Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 118245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 591(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 591(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Tucking my finger in the tight collar of my shirt, I loosened my tie as the uncomfortable knowledge of how I treated Ella those first few encounters sat like a lead ball in my stomach.
I will forever carry the stain of my rough behavior toward her.
I knew there was something off but didn’t look into it further, as I should have.
While it was true the gods smiled on me by giving Ella a deliciously dark appetite in the bedroom equal to mine, it didn’t excuse me from guilt.
She should have been introduced to my more demanding desires slowly, in a safe space.
Not all at once, bent over my fucking bed as I whipped her with a riding crop while I shoved my cock down her throat. Jesus Christ. I was lucky she didn’t run screaming to her father and Dante that very night when she had ample opportunity to do so.
That she could have told me she was Ella and not Antonia and stopped the whole thing was not her fault.
Clearly, my poor girl was placed in an impossible situation by her manipulative sister.
With two knuckles, I knocked on Ella’s temporary bedroom door.
Fortunately, that was all behind us.
I would introduce her to my family tonight as my true bride. They would fall in love with her sweet, engaging personality and the rest of the obstacles to our marriage be damned.
Now that she was mine, I wasn’t letting her go.
After a long pause, the door opened a sliver.
Ella’s cute face was barely visible in the dark room.
She held her fisted hand to her lips and coughed. “I’m sorry, Matteo. I’m not feeling so well. I’m going to have to miss dinner.”
God, she was cute.
And a terrible liar.
Again I internally chastised myself for not seeing all the flapping red flags around her subterfuge earlier.
I frowned. “That is a shame. You do look very pale.”
She lowered her eyes and entertained me with another delicate cough. “Yes, I’m very pale and tired. I should just rest quietly, completely undisturbed for the rest of the evening. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
As the door closed, I placed my palm against it, pushed it open, and stepped inside the dim interior. “What kind of fiancé would I be if I just left you alone in this vulnerable state?”
She clutched the collar of the white robe we kept in the bathroom for guests tightly around her throat as she backed up several steps. “I’m sure I will be fine after a night of undisturbed sleep.”
I nodded sagely as I stalked after her. Matching her step for step.
My head tilted to the side. “You know, as I look closer, you seem less and less pale. In fact, there seems to be an almost feverish blush to your cheeks.”
Her hands went to her hot cheeks. “Yes! I must have a fever. You should go. I wouldn’t want you to catch what I have.”
The backs of her thighs hit the edge of the bed.
My hand rested over my heart. “Don’t be silly, darling. You are to be my wife. My life partner. What’s mine is yours and vice versa. That is true in all things. I would never abandon you in your hour of need because I was afraid of catching your illness. I can think of no greater honor than to share the same germs as—”
She waved her hand in front of her face as she let out a harsh sigh. “Oh, stuff it. You know perfectly well I’m not sick.”
I swept her into my arms and settled her on my lap as I sat on the edge of the bed. “So what’s going on in that adorably chaotic brain of yours.”
She averted her face. “I don’t want to meet your family.”
“I can understand that.”
Her gaze swung back to meet mine. “You can?”
“Of course, they’re terrifying.”
She huffed again. “You’re not helping.”
“You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be by your side the entire time.”
“That’s part of the problem! You’re going to tell them my real name and then claim we’re getting married.”
“We are getting married.”
“No. We’re not.”
“Agree to disagree.”
She threw her arms up as she tried to slide off my lap. “You can’t agree to disagree over something like marriage.”
I tightened my grasp on her waist. “Watch me.”
“You’re impossible.”
“And yet you still love me.”
Her spine stiffened as she sucked in a gasp of air and held it. After a long, tense pause, she licked her lips and said, “Who said anything about love?”
After caressing her cheek and pulling a lock of hair behind her ear so I could better study her face, I replied, “I just did.”
Her fingers twisted into the robe’s belt. “You barely know me. We barely know each other. It’s ridiculous to even joke about being in love.”
With my hand on her chin, I turned her face toward me. “Who said I was joking?”