Shattered Vows: An Arranged Marriage Standalone Romance (Tarnished Empire)
Shattered Vows: Chapter 26

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, Mo.” My friend sounded so broken-hearted over the phone. It was our one call every couple months as she traveled the freaking world.

“Don’t worry about it.” I brushed off her apology because she shouldn’t have felt bad. It was for no good reason. I’d cried enough for my grandma, and now I was pissed at her.

“She played Eminem at the funeral.”

“What?” She burst out laughing. “You’re kidding. That woman was epic.”

“I know.” I sighed. “But she left me a huge mess and she knew it. She wanted to haunt me, I swear.”

“Just like Maribel.” We were both quiet for a moment. “I’m still sorry you lost your best friend, Mo. I’ll be your second, not very present one always, okay?”

I smirked as I added some shadow to my eyes. It was the night of the gala and I was almost ready.

“Anyway, I’m going to a gala for Tropical Oil tonight.”

“Oh my God,” Linny squealed. “Because of that stallion you’re dating? Who knew my dare would have gotten you here?”

She didn’t know the real story but she thought she did.

“Have you been approached by the media yet? They freaking love you guys. I see your face on fucking magazines, Morina.”

She was much more excited about it than I was.

“It is what it is,” I mumbled as I finished my look off with some lip gloss.

“Oh, my God. Seriously, though, can you even walk? You must be banging the shit out of that man.”

“What? No,” I screeched. But most people thought this was for real. “I mean, we’re just taking things slow.”

“Slow? You moved in with him, Mo! It says it in a magazine.”

“The magazines are wrong. I’m just staying here a few nights a week.” The news would explode with our engagement soon but I was going with Bradley tonight and that was our story.

“You better be fucking that man every day. Don’t get all weird on him. You’re committing. He committed by getting that penthouse. Maribel is probably dancing in her grave right now.”

I wanted to tell her all the details but now wasn’t the time. Maybe next year when it was all said and done. “That’s not commitment, Linny. He already had this place.” I scoffed and cracked my door open.

“No. What? I read the tabloids. Girl, I know how much your place costs. He’s got it bad.”

I cleared my throat. I needed to do a google search but I wasn’t going to admit that, since his fiance should’ve known the cost and when he bought it. The tabloids lied about that stuff, though. Bastian surely had this place before me.

This conversation was painful but good practice for me, I guess. Even if I felt a little bad for lying to my friend, she’d forgive me one day when I got to tell her the whole truth after my divorce.

Divorce. I sighed at the thought of that word.

“Is something wrong in the bedroom or something?” Linny took my sigh for something it totally wasn’t.

Nothing was happening in the bedroom. That was the real problem.

“We just want to keep things slow.”

“Is he holding out now or something?” She mumbled something to someone. “I’m about to jump on my connecting flight. I have just the thing though. I’ll send it to you. I have your address, just need the penthouse number. Text me, chica. Love you! Bye.”

She hung up before I could even protest. I wasn’t going to, anyway. She’d replace a way to get my address if I didn’t text it, so why fight it?

Bastian tapped on my door before pushing it all the way open. “Will you be ready in an hour?”

“I could have been naked.”

“That’s what I was hoping for.” Bastian Armanelli stood there clean shaven, in shoes that must have been shined and a suit that cut around his physique like a skilled sculptor. The man looked devastatingly hot.

I rolled my eyes and stood to twirl in the silk midnight blue dress I’d ordered online for the event. “Not naked. Actually, I’m just about ready.”

He’d been smirking but as his eyes trailed down my body, he leaned on the doorframe and his smile disappeared.

The slits up my legs were high enough that my thighs would be on display but the dress hugged my waist and breasts in all the right places too. His stare raked up and down once, twice, three times and hovered where the dress fit snugly. “The blue matches your eyes, ragazza. You’re breathtaking.”

I yanked my heart back from running toward him when he murmured his compliment. “You have to say that after I spent hours in here getting ready.”

“I don’t. But I want to anyway.” He took a large breath and closed his eyes with his next admission. “I won’t enjoy practicing restraint tonight.”

“What do you mean by that, Bastian?” I asked, wanting to make sure I didn’t do something stupid like kiss him again.

He shook his head. “Nothing. Nothing. What more do you have to do to get ready?”

Back to the man who kept it all together, I sighed and turned to my drawer to pull out five crystals. “Do you think we need poise tonight?”

“For the board members?” He shrugged against the doorframe.

“Sure.” I didn’t wait for him to answer and swiped two back into the drawer. “These three will do. Sexuality, beauty, and determination.”

“Sexuality? Really?” His brow slammed down like he had something more to say about that.

“Well, yeah. For being on men’s arms. I need to look better than the women on your arms in the past and look good on Bradley’s, right? I’m selling the view, am I not?”

His jaw worked before he backed away from me. He didn’t comment. He just mumbled that a driver would be downstairs for me when I was ready. I left the penthouse without saying another word to him.

I rode quietly in the back of the SUV to get Bradley and he stood there in a black suit that didn’t quite fit the way Bastian’s always did. He’d never been good at wearing them. He belonged on a beach in board shorts and not much else. “This good?”

“It’s great, Bradley.” I patted his shoulder as he entered the SUV Bastian had arranged for Dante to drive for us. “Thanks for coming with me.”

“What happened to your guy?”

“It’s complicated.” I almost combed a hand through my hair, then remembered I’d curled it around my face for tonight.

No beaded bracelets or boots to wear either. I wore strappy black heels and had a small purse that fit just my phone, a few cards, and the crystals.

“Does being complicated mean you’re still with him, Mo?” Bradley asked.

I glanced away and wrinkled my nose. “I’m probably using you a little tonight.”

“What, like a rebound?” He chuckled. Then he held up a finger. “No wait. Please tell me this is a revenge fuck. I’d love to get that out of it.”

Dante sighed from the driver’s seat as he maneuvered onto the busy roads.

“Bradley.” I rolled my eyes. “You should feel bad I’m doing this. I feel bad I’m doing this.”

“What for?” He shrugged and put his arm around me to pull me close. “We’ve always used each other for sex. It’s not like that was going anywhere. You’re too much like me for that.”

“What do you mean?” I jerked back to glare at him. “I’m not like you.”

“Of course you are. We never move from the water and we’re not quick to commit. You’re a lot like your parents in that way. They never said they’d do anything. Remember the way your dad would navigate out of any responsibility, and no one even knew he was doing it? He was such a charming guy. Man, I wish I had that same skill.”

He laughed at the memory. I winced at it.

So many times my dad would sugarcoat an exit, with offers to bring me back candy or a jacket or something I’d been begging for for months. I’d loved him so much when he was there. Both him and my mom looked at me like I was their world. I believed it too until they packed a bowl, shot up in their arms, and took their bus somewhere new.

Even that last time they were home, I think I held onto hope. My father had said he’d be home in a jiffy and I was fifteen but I still asked to go with.

I’d begged them, but my grandmother was done. She’d quit talking to them. She took my arm and pulled me inside. I heard her telling them to stop the bullshit and not come back if they couldn’t stay. I screamed at her for that.

Then, only days later, I cried with her when she told me that they’d crashed their bus.

“Like my parents?” I whispered, not able to let go of his words. They sliced at me, leaving a wake of pain.

He squeezed my arm. “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by that.”

“No. It’s fine.” I shook my head, knowing the town had dealt with them as much as I had. “My father wasn’t good for any deal, and my mother sucked the life out of everyone. I get what you mean though. They didn’t agree to much because they knew they wouldn’t follow through.”

“Yeah, but they went with love, Mo. They followed their heart and their feelings. They lived even if they died doing it.”

“They were addicts, Bradley.”

“So, an addict doesn’t have a heart?”

I didn’t argue with him. I wouldn’t. Some people in town loved my parents. I did too in my own way. But I resented them too. I’d walled off the parts of my heart that reminded me of them, avoided memories even if they might have helped me understand myself better in some way too. If I dwelled on why they left, asked myself questions about why they couldn’t commit to parenting me and wonder over and over again what had been so wrong with me, I’d dwell on it, fall into the abyss that it was, and replace myself in darkness I couldn’t escape.

“So, the party should be fun. It’s a charity for the oil company. My grandma had…” I hesitated. “Some stocks in it. So, I’m going to rub elbows.”

“She owned shares?” He repeated.

It wouldn’t be long before everyone knew. “I think she had a majority vote.”

He stared at me, his eyes wide. “That can’t be true. That… that company is worth billions, Morina.”

I took a deep breath. “I’m aware.”

“So that means…”

“I don’t want anything to do with the money or even the company, but I want to make sure our town is safe.”

He nodded but I didn’t think he took much in.

“Bradley?” I snapped my fingers in front of his face. “She was a partner that kept her identity within the company hidden and I will be until I get rid of the shares too.”

“Fuck me, girl. You got a lot on your plate. Maybe you should have brought that Bastian guy with you. I don’t know anything about rubbing elbows with these people.”

I laughed. “I don’t either. I’m just here because I’m supposed to show up and the tabloids are getting wind of my situation with Bastian.”

“All I can do is help you make that man jealous and provide the revenge fuck of the century.” He laughed at his own joke.

I shoved him and laughed too. It was all a show but in his mind, that’s what it would be. I shrugged. “Sure. Maybe.”

We reminisced a little more and he was the best sport about me using him.

We exited the vehicle a half hour later at a large mansion on the outskirts of town. A large shareholder of Tropical Oil was hosting the event.

Hooking my arm in Bradley’s, we navigated through throngs of people and the glass doors opened to a magnificent entryway. A woman who introduced herself as Ronald’s wife greeted us. I didn’t know Ronald or Patty and wasn’t sure what to say.

Bradley took the lead and told her the place looked extraordinary.

She fluffed the collar of her dress because there were literal feathers spurting from it. Glancing around, I realized most women were dressed similarly.

Opulence, luxury, indulgence.

Crystal champagne glasses on silver trays whisked past, and the double staircase wrapped around both sides of the entrance hall.

We left Patty to welcome more guests, and Bradley’s stare darted to mine. “You rolling with bigger people than even Linny now, huh?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m rolling with any of them.”

Skirting the crowd, we made our way to a quiet corner and I scanned the whole scene. I didn’t know anyone, didn’t feel like I wanted to know them either. How would I go to board meetings with people like this?

A moment later, Ronald made his way over to introduce himself. He was an older man, strong jaw, full head of silver gray hair, and a winning, straight toothed smile.

“My wife tells me your name is Morina.” He stuck out his hand. He had a gold ring similar to Bastian’s on his finger. “I’m Ronald of ShellOil and Tropical Oil.”

Bradley’s lips curled. We all knew Ronald had been blamed for some of the oil terminal troubles in the past. He pushed the companies to their limits, and I now wondered if my grandma had been on board with that.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Maribel’s granddaughter. I appreciate the invite here.”

“Well, you’ll be a part of the family now.” He glanced at Bradley. “And you? You must be her lucky partner tonight. I was surprised after reading some of the tabloids.”

It was a bold statement from him. Like a weasel, he wriggled in his true reason for approaching me. Bradley stuck his hand out to shake though, ready to play the game. “I’m Bradley. And I’m damn lucky, that’s for sure.”

He pulled me close as he shook Ronald’s hand. The man smiled and his teeth were too white and too perfect to be real. All of this exchange felt the exact same.

Ronald continued talking to Bradley as if I wasn’t there. He explained they were holding a silent auction down the hall, that there was a powder room that way too. He invited us to take a self tour of his grand place and even started explaining his part in the company to us.

A friend of his that was more my age than Ronald’s meandered over and introduced himself as Quinton. He shook my hand and stared at me with blue eyes and a smile that seemed a bit more genuine. Then he said, “By the way, Morina, I know your ex, Bastian.”

“Well, nice to meet you here without him,” I said as I pulled my hand out of his, not asking him to elaborate. I’m sure many people knew Bastian. This was his scene, not mine.

Bradley and I nodded and hummed at all the right times. I got to hear about how the oil terminals needed to be expanded and our town had just the right coastline for it.

“You know, your girlfriend here holds the cards, Bradley,” said Ronald.

My friend was nodding and nodding but his mind had clearly wandered off.

“Bradley, why don’t you get us another glass of champagne or an hors d’oeuvre?” I said.

He practically jumped at the chance, excusing himself and beelining to the other side of the room where butlers served alcohol.

I wanted to disappear with him, wanted to search the room for Bastian, wanted to be anywhere but here.

“Morina, I just have to say that we’ve talked to government officials, and we could make all this a smooth transition even without Maribel. I know this is a lot for you. Maribel didn’t tell you, did she?” He patted my arm like I was a child.

I cleared my throat, stepping out of his reach and glared at Quinton and him. “It’s a lot for anyone, but I’m excited to do right for the city and the company.”

“Of course.” He nodded vigorously and then leaned in to whisper, “Quinton and I are willing to pay you fairly and take all this off your hands. I’m happy to see you aren’t with that Armanelli fellow anymore. He’s been a bit of a thorn in our side since the whole thing with his father.”

“What whole thing?”

“Oh, you know–”

“Ronald. Quinton.” From behind, his voice cut through our conversation.

Shivers ran down my body at the tone, deep and low and totally in charge.

I turned to see the man I’d secretly been searching for since arriving. He stood tall in a crisp black suit and a navy tie that shined in luxurious silk. His white collared shirt popped perfectly in all the right places and his gold cufflinks glinted bright under the chandelier.

Bastian belonged in big houses with crystal flutes of champagne. More than that though, he belonged with an exceptionally beautiful woman like the one on his arm.

Tall and willowy, she stood on heels that put her body at just the right height for Bastian to lay his arm atop her shoulders comfortably. Her long, deep auburn hair rested against his chest.

He leaned down and murmured something to her as she smiled up at him, her red lipstick painted perfectly across her lips.

“Bastian Armanelli,” Ronald almost sneered but his hand shot out. “Thank you for coming tonight.”

“Absolutely.” Bastian shook his hand and scanned our faces. He didn’t wink or smirk or show any connection to me. “Good to see everyone could make the charity event. Thank you for hosting.”

“Of course, of course. I’m happy you could all make it even under these circumstances.”

“What circumstances?” his date asked. Her voice was like a sex operator’s and I instantly felt the need to leave.

How had I thought Bastian would want to kiss me back or sleep with me over this stupid amount of time we were supposed to spend together when he normally had women like that?

“Well, Elizabeth, you’ve seen the tabloids.” Ronald and this woman were obviously on a first name basis already. She belonged in this society. I didn’t. “You know these two, well, they have a history.”

Ronald chuckled a bit like he was trying to rile Elizabeth but the woman’s delicate hand was on Bastian’s chest as she looked up at him and murmured, “Oh, Ronald, none of us are worried about that. Right?”

Bastian smiled like a man in love and whispered something in her ear again, so close to her neck, I was sure they’d been intimate.

Suddenly, I needed air. Or a break. Or something. My hand went to my stomach as I breathed in deep. “I think I’ll just–”

“Babe!” Bradley’s voice boomed across the crowd. He was holding up champagne glasses and rushing my way. “Sorry. I had to talk to somebody real quick about our beach. They didn’t know you surfed and that you’re about to be part of Tropical Oil.”

Bradley winked at me like he knew I needed rescuing. When his arm went around my shoulders, I leaned in. Bradley was the crystal I didn’t have in my pocket tonight. He was my comfort in this foreign place where people had hidden agendas and masked themselves as good individuals when really they were trying to cut you down.

“I’m going to steal my date for a dance.” Bradley pulled me away before anyone could protest.

“Thank you.” I breathed out, following him as fast as my strappy heels would carry me.

Laughing, Bradley spun me in his arms as we arrived at the dance floor. “Did you see his face?”

“Who’s face?”

“The guy you’re trying to make jealous, Mo.” He pulled me close. “Bastian was furious. He looked about ready to kill me.”

“I don’t think so.” He’d looked just the same, no change in expression and no feeling at all toward me. “He was enamored by Elizabeth on his arm.”

“Well, most men would be. The woman is hot, Mo.”

I tried to step on his feet. We both moved well on the dance floor, having done our fair share of drunken tiki bar jukebox dancing. He sidestepped and I didn’t catch him. “Just shut up and dance.”

We did that for a whole song while the orchestra in the corner of the grand room played jazz. More people joined in. An MC encouraged more to do so before the silent auction closed. Bastian and Elizabeth made their way over. When he turned her in his arms, she curled into his chest, like she belonged there. His dark stare was on her before it snapped up to laser in on me.

I didn’t get any indication from him that this was a show. He must have known that woman, he must have slept with her. The way her hands went to his neck and then his hair as she whispered sweet nothings into his ear and burrowed into his neck.

My heart hardened toward him. This truly was an arrangement. We’d had fun but I wasn’t falling over a cliff of love or enjoying him more than I should ever again.

Bastian belonged with her. I belonged with a man like Bradley. Two worlds didn’t collide and mesh perfectly. I had the oceans, pure and cleansing, while he had his cities full of mob money and dirty luxury.

Bradley murmured in my ear and Bastian took that moment to lay a soft kiss on Elizabeth’s neck.

Gentle didn’t suit Bastian. A peck instead of a bite wasn’t his normal MO. My gut twisted as I realized I didn’t know him as intimately as I thought. I’d kissed him, I’d gotten myself off in front of him. I’d probably done all that when he’d had Elizabeth the whole time.

No wonder he’d hesitated.

Bile rose in my throat, and my whole body stiffened.

Bradley nestled into my neck. “Mo, that girl is pretty. I know I said that and I know you know that. You’re stunning though. She’s got nothing on you. Bastian knows that too. Don’t let them get to you.”

I stiffly nodded, trying to take his words to heart. Yet, I grumbled, “Says the man who knows his only chance of getting some tonight is with me.”

He laughed but when I didn’t join in, he tickled my hip as we slow danced. I jumped and broke eye contact with Bastian as I chuckled, then squealed for Bradley to stop his assault.

“Lighten up, Mo,” he murmured to me. “It’s just a night, okay? Remember, you can still go with the flow. You just have to decide to do that, right?”

His words struck something in me. They echoed my grandmother’s letter. I made quick decisions on the water all the time.

I rode the wave.

I took the risk.

Suddenly, I was done dancing, done staring at a man who didn’t want me, done not indulging. I grabbed Bradley by the hand. “Let’s take that self tour.”

“Self–”

I pulled him along off the dance floor and down a hallway. We passed a powder room and the silent auction set up on a large oak table in a grand dining room.

We turned a corner and found a door cracked open. I pulled us inside. Books lined the walls, all maroons and greens and hard covers that must have been first editions. The desk in the middle of the room, sitting on a Persian rug would do just fine.

Pulling Bradley against me, I kissed him hard. I backed up to the desk so my ass could slide onto it when the time came.

He tasted of comfort and safety, like Bradley always did. He smelled like the ocean where I felt at home.

I clawed at his back, wanting more of a rush, wanting to feel what I felt with Bastian. I wanted Bradley to grip me hard like he owned me and tell me I was his.

None of that happened. Bradley idly stroked his tongue over mine, caressed my arms up and down like we had all the time in the world.

I bit his lip and he smirked before pulling back. “You sure you want to do this with me, Mo?”

“Of course I do. We’ve done it a million times before.” I hopped up on the desk and pulled him between my legs. “We can have some fun on this old guy’s desk and then leave this terrible party.”

“It’s been fun enough.” He lowered his mouth, kissed me again, and I ground my hips into him and moaned.

Bradley tried. He really did.

We made out a little longer, but when I unbuttoned his pants, he stopped me.

“You don’t want this type of revenge, Mo. I can tell. You’re stiff as my surfboard and I’d take the revenge fuck, but I don’t think you’d enjoy it half as much as I would.”

I slumped on the desk and shut my eyes. “Bradley, I wish you were more of a jerk.”

He chuckled and pushed some of my curled hair back from my face. “I’m gonna catch a ride back to the tiki bar soon. Take a minute and then you go replace that suit and tell him to stop fucking around, okay? I’ll see you out on the waves another day.”

I bit my lip and nodded as I stared down at the silk of my dress.

I pounded a fist on the desk, my frustration bursting. This was the point of tonight, to release the tension between us with others.

I wasn’t supposed to want Bastian. I needed to want anyone.

The problem was I still felt his hands on me, still knew the sting of his palm coming down on my ass and still knew exactly how he gripped my thigh and squeezed it the morning after I’d got off in front of him. Bastian owned my sex drive, and I wanted to take it back.

Glancing at the large door, I noticed that Bradley had pulled it mostly closed.

My fingertips grazed the silk of the expensive dress I’d bought. So sleek and soft, it slid like caramel over my thighs. Just the way Bastian caramel eyes would look at me, would caress me with a stare.

I made another quick decision. I wanted my own release and I was going to take it. I moved fast, slipping a hand into the slit of my dress and under my panties.

It only took a minute of imagining Bastian’s lips on mine, his rough hands running over my skin, and his grip in my hair when I hit a high.

Eyes closed, I moaned out his name, seeing the stars I reached for.

I could do this for a couple more months. I could get off and be done with all of this sooner rather than later.

“You enjoy yourself?”

I jumped off the desk and stumbled on my heels right into Bastian. “What the hell are you doing in here?”

“You wanted to have an evening with other people and we did. Did you enjoy him?” Bastian’s question came out callous, his tone mean.

“How long have you been in here?” I hissed, ready to meet his mean with my fury.

“Long enough to know you didn’t like him enough, ragazza.” His nickname for me sliced through the air.

“Did you watch?” My eyes bulged. Did he see me get myself off? I didn’t even consider it. “Where’s your date? You have fun with her?”

I tried to smooth a wrinkle in the silk dress as I waited for his answer.

“Of course I did. She’s good at what she does unlike yours.”

Something pierced my heart, it cut through so quickly I almost didn’t feel it but the bleed out was painful.

“Great,” I whispered and it came out like a deflated balloon. I wasn’t going to stay here and let him gloat. I wanted to get home and I wanted to wash the night off me. He could have all the women he wanted.

I wasn’t doing this marriage for him anyway. I had to remember that.

“I’m going to grab my jacket.” I tried to rush past, but he caught my arm.

“You always gasp my name when you cum, ragazza?” His words whispered over me and my whole body tightened for him.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“You heard wrong.” I lifted my chin defiantly. Fuck him and his ego. I’d never moan it again after this. “I don’t moan for a daddy when any hot guy can get me off.”

“Come on, Morina. Don’t lie.” He yanked me back and spun me so my front was pinned against the wood desk and my ass was against his cock. “Want me to show you how it’s really done?”

“You’ve had your fun with someone else tonight.” I gasped as his hand shoved my dress to the side.

His five o’clock shadow rasped against the nape of my neck. “You wanted dates, not me. It was your idea for Elizabeth to be on my arm.”

“You agreed.” I panted out as his hand dragged up my side.

“I didn’t have her, Morina. I wouldn’t when all I wanted was you. Here. In this dress.” He kneaded my thigh. “Instead, I had to watch you kiss another man. Don’t you know I don’t enjoy sharing?”

“Sharing what?” I whispered.

“Anything,” he growled. Gone was the playfulness. His touch was possessive and his gaze held menace as his thumb flicked fast over my panties, brushing my clit. My body was in overdrive, sensitive after my own orgasm but completely ready for him all the same.

“Bastian, this is an arrangement,” I countered, like I suddenly had to defend myself. Something was different in his touch though. The man on the plane who’d smacked my ass and called me his was back. In this low lit room, Sebastian Armanelli, the head of the mob had come out to claim what was his.

We were in uncharted waters that I didn’t know how to read. As he hummed against my neck and ran his hands over my body, I said, “You wanted it to remain professional. This is the best way. Both of us are getting a release somewhere else. I can replace other men–”

“You won’t replace the right one, ragazza. You know it. So do I. You’re wound tight and can’t replace a release with anyone because you’ve finally had me.”

“Bastian, this wasn’t the plan,” I said over my shoulder.

His tongue slid across his teeth like he was shining them before taking a bite of my resolve. “Isn’t it though?”

Then, his head descended onto my neck as he pushed my panties to the side. He bit at my sensitive skin as his finger entered me so fast, I had to catch myself on the desk, bending forward as I moaned, scared I would crumple to the floor.

I was falling, falling headfirst for a man who was perceived as an accommodating businessman but here in this darkened room, he was a boss, claiming his property.

“Someone might come in, Bastian.”

“That’s the point, piccola ragazza. To make it known you’re mine.”

I couldn’t decipher fact from fiction, pretend from reality. Was he doing this for publicity? My mind spun webs of tangled happily ever afters and temporary arranged marriages and got confused.

“I’ll only be your wife for a couple months, Bastian,” I choked out, riding his hands faster, almost there.

“Yes, but maybe I need to ruin you then like you’re ruining me. I can’t fuck a woman without seeing dark messy waves or sapphire eyes. I can’t grab an ass unless it fits perfectly like this one in my palm.” He squeezed one cheek hard before sliding his hand to the back of my head where he gripped my hair. “What type of fiancé will you be to me, huh? I want you and can’t have you, but you’ll spread your legs for another so fast I’m not sure we can keep this little charade going.”

Sebastian Armanelli.

Possessive and cruel.

I gasped his full name and he laughed like a madman behind me. “You say my name like you’ve just met me.”

“Haven’t I?” I whipped my hair over my shoulder and glared at him, rolling my hips into his dick. This was a different man from before. He and I both knew it. The was the man that I could have cowered from or faced head on.

Quick decision again. I only wanted this one.

His eyes dark, furious, and full of something else. He responded with his voice low, “That’s right. The leader of the Armanelli family. About to get you off and do you a favor so that you won’t have another man risking his life to do the same.”

Another finger slid into me, so hard and long that I immediately rode his hand, barely listening. His rhythm was magic, his cock at my ass was foreplay, and his voice vicious with compliments and then obscenities.

“I can do my own favors,” I breathed out as I rocked against him. I couldn’t stop if I tried. I wanted his favor much more than my own.

“No one can do it like me, baby.” He took his hand from me right as I was about to scream out his name. “Remember that.”

He undid his trousers as I watched and sheathed himself with a condom from his pocket. Before he entered me, he held up those fingers that had been in me moments before.

“Open, ragazza.”

I was lost to him at that point, lost in my own fucked up world where nothing mattered but him being in me even if he was commanding me. I opened like he belonged there and when he placed his fingers on my tongue and leaned in, whispering, “Now suck.” I did exactly as I was told.

I tasted myself mixed with him, a salty slickness that I knew he’d created within me.

“Good girl. You taste good, don’t you? Sweet. Wet. And all mine. That’s what I do to you.”

I whimpered, and he took back his hand and slid it under the slit of my dress to grip my thigh and lift it before he plunged into me, thrusting hard.

He cursed and cursed as he fucked me, like he couldn’t believe he was doing so.

I couldn’t believe it either.

This wasn’t the show we’d planned, and yet I fucked him back because I couldn’t stop myself.

Sebastian Armanelli.

He was the one thing that could keep my attention.

And he had all of it.