Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“God, you’re such a piece of shit,” she whispers, words trembling. “Seriously, Lev. You have no idea how cruel you are.”
“I’m being pragmatic. You should try it. Now, if we’re done?”
I turn away before she answers. If I let her keep talking, I don’t know how I’ll resist burying her little mouth with my own and claiming her right here.
This is going to be a painful marriage.
My mask falls into place. Once again, I’m affable Lev, engaging, attractive.
While under the surface, I’m boiling for that woman.
Chapter 10
Carmie
I’m not going to cry. I’m not going to cry. If I cry right now it’s going to make everything so much worse, so I am absolutely, positively not going to cry.
It takes all my energy to keep myself from sobbing as I stand in front of a few dozen important members of both the Zeitsev Bratva and the Marino Famiglia. None of my friends are here. They’re not important enough, and who cares what I want?
This isn’t about me.
It’s about my father and his brother. Don Marino sits up front, looking older and thinner with every passing day, with my cousin Adriano by his side. My father’s on Adriano’s other side with Luca and Daniel.
At least Luca’s giving me a grin and a thumbs-up like he knows I need all the support I can get right now.
My husband is barely looking at me. Every time I glance in his direction, his eyes dart away. I keep hearing the loathing in his voice, and I don’t even understand what he thinks I did to him. As if I’m the problem here? As if I’m the one that negotiated this and arranged it?
Of everyone in this room, I’m the most innocent.
And yet he seems to hate me the most.
I wanted to tell him about the baby before we said the words and made it official. Maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference, but I wanted to see if that changed anything for him.
I don’t get a choice, but he should.
That was my thinking anyway.
He so clearly wants nothing more than a show marriage—and I doubt children are in the future.
Except for the child already growing in me.
But it’s too late. The ceremony starts and I’m trapped. It’s all noise and words I can barely understand until the priest gets to the part where we exchange rings and vows, and I know what’s coming next. Cold metal feels heavy on my finger as the sun begins to set over the river. If there’s a boat coming, maybe I can jump over the side and swim over.
Maybe I can just drown.
“You may kiss the bride.”
There’s a moment where I don’t move. Lev stares at me, jaw flexing. His disarming smirk fades, and I think maybe he won’t do it, like he’s so disgusted by the thought of becoming my husband that he’ll refuse me in front of everyone.
What’s another little humiliation matter?
Then he covers the distance between us, puts a hand on the small of my back and the other on my arm, and presses his lips to mine.
Warm. Soft. Everything I remember. A hint of whiskey—he’s been drinking. Is he nervous, like I am? Or is that just the kind of man he is? I realize how little I know about him, and oh, god—
The kiss deepens. It shouldn’t, but it does. I feel the very tip of his tongue against mine. I fight a whimper, and the memory of that night floods me. My first time. My everything.
Desire rips into my core. A fuzzy intensity makes my brain a pile of mush. This shouldn’t feel good.
But it feels like heaven.
Then he pulls away, right as our kiss teeters on the edge of inappropriate.
I’m swept into the reception. Luca shoves a glass of champagne in my hand, and I discreetly leave it on a table without drinking any. The men and their glittering wives congregate and tell loud stories as I’m passed from group to group, my brothers at my elbows like a couple of guards. And who knows, maybe they really are? It should be my husband showing me off, but Lev’s somewhere else. I don’t know what he’s doing, and I don’t care.
“You make a lovely bride.” Valentin Zeitsev smiles at me. His beautiful wife, Karine, hangs onto his arm.
“Congratulations,” she says and gives me a quick hug. “You did great.”
“I assume this wasn’t easy for you, but I want you to know how much this means to me and my family.” Valentin’s young and very good-looking. I’m actually shocked at how handsome he is. Everyone says Adriano’s the most gorgeous man in the city, but I don’t know about that. My cousin’s kind of a prick.
Lev might outshine them both, though.
Another young woman appears at my elbow. She’s blonde and chic, beautiful even, and gives me a massive hug. “I guess it’s time we met,” she says, forcing herself to smile. “I’m your sister-in-law, Natalya. And this is my husband, Alex. He’s good friends with Lev.”