Blood roared in my ears. “What are you doing?” I growled, grabbing her arm. The motion caused her nipple to graze my skin. I released her and picked up her top, then held it out for her. “Put that back on.”
She stared at me. “I’m not a child.”
“Put your top back on,” I gritted out, keeping my eyes on her face. She’d be eighteen in a few months, and I wouldn’t fucking touch her until then. Eight long months to go.
She snatched the bikini top out of my hand and finally covered herself with it. “I bet you wouldn’t have made Serafina put it back on.”
She’d mumbled the words under her breath, so I almost missed them, but I got the gist of it. As usual, the mention of her sister made my blood boil, but I held onto my control.
I chose to ignore her comment, saying instead, “I swore to your parents not to touch you before our wedding, and I’m a man who keeps his oath.”
“But you don’t want to keep your oath?” she teased, trying to sound all flirty, but there was a darker undertone to her voice that hadn’t been there before.
What a question.
Of course, I wanted her body, but not before we’d said our vows. If things went downhill for whatever reason before our wedding day—if I got killed—Sofia would still be able to marry someone else.
I looked back toward the house, avoiding her question. On the outside, I was the epitome of control, but inside a storm was raging. In my darker hours, I’d have gladly taken Sofia up on her offer, to make her mine before someone else could take that from me. Like Remo had taken Serafina from me. Women often connected sex to emotions, especially if it was their first time. That’s why Remo had had it easy winning Serafina’s heart after he’d fucked her. I wasn’t sure if he’d raped her or if it had been consensual like she claimed—if there’s even such a thing as consensual in a captive situation—but whatever had happened, it had made Serafina fall for him.
Sofia stepped closer and touched my arm lightly. The feel of her soft fingers against my skin felt good, but I pulled back. “Sofia,” I scolded her, trying to make her feel like a child so I could keep thinking of her as one, even if she wasn’t anymore. “You should go back to the lake.”
“Yeah, I should,” she whispered. It wasn’t what she wanted, and I could tell that she took my rebuke to heart. What had she hoped for? That I’d whisk her away to a secluded corner of the forest and kiss her, maybe even more? Though in her innocent fantasies, she probably would have stopped at kissing, making our encounter into some kind of romantic fairytale. Problem was, I didn’t want to stop there. I wanted to make her mine as soon as possible, wanted to stake my claim. But unlike Remo Falcone, I had honor and a sliver of a conscience. I’d wait until our wedding night and give Sofia the chance to make people forget the shame Serafina had brought over her family.
I waited until Sofia was out of sight before I followed her. I didn’t want to make Samuel suspicious. Of course, he narrowed his eyes at me in distrust when I appeared on the lower deck. Sofia was already back in the water and talking to Anna. I could imagine who they’d be talking about. Another reason for me to be wary. Maybe Sofia trusted Anna not to blabber to Dante or Valentina, but I didn’t want to take the risk. Dante hadn’t been my biggest fan since I’d challenged his decisions in the months after Serafina’s escape with Remo.
“Took you two awfully long to return,” Samuel said, climbing out of the lake. He stopped close in front of me. “What the fuck happened up there?” he asked in a low voice.
“Nothing,” I said with a hard smile. What happened between Sofia and me wasn’t his business. He was too pushy.
“I doubt you’d be happy if I went off into the dark woods with your sister.”
I leaned forward. “So far, you hardly notice her existence, so anything else would be a fucking improvement, Mione.”
His lips curled. “Stay away from Sofia until the wedding. Our family doesn’t need another pregnancy out of wedlock.”
“You don’t seem to have much faith in your sister.”
His eyes flashed with rage, but he didn’t say anything.
I doubted Sofia would have gone further than kissing. She sought my closeness, but she wouldn’t risk more. Yet, I understood Samuel. He’d put all his trust in his twin and she’d thrown it in his face.
“Maybe we should have another talk when we’ve calmed down,” I said eventually. I didn’t want a war between Samuel and me, especially because Emma’s well-being would soon be in his hands.
“Tomorrow morning. I want to work out at the lake. You can join me at sunrise.”
I nodded my consent, then with a last glance at Sofia, who was watching me and her brother, I went back to the lodge.
I couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning all night long. I still cringed when I thought of how Danilo had reacted to me flashing my boobs at him. Why had I thought it would be a good idea? I’d tried to act like Anna, or how I thought Anna might act, but I obviously hadn’t pulled it off with the necessary confidence.
I was such an idiot, thinking Danilo would swoon because he saw me topless. He wasn’t a teenager. He was a grown man and had seen enough breasts in his life.
Sighing, I sat up, staring into the dark of the room. The nights out here in the woods were darker than in the city, and with it being a new
