It was as if he were casting a spell. But there was no force powerful enough to undo the actions that led to this nightmare.
“Bless them with joy that endures,” he continued, “with faith that never falters, and with a love that mirrors Your own divine heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
The priest lowered his hands, a smile softening his face as he looked between us.
I never wanted to stab someone more.
Well, maybe that wasn’t quite true. There was the devil in front of me. But stabbing him felt wrong somehow.
“You have declared your consent before God and His Church,” the priest concluded. “May the Lord, in His goodness, strengthen your bond and fill youboth with His blessings. By the authority vested in me by the Church, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
The words were a clap of thunder in my chest. Caught in the moment, I didn’t see the monster strike.
Vincenzo Messina, a king of the underworld, shot forward, grabbing me around the waist and bending me over. For a split second, our gazes clashed. There was fire and pain, memory and loss. The world shifted, and then his mouth crashed against mine. Lightning struck. The kiss carried the power of a wave, a current of strength running electric through the contact. The feel of his mouth drew me under the water.
I gripped his suit jacket, holding on before I drowned.
As I struggled for air, a far scarier realization jolted me. Like an AED device, the kiss shocked something deep in my chest. The electrical spark penetrated the walls I built around the tomb. The stone cracked, and my soul pulsed with a beat of life.
I tried to scream, fighting the resuscitation.
But with a growl, Vincenzo covered my mouth, deepening the kiss. He was hot,burningmy hands. He poured every drop of his feelings into me, forcing me to accept his terms without the hope of mercy.
The church spun as buried emotions surfaced.
I was helpless in their wake. To my horror, I realized that I was kissing the monster back. There was nothing gentle about the caress. He threatened to consume me, and I fought back with everything I had.
As sudden as the contact was, it was over just as sharply. Vincenzo reared back. If he hadn’t been holding me, I would have toppled over. My chest heaved as I struggled to draw the much needed air into my lungs.
Those deep brown eyes—because, yes, they weren’t black, now that I knew them—studied me for a beat. Whatever conclusion he came to, he kept to himself. Without a word, he grabbed my hand, tore it from his jacket, and marched us down the aisle.
No farewell to the witnesses, no chance to be congratulated. This was it. We were married.
Enzo and Mandy….
I fell into the front seat of the car, and the monster slammed the door behind me. Only because I was watching him did I see him rake a hand through his hair ashe walked behind the car. It was him. The beautiful fiend who possessed the grown body of the boy I once knew. Vincenzo shrugged out of his suit jacket, ripped the tie from his throat, and popped the top buttons open. Clearly, this worked him up just as much as it had me.
Chapter 23 – Vincenzo
The snug, seaside bungalow was far away from town, so there was little risk of my wife leaving. I wasn’t sure if she planned on it or if she was too exhausted to formulate a revenge plot against me. Her wrath was something I counted on, and her vow had promised retribution.
But as she took the suitcase from me inside the living room of the cozy cottage, she seemed more likely to fall asleep than stab me over dinner.
I ignored the funny feeling in my chest. “I’ll have food ready in fifteen minutes.”
Amanda snorted softly. “Don’t bother. I won’t eat.”
I flexed my hand at my side to keep from grabbing her by the throat, pushing her against the wall, and growling in her face. The urge was resistible for five seconds, but the way she tipped her chin and stepped toward the stairs made me snap.
She let out a squeak as my fingers wrapped around her slim neck and my arm caged her ribs against my body.
“You will join me at the table,” I commanded her.
Amanda shook her head, but my grip tightened and cut off the movement.
“I said dinner will be ready in fifteen. If you’re not down before that, you’re late—and you don’t want to test me, Mandy.”
To my delight, she let out a strangled snarl, lips pulled back in defiance. Huh, maybe there was some fight left in her yet.
