Page 34 of Ruthless Vows

She rolls her eyes. “The opposite. I’m scared of what I’ll say. I’m barely holding myself back from cursing you the fuck out. What the hell were you thinking?”

I raise a hand in the air, a gesture for our drinks to be brought forward. Once they’re placed on the desk, I grab my whiskey. Lucia ignores her drink, which is fair. I take a sip before speaking.

“What exactly is your problem,krasavitsa?”

“You want to marry me? No, scratch that—youdemandedit, like you were haggling over celery at a farmers' market. You walked into my home and said your piece without giving a fuck about what I wanted.”

“What do you want?”

“To not marry you,” she answers immediately.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,milaya.”

“Are you kidding me? I barely even know you, Ivan. I’d only met you once in my life before you showed up in my home yesterday. It doesn’t make sense for us to get to married.”

“We can always begin to get to know each other, Lucia. Why do you think I asked you out tonight?”

“Because you want me to throw a drink in your face,” she grits out.

My lips turn up in a smile. I do that a lot around her. Smiling. It’s not something I do often, but around Lucia, I feel light enough to do so.

“I think we’d be great together. It’s as simple as that. There’s no special reasoning. I needed a wife and I knew who you were so I decided to marry you.”

“Wait,” she starts, her mouth parting. “You knew who I was that first night? Is that why you approached me? Because I’m a Maranzano?”

She looks a little ill at the knowledge. I pause, trying to think of a careful answer.

“I didn’t approach you because of your last name, Lucia. I actually had no idea who you were until you said your name.”

“And after you found out, you slept with me to what? Trap me into a marriage?”

I frown. “Give me a little more credit than that.”

“No, I can’t,” she says, shaking her head. “You’re a terrible person. I realized that the second I saw you, and I should have never let anything happen between us. You think everyone else is beneath you and we’re all supposed to dance to your tune. But I’m not going to let that happen. In case it wasn’t clear from the dozens of times I already said it, I’m going to say it again, slower this time. I am not marrying you.”

I huff out a breath, feeling a little annoyance at her tone. I’m trying my fucking hardest to be patient here.

“You don’t have a choice, Lucia. Your family’s contractually bound to see this through. If they don’t, I’ll end them.”

“Fuck you. You’ll do nothing to my family!” she snaps.

“Wanna bet?”

“None of us has done anything wrong. You’re going to start a fight because of a deal a dead man made with you. If you begin this war, people will die. The people I care about could get hurt. Where the fuck is your humanity?”

She’s genuinely upset. I lift my hand, placing two fingers on her chin and stroking it softly. She doesn’t even flinch from my touch, which is how I know she wants me too. She might try to deny it, but she does.

“Your mistake,milaya, is thinking I have any humanity at all.”

She shifts out of my grasp at that, grabbing the drink on the table. I like a woman who follows through on her threats. But she’s too slow and I’m able to hold her hand in place before she can throw the cocktail in my face. Very slowly, I guide her hand back down, removing the glass from her hand and placing it on the table.

“Your anger is justified, Lucia,” I assure her, rubbing my thumb over the pressure point on her wrist. I feel her heart rate spike for a second before she rips her hand from my grasp. I look up, making sure to keep my eyes on her as I speak. “Mark my words, though, our marriage is a foregone conclusion. I decided it’s going to happen so it is. I wish I could give you more choice in the matter,krasavitsa, but I can’t. This isn’t just about you and me anymore, it’s about your family’s organization and the honor behind their words.”

“Screw honor,” she spits.

“You may say that, but if they can’t keep their word in their dealings then why should anyone deal with them in the first place? I’m sure the Don is very aware of how deep this entire situation goes. It’s not just about a marriage. A promise was made. If they refuse to fulfill it, the Cosa Nostra will fall.”

“You’re a sociopath,” she grits out.

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