I heard water running and then he returned into the bedroom. The mix of water and blood in the glass had a light red color. He approached the bed, dipped his fingers into the liquid and then smeared it onto the center of the sheet. My cheeks flushed with realization. I approached him slowly and stopped when I was still out of arm’s reach, not that it would do me much good. I stared down at the stained sheets. “What are you doing?” I whispered.
“They want blood. They get blood.”
“Why the water?”
“Blood doesn’t always look the same.” He would know.
“Is it enough blood?”
“Did you expect a bloodbath?” He gave me a sardonic smile. “It’s sex, not a knife fight.”
He will fuck you bloody. The words were burnt into my brain, but I didn’t repeat them.
Just how many virgins have you taken to know about this? And how many of them came willingly into your bed? The words lay on the tip of my tongue, but I wasn’t suicidal.
“Won’t they know that it’s your blood?”
“No.” He walked back over to the table and poured Scotch into the glass with the remaining water and blood. His eyes held mine as he downed it in one gulp. I couldn’t help but wrinkle my nose in disgust. Was he trying to intimidate me? Drinking blood really wasn’t necessary for that. I’d been terrified of him before I’d ever met him. I’d probably still be terrified of him when I bowed my head over his open casket.
“What about a DNA test?”
He laughed. It wasn’t exactly a joyful sound. “They will take me by my word. Nobody will doubt that I’ve taken your virginity the moment we were alone. They won’t because I am who I am.”
Yes, you are. Then why did you spare me? Another thought to never leave my lips. But Luca must have been thinking the same because his dark brows drew together as his eyes roamed the length of my body.
I stiffened and took a step back.
“No,” he said in a low voice. I froze. “That is the fifth time you shied back from me tonight.” He set down the glass and took the knife in his hand. Then he advanced on me. “Did your father never teach you to hide your fear from monsters? They give chase if you run.”
Maybe he expected me to contradict his claim to be a monster, but I wasn’t that good a liar. If there were monsters, the men in my world were among them. When he arrived in front of me, I had to tilt my head back to look him in the face.
“That blood on the sheets needs a story,” he said simply as he brought the knife up. I flinched and he murmured, “That’s six times.”
He hooked the blade under the edge of the bodice of my wedding dress and slowly moved the knife down. The fabric gave way until it finally pooled at my feet. The blade never once touched my skin. “It’s tradition in our family to undress the bride like this.”
His family had many disgusting traditions.
Finally I stood before him in my tight white corset with its laces in the back and my panties with the bow over my butt. Goose bumps covered every inch of my body. Luca’s gaze was like fire on my skin. I drew back.
“Seven,” he said quietly.
Anger surged through me. If he was tired of me flinching away from him, then maybe he should stop being so intimidating.
“Turn around.”
I did as he ordered, and the sharp intake of his breath made me regret it instantly. He moved closer, and I felt a gentle tug on the bow that was holding my panties up. A present to unwrap. How could any man possibly resist? The words of Luca’s stepmother popped unwantedly into my head. I knew that below the bow, the top of my butt would be exposed. Say something to distract him from that stupid bow over your butt.
“You already bled for me,” I said in a shaky voice, and then almost inaudibly, “Please don’t.” My father would be ashamed of my open display of weakness. But he was a man. The world was his for the taking. Women were his for the taking. And we women were always supposed to give without protest.
Luca didn’t say anything, but his knuckles brushed the skin between my shoulder blades as he raised the knife to my corset. With a hiss the fabric came apart under the blade. I brought my hands up before that barrier of protection could fall as well and pressed the corset against my chest.
Luca wrapped his arm across my chest possessively, trapping my arm under his and gripped my shoulder, pressing me against him. I gasped when something hard poked me in the lower back. That wasn’t his gun. Heat flooded my cheeks and fear gripped my body.
His lips brushed my ear. “Tonight you beg me to spare you, but one day you’re going to beg me to fuck you.” No. Never, I swore to myself. His breath was hot against my skin, and I closed my eyes. “Don’t think because I don’t claim my rights tonight that you aren’t mine, Aria. No other man will ever have what belongs to me. You are mine.” I nodded, but he wasn’t done yet. “If I catch a man kissing you, I’ll cut out his tongue. If I catch a man touching you, I’ll cut off his fingers, one at a time. If I catch a guy fucking you, I’ll cut off his dick and his balls, and I’ll feed them to him. And I’ll make you watch.”
He dropped his arm and stepped back. From the corner of my eye, I watched him stride over to the armchair and sink down in it. He reached for the bottle of Scotch and poured himself a generous amount. Before he could change his mind, I quickly walked into the bathroom, closed the door and turned
