Page 20 of Hateful Vows
“Don’t know, don’t care,kozyol. It’s not like this is real anyway.”
“Kozyol? Are you giving me a little endearment,vipera? I think I like it.”
Against my better judgment, I snort. It’s the most unladylike sound I’ve ever made. And delights my future husband, of course. If he knew I just insulted his character and intelligence, maybe he wouldn’t. But the smile that takes over his face, showing perfect rows of white teeth is blinding. And I don’t know why it makes me laugh harder. I press my lips together, hiding them behind the hand that isn’t locked in Dante’s. I close my eyes and conjure the image of Ivan Dobrev in the pool of his own blood. My laughter recedes. I breathe in and out better.
“You’re breathtaking when you laugh, Irina.”
My breath catches in my throat. Our eyes collide and the sincerity of his words hit me like a ton of bricks.
“Can I kiss the bride now?” Dante asks and his men snicker. I look towards the crowd, the clear divide between Bratva and Mafia. Aleksei’s mouth kicks up to the side. I’ve known him forfifteen years. He’s never smiled at me but now he’s smiling at our enemy’s ridiculous joke? Men are such a disappointment.
We recite vows I don’t believe in quickly. Aleksei gets up and steps next to me, handing me the ring I chose for Dante. It’s a simple band of rose gold. Once it’s blessed, I slide it onto his ring finger and clench my teeth as the color fits his olive skin so perfectly. It was meant as a slight, but when I look up, Dante’s eyes are riveted to the ring, lips slightly parted as if in awe. He swallows and pulls a velvet box from his inside pocket. When he opens it, I gasp. Two rings encrusted with diamonds all around criss-cross in an X shape. At the middle of the cross, what looks like a small pink sapphire stands proud.
“It’s gorgeous.”
“It was my mother’s.”
I don’t deserve it. This sham will never be real. This piece, it’s significant to Dante and his family and I might have been taught to hate him but I can’t take it.
Before I can stop him, he slides the ring onto my finger and kisses it, his eyes on mine. Murmurs pass through the crowd, interrupted by the priest.
“You may kiss the bride.”
I take a step forward, so small in comparison to his tall frame. Before I know what’s happening, Dante threads an arm around my waist, pulling me into his strong body. His scent is all around me, clouding my judgment. I don’t see another explanation as to why my heart goes on overdrive with anticipation.
His other hand glides to my cheek and jaw.
“I assure you,sposa mia, this is very real.”
And then he slants his lips on mine.
I've been kissed before. But never like this. Never with the objective of devouring, of taking so thoroughly I have nothing left. He holds me like I’m precious, like he never wants to let go.
Dante angles my head back with his thumb on my chin and I give in. Our kiss deepens and I’m barely conscious of how fast I open for him, tangling my tongue to delve into his mouth and get more of him, more of his taste. There’s a hint of whiskey on his tongue and it makes me wild.
I wrap a hand around his neck and let the other thread through his thick dark hair. The movement makes him groan into my mouth and he presses me closer to his body until I can feel how much I affect him. One kiss and he’s hard against me. And I don’t want to stop.
His hand clasp my backside, adding pressure between us.
“I think this will be a very fruitful marriage,” the priest jokes and the crowd applauds.
Dante withdraws a few inches and throws a dark look to the officiant. “Next time you interrupt my wife and I, I’ll cut off your tongue.”
Nothing like a promise of blood and mayhem to make me grow wetter than that kiss already did. I clear my throat and take a step back, turning to the crowd.
Aleksei’s fists are clenched so hard his knuckles are blanching. He might pop a tooth.
I step down, and Dante takes my hand in his.
“Don’t even fucking look at me like this, Aleksei. You did this. You made our bed, now fucking lie in it.”
Head held high, I step aside to let Aleksei up the platform. He turns his back on me and it’s just as well. I don’t need to see the look on his face when he marries his bride.
I watch as Dante walks down the aisle to where a feminine silhouette awaits. He offers his elbow and murmurs something to Lucie’s ear. Her face is somber but it almost gives her an eerily beauty. Nothing like the jokester she was minutes ago in the room with me. Maybe it was just her way to settle her nerves. I shouldn’t care. I shouldn’t want to reassure her.
Lucie Ventura is gracious as she walks towards my step-brother. The heart-shaped neckline of her dress accentuates a delicate collarbone adorned with a single gold chain with a ruby on it. I immediately know it’s a gift from Dante and I don’t understand why that makes me mad. She’s just family. And even though it’s in name only, she’s about to marry the man I’ve…
I can’t think about it.
