Page 14 of Wicked Vows
The maid’s warning clings to me like cobwebs, sticky and hard to brush off.I picture Nico, stern and unyielding, guarding his memories –––his shared past with Catherine — with the same intensity he defends his territory.
My mind flashes to images of him with Catherine and her belly swollen with a child he never held.What really happened to my husband’s first wife?Is it as everyone said?Did he murder her for money?Or is there more to the story?
He referred to her as his wife last night after saying his vows to me.He must have loved her.He must still love her.
I’m jealous of a dead woman.I have no right to be.I have no claim on Nico nor his heart.No more so than he has on me and mine, but part of me was hoping.Last night I dreamed of him––our life, our future together.One where he fell madly and deeply in love with me at first sight.
It’s nothing more than a fantasy.Like something in a movie or romance novel.
I thought when I left home, I’d travel and meet a mysterious stranger who’d take one look at me, and they’d know that I was it for them.They’d look at me the way I imagined Nico was looking at me before I even exited the car.And again, when it was only the two of us after he signed the contract with my father.
But all my hopes and wishes were dashed the moment his lips touched mine, and he would barely look at me.He probably kisses his grandmother with more passion than he gave me.
I grab a random book off the shelf, not bothering to check the title.I’ll gladly escape to any reality but my own.I flop down on a nearby brown leather sofa, sinking into the worn cushions.Nico’s scent wraps around me, and I can’t help but think of him lounging here with a book or smoking a cigar.
I snort when I flip the book open and read the title page.The Art of War.I’m definitely in for a battle if I’m ever going to win my husband’s affection.Step one.Planning.
How do I seduce a Don?
Chapter Six
Istepoutofthe shower, purposely running late getting dressed for dinner.Ms.Bentley found me in the library and told me I was expected to attend a dinner with my husband and his associates.I glance at my bed, seeing the red dress that’s been laid out for me.
I’m nervous but want to impress him.I want to prove that I’m worthy of being his wife.That I can prove everyone wrong and uphold my end of this marriage of contract.
I paint my lips a vibrant shade of red and wear my hair down but with a tousled, wavy style.Or maybe I should wear it up, so I can take it down halfway through the meal.
I think about his fingers on my neck this morning.Is Nico playing with me?Teasing me until I go mad with desire?Two can play his game.I decide on an updo.
There’s a light knock on my door, and I turn quickly while snatching the dress from the bed to cover my body.
Nico enters my room, wearing a salacious smirk.My new husband oozes power in his suit.“Thought you’d be ready by now.”
“Almost.”I drop the dress back onto the bed, giving him a full view of me in my black lacey undergarments.
His throat bobs, and the muscles in his jaw twitch.“I’ll let you finish up.”
“Could you do me…up?”I retrieve my dress and shimmy into it.I turn my back to him, and he steps in close behind me.The heat of his breath fans across the back of my neck.Slowly he drags the zipper upward.He squeezes my hip then steps back.I glance over my shoulder at him.“Think you could help me with these, too?”I point to my gold glittery peep-toe heels.
“Sure.”
“Thank you.”I sit on the edge of the bed, and he goes down on one knee as though he’s about to propose.The slit of my dress falls to the wayside as he lifts my foot, cradling it in his hand before leaving it to rest against his chest as he fiddles with the strap of my shoe.
I’m thankful I had a pedicure yesterday.
Nico rubs a knuckle along the arch of my foot and then slips the sparkly shoe onto my foot.He adjusts the strap and glides his hand up my calve.“How’s that feel?”
“Perfect.”
He repeats the motions, taking his sweet time, taunting me with his gentle touches and heated glances.
“Hungry?”he questions as he escorts me from my room.
“Famished,” I tell him, but it’s not food I want.I want a redo of our kiss.I want sparks.I want the fucking fairytale I’ve been robbed of having.
We enter the dining room together.His associates and men fill the seats.All but the one at the head of the table.I notice there isn’t a seat at the foot of it now.He pulls out the seat to his left for me and leans in close.His lips brush my ear when he says, “You look beautiful, wife.”He takes his seat, and my belly warms at his words.
I open my mouth trying to come up with a witty reply when the man seated across from me speaks up.“My brother knows how to marry the most beautiful women.”The man is named Marco.I recognize him easily enough.He resembles Nico in some ways, but his face is rounder, and his hair is more of a medium brown rather than black.I recall seeing him at the ceremony, but he was too busy getting drunk to make an introduction.“It’s a pleasure to officially meet you, Odette.”The way he says my name is intense and turns my stomach upside down.Not in a good way.
