Page 37 of Wedlocked

He stepped into his penthouse and I automatically followed. It wasn’t like I could escape anyway, not with his men stationed on the floors below. Ethan headed to the bar and poured himself a finger of bourbon. “If you want to shower, have it now before I change my mind and live to regret what I might do.”

I didn’t move, I wasn’t his damn slave! I’d never been some obedient little puppet and I wasn’t about to start now. Instead I lifted my chin and glowered, waiting for his next move.

“Perhaps I haven’t made myself clear?” He swigged the amber liquid down, his narrowed eyes focused on me even as he poured some more bourbon into the crystal glass and swirled the whiskey around. “You have no idea what I’m capable of and right now I don’t want to be near you while I’m this close,” he lifted his hand up in the air and spread his thumb and index finger an inch apart, “to losing my shit.”

I might be obstinate but I wasn’t an idiot. I fled into the bathroom, locking the door behind me with my heart racing. Fat lot of good a locked door would be if my husband really did decide to come after me.

I stayed in the shower only long enough to wash the soapy suds off my skin before I dried myself and wrapped a towel around me. Cracking open the door, I tentatively stepped out of the bathroom and crept into the walk-in closet, where I pulled on the least sexy nightgown I could find. I sighed. The shimmery blue satin number with a lace hem was still too provocative for my peace of mind.

I’d just dragged on my panties when Ethan appeared behind me, his face impassive. “Bedtime.”

A shiver of trepidation and lust slipped down my spine. I was in deep trouble now. Yet the moment I sat on the edge of the king-size bed, he cuffed my nearest wrist to one of the iron bars on the bedhead and pocketed the key.

“Go to sleep,” he instructed. “I have some business to take care of.”

On our wedding night? I kept my mouth shut. I should be relieved, over the fucking moon. Instead I wondered what kind of business he was really doing at this time of night.

Probably the kind that involved a whore.

Acid heat burned through me. Perhaps he intended to use his flogger on someone paid to enjoy his sexual appetites? No doubt he’d also enjoy some more coke while he was at it. It was clear he enjoyed his whores and his nose candy.

Despite my headstrong nature, I wisely kept my mouth shut. He’d warned me he was close to losing it, and despite his warning that I had no idea what he was capable of, I’d lived in a mobster family long enough to know exactly what men like him could do.

He didn’t even look back at me as he pivoted on his heel and shut the door behind him, leaving me in total darkness.

“Great fucking wedding night,” I muttered. It was only lucky the dark didn’t scare me. Being chained up was by far worse. My freedom meant everything to me!

I must have dozed at some point because I woke with a sharp inhalation when the door opened and light flooded in from the suite outside the bedroom. I blinked at the silhouette standing in the doorway, my heart dropping to my toes.

Lorenzo.

What the hell was he doing here? It was for nothing good, I knew that much for sure. Ethan’s dad hated my family and therefore hated me.

I sat, my handcuffs clanking and jerking back my arm. I winced, then croaked, “What do you want?”

“What I want is irrelevant, wouldn’t you agree?”

My mouth dried at his innuendo and I was thankful I had a nightgown and panties on, no matter how fragile they’d be against someone as vicious as Lorenzo. I didn’t trust him one bit. He wanted revenge and I was the perfect scapegoat, especially now that I was chained up and at my most vulnerable.

I’d bet every dollar I had he got hard on preying on defenseless people.

He stepped into the bedroom and my stomach turned to liquid. I lifted my chin, my eyes narrowing. “Are you here to kill me?”

He chuckled darkly. “You don’t seem afraid of death. I might have admired that in anyone else.”

“I don’t want your admiration. I don’t want anything from you.”

“Pity, I would have enjoyed bruising that youthful skin and busting your perfect body before snuffing out your last breath.”

I glowered. He really was a monster. I was his son’s wife and he showed me no code of honor whatsoever! “Ethan is don now, remember? He has the final say about what happens to me—not you.”

Lorenzo stalked toward me and sat on the side of the bed. My breath rasped in my throat, my pulse thudding wildly in my ears. He lifted his hand and tucked some strands of my hair behind my ear, making my skin crawl.

“My son will kill you. It’s only a matter of time. Maybe it won’t be tonight or even tomorrow. But it will happen…and I’ll be there watching when it does.”

I jerked my head away from his slimy touch. “I’ll make him so happy as my husband he’ll never want to let me go.”

“And yet…where is he now? On your wedding night no less.” He leaned close, his eyes cold, pitiless. “I’ll tell you where he is—fucking whores and enjoying blow. I guess old habits really do die hard.”

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