"He doesn't have any family?" I ask.
"No children," he says. "It's the reason I've been his stand-in for all these years. But he did have six ex-wives."
"Six?" I ask.
"All of them died mysterious deaths," Dante says. "Their bodies were never found. The families of these women tried to investigate what happened, but no evidence ever surfaced.”
“Do you think he killed all of those women?” I ask.
"I don't know what to assume, but he's definitely not innocent," Dante says.
A shudder passes down my body.
An unrequited love. A fugitive Don. Six dead ex-wives.
It's a strange, strange world.
"What's his name?" I ask.
"Raffaele Savastano," he says. "But the locals call himBarbablù. Bluebeard."
I'm not certain why, but just hearing his name evokes terror inside me. There's something sinister about that man if he's responsible for the disappearance of six women.
And by marrying Dante, I’ve become a part of their dark world.
The weight of the truth feels too heavy to carry.
A thought sneaks its way into my head.
For the first time, I wonder if I made a mistake signing that contract in the first place.
30
DANTE
She’s been quieter than usual.
I wish I could reach inside her mind and see her thoughts.
I watch her as she gets ready for Ivy Blackwood's party tonight. She's wearing a lilac dress with long sleeves and a plunging neckline. I’ve had her for hours this evening, but the beast inside me is starving again.
"You're giving me that look again, Dante," she says, applying lipstick before the mirror.
"What look?" I ask, enjoying the way she fidgets under my watchful gaze.
"The one that tells me you're seconds away from ripping this dress," she says. "Which I can't allow you to do. This isVivienne Westwood."
"All I know is that it'll look better on the floor," I say.
"Dante,no," she says, lifting her finger like she's telling off a bad dog. "Don't even think about it."
I stalk toward her, noticing the way her nipples pebble under my gaze.
She's seated before the dressing table. I come to a stop behind her.
When our eyes lock in the mirror, time itself seems to slow down. I reach forward to wrap my hand around her bare throat.
"I have something for you," I say.
