Page 79 of Thorns of Death

“I swear it.” Fuck, I’d swear to everything holy and unholy, living and non-living, to get her agreement.

“You’ll keep us all safe. Promise.”

I let out a sardonic breath between my teeth and ran my hand across my jaw. This was getting more and more interesting by the minute.

“I’ll keep you all safe.” She blew out a relieved breath, though it was just as likely a resigned one. It was hard to tell. Her complexion was slightly pale. They had to be hiding something. “I promise. Besides, if you ladies haven’t done anything wrong, there should be nothing to worry about. Isn’t that right?”

I watched her slim neck work as she gulped. I needed to win over her trust as well as her body, that much was obvious.

“What do you know?” Her voice trembled and so did the fingers she desperately tried to steady.

I raised an eyebrow, watching her. “I know many things. What, specifically, are you asking?”

She shook her head. “I’m not falling for that. You don’t know shit, and I’m not telling you shit.” Then she smiled tightly, glowering at me. At five foot four, she managed to appear taller. Especially when those emeralds flashed like lightning over a copse of trees.

I shrugged. “You’ll tell me sooner or later. But know this, Isla. If you want your friends protected, you will accept my proposal. For their sake. For your family’s sake. For your own.”

She shook her head in exasperation.

“Who in their right mind threatens someone into marrying them?” Clearly she didn’t know her brother well. The story went that he’d kidnapped Tatiana from her brother’s wedding and married her on the fly—literally—by having a priest perform the ceremony on the plane.

“Now tell me what you and your friends got into. I don’t want to see my bride end up in jail.”

Her gaze sparkled with anger.

“If you refuse to give me answers until after I marry you, I shall do the same.Stronzo.”

“I see you learned some Italian.” Too bad she didn’t start with a more useful word. “You can’t keep secrets from me for long.”

She snickered. “Well, watch me.Daddy.”

My cock was now rock hard, twitching to bury itself inside her. Fuck, it had never been my kink, but suddenly I needed to hear her scream “Daddy” and beg me for it.

Instead, I slapped her ass. Hard.

Her lush mouth parted, a blush spreading over her pale skin.

“Remember to use that mouth when I’m fucking you next—” I paused when she rolled her eyes. “As my wife.”

TWENTY-SIX

ISLA

My sister-in-law was kidnapped and here I stood in a wedding dress, three hours later, about to be married.

Alone. I wished my girlfriends were here with me. It would have made this bearable, and at least someone would be able to see this beautiful wedding gown, fake marriage or not.

My heart squeezed as I gazed at my reflection in the tall mirror. This wedding dress was beautiful and fit me perfectly. It told me that Enrico had planned this. He certainly hadn’t gotten an exquisite dress like this off the rack in a store. I also dismissed any thoughts of it belonging to his supposedly dead wife, since she was taller than me and built differently.

Which brought me to my final point. I’d agreed to marry him, but only to keep my friends safe and to learn the truth about my mother. The fact he was married already would mean the marriage would be null and void.

Bingo.Take that, motherfucking handsome Italian daddy. Game. Set. Match.

My attention returned to my reflection. It was truly a fairy-tale wedding dress. Its sleeveless bodice hugged my frame, accentuating my breasts and the tiny curve of my waist as it flowed down my body. The dress sparkled against the light that poured in from the large French windows of the bedroom.

The very same bedroom he brought me to that first night.

I should have known playing with someone like this powerhouse of a man would be like playing with fire. He wasn’t the type to have a fling with. He was untouchable. He was corrupt.