Page 79 of The Serpent's Bride
My stomach dropped. “Stop it.”
“Why?” he asked coldly. “You wanted my attention so badly. Now you have it.”
Tears burned behind my eyes. He saw them. And still kept going.
“You think taking your clothes off gets you what you want?” he asked softly. “That’s not how this works, baby.”
Humiliation hit like a slap. I grabbed desperately for the shirt pooled at my feet, but Leo caught my wrist again before I could cover myself.
“Look at you,” he murmured. “Standing naked in my bedroom the night before our wedding begging for my cock.”
“I wasn’t…”
“You were,” he said firmly. His voice cracked through me like ice. I flinched. Something flickered across his face then. Regret. Gone almost instantly.
Leo released me abruptly and stepped backward like touching me burned him. “Get dressed. Now.”
The coldness in his voice shattered something inside me. Shaking, I bent to grab the shirt with trembling hands. I could barely see through the tears blurring my vision while I pulled it back over my body. Leo watched silently. Expression unreadable again.
When I finally looked back up at him, he was already heading for the door. Panic flared through my chest. “Where are you going?”
He paused beside the doorway without turning around. “I need some sleep. No chance of that with your begging echoing off the walls.”
The bedroom door opened. Ice slid down my spine. The lock clicked loudly after he stepped outside.
I stared at the closed bedroom door for several long seconds before realization fully settled in. He locked me in again. A broken sound escaped my throat. Humiliation crashed over me all at once. The rejection. The cruel words. The way I practically melted the second he touched me.
Pathetic. I hated myself. Tears finally spilled over hard enough that I couldn’t stop them anymore.
I crawled back into his enormous bed shaking, clutching the black silk sheets tightly against my chest while rain pounded against the windows like gunfire.
Somewhere beyond the locked door, I thought I heard Leo stop walking. But he never came back. And eventually, still crying quietly into his pillow, I fell asleep smelling like him.
Chapter Thirteen: CHIARA
Iarrivedatthecathedralseparately from Leo, which didn’t surprise me given his recent coldness. Besides, men like Leo Moretti didn’t arrive at weddings. They made entrances.
The black town car rolled to a smooth stop beneath towering marble arches while rainwater shimmered across the streets outside like spilled silver. My stomach twisted violently the moment I looked up through the tinted window.
The cathedral looked less like a church and more like something built for royalty. Or a virgin sacrifice.
Towering ivory stone climbed into the dark morning sky, stained-glass windows glowing gold from within while hundreds of candles flickered behind them like trapped stars. White roses spilled down the massive staircase in decadent arrangements threaded with black ribbon and gold snakes woven subtly through the flowers. Leo made his mark everywhere. Even the wedding decor looked dangerous.
The driver opened my door carefully. Cold air kissed my skin, carrying the scent of rain, roses, and expensive perfume drifting from the arriving guests. Flashing cameras burst somewherefarther down the staircase where paparazzi screamed questions at arriving mafia royalty.
Five Families. Politicians. Judges. Monsters dressed in designer suits. And somewhere inside that cathedral, Leo was waiting. My future husband.
The memory of last night hit me so hard my chest tightened painfully.You really are desperate for it, aren’t you?Humiliation burned all over again beneath my skin.
I stepped from the car carefully, satin skirts gathered in trembling hands while the enormous train of my wedding gown spilled behind me like liquid ivory. Diamonds glittered coldly against my throat. My veil drifted softly in the wind, brushing against my bare shoulders.
Beautiful. Worthless. A bride bought for a man who didn’t even want me anymore. I swallowed hard.
Sergio appeared beside me almost instantly, dark suit perfectly tailored over broad shoulders while several armed guards positioned themselves discreetly around us.
“You look terrifying,” he muttered.
I gave him a weak glare. “That’s exactly what you said yesterday.”
