“Just ask, Nina.” His tone speaks to no disagreements.
“Have you ever killed anyone?” I blurt out.
“You didn’t take long to ask that question. We’ve only been married for a few hours now.”
“Are you going to answer?”
He stares at me for a long moment before he nods. “I have. You don’t get where I’ve gotten in my life and not have some blood on your hands.”
“How much blood?” I whisper.
“Too much blood,” he admits. “I won’t give you all the details for your benefit. To keep you safe. It’s better the less you know.”
“Do I have to worry about you?”
“Are you asking if I’ll kill you one day?” He takes a beat. “No. I want this alliance with Alek. I won’t risk it by killing you. Besides, you’re too pretty to kill.”
I blush. His words are not exactly reassuring.
“Do I have to worry about you trying to kill me?” he asks.
“Why would I kill you?”
“You don’t seem happy about this marriage. What better way to get out of it than get rid of me for good?”
I stare down at my hands. “I don’t have that kind of hate in my heart. Besides, I wouldn’t be able to kill you. You’re too strong.” A quick glance at his chest reveals his strong muscles. His arms are well defined and I can see the top of his six-pack peeking out of the covers.
“But you do have some hate in your heart? For your sister?”
I startle. “I never said I hate my sister.”
“You didn’t have to. It’s obvious. You can’t stand her. And yet, from what I observed at the wedding, you follow her lead. You’re scared of her and you admire her and you also hate her.”
“None of that is true. I am not scared of Susanna and I don’t hate her and I definitely don’t admire her.”
“Then what do you feel for her?”
“I feel…” Like I’m at a loss for words. To define what I feel for Susanna is too complex. It would take years of unweaving it to understand it. “It’s not important. We’re married now. You’re my future. Not Susanna. That’s all that matters.”
Luca gives me a knowing look but doesn’t comment on it. “I think it’s time we go to bed. It’s been a long day.” He turns the light out, plunging me into darkness.
The part that worries me about Luca is not his physical strength or his commanding presence. It’s the fact that he’s so good at reading me only after knowing me for a short time that terrifies me.
Chapter Six
Nina
Luca feeds me the next morning. Bite by bite of the breakfast his housekeeper made. Fortunately, the housekeeper, Mary, isn’t in the kitchen when Luca decides to feed me. I don’t think I could live it down.
“I can do this myself,” I grumble as he cuts another piece of the omelet and holds it towards my mouth.
“Nina.”
I sigh and try to hold back my eye roll but it’s impossible.
Luca smirks, like he finds it amusing that I am the way I am, but he keeps the piece of omelet held towards my mouth. I open my lips and let him place it on my tongue. His eyes flick down to my lips and my breath hitches. We kissed on our wedding day but it was a small peck. What would it be like to have Luca truly kiss me?
Before I can wonder, the doorbell rings.
