“I’m here, babe.”
“Don’t come out,” Karina said quickly. “It’s bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding.”
Lorik rolled his eyes. “Babe, we’ve been trying to get married for months now, thanks to your fucking brothers and the mountains of shit that always seem to follow them. I’m pretty sure we’re all bad-lucked-out.”
I let out a laugh.
“Lorik,” Karina continued, “I’m only here to get Doe. The make-up artist and hairdressers are here. So, if you would please just fucking behave and not come out into the hall, I’d really appreciate it.”
“Babe, but I really want to see—”
“Lorik!” Her voice rose an octave. “I’d really appreciate it if you would not piss me off on our wedding day. I’d hate for this day to end with my stiletto heel up your ass.”
Lorik’s eyes grew wide. “Ouch,” he whispered.
I snickered then turned to Antonio. “I better go.”
He leaned down, soft lips brushing against mine, reminding me how easy it was for him to affect me. Even the simplest kiss from him had the power to disarm and ensnare me at the same time.
“I have a surprise for you later, after the wedding,” he whispered, a mischievous glint in his eye.
“What is it?” I whispered back.
He took my hand and gently placed it in his jacket pocket. When I felt the silk rope against my fingers, my entire body was instantly electrified.
“Antonio.” I searched his face, hoping this meant what I thought it meant. For weeks, I’d waited for this, for him to take me in a way we both knew he wanted—in a way I wanted as well. But he wasn’t ready, and he was concerned I wasn’t either. But deep down, I craved it. I needed it. And I prayed the day would come when he would allow me to walk on that thin line between pleasure and pain once again.
“Antonio, does this mean…”
He nodded. “It’s time.”
***
Antonio
I righted my tie, checking my reflection in the mirror. The black suit and crisp, white shirt was fine, but I hated the red tie. Karina knew I always wore a black tie. Always. But when she started scolding me in Italian, telling me it was a tiny sacrifice on my part since she had to wait so damn long to get married, I gave in. So now I was forced to wear the goddamn red tie.
Doe was wearing red as well. Last night, I made her try it on, and the sight of the red silk hugging her newfound curves turned me into a goddamn animal. It took every ounce of self-control to stop myself from tearing the five-thousand-dollar dress off her body and using the silk to tie her wrists and ankles to my four-poster bed.
After fucking her out of the dress, feeling her warm, sweaty body against mine, all I thought about was how she would look all tied up, with ropes and knots in all the right places. And for the first time, it didn’t feel like I would lose my shit while thinking about it. That was how I knew it was time. I was ready. She was ready. And tonight, it would be me and my pretty, broken girl.
There was a knock on the door, and Lucio came walking in wearing jeans and his leather jacket.
“Why aren’t you wearing your suit yet?” I looked at his reflection in the mirror while smoothing out the lapels of my suit jacket.
He pulled his hands through his dark hair. “I’m taking off.”
I turned. “You’re not attending the wedding?”
“Sorry, cous. You know me. I don’t do weddings.”
“Not even when it’s family?”
“Nope. All this love and romance and shit make me want to hurl.”
I smiled. “I knew you’d have a hard time with all the love, flowers, rainbows, and unicorns in the air.”
He faked a gag. “Believe me, I wanted to choke myself to death a few times during the last few weeks. All this peace and quiet and happiness were fucking with my head.”