Page 13 of Dangerous Deception

“And clearly handling it better.”

“How dare you!” I snap. Heat flushes my face, and after straining for the bottle, I jerk myself away from him. Warmth rushes down my spine like the prick of a hundred needles, and my frustration rises so quickly it feels like someone has my throat in their hand. “I need all the alcohol I can get my hands on if I’m to last married to someone like you!”

There’s a beat of silence as Raffaele and I stare at one another, then a slight smile curves across his lips. “Someone like me?”

“Yes! You’re a hateful, cruel bully of a man who does nothing but kill his own people and snatch up unsuspecting women because… because… well, I’m sure some part of you finds itamusing to leash some poor woman to your side for the rest of her life!”

“You’re angry at me,” he replies casually in the most infuriating tone. “Why?”

“Why? Didn’t you listen to a word I just said?” My hands fall into fists so tight that my nails cut into my palms, but the flash of pain is an afterthought to the rush of anger and irritation that wash over me. “I hate you, okay? Don’t mistake that. I hate you with every fiber of my being because you are utterly vile. You torture and kill everyone who gets in your way. One slight and there’s no chance of forgiveness, no chance of redemption! You’re just a power-hungry, greedy scumbag, and your overreaching for power is going to be your downfall!”

It all pours out of me like vomit, and tears sparkle in my eyes as I glare at Raffaele. Every hidden thought, every fear masked with anger, and every rumor I believe to be true about this man becomes my weapon to justify my hatred of him. I just can’t bring myself to mention Carlos. His name clogs in my throat, and deep down, I know that Raffaele won’t even know who he is.

To him, Carlos was probably just another face in a sea of many.

“Your father is the one who sold you,” Raffaele says, remaining as calm as ever. “Surely, you hate him as much as you hate me for buying you?”

My breath catches on the back of my tongue as I fight to keep a sob from escaping, and I take a step away from him as my tumbling thoughts catch up to his words. “My father is a great man,” I say hoarsely. “And he did what he had to do to save our family, so I respect that.”

“Do you?” In a flash, Raffaele is on me. He shoves me up against the wall, knocking aside a painting in the process, and he pins me there with his body, one hand on my hip and the otherplaced on the wall above my head. “Do you really respect that man?”

“Get off me,” I snarl, pushing both my hands against his broad chest and shoving to absolutely no avail.

“You come into my home, eat my food, drink my wine, and then spit in my face. And in the same breath, you praise your father for selling you because hedid what he had to do.”

My heart pounds furiously against my ribcage like a rabbit trying to flee the talons of an eagle. Only Raffaele isn’t giving me space to escape. He cages me in, and each breath he takes fills the space between us. His eyes, gorgeous as they are, sparkle dangerously, and that same slightly smug smile rests across his lips.

I’m furious.

And at the same time, there’s something else curling through me. An unfamiliar heat flickers like the lick of a candle and sends a rush of confusing sensations through my chest.

“My–My father did what he could, made the best of a terrible situation,” I snap, although my words have lost a fraction of their earlier heat. “Something you’d know nothing about.”

“Is that so?” Raffaele says. His voice drops low into a velvety purr, and he leans an inch closer. “Tell me how we differ?”

“You create the terrible situations,” I snap. “You hurt people. Kill people. Everyone knows you’ve spent the past decade slaughtering people like sheep just so you can get a fraction of the power they hold.”

“Have I?” He tilts his head.

“Yes,” I gasp. That unfamiliar heat burns hotter as Raffaele leans another inch closer. He’s so close that I can make out a small scar under one eye and another along his jaw, peeking out from the shadow of hair covering his lower jaw.

“And if I was doing all of that to protect my family? To care for the ones I hold dear?”

“You don’t care for anyone,” I snap. My chest rises and catches as suddenly, Raffaele is close enough for us to be chest to chest. The spice of his cologne invades every inch of my lungs, much like it did back at the wedding ceremony, and the heat inside me burns so hot that my dress is suffocating me.

“I care. You just choose not to see it.”

“Someone who kills for pleasure like you doesn’t care,” I bite out past gritted teeth. “You’re a monster.”

“Then where is the line?” He tilts his head, and a few blond strands escape his hairline to brush across his forehead. “I kill to protect my family and I’m a monster. Your father kills and sells you, and he’s just doing what he can. That’s a double-standard.”

“Maybe,” I mutter, starting to pant from how tight my dress feels, how hot my skin is and how fast my heart races. “But the difference is, I know you’re a monster. You’ve wiped out entire families. At least my father is trying to save ours.”

“I can see we won’t see eye to eye on a lot of things, my darling wife?—”

“Don’t call me that,” I snap angrily.

“Why not?” Raffaele’s hand suddenly darts up from my waist to lightly grasp my throat, and my heart pounds painfully. It’s a brief touch, then he slides his palm to the side of my neck and uses his thumb just under my chin to tilt my head up. “It’s what you are now, and I have very few rules, Adelina, but there is one you will follow if you want to survive here.”

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