Page 72 of Monster's Edge

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“What’s going to happennow? I mean, will the families merge?”

“Your father will transfer more of his power to me. After all, there are pleasantries to keep,” he tells me. “Looks are important, Rose. You know this better than anyone. There will be a wedding, and there will be babies, and the Amata-Salucci bloodline will be secured.”

A baby.

He wanted me to have a baby?

What the fuck?

No, he hadn’t said one baby, he’d said many babies.

I didn’t want babies.

“Ian...”

“Mr. Salucci,” he corrects me. He flicks my injured cheek and I flinch at the pain. Message received, asshole.

“Mr. Salucci,” I concede. There are a million questions I want to ask him about the wedding and the reception and the dress and the clothes and whether or not I’ll have a bridesmaid, but for some reason, the question I blurt out is, “May I ask what happened with Lorenzo’s phone?”

He seems surprised for a moment. Lorenzo is someone who worked with me at an animal shelter before I came to live with Ian. It’s been only a week or so, but Ian had asked me to get my colleague’s phone for him. I didn’t. I ran away from home instead. I barely escaped with my life, which is nice, but I still feel bad about letting him down.

Ian stills. He steps back and looks at me.

“Why do you care, flower?”

“Because it’s important to you,” I tell him.

“You care about what’s important to me, do you?”

I nod.

“Then turn around and grab your ankles.”

A gasp escapes my lips and a smile spreads across his face. Yeah, he definitely meant to shock me. Well, it worked. I’m shocked. Color me surprised that he wants to watch me bending over and flashing him my ass and pussy. I’ll do it, but I’m definitely embarrassed.

I’m not a tiny girl, but I am flexible. Years of dancing have given me a certain grace when I move. Right now, I’m thankful for all of the hours I’ve spent at the ballet studio working on my stretches because when I turn around, I am able to grab my ankles for him.

Ian says nothing for a moment. Even though he’s been gone, I’ve been shaving every day, so I know that my body is soft and smooth for him. Whoever is in charge of keeping the house stocked with supplies made sure that I had a good selection of razors and waxes to choose from. I’ve taken advantage of that.

Ian steps close and grabs my hips. He pushes forward, brushing the front of his pants against my bottom. The feeling of his suit against my skin is soft, not scratchy.

Expensive suit.

Expensive man.

“Do you know what I want from you tonight, Rose?” Ian rakes his fingernails down my spine and over the soft skin on my bottom. A shiver shoots through me. Excitement. Anticipation. Maybe there’s a little bit of fear, too.

“Obedience,” I tell him. I’m quite certain that’s what he wants more than anything. Ian is a bossy son-of-a-bitch and he likes getting his way. I’m pretty sure that having a girl who obeys his every whim is at the top of his wish list.

“That’s part of what I want,” he admits. “I also want to celebrate our engagement.”

“Oh.”

“Our marriage will be unconventional, sure, but I don’t think it’ll be terrible.”

Am I supposed to thank him right now? He loves politeness, so I probably am. I have so many questions swimming around in my head, though. Is he going to be monogamous with me? Am I supposed to be monogamous with him? I assume that’s a “yes” for both counts, but I’m not sure. These mafia guys are a lot of things, but they’re usually not cheaters. Not except for my dad and Patricia, anyway.

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