I nod while biting the inside of my cheek.What would he do if I put up a fight and told him no?Would he do this act of savagery anyway?
His hand engulfs my ankle, his eyes never leaving mine as he slides his palm up the smooth skin of my calve, carving a fiery trail to my thigh.My breath hitches in my throat.No one has ever touched me so intimately.
He takes my hand with his free one, pressing his lips to my knuckles.“Don’t be scared.”I swallow hard and suck in a breath as he pushes my knees apart.“Spread your legs, sweetheart.”He hooks a finger in the side of my underwear, rubbing his knuckle along the seam before touching me where no one has dared before.
Heat fans across the back of my neck, spreading like a wildfire on the apples of my cheeks.I’m on fire everywhere.
Without warning, he glides his finger up and down the slit of my sex, then inserts his thick, rough digit inside me, knuckle deep.I tense up at the intrusion, embarrassed by the small whimper that leaves my lips.A smile crosses his face.I close my eyes, biting my bottom lip.
“Good girl.”The way he says it all deep and husky has the center of my belly going all warm and melty like hot wax.
He removes his finger, putting my underwear back in place, then sniffs the one he had inside me before licking it and making a sound that’s sinful.
He stands as I stare at him wordlessly, unable to form a coherent thought.Did he just…taste me?
“Shall we?”He holds his hand out and takes me by mine.
A man I’ve known for a few hours just has his finger inside me, and I’m smiling as though any of this is normal.
Nico delivers me to my father, who is standing in the hall.“See you out there, Fiore Mio,” he says, calling me his flower as he walks away.
I stand at the back of the enormous white tent that is set up behind the manor, legs unsteady, spine straight enough.My father grips my elbow firmly as though he’s afraid I will bolt at any second.He’s not uttered a word to me.Embarrassment divides us.I know he knows Nico made sure I’m a virgin.Is this why Lynette ran?Was she afraid Nico would know she wasn’t a virgin and would call the whole thing off?
It doesn’t matter now.I’m mere minutes away from becoming his wife.
The wedding march starts up, and the curtains are pulled back.Row after row of chairs are filled with people I have never laid eyes on a day in my life, but as more people turn to gawk at me, I recognize a few familiar faces.Some of my father’s associates are here with their wives.Women who have brought their children over for birthday parties or been members of Mother’s book club.Which was really only an excuse for her and the other women to get drunk and gossip.
I wonder if I’ll be the topic of their next meeting?
I hold my head high and keep my face expressionless.Trying not to think about how it felt when Nico touched me.Will he be as gentle tonight when we consummate this union?
My mother smiles big from where she sits in the front with Gissette.Where I should be sitting, but I’m not.
I take a step followed by another and another.I float toward Nico, ready to get this over with.Everyone knows that this isn’t a love match.It isn’t the greatest day of my life.
More like the most humiliating.I’m a consolation gift.The other sister.The spare.I wasn’t chosen like some prize.Nico isn’t marrying me because he is in love with me.
My father hands me over quickly.He can’t give me away fast enough.
The wedding officiant goes through the lines as old as time.Words he’s said a million times.
The only words that matter are the two I must speak.
“I do,” I comply.My voice comes out confident, but I know Nico can feel the trembling of my fingers as I slide the silver band onto his ring finger.
“You may now kiss your bride.”
Nico flashes me a playful smile.My heart beats a hundred miles a second as slides a hand around my waist, drawing me in close.My body presses against his.Pinching my chin between his thumb and forefinger, he forces my head up.His lips descend onto mine hard and fast.If I blinked, I’d miss it.My first kiss.No sparks.No magic.The guests clap, and I’m whisked into another tent for pictures and dancing.
I pretend to be the happy, blushing bride.
I stare at my husband as though I’m completely in love.Head over heels.Smitten as a kitten with a new ball of yarn.
I play my part, pretending I’m not on the verge of tears.
The diamond weighing down my finger feels as foreign as my husband’s touch, and yet my mind keeps drifting back to when it was only the two of us in that room and he touched and tasted me.There was something so intimate and erotic about it.Forbidden.
My father skips out on the father and daughter dance, leaving me to put on another fake smile to pretend that he didn’t break my heart by expecting this of me.
