Page 98 of Devil's Vows
GABI
It’s all a blur. Yuri comes to fetch us from the kitchen where we’re waiting with the girls, straightening our dresses after the flight. Matteo is with Luca in the sitting room, Ivan by their side, not allowing us a private word.
Luca’s initial shock as we walk into the room, his gaze homing in on Milana, disbelief flashing over his features for a mere second before he blinks and neutralizes his expression. It must be Milana’s dress. Her choice is madness. He doesn’t even spare me a glance, but I watch his slow smirk and cocked brow as he stares his bride down.
With every step in his direction, the air tenses with the dare Milana shoots him back with her eyes, her chin lifted, proud and giving offdon’t fuck with me, playboyvibes. She gives him a salty smile as she sidles up to him, daring him to say something.
The officiant does his thing at speed, clearly wanting to get out of the house before all hell breaks loose with guns blazing. He clearly didn’t realize he’d be so lucky to officiate a Mafia and Bratva double wedding, but it’s hit home now.
When it’s time to kiss the bride, Luca leans in, Milana turnsher face to the side to avoid him, but as if he already anticipated this move, he traps her chin with his fingers and directs her mouth to his.
The kiss is quick, cool and distanced, with Milana growing even more rigid. As Luca pulls away, a smirk on his lips, this simple gesture seems to spell out how this is going to go down.
Oh, God. I never liked Milana’s plan and now I’m not sure it’s going to pan out as she hoped. She might have bitten off more than she can chew, but it was her choice and neither of us can back out now. I take in the stern pull of Matteo’s mouth as he looks on, as if their coupling is a time bomb with a ticking clock he has no intention of disarming before it goes off.
As Luca pulls away, their gazes latch for a moment that seems to stretch in the silence of the room. He’s schooled his face into a blank page, but Milana, for all that she stands ramrod straight, bites her bottom lip and wets it with her tongue as if she wants to taste him…or wipe away the echo of his kiss.
It’s our turn, and the officiant is warmed up now. I barely whisper yes, then hand my bouquet to Milana so Ivan can slip a plain golden wedding band on my finger, sealing his vows to cherish and protect me, to honor and love me. I do the same with quivering fingers, and once I’m done, he squeezes my fingers gently.
Then Ivan’s hand is on me, pulling me to him as he cups my neck and slides his thumb up to my chin, gently urging my mouth to the perfect angle to meet his in a soft, lingering kiss that holds every promise of the care he is going to take with me later.
Like this, it becomes just us in the room, and a rush of butterflies erupts in my belly, the rest of the world fading. His lips, no longer strangers, are the quiet guides luring me to him, enclosing us in intimacy.
For all that everything’s been rushed, this kiss isn’t, and ittells me everything about the man I’m falling for. Every vow he’s made today, he will hold to, because he craves the same thing I do: trust, a safe place in the arms of someone who has been through too much to be borne alone, and love that starts like this, soft and slow, but will be the bedrock of everything we build together.
As he breaks off the kiss and stares deeply into my eyes, I blush. An honest-to-God blush of a virgin whose mind is trapped in desire.
“Gabriella Petrova,” he murmurs as I’m overly aware of the unfamiliar wedding band on my finger where my hand is resting on his chest. “What a beautiful ring to it, your new name.”
I smile as he takes my hand, and when my gaze meets Matteo’s, he mouths to me, “You’re okay?”
The answer to that question is too layered, I don’t know how to answer it.One fire at a time,and when it comes to Chiara, my hands are tied—for now. There’s so much concern in his eyes, I give him a little nod: I’m doing this willingly, and Ivan and I have kissed before and I loved it. “Yes.”
In the bigger scheme of things, none of this matters. What matters more is the avenue a marriage to Ivan will open for me, untying my hands and allowing me to finally do something about Randazzo’s crime ring.
Whatever happens later in the marriage bed, this is my path, and I’ve always been meant to walk it alone. I’m here because I don’t want my brothers involved in my mess, and getting married is just a major glitch I will have to untangle at some point. I have Milana in my court, and once one of us is outside, it will be easier.
The girls are eager to toss the petals, and it brings a bit of lightness to the tense atmosphere, but as soon as the papers are signed and we’ve managed some small talk, Ivan has me by the elbow.
“Let’s go. The girls are getting tired. You’ll see your family again as soon as we can manage.”
“Okay.”
Our goodbyes are quick, but Milana and I cling to each other for a moment longer. “You’re still on board with this?”
“Of course. We’ll figure it out,” she whispers in my ear.
“One thing at a time,” I whisper back, knowing that my world is going to implode later, and luckily for me, none of these people are going to be there to witness it. “Do what you need to do first. I’ll manage.”
“Thank you…I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t make this sacrifice.”
There’s a fragility in her voice she’ll show nobody else, and with a last squeeze of our hands, we separate.
Who knows when we’ll see each other again.
The helicopter ride is quiet, the girls tired in the back row with Yuri after the upheaval of the morning. Ivan sits next to me, my hand in his. His beautiful, tattoo-free hand, that’s only touched me gently. I’ll see what this hand is capable of later, and my stomach fists.
“You’re trembling,moya ptichka. Are you okay?” he asks as he runs his thumb over my knuckles, leaning closer to me, but our headsets are an impediment.
