“But what, Liana? You still like him, don’t you? I can see it in your eyes. Maybe it wasn’t the game you think it was.”
I ponder that for a second but still find myself annoyed with the situation.
“I do care,” I say with a sigh. “But I’m angry. He played me. He strung me along…and for what? I could never trust him again because the truth is I fell into something…but it was with Frankie, not Rio.”
“Liana, look at me,” Sasha says, drawing my eyes back to hers. “You have two options. You either sit and wallow in your sorrows or you make him squirm and enjoy every damn minute of it.” She looks over and my gaze follows before my eyes meet Rio’s from across the room. “And something tells me, you’re going to enjoy it very much.”
She laughs but I can’t hear anything else over the beating of my heart. The way Rio looks at me, like he could devour every part of my soul, makes my insides melt. She’s right about one thing. I’m going to enjoy him squirming very much.
Movement catches my eye and I watch as Rio’s security team slips over to him out of nowhere. Someone bends to whisper in his ear and the mood shifts instantly in the room. I watch the lines set in Rio’s jaw, his casual demeanor flickering off as the true cartel prince surfaces. He signals for his brothers, the atmosphere changing immediately.
It doesn’t take long before Rio is suddenly standing next to me, gripping my arm tightly. Andre and my cousins appear out of nowhere.
“What’s going on?” he asks as he eyes Rio’s grip on my arm.
“We’re leaving. Security issue.”
Before I know it, we’re gone before I can say goodbye to anyone.
As we drive through the night, the tension in the car becomes unbearable. Rio's gaze flickers to me every now and then, his expression unreadable. Finally, unable to bear the silence any longer, I speak up.
"What's really going on?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
He sighs heavily, running a hand through his dark hair.
"It's complicated.”
I shake my head, frustration bubbling up inside me.
"There you go again…treating me like a child. I may as well be back in Italy."
“You’re not going back to Italy,” he growls out as I watch his hands grip the steering wheel.
I don’t respond to him. Instead I cross my arms over my chest and stare out the front window. Eventually he relents when he realizes I’m not going to speak.
"Fine. The truth is, there's a power struggle within the cartel right now. My position is being threatened, and they probably will see you as a way to get to me."
My heart pounds in my chest at his words.
"So this threat tonight was because of me?"
Rio nods grimly.
"Maybe. I’m sure they will want to use you against me, leverage in their game for control."
I mull over those words as we pull into a hotel that looks like it was meant for royalty. My stomach lurches. I don’t know why but for some reason, our wedding night hadn’t crossed my mind during this entire drive. You would think I would be fine but for some reason, I’m more nervous than ever. We already had sex after all. But that was with Frankie,not Rio. And I know they are the same man but my heart and head aren’t seeing it the same way right now. I drag my feet behind him as we are led to a set of large doors. He looks the same, but he isn’t the same…is he? Will tonight feel like the first time all over again?
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rio
The second the suite door clicks shut, I lock it out of habit. Even here, a five-star fortress, paid triple for discretion, I don’t trust that we’re truly alone. I pivot, still holding my breath, because I half-expect Liana to bolt the moment she gets a chance. But she doesn’t run. She just stands there, shoulders squared and head high, glaring at me from across the room like she’s been waiting her whole life for this exact confrontation. She’s stunning, even with the angry scowl on her face.
She’s still in the wedding dress, and my cock stirs at the thought of what she might be wearing underneath it. It won’t be the lacy white lingerie she wore the night I took her innocence. I stole that piece and the next morning, locked it in my safe forever. My eyes slide lower as my hungry gaze takes her in. She looks nothing like the girl I picked up on her first day from Italy. She’s more woman now than ever and not just because I stole her innocence. No, there’s something elseunder the surface I can’t describe. There’s a hard line to her jaw I haven’t seen before and a set to her lips that says she might kill me with her bare hands if given the chance. Good. No wife of mine can be weak. She wouldn’t survive if she were.
I drop the keycard on a side table and toss my jacket at a chair, then I force a smile onto my face. It’s smooth and easy, the kind I’ve used to disarm a thousand rivals and right now, that's what this feels like. A face-off. I did after-all pretend to be someone else for months so I can’t really blame her, can I?
“Well,” I say, “I guess there’s no need to ‘consummate’ the marriage tonight, since technically, we already did that. Kind of takes the pressure off, don’t you think?”
