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Rose

Rose

I ’m a married woman. At eighteen, I’ve signed the paperwork that proves it. I’m Dino Gianni’s wife.

What choice did I have? It was that or Ricardo. Not a tough decision. A coldhearted bastard or an actual cannibal. I went with the stone-cold killer.

I know he’s a killer. He’s told me all about him. Now that the ceremony is over, he’s explained exactly what kind of man he is.

I’m sitting in his car and he’s driving us back to his house. I left my heart back in the church. Left it there alongside any hope I had of returning to a normal life.

When he rescued me, I was so grateful I would have done anything. Before I knew what was happening, I’d showered, dressed, and gone back to the church.

This time I didn’t run. This time Dino had more men on the doors. Everywhere I looked there were men in suits, all of them unsmiling. Guns were everywhere, too. I felt like a prisoner.

That’s what I am. A prisoner. His prisoner. Not his wife. No wife should feel like I do.

As soon as I signed the wedding contract, I knew I’d made a mistake. I should have refused. I know he told me I only had a choice between him and Ricardo, but there is still a third option. Go to the authorities.

I look at him and my lips tingle. They remember the kiss at the altar even as I try to forget it. The priest said, “You may kiss the bride,” and he did.

I don’t want to remember the kiss. I don’t want to think about the way he held the back of my head, his fingers in my hair. He pressed himself to me, and his sheer strength made me melt.I couldn’t escape that grip even if I wanted to, and I didn’t want to.

I’ve never been kissed that way, him claiming my mouth like it belonged to him, like it was his to control, not mine.

He smelled so good, the stubble on his chin soft rather than rough. He closed his eyes, and I closed mine, wanting the earth to swallow me up. Then his lips pressed against mine and something happened, something I refuse to think about.

It’s not love. It can’t be. I could never love someone so evil. He killed people right in front of me. He’s a monster.

I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about the kiss that lingered long after he let go of me. It’s still hovering inside me somewhere as he drives, a feeling that I can’t think about. I won’t let myself think about it.

Just Stockholm syndrome, that’s all. He kidnapped me and I’m getting attached to any display of kindness, relying on him for everything. That’s all it is. Nothing else.

“How did you find me?” I ask, looking at the way his brow furrows as he concentrates on the road, his thoughts far from me .

“Tracking device in your dress,” he replies without looking my way. “Same as in that one.”

“So you never trusted me.”

“You ran. I knew you would.”

“Then why didn’t you lock the side door in the church the first time around?”

“Because you taught yourself a lesson when you ran. You got to see what life is like with Ricardo. Nothing I could have said could have made you believe how bad it would be. Now you know.”

I think of the way Ricardo touched me while I was in captivity, the way he spoke to me. My skin crawls to think of it.

“What happens now?” I ask.

“We go home and wait for your father to get in touch.”

“That could be a while. He doesn’t even know where I am.”

“He will.”

I can’t help but laugh. “You seriously believe he’s this Capo dei Capi guy, don’t you?”

He glances my way. “Don’t start married life with bullshit. It’s too late to pretend, Rose. I know who he is.”

“He’s a fisherman, and he’s on some shoreline somewhere with no fucking clue what’s happened to his daughter while he’s been away.”

“You lie again and the first thing that happens when we get back is you get a spanking.”

“I’m not lying.”

He takes a hand off the wheel and holds up a finger. “We’re done here. You get a spanking.”

“But I’m telling you the truth.”

“Want to go for two?”

I lapse into silence. I know he doesn’t mean it. I’m not a kid. I don’t get spanked anymore. Still, something about the way he spoke lingers with me the entire rest of the way back to his place. It’s not the idea of being spanked. No way am I into that. It’s something else. I just don’t know what.

We get home and I’m expecting some kind of reception, but there’s no one there. The place is empty. We walk into his study and he locks the door. “Stand there,” he says, pointing to a spot in front of the desk.

“Why?”

“Because I’m your husband and I say so. Stand there now.” His voice is crisp. No one is coming to help me. What choice do I have?

I stand where he tells me to. “Now what?” I ask, folding my arms and scowling at him.

“Lift that dress to your waist.”

“Excuse me?”

“Do it!”

The anger is his voice is bubbling over the surface and it terrifies me. After the ceremony, we had a few minutes in a side room waiting for the paperwork. He took that time to tell me who he is. A killer. Warned me not to cross him.

He’s an actual mafia Don. He’s killed men before. He could kill me unless I please him. How is he any better than Ricardo? As far as I can tell, the only actual difference is he isn’t planning on eating me. That I know of.

I hike up my wedding gown until it’s around my waist. I’ve no panties on, and he’s staring down between my legs. I should be ashamed, but I’m not. Fuck him. I’ve nothing to hide.

The way his eyes are changing, his face does something to me. For the first time, I feel like I have some power in this situation. Power over him. I grasp the feeling and hold on to it. I have got nothing else.

“Bend over the desk,” he says, walking around behind me. I do as he says, placing my hands on the desk, the gown sitting on my hips, my ass pointing back at him. I know he’s back there, but I don’t look. I know I have to keep looking forward.

“You will obey your husband,” he says, his voice cold as ice. “You will tell him the truth at all times. Say, yes.”

“Yes.”

“You are the daughter of the Capo dei Capi, aren’t you?”

“No, I told you I’m nobody.”

I don’t hear his hand whipping through the air, but I feel it. His palm slaps my right buttock hard and the room echoes with a smacking sound that is followed by a gasp from my open mouth.

The sting of the blow races through me and I feel like I just woke up from a deep sleep. Every nerve in me comes alive as he spanks me a second time.

This is nothing like I expected. I don’t know how to describe it other than it does two things to me at once. I want the pain to stop, and I want him to keep going at the same time. I shift in place as his hand lands for a third time in the same spot.

I rub my thighs together, a throbbing is growing at the top of my legs. “Tell the truth,” he says. “Or I keep going.”

“Fuck you,” I say, looking back over my shoulder at him.

He glares at me and spanks me again, this time on the left buttock. He lands several blows in quick succession and the air leaves my lungs. I can’t breathe. I can’t react. I can barely stand, my legs growing weak.

Just as I’m about to beg him to stop, he shoves my knees apart, stroking a line along the valley of my buttocks.

“Tell me the truth and I can make it nice for you,” he says, his voice gentler. His finger continues to my thighs, and he chuckles, a deep rumbling sound that makes my legs even weaker. “You’re getting wet,” he says. “You like being spanked, don’t you?”

“No,” I reply, but even I know I sound like I’m lying. “I hate it and I hate you.”

“Hate and love are very close together,” he replies. “You’d be surprised how similar they are.”

“Fuck you.”

“Such a temper.” He strokes along the lines of my soft folds and then brings his hand near my face. “Your body doesn’t lie even if your mouth does. “You like me looking at your pussy. You like displaying yourself for me.”

“No, I don’t.”

“You needn’t be ashamed of your desires. Now we are married, you can share the truth of who you are.” He strokes between my legs again, whispering in my ear, leaning down over me. I can feel the bulge in his pants pressing against my ass while he talks.

“I can make married life very pleasant for you, as long as you are honest with me.” He’s so close to my ear I can feel his fiery breath on me. “You enjoy showing me your body, don’t you?”

He dabs my clit, and I can’t help but let out a moan. I bite my lip to stop any further sounds from escaping my mouth. “I thought so.”

That rumbling chuckle again as he brushes back and forth over my clit. “An exhibitionist, I guessed so from the way you acted when I stripped you for your bath.”

He stands back up out of sight. “You are the daughter of the Capo dei Capi, aren’t you?”

“No, I already told you I’m not!”

His hand slaps down on my ass again, and this time it doesn’t stop until I’m begging him. “Please,” I say. “I can’t take it anymore.”

He walks around the desk and sits down. “You will remain there until you will tell me the truth,” he says, pulling open a file and taking a pen from the holder in front of him. He makes notes, no longer looking at me.

My legs feel like I might collapse. My pussy is throbbing with need, as if it’s empty and I never noticed how much it wants filling.

My ass is on fire from the spanking and my neck is aching from the angle I’m at. I shift in place and he glances up at me. “Do not move or I spank you again,” he growls before returning to his work.

I remain in place for what seems like forever. Finally, he’s done with whatever it is he’s writing about. He gets to his feet and walks over to the door. “Do not move,” he says. “I will be back.” Then he walks out of the study door and closes it behind him.

I look around me and see a camera up on the wall. Is this my life now? Always being watched. I shift my legs and wonder how long he’s going to be. I could stand up. I could move around. I could refuse to obey him, but something keeps me in place. I don’t know what it is.

It’s not love. I know that much. It’s definitely not because I have any feelings for him. I hate him. The first chance I get to call the police, I’ll take it. Tell them about Dino and Ricardo. They’ll protect me. They’ll keep me safe and end this nightmare once and for all.

There’s a phone on the desk in front of me. Can I ring them before he notices? I glance up at the camera and then back at the door. I take a deep breath and then make my decision.