“Goddammit!” He snarled and gripped my shoulder again. “She’s not yours. She’s a married woman now.”
“She never wanted any of this,” I said harshly and shook Luca’s hand off. “It should have been me next to her at the altar.”
“But you weren’t. It’s too late, Romero. This is Chicago. We won’t start a fucking war because you can’t keep it in your pants.”
I got straight into his face. “This is much more than that and you know it.”
“I don’t care, Romero. You watched Liliana walk down that aisle and now you have to accept the consequences. She did her duty and so should you. Go to your room and get some sleep. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Luca was Capo. It was his job to look out for the best of the Famiglia, but right then I wanted to kill him. I’d never wanted to kill my Capo. “Yes, boss.”
Luca grabbed my arm. “I mean it. This is a direct order. I won’t have war over this. I’ve warned you about how this would end a long time ago, but you didn’t listen.”
“I won’t do anything,” I gritted out. Even I wasn’t sure if it was the truth or if I was lying. I hadn’t made up my mind yet.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Liliana
When people started to call for Benito and me to retire to his room, I felt the blood leave my face. Benito didn’t waste any time though. He took my hand and pulled me to my feet, and before I knew what was going on we were heading toward our room.
His palm stuck to the thin material of my wedding dress. It was sweaty and heavy and too warm. Slowly it traveled lower until it rested on my butt. I suppressed a shudder. I wanted to push his hand away, push him away but he was my husband and soon enough he’d touch me there without the protection of fabric, he would touch me everywhere, would see every inch of skin that was supposed to be Romero’s only.
Sickness washed over me, and I almost threw up. Sheer power of will kept my wedding dinner in my stomach. I glimpsed over my shoulder, even though I’d promised myself I wouldn’t do it. My eyes searched the crowd for Romero but he wasn’t there. Part of me was glad that he didn’t have to witness Benito pawing me, but the other, the bigger part, was disappointed. That silly part had hoped that he’d somehow stop this. Of course that would have only gotten him killed. They would have shot him on the spot and then war would have broken out. Many people would have died, maybe even Fabi, Aria, and Gianna. It was a good thing that he’d kept his oath, that he hadn’t interfered and let me do what was expected of me.
I turned back around and realized that we’d already arrived in front of our room for the night, a guest bedroom because the Brascis believed it was bad luck if a married couple spent their first night in the master bedroom. Benito opened the door and half shoved me into the bedroom. I froze in the middle of the room, listening to the sound of the door closing and Benito’s steps. “You’re a real beauty,” he said, his voice already thick with desire. “I wanted to be alone with you all evening. If it hadn’t looked rude, I’d have taken you to our room hours ago.”
Bile clogged my throat. I didn’t dare move from fear of vomiting onto my shoes. He gripped my arms and turned me around to him, then before I could even gather my bearings his mouth pressed against mine. I gasped, and he used the chance to thrust his tongue past my lips. He tasted of the cigars he’d smoked with the other men, and it made me feel even sicker. His tongue was everywhere. He didn’t give me the chance to do anything. God, this was horrible. My hands grasped his shoulders, fingers digging into his suit, and I shoved as hard as I could, but his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me even tighter, giving me no chance to escape. His breathing was quick and excited. He was so eager.
I didn’t want this. I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting back tears and desperately trying to imagine it was Romero kissing me, but everything about this felt wrong. The clumsy hands on my waist, the taste of him, the way he moved his tongue like a dying slug.
Ripping away from him, I drew in a few desperate breaths. His taste lingered on my tongue. I wanted to rinse my mouth to get rid of it.
Benito stepped in front of me again and leaned close. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m going to take good care of you. I’m going to make you a woman. You’ll never forget this night.”
I knew I’d never forget it. I’d probably have nightmares about it for the rest of my life. Mother’s last words, the look in her eyes filled my mind. How could I have let it come this far?
“No, I can’t.” I took a step back. I needed to get away, out of this room, needed to find Romero and tell him that I couldn’t survive this marriage, that I wanted only him, that he’d always been the one I wanted and would keep wanting him till the day I died. I was being selfish, I knew. But I didn’t care about causing a war anymore if the alternative meant having to spend my life being touched by Benito. Maybe Luca could handle the situation. He was a good Capo. He could prevent war. Right?
Benito’s expression tightened, that sugary sweet smile being replaced by something more leery and hungry.
Fear settled like a weight in my stomach. He grabbed my arms
