Now, all he wanted was Bella. He wanted her virgin blood on his cock. Knowing she hadn’t been with any other man brought out a new possessiveness in him.
Bella would belong entirely to him. He’d make sure no one else ever got to taste her sweetness.
His father came toward him. “How are you holding up, son?”
“Where is she?”
“She’s getting ready and will be yours very soon.”
He still wasn’t happy. Staring out across the church, he saw the women both staring at him. “I want those sluts gone.”
“You’ll need them, Klaus. Don’t fight me on this.”
“I don’t want those women here. On my wedding day. The only woman I want today is Bella.”
“You forget your place. You are my heir—”
“And I’ve all but taken your place but for the title, Father. Don’t forget who’s really running the show here. You can’t keep these men in control, but I can. I do your job for you.”
It was only going to be another couple of years, which was a respectable timeframe for his father to officially hand over the family empire. Klaus had taken over from him long before now. His father had made several bad decisions, including fathering at least six children with different mistresses. They all cost a small fortune. Not to mention his recent mistress had him addicted to drugs as well. Things had been going downhill ever since his mother’s death and keeping that from their enemies had been a struggle. The moment he forced rehab and a constant companion on his ass, he knew his father’s days were over. The business was all his. Now, he just needed to make sure there was something to actually have at the end of it.
His brothers didn’t know the true extent of their father’s failure, and they never would. He’d be sure of it.
The commotion within the church stopped, drawing his attention to the church doors. Six bridesmaids in total stood waiting. The music began to play, signaling the wedding was about to start.
The women were beautiful.
What he’d come to see from the Lastra family was that they only believed in money and beauty. They were greedy assholes. He despised them all, apart from Bella.
Once the bridesmaids were all lined up, he didn’t bother to look in their direction again. It was now his bride. Her face was covered by a veil, dressed all in white. The dress molded to every full curve and was cinched in tight at the waist. He had to wonder if she could even breathe. In her hands, she carried an elaborate bouquet of roses.
His gaze went to the arm her father gripped tightly. Too tightly.
He wanted to fucking kill that bastard. He was tempted to reach for his gun here and now, but instead, he held himself back.
First, he had to marry Bella, to get her safely away from her family. Then, once everything had settled, he could do what he wanted to do and annihilate them all.
Peace. He didn’t believe in the word. There was no peace in war.
Once Bella was close, her father held her hand out to him, but he wasn’t interested in taking her hand. Lifting up the veil, he heard the resounding gasp through the church, but none of them saw Bella’s face, nor the heavy makeup hiding what he saw.
His woman sported a black eye.
The makeup tried to conceal it.
So had her father.
She visibly shook.
Rage took over. He glanced at her father and within his gaze, he let the man know that there would be justice for this.
As he took her hand, Bella shook within his grasp. He rubbed her knuckles with his thumb, trying to offer her some level of comfort. She didn’t even smile at him. Damn it. After their dinner the other day, he thought she was opening up to him. Her father was the problem, but that wouldn’t be an issue for much longer as he intended to take Bella away from all of this.
Facing the priest, he stared at Father Basil, waiting for the older fucker to cause a problem. If he so much as made this union difficult, he’d live to regret the day. Most of this religious empire was funded by dirty Accardi money, and he damn well knew it.
The ceremony began and Bella’s tremble didn’t settle down. This wasn’t how he envisioned his wedding taking place.
Neither of them made any vows, so there was no wasted time. After the declaration and kiss, his rage was at an all-time high. Pushing all the murderous thoughts to the back of his mind, he cupped her face. She flinched.
Each negative reaction was just another notch of pain he intended to inflict on his brand-new father-in-law.
They called him a monster for a reason, and he was going to make sure the head Lastra felt his wrath.