Page 21 of Wedlocked

It wasn’t until we exchanged rings and the priest blessed them as symbols of love and fidelity, that her silver eyes seemed to melt as she looked into mine. The priest didn’t need to invite us to exchange a kiss, I leaned down and caught her plump, soft lips against mine, kissing her with tenderness that hinted ever so vaguely of the unrestrained passion I’d deliver later.

The rest of the ceremony flew by, with the recital of the Lord’s Prayer followed by my bride and I kneeling at the altar to receive our nuptial blessing from the priest. I was glad I’d chosen an abbreviated wedding version and not the full Mass. As we signed our marriage license, all I could think about was enduring our reception next when all I wanted was to take my wife home and make her mine.

It wasn’t until I caught her hand in mine and we walked down the aisle, confetti thrown at us by the guests and photographers clicking their cameras furiously even before we’d stepped outside for the official photographs, that my chest swelled and joy suffused me from the inside out.

I allowed myself a brief moment of sentiment, allowed it to carry me along as though I walked on air. I’d embrace my emotion today. Then I’d crush it like it’d never been.

Chapter Thirteen

Sabrina

Something had changed, shifted between us. Not just the fact I was married to Ethan and our lives were now temporarily entwined, I’d sensed his speculative gaze on me like a force-field, like he wanted to inhale me…devour me.

I shivered as the photographers finally took the last of the outdoor shots, many of them with my maid of honor and my brother. They had, after all, been our only bridal party. That they also shared a mutual dislike of each other made for a volatile, yet impassioned photoshoot.

“We’ll meet you at reception,” one of the photographers said with a sidelong glance at us as he packed away his gear.

Ethan nodded. “There will be plenty more photo opportunities at the house. My staff has been busy all day prepping for the event.”

“Our reception is being held at your house?” I asked.

He nodded, before he added, “It’s safest for everyone there, with my men more easily able to secure the premises.”

No doubt he’d also more easily be able to sweep me up to the bedroom suite, where we had an entire wing of the house to ourselves. I shivered yet again, both aroused and nervous. Now that I was his wife did he think he could fuck me whenever the urge took him?

Holy shit. Did he think he owned me now? Even if he didn’t kill me in the foreseeable future, would he get off on hurting and humiliating me? He might already have given me orgasms, but that didn’t mean he’d always be so generous.

His sexual appetites were as talked about as his dark nature. He had no trouble destroying those who dared go against him. That I’d dared to do such a thing would always be at the back of his mind, something I doubted very much he’d forgive me for. And that wasn’t to forget the fact my family had killed his brother.

I wondered for a brief moment if my father had used our enforcer for the job or if it’d been one of his more disposable soldiers. Either way, it didn’t really matter, Nico was dead and gone now and I was the one who’d now pay for his death.

That Ethan was attracted to me was my only advantage, and I wasn’t above using it to distract him from becoming the monster I knew resided inside him. It was a double edged sword. I was scared of having sex with him again in case he turned on me, yet I was desperate enough to use sex to protect me.

We climbed into the back of the stretch limousine, my brother and Isabella sharing the other stretch limousine. I only hoped they didn’t kill each other on the journey home.

Home?

Goosebumps flecked my arms, reality catching up to me. Ethan’s home really was my home now, too. I lay back against the leather seat, my emotions bubbling inside me. It’d only been three days ago that I’d met Ethan and now I was his frigging wife! I twisted my wedding ring round and round. It was almost too much to take in.

“How does it feel to be Mrs. Agostino?” he drawled.

I didn’t consider my words when I blurted, “Like a death sentence.”

He inhaled sharply. “Tell me something—is your expiry date always at the forefront of your mind?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” my voice sounded as bitter as I felt, and I didn’t even care that I’d promised him not to talk about my coming death. “It hangs over my head like a dark fucking cloud.”

“So you want reassurance from me? You want me to lie and tell you everything will be okay?”

“Who wouldn’t? I-I’d much prefer you pretend you’re not going to get rid of me the moment you’ve had enough of me.”

“So you really think I’ll get tired of you?”

“We both know this marriage is a farce, a temporary thing. You’ll use me to extract whatever information you can out of me, just as you’ll use me as leverage for more power. It should make you and your family happy for a short while.”

He stiffened beside me and my breath shuddered out, my emotions needing release by speaking aloud my worst fears. “But the moment my usefulness ends, you’ll all question why I’m still alive while your brother is six foot under. Then you’ll all question if that makes you look weak.”

“Stop,” he commanded, his voice like a gunshot and just as deadly. “No more talking about death—yours or anyone else’s—on our wedding night. No more talking, period.”

---