That is… until the church doors open and Susanna walks inside. The church is empty except for the priest and one witness. Isaac. He’s the only one I can trust.
Susanna’s heels clack on the hard floor, sending echoes through the room. Every sound is like a gunshot.
She looks… beautiful. Her dress fits her perfectly, draping over her body and showing off every one of her curves. She looks more like a Greek goddess than an actual human.
And she will be mine.
The closer she reaches me, the more I think about her and less of Luca. In this very moment, I’m not worried about Luca or taking over everything for myself. All I can think about is how beautiful Susanna looks.
How much I want to make her mine. But also how much I want to protect her. I’ve never felt this sort of feeling before: the urge to protect a woman. I only ever used woman for sex in the past and called it a day. It was just easier.
But now… now that Susanna is about to be my wife, everything is changing. She was just meant to be a pawn in my game and now she’s going to be tied to me forever. And I want this.
I want her. Not just because she can help me hurt Luca. But because I wanther.
She reaches the end of the aisle and I take her hand in mine, pulling her up the steps.
The priest begins the ceremony but I barely listen. I only have eyes for the beautiful woman before me.
I’m in danger of falling in love with her.
Chapter Fourteen
Susanna
The priest asks Gabriel if he’ll take my hand in marriage and Gabriel doesn’t hesitate to say ‘yes.’ But there is a moment. Just a moment where his eyes soften and I feel like I’m seeing the real Gabriel for the first time. Not the harden man who kidnaped me. Not the one embroiled in a war with Luca.
But the real man who just wants love and to be loved in return.
Does Gabriel even want that though? We’ve never spoken about it. Just a few days before, I was sleeping in a cage he put me in and now I’m marrying him. None of this makes sense.
And yet, it feels right.
Gabriel is my future. He excites me. He instills a passion inside of me. I want to become my own woman away from my family.
Hell, he even likes my attitude when no one else does. Ironically, he’s the perfect man for me.
“Do you, Susanna Petrov, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
The truth is: I don’t hesitate to give my answer either.
“Yes. I do.”
I know I just signed myself over to the devil and yet, I don’t care. This is my one chance to have power. My one chance to feel passion.
Maybe even love.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Gabriel presses a passionate kiss to my lips seeing as this isn’t our first one. And it won’t be the last. That makes a heat settle in my core. I know I want this.
I want him.
“We should leave,” he says. “Before Luca arrives. He might find out where we are.”
But when Gabriel tugs on my hand, I can’t move my feet. Even though I want to be with Gabriel, I also miss my mom and sister. Luca saving me is the one chance I’ll get to see them again.
But I know if I return to my mom and sister, I’ll fall back into old habits. I’ll be trapped all over again. This is my chance to be free of that.
