Page 10 of Savage Union
"Thank you," I tell her, making a point to be polite where Vito merely nods his dismissal.
We eat in silence for several minutes. The food is spectacular, but I'd rather die than admit it.
"You went into my office today," he says suddenly.
I freeze, fork halfway to my mouth. "How do you?—"
"I know everything that happens in this penthouse."
"Cameras?" The thought makes my skin crawl.
"Among other things." He sips his wine, watching me over the rim. "You also entered my bedroom."
Heat rushes to my face—anger, not embarrassment. "Are you spying on me?"
"Protecting my interests."
"I'm not your interest. I'm your prisoner."
"You're my fiancée." He says it so matter-of-factly that I want to stab him with my fork.
"I never agreed to that."
"Yet here we are." He cuts into his food with surgical precision. "The ring?"
"Still in the box."
"Put it on."
"No."
His eyes flash. "That wasn't a request."
"I don't care what it was."
He sets down his silverware, the soft clink somehow more threatening than a shout. "Your defiance is... unexpected. Your father painted you as more compliant."
"My father didn't know me at all." I spear a piece of pasta with unnecessary force. "And neither do you."
"I'm learning." His voice drops lower, almost intimate. "You're intelligent. Observant. Protective of your family. Stubborn to the point of self-destruction."
"Flattered," I mutter.
"You should be. I don't waste time analyzing people who don't matter."
"So I matter? Is that supposed to make me feel special?"
His expression darkens. "Don't push me, Caterina."
"Or what? You'll kill me? Then who will be your puppet bride?" The words rush out before I can stop them.
In one fluid motion, he's on his feet, towering over me. I flinch despite myself.
"I won't kill you," he says, voice dangerously soft. "There are consequences far worse than death."
"Like being married to you?" I snap back, heart racing.
Something flickers in his eyes—amusement? Respect? It's gone before I can identify it.
