
It would be awful for something to happen to her, wouldn’t it? ”
“How do you know about her?” she asked, a slight quiver apparent in her voice. Gone was the Anastacia who didn’t falter.
“I know more than you think I do. Didn’t you think I’d do my research before asking to marry you?” The ball was back in my court, and I loved it. “So, tell me, are you going to repeat what you said or be a good girl and refrain from mentioning him again?”
“Noted.” One simple word and she was back on top. With the fear gone, her mask slipped into place, and her body offered no signs of panic.
I placed her back in her seat as she folded her arms across her chest, pushing her breasts up, which was hard not to notice. I tapped on the window, signalling Red to get back in the car.
“We’re going to put on a front at the reception. You’ll play the perfect wife, you’ll dance with your father if that’s what he wants, and then I will take you home.”
“Your home will never be my home,” she scoffed, unable to hide the disgust in her voice. “Stop speaking to me like you’ll own me because that’ll never happen.”
“But I already own you, Anastacia Katerina Ricci.”
That didn’t even get a damn reply. She had decided to give me the cold shoulder and the silent treatment. Lucky me. She was stubborn, I’d give her that.
Red cleared his throat from the driver’s seat. “I’m Red, by the way.” He smiled, blatantly ignoring what I said prior to the wedding. I knew he wouldn’t be able to treat her like shit. It was inevitable, to be honest.
“Hey, Red,” she replied angelically, and it was the first time I’d seen a genuine smile from her.
I loved how she was nice to someone who could hack up someone with his eyes shut, but then again, she hadn’t seen that side of him yet. I shot him a look in the mirror that I hoped reminded him of our previous conversation, before he quickly focused his attention back on the road ahead.
“You don’t need to speak to him.” I twirled the ring on my finger, a strange feeling.