Page 78 of The Red Queen

Desi snorted, crossing her arms in front of her. “I don’t care if he’s a god in his field, I don’t want another man touching me without my permission.”

“I could tie you down and have you examined.” The hard edge to his voice and the ice in his gaze told her he was close to making the call. “Don’t be difficult, Desiree.”

She swiped her hand through the air. “You promised I would be safe here, safe from being touched in a way I don’t like. I believed you. If you allow this man to touch me without my permission, I will never forgive you.”

Giovanni had shown her a new world, one where she could be respected, protected, and treated with love. Only, instead of allowing her to walk freely through that world, he placed her behind a window, allowing her to watch but never quite experience the glory of true happiness and freedom.

His brow lowered and he took another step toward her, his voice dropping until the doctor could no longer hear him. “Dr. Danilo is a vetted member of my staff. I don’t go to outsiders for services like this. It’s too risky. This pregnancy will make both of us a target. You must use the services that are available to you.”

She lifted her chin. “No. You should have thought of this before you decided to procure a wife and a baby. I don’t want a strange man touching me intimately. He’s good with stitches and missing fingers, but I want a woman to do my pelvic exam. If you insist on allowing him to touch me, then you better prepare to find a new doctor, because I will kill him.”

He took her chin in a hard grip and forced her to look at him.

“Did you just say no to me?” he asked, his voice deadly calm. “Try again, Desiree.”

She narrowed her eyes. “No.”

His fingers tightened until she thought there might be bruises on her chin.

She gripped his hand and yanked it away, jerking her head out of his grasp. She glared at him as she stepped back toward the open French doors behind her. “I’m leaving. You can stop me and force this exam on me, or you can let me go. Guess which option will end in blood and broken bones?”

His lip lifted in a partial snarl, and she thought maybe she really had crossed the line with him this time.

“Get out of my sight,” he said coldly.

She turned on her heel and stormed through the door. She knew the conversation wasn’t over, but hopefully she’d won a small victory. Contrary to Giovanni’s thinking, she wasn’t trying to be difficult. She genuinely couldn’t stomach the thought of having his doctor touch her vagina. It had been one thing when he’d looked at her severed finger and stitched up her gunshot wounds. But this… it was too intimate.

Desi had spent a lifetime having her choices stripped away from her by men. Not just the men who controlled her, but the men in their periphery, too. Nico had a doctor whose job it was to care for the people in his compound. She’d had no choice but to go to the man for everything, which had been a nightmare at times. She’d gotten her first period at thirteen and had to go to the man to find out what to do. In retrospect, she should have gone to one of the female staff in Nico’s employ, but she’d told Nico and he’d sent her to the doctor. The man had examined her. No finesse, no kind words. The experience was a trauma on top of all the other traumas she’d experienced in her teen years.

Now, she wasn’t willing to go back to that. Though she knew Giovanni wasn’t Nico, there were still some similarities. They were both bosses of their own criminal organizations. Both ran things with iron control. She understood that Giovanni wasn’t trying to subjugate her the way Nico had, but she had to make him realize that if he continued to run roughshod over her personal choices, he would kill her feelings for him.

Without quite paying attention to where she was going, Desi wandered in the direction of the winery. Donada would almost certainly be there, and Desi could use a friendly female ear.

As she walked quickly past the rows of vines, Giovanni’s words, ‘get out of my sight’ played over and over in her head, bringing a rush of tears to her eyes. She felt dejected by the scene in his office. Maybe she should have given in, but she couldn’t imagine allowing Dr. Danilo to examine her.

As Desi entered the cool, shadowed room, Donada turned from her chair where she was working on the winery accounts and smiled.

“Desi,” she said warmly. “It’s been a few days. Come on in, have a glass of wine.”

Desi allowed the other woman to lead her through to the small sunlit courtyard, where she uncorked a bottle of red wine and poured a measure into her glass. She tried it, nodded, and poured a larger portion. When she reached out to pour some into another glass, Desi shook her head and covered it with her hand.

“None for me.”

Donada stared at her, hand hovering with the wine bottle for a few long seconds. Desi hadn’t declined a single glass of wine in the months the two women had known each other.

“Spill the juice, woman. What’s going on with you?” Donada demanded, setting the bottle on the table and settling into her chair. She took a sip of her wine, her wide-eyed gaze on Desi’s face.

“I’m pregnant,” Desi blurted, desperately wishing she could drink the wine she’d declined. She wasn’t even sure she wanted the baby, so what harm would a few sips cause? She couldn’t bring herself to do it though, and admitting her condition took the temptation away.

“Obviously,” Donada drawled. “I wondered if you were even before you so rudely declined my fabulous award-winning wine.”

Despite herself, Desi laughed. “It really is excellent, and I would drink it in a heartbeat if I could.”

Donada nodded seriously. “And that is the only reason we can remain friends, despite your hideous faux pas. Now, tell me, why do you look so glum? Is this baby news not what you wanted?” Her words weren’t spoken with judgment, just curiosity.

Desi sighed heavily. “Giovanni is happy.” Well, not exactly, but he was getting what he wanted.

“But you aren’t,” Donada concluded.

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