Aria was mine. And I was going to prove it to her, even if it killed us both.
Chapter Seven
ARIA
I'd successfully avoided Kai for exactly forty-eight hours, and I was starting to think I deserved some kind of award for that achievement.
Forty-eight hours of ducking into rooms when I heard his footsteps. Forty-eight hours of eating meals when I knew he'd be busy. Forty-eight hours of pretending I didn't feel his eyes on me every time we were in the same space.
Forty-eight hours of lying to myself that I wasn't constantly thinking about that kiss in my bedroom.
Then Don Salvatore summoned me to his study, and my little bubble of denial popped spectacularly.
The walk from my room to his office felt like a death march. Mrs. Rossi accompanied me, chattering about something I couldn't focus on, her kind face doing nothing to settle the dread coiling in my stomach.
She knocked on the heavy oak door.
"Enter."
One word. That's all it took for my skin to crawl.
Mrs. Rossi gave me an encouraging pat on the shoulder anddisappeared, leaving me alone with the man who expected me to become his obedient third wife.
Third time's the charm, right? Except the first two were dead, so maybe not.
"Aria. Sit."
I sat in the chair across from his desk, keeping my hands folded in my lap like the perfect mafia princess I'd been trained to be. Back straight. Eyes down. The picture of submission.
Inside, I was imagining all the ways this conversation could go wrong.
Salvatore stood, moved around the desk with that predatory grace that made my fight-or-flight instincts scream. He perched on the edge of his desk directly in front of me, too close, invading my space in a way that was absolutely intentional.
"I'm leaving in two hours for Chicago. Business that requires my personal attention. I'll be gone approximately a month, possibly longer."
A month. A month without him here. The relief was so intense I almost smiled.
"While I'm gone, you will follow certain rules. Non-negotiable rules that, if broken, will have consequences you won't enjoy." His voice was pleasant. Conversational. Like he was discussing the weather instead of my imprisonment. "You will not leave this estate under any circumstances. You will not make phone calls without Kai's explicit permission. You will spend your time with Mrs. Rossi, learning how to properly run a household of this size. You will study Italian since half of my business associates speak it and my wife needs to be able to converse intelligently. You will prepare yourself to fulfill your duties as my wife."
Every word made my skin crawl. Every sentence was a chain being wrapped around my neck.
He reached out, took my hand in his. His skin was cool. Dry. The touch of a corpse.
"You are young. Inexperienced. But that's exactly why you'll make an excellent wife. You can be molded. Shaped into exactly what Ineed." His thumb brushed across my knuckles and I fought not to flinch. "My first wife was too independent. Thought she could question my decisions. She learned otherwise, but by then it was too late. My second wife was weak. Couldn't handle the realities of this life. You, however, you're smart. You understand what's required of you."
I wanted to rip my hand away. Wanted to tell him exactly what I thought of his "requirements." Wanted to scream that I'd rather die than let him touch me.
Instead, I nodded. "I understand, Don Salvatore."
"Good." His grip tightened slightly. "One more thing. I expect a virgin on our wedding night. Purity is important in a wife. It shows respect. Self-control. All the qualities I value."
Oh god.
Oh god, oh god, oh god.
I wasn't a virgin. Kai had made absolutely certain of that two weeks ago when he'd—
I kept my face blank. Neutral. The perfect mask I'd spent eighteen years perfecting.
