Page 53 of Savage Vows

“What happens in their marriage is between them. But I can guarantee you, Nico protects her. There’s no doubt she has a driver.” There’s a threatening tic in his temple that I’d be smartto take as the warning it is. “Take it or leave it.” His tone is uncompromising. “If you want to go, you will have a driver.”

“Against my will.”

“Noted.”

Thankfully he backs off.

My pulse is beating frantically, even though I’m pretending to be calm.

With a tight nod, he says, “We understand each other.” Executing a sharp pivot, he heads for his closet.

I pick up my cup. Because I’m shaking so badly, my coffee almost sloshes over the rim.

To steady my frantic pulse, I close my eyes and draw in a steadying breath.

I can’t allow every exchange with Matteo to unnerve me like this. He will run my life if I let him.

Finally somewhat in control, I take the first sip of coffee. It hits my veins hard. Seems my body thinks interactions with Matteo are enough stimulation for me.

Annoyed by his royal decrees, I decide to escape. After getting dressed, I’ll go to my art studio and spend my day there.

But as I pass his closet, I can’t help but stop.

He’s wearing black slacks and a white shirt. As always he’s breathtakingly handsome.

Watching me, he picks up a pair of cufflinks from a tray on top of a built-in closet.

“Will you give me a hand?”

In a thousand different ways, he’s treating me as his wife. I have to remind myself that I don’t share the same vision.

On guard, I walk closer to him, sharing the small, confined space. I set down my cup, and he drops the cufflinks into my palm.

I study them.

There is an owl on each, and they are surrounded by a laurel leaf. Emerald eyes seem to stare at me. I suck in a breath. My father and oldest brother have identical ones. “They have some meaning,” I say. But why would two different families have the same insignia?

“They do.”

“And?”

“I’ll share that information when we’re married.”

So I’m only his bride when it suits him?. “My ring is on your finger,” I point out.

Rather than answer me directly, he hedges. “They represent a society I belong to.”

He’s intrigued me. “What kind of organization?”

“The Zetas.”

I shake my head. I’ve heard of the secret society whose members are known as Titans. Since nothing has ever been confirmed, the organization itself is rumored to be fiction. “That doesn’t really exist.”

“No?”

I thread the first cufflink into place and secure it. Then I take care of the second. “My father has a ring with the same symbol.”

He doesn’t respond, nor does he betray any emotion. Clearly he already knows. Does this have anything to do with our forced marriage?