Page 19 of Heartless Union

Emilio gives me a nod without saying anything.

“I’m going to drive Lara home,” Rocco tells them. “Deal with him.” He nods at the man on the ground, then wipes his bloody knuckles on his pants and motions for me to follow him.

I’m a little scared, too, but I do anyway. Massimo gives me a wink before I go like he’s in on a secret I know nothing about.

“Why did you hurt that man?” I ask as Rocco leads me to his car.

“He touched you when you didn’t want him to. He needed to pay. No one makes a fool of my family.”

“I’m not your family.”

He looks at me over the hood of the car. His intense gaze leaves me breathless. “Not yet, but when you become my wife, you will be. I protect those who are a part of my family.” He gets into the car.

I’m stuck in place. Rocco makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. Things that feel … forbidden. Fear and lust mixed together.

I’m scared to be alone with him for some reason, but after taking a deep breath, I grab the car handle, open the door, and slide into my seat next to Rocco.

It’s just the two of us alone together for the first time.

I shouldn’t be afraid of my soon-to-be husband, but I am. I’m also strangely drawn to him. What is this feeling?

All I know is I’m stuck in this car with him as he drives me home. If he wanted to do anything to me, he could.

And there would be no way for me to stop him.

CHAPTER 5

Rocco

Lara is silent on the drive. She keeps fidgeting, and whenever I glance at her, she looks the opposite way.

I make her nervous; that much is obvious. But I only did what I had to do with the man from the club. Mark was his name. I only got that information after I beat the shit out of him. No one gets to touch my wife but me.

This sudden possessiveness I feel for Lara is new. No other woman has made me feel this way. But then again, no other woman is about to become my wife.

“I scare you,” I say to fill the silence.

She glances at me. “Oh, um …”

“It’s ok. You can tell me.”

“You do,” she admits, staring into her lap. She always does that, and it bugs me. I want to see her pretty face.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Lara. I would never lay a hand on you. That’s one thing you don’t need to fear from me.”

Her shoulders relax a little bit. “That’s good to know. Thank you.” She pauses. “Your brothers seem … nice.”

A sharp laugh escapes me, and she flinches. “My brothers and I aren’t known for being nice exactly. But they also won’t hurt you. That’s a fact.”

“Ok,” she says, falling silent again.

“I’m not good at conversation,” I tell her.

“Me neither.”

I stifle a sigh. This is going to be a long marriage if we can’t even have a simple conversation for more than a minute. I don’t need us to talk for us to be married. I’m ok with things being just physical. But I do want Lara to stop being so timid around me. I want a submissive wife—not a scared one.

“Is there anything you want to ask me?”

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