"Nobody follows," I said to the security guard standing at the stairway. The command was absolute. He nodded, understanding that anyone who disobeyed would pay for it.
CHAPTER 12
EMILIA
"You're a virgin,aren't you, Emilia?" His voice comes from the door behind me. Turning, I see him leaning against the open door, his frame filling the doorway like a predator blocking the only exit. "As adamant as your mother was about showing the sheets tomorrow morning, I figure you must be."
Standing a little straighter, I rip my eyes from his body. The way his shirt stretched across his chest, the way his sleeves were still rolled up, revealing those tattooed forearms. "I am." His blank expression changed; he was smug now. Walking fully into the room, he catches the edge of the door, and it slams shut. The sound echoed through the room like a gunshot, final and terrifying.
He didn't stop moving toward me, his eyes locked on me. Each step deliberate, measured, as if he were stalking prey. "Have you ever touched yourself?"
"No," I whispered.
"You want me to believe that at twenty-two you've never pleasured yourself? Never taken these long slender fingers and slid them between your legs?" He picked up my hand, turned itover so my palm faced up, and traced each finger with his. The touch was feather-light but burned like fire.
"No, I haven't." I held my head high, squaring my shoulders. I might be a killer, but liar isn't on the list of attributes I hold.
"Why not?" He dragged his hand up my arm, leaving goosebumps on my skin.
"It felt dirty," I whispered, avoiding his gaze.
"Oh, good old Catholic guilt." He chuckled and dropped my hand. "You are aware I will be doing more than touching you, right?" I nodded. He walked behind me and began to undo the zipper of my wedding dress. The sound of each tooth separating seemed deafening in the quiet room. "You look terrified. How is that possible? You've given orders to kill men, you've taken lives, yet here you are shaking like a leaf at the thought of sex. Where's the guilt for that?"
"There's nothing to feel guilty for when ridding the world of men who have no business taking up space in it," I said without emotion.
"Oh, there's the doña I was expecting." He pulled harder on the corset laces.
"I'm not the doña." My words whispered, and were laughable after he'd figured out my secret.
"No, but I am the don, and I'm going to take what's mine." With one simple tug, the heavy weight of the dress dropped to the floor and pooled around my feet. The cool air hit my skin, raising goosebumps everywhere. "I can see you did obey something I asked of you, Emilia." Closing my eyes, I hoped he would delay his touch on my now naked body.
When I'd received the note he'd sent, I read it six times, sure he'd been joking.
Wife,
I expect you to be naked under that dress.
Husband
Blinking quickly, I frantically called Letty into the room. I held out the note and watched her face change from confusion to disbelief.
"Well, let's get you dressed. I'll get everyone out." She left the bathroom, and I could hear her shooing my family out. There was no way I could get dressed with them staying around now.
My mind came back to the present, and I couldn't believe I was standing naked in front of a man. Well, I was still wearing my thigh-high stockings and shoes, so was I totally naked?Semantics Emilia, of course, you're naked.I couldn't keep my mind from spiralling.
I jumped when Nico put his hand on my bare lower back and walked on the delicate beading of my dress as he moved in front of me again, his fingers never once leaving my skin. The connection was electric, overwhelming.
"You're even more perfect than I imagined." He moved his hand from my hip to cup the apex of my thighs. "Are you wet? Do you like this, my bride?" My breath caught in my throat as he dipped his finger between my legs. Biting the inside of my lip, I vowed not to make a sound. His fingers found my core and pushed up into me. "You're soaked, amore."
"I'm not your amore." I spat, taking a step back from him. He lifted his hand and looked at it before putting a finger in his mouth and sucking it clean, repeating the process on the other two fingers that touched me.
"Just like I thought. Delicious." He said, taking a step closer to me. Lifting his hand, I cowered slightly, but his middle finger rested on my lip. "Open your mouth." I kept my jaw tightly clamped against the pressure on my lip. "Don't make me use force so soon in our betrothal. Open your mouth." His words were quiet but commanding. I let my jaw go slack, and he pressed his finger between my lips. "Suck." He growled.
I followed his instructions and ran my tongue around his finger, keeping my eyes locked on his, challenging him to break the hold I had on him. He pulled his finger out with a pop and the smirk he bore, tired into a grin. "I never dreamed you'd be so filthy. No, that's not true, I just didn't expect you to be so willing. Under all that seriousness is a woman desperately trying to break free." In one swoop, his arms wrapped around me, and he lifted me off the floor.
Cradling me, I expected to be gently laid on the bed, but he took me to the dresser and placed me in front of it. "Put your hands on the dresser." I heard his belt slide along the fabric of his pants with a whoosh before it clanged to the floor. His zipper lowering was deafening, and I clamped my eyes shut. "Open your eyes, you're going to watch your reflection as I take you," he said, leaning over my back and whispering in my ear. I opened my eyes and couldn't understand how he knew.
Moving a hand down my back, he touched me ever so gently, like he'd actually cared. His fingers ran over my spine, tracing each vertebra, and stopped above my ass. With his other hand, he reached around and slid between my slit. His fingers twirled around my clit, my breath caught in my throat at his touch, and I involuntarily moved my hips closer to him. "That's a good girl, you make people think you're innocent, but all you've wanted today was my touch." He shoved two fingers in me and spread them open. "I was worried you wouldn't be ready for me, but you've proven to exceed my expectations."
