Page 66 of Brutal Vows

“I wasn’t asking. Scream and fight all you want,gattina, but it won’t stop me. We’ll be husband and wife by the end of the day.”

She grits her teeth and glares at me.

I tuck my filthy cock into my pants before shucking off my suit coat and draping it over her shoulders. When I turn her around and reach under her shirt, she hisses and tries to wriggle away, but I pin her ass against the edge of the table with my hips and take my time fixing her bra, enjoying her shivers as I caress her breasts and thumb her nipples. With a flush working up her chest and neck, I tuck her into the tight material, mourning the loss of her jiggling flesh, and fix her shirt before buttoning my suit coat and scooping her into a cradle hold against my chest.

When I reach the stairwell, not willing to take the elevator and potentially get stuck with a stranger oglingmia gattina, the diabolical woman turns fiery eyes up to mine and quirks a brow.

“I never took you as a liar,” she sneers.

I pause with my foot on the bottom step.

“Excuse me?” I challenge.

“This isn’t over your shoulder.”

When the meaning of her words sinks in through my anticipation and fury, I throw my head back with the first full belly laugh I’ve had in my adult life and pull her tighter against my chest.

“You’re such a needy, demandinggattina, aren’t you? All claws and spit. Never change, Loretta. You’re perfect,” I rumble against her temple before kissing her forehead and starting up the stairs.

She grumbles under her breath and wriggles but doesn’t struggle enough to disrupt my balance as I scale the stairs.

“Don’t worry,amore mio. I’ll toss you over my shoulder before we tie the knot,” I promise.

She looks everywhere but at me as I stalk through the foyer and exit through the side door.

She may not have the words to convey her thoughts, but her expressive eyes tell me everything I need to know.

I settle her in my passenger seat and buckle her in, still with her arms bound behind her back, and caress her face until she meets my stare.

She swallows and studies my face.

I’ll erase the doubts shining in her eyes. Words haven’t worked, so I’ll prove I mean them by following through. I’ll give her everything.

My heart and soul. My body. My protection. My last name.

My family.

Loretta Giordano already owns every part of me. Now it’s time to tell the world.

She’s mine. My bride. My obsession. My life.

Mine.

Chapter 17

Loretta Giordano

Nervous energy janglesthrough me, and if it weren’t for the belt around my wrists, I’d unbuckle, open the door, and launch myself out of the car despite the asphalt speeding by.

Ermanno reaches over the center console and wraps his thick fingers around my thigh. My pulse leaps in my throat. I swallow and keep my gaze trained out the window. The pedestrians and shops all blur together.

I don’t know how I feel about his declaration. Part of me wants him by my side for the rest of my life, but I met him less than three days ago, and the repercussions of marrying him will run deep. My sister will probably never speak to me again, which means the only person in my family who hasn’t shunned me will.

I don’t know if I can survive that. I’ve spent so long yearning for her love, but her callous words today may have completed the break between us.

Can I trust Ermanno? I want to. Most of me already does.

Then why haven’t I told him about my mom? I should. Right now. Before he marries me.

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