Keeping his bride

Verona

I

RUN TO my room and shut the door, locking it behind me. I’m out of breath, but it’s not from running. No, it’s because I’m utterly and ridiculously turned on. I’ve never been so turned on by a man in my entire life.

Luca spanked me. He spanked me.

And I liked it.

I’m so confused…and wet. My thong is soaked completely through. I can’t help but wonder if Luca saw how wet I got for him.

I walk over to the mirror and glance over my shoulder, lifting the skirt of my dress. My entire backside is red and aching. I can still feel the way his large hands caressed my sore flesh between each spanking.

I bite my lip to keep from groaning out loud. Turning in front of the mirror, my fingers skate their way down my stomach and under my dress and material of my thong. My fingertips slide into my arousal, and I begin to play with my clit.

I close my eyes and imagine my husband with his hand between my legs, fingering me. I’ve never had so much as a boyfriend, so I have no idea what it feels like to be touched by a man. Especially not one as possessive and demanding as Luca Vitale.

Just the thought of his hands on me has me racing to the edge of pleasure. My fingertip caresses the little bundle of nerves until I’m crying out softly and coming so hard I almost see stars.

When I open my eyes, I stare at my reflection. My cheeks and neck are flushed, and I look…different. I feel different. I’ve never pleasured myself thinking about a specific man before. I want Luca, but I don’t think he wants me. We haven’t even consummated our marriage yet, but I worry if our first time would be out of hate or out of love, because I have the feeling my husband doesn’t like me very much.

It’s like my very presence annoys him. I don’t know if that will change over time or maybe after we get to know each other better. But considering the fact that Luca barely talks to me, I don’t know if we’ll ever really get to know each other. I don’t even know much about my husband other than the fact that he’s ruthless and cruel at times. And he’s always controlling and demanding. That’s a given.

Shaking myself out of my inner thoughts, I go to the closet and grab a new thong to put on. Then, I leave my room and make my way downstairs. I know Luca told me to go to my room, but he can’t expect me to stay in there like I’m grounded. Besides, I’m responsible for the mess in the kitchen, and I should be the one to clean it up.

When I enter the room, I see Dante with a mop and bucket, vigorously scrubbing the floor. No one else is around, and my brow furrows as I realize Luca tasked Dante to do it by himself.

“Where is everyone?” I ask.

Dante turns, and his scowl softens a bit when he looks at me. “Luca fired them.”

“Fired them? Why?”

Dante shrugs his shoulders and goes back to mopping the floor. The bubbles have since dissipated, leaving only a soapy film over the tile.

“Let me help,” I tell him.

“No, it’s fine,” he says quickly with a shake of his head.

“I want to help,” I say, walking over to him.

“I said no, V!” he snaps suddenly.

I take a step back. Dante has never so much as raised his voice at me before, so I’m taken aback by his attitude.

“I’m sorry,” he immediately apologizes. “It’s just been a very stressful week, and I’m taking my anger out on the wrong person.”

Nodding slowly in understanding, I tell him, “I’ll just keep you company while you do this then.”

He smiles at that. “Okay.” After a few moments of silence, he asks, “What did Vitale do to you when he ordered you out of the room?” He stops mopping and looks at me, concern mixed with anger written all over his face. “Did he touch you? Did he hurt you?”

“No,” I quickly lie. I have no idea why I’m lying for Luca, but I feel like if I tell Dante the truth, he would try to hurt Luca, and that could only end in disaster. “He just…he told me to go to my room.”

A smile forms on Dante’s handsome face. “And yet here you are.” He shakes his head. “Always so rebellious. Even when we were kids.”

“I’m not rebellious!” I protest.

“Anytime you were asked to do anything, you always wanted to do the opposite.”

I frown as I think about my childhood. “Maybe that’s why my father sent me away,” I offer.

Dante shakes his head. “No, you know why you were sent away.”

He’s right; however, I don’t know if I ever understood the full reason. I was only told it wasn’t safe for me at home. It was not long after my mother died. I was shipped off to boarding school in another state with a suitcase full of my things.

“You were better off,” Dante tells me. “The things I saw and did as a kid…” His voice trails off as he stares off into the distance like a barrage of bad memories are hitting him.

“I wish we could have just run away together,” I whisper, coming closer to him. I wrap my arms around him and inhale his familiar scent of soap. “We spent so many years apart.” After I finished with boarding school, I went to live with my aunt. Dante and I kept more in touch then, and he even came to visit me every weekend. When I came home for my grandfather’s funeral, my father appointed Dante as my own personal bodyguard. I trust him with my life.

The mop falls from Dante’s hands as he wraps his arms around me. I feel him smelling my hair, and it makes me laugh.

“Do I stink?” I joke.

“No. You smell really good.”

The hug starts feeling too intimate…and awkward, so I pull away from his embrace. Dante and I have never had more than a friendship, even though I’ve suspected for years that he wanted more. My father would have never allowed it, though. And now that I’m married…well, that’s all off the table now. I could never be with Dante, not as long as I’m married to Luca Vitale.

I walk to the fridge and open it up, inspecting the contents. “How about I make us lunch?” I suggest.

He stares at me for a few seconds, and I can see the longing in his eyes that shouldn’t be there. “Sure,” he finally says before returning to mopping.