Page 25 of Forbidden Bride (Forbidden 1)
KARINA
Crickets chirpthrough my open bedroom window, the sound carried on a light breeze. I’ve always hated the noise they make, especially in late summer when they spend all night battling each other with their grating call to try to win a mate. But it does work for them, doesn’t it?
I guess sometimes you have to be loud and bold to claim your lover.
Cocking my head in the full-length mirror, I run a hand over the blood-red dress I’m holding against my body. It’s been buried in the back of my closet for a long time. Buying it on a whim was a small act of rebellion on my part. Hiding it was how I tried to atone. Lord knows if I ever got caught with a dress like this…let’s just say my uncle wouldn’t be happy or kind.
There were plenty of times I planned to get rid of it, but whenever I’d actually hold the dress in my hands, the fabric gliding cool and slick against my fingers, something in me would resist. Now, I’m glad I kept it. This dress is my bold, insistent, loud mating call.
Tonight, I’m going to play dirty—even though I have no idea what I’m doing.
I’m going to be the countess and I’m going to go get my man.
Tossing the dress on the bed, I send Mercutio a message. I need a favor.
My cousin is unpredictable sometimes and he’s definitely a little rough around the edges, but I know that I can trust him…for the most part. We have an understanding. Over the years, we’ve traded too many little tits for tats for him to ever truly rat me out. On top of that, I get the sense that underneath all his macho bullshit, he has a soft spot for me. All women, really.
But I still have a niggling doubt that he won’t agree to this.
It’s a big ask.
I need to see Marco, though. It’s nonnegotiable. He’s the only man who has ever made my body and heart ache like I’m suffocating and flying at the same time.
What’s in it for me?
I read my cousin’s text a couple of times. Shoot. I wasn’t really prepared to offer a favor in return. I don’t even know what he’d be interested in. With a sigh, I type, What do you want?
I hold my breath and wait for his reply. When he doesn’t respond after a full minute, I set my phone down and flop back onto the bed with a huff. I can’t do this without him and it doesn’t look like he’s game. I should have come up with a back-up plan. What sounds like a legitimate excuse for a good girl sneaking out in the middle of the night? Star gazing? Sleep walking? Sudden onset restless leg syndrome necessitating a long walk?
I am so bad at this.
Just then, my cell pings and hope squeezes my chest.
The race next Saturday. I have a date. I need you to tell everyone I was with you the entire time.
A smile tugs at my lips. This is a better trade-off than I could have imagined. Because it means both of us will be free to roam during the race. Deal! I text back.
So what do you want, kid?
I type out my plan and wait for his response.
Seriously? Your cover story is that I had to take you to the store for tampons at eleven o’clock at night?
I add, Oh, we’ll definitely be going to the store afterward. For super plus size tampons, and Midol, and a heating pad because my cramps were really, really bad.
I grin. I’m the only female in this household besides my mother, and no man in this family would go out to pick up feminine supplies for me. It’s a total get out of jail free card.
I don’t need all the gory details, he texts.
It’s human biology. Get over it, I write back.
Meet me outside in fifteen.
Fist bumping the air, I carefully fold the dress and set it inside my oversized purse, then grab my small makeup bag and a pair of black flats. Everything fits inside the purse nicely, so I place my book, keys, phone, and wallet on top to hide the contraband beneath. My heart is almost pumping more over the thought of sneaking out of this house than over why I’m doing it.
Tiptoeing out of my room, I listen carefully for any sounds in the house. I haven’t seen my parents or my uncle all day. They might not even be here for all I know, in which case Mercutio won’t have to make any excuses for me tonight. We can just explain ourselves later when Uncle Sergio checks the security camera footage like he always does. As long as I come home with a bag full of tampons and a heating pad, we’re good to go.
Merc is waiting for me with a car pulled around front. He raises one eyebrow and stares pointedly at my purse but doesn’t say anything until we reach the highway. “I’m giving you half an hour and that’s it. Do you even know where you’re going?”
“Not really.”
He side-eyes me. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Karina. Are you sure this dude is worth it?”
There’s a hint of compassion in his tone that surprises me. Is my stalwart, selfish cousin actually feeling sorry for my position in life?
I shrug. “It’s nothing serious. Just a little fun. You men have a little fun all the time.”
He scoffs. “That’s different—”
“Sure. I get it.” Because I’m a pure, meek, complacent female who never talks back and always does what she’s told or else. Except not this time.
Irritated, I climb into the back seat, pull the red dress over my sundress, and then wriggle out of the sundress like a pro. My makeup goes on easy, just lipstick and a little mineral powder. I spend the rest of the short drive silently pep talking myself, but I’m not sure it’s working.
Merc turns the headlights off and rolls slowly down the long drive, then veers left where the path splits off between the Bellanti house and the winery. He shakes his head and heaves a long sigh, but doesn’t say anything to dissuade me. A knot lodges in my throat at the reality of what I’m about to do. This property is massive, and I have no idea how to find Marco.
Hesitating with my hand on the door handle, I attempt to get a grip on my sporadic breathing and fail.
“You want to just leave and forget the whole thing?” Merc sounds hopeful. “We shouldn’t be here, Karina. If we get caught…it won’t be pretty.”
“No. I want my half hour.”
I see his jaw clench, and he nods. “Then get out already, so I can park somewhere less conspicuous. And by the way—that dress you’re wearing? I’m gonna need a little extra to keep my mouth shut about this.”
Shooting him a death glare, I hiss, “No you don’t. If Sergio knew you even brought me here tonight, he’d burn your ass.”
I’m barely out of the vehicle before he backs up and leaves. Ha, he knows I’m right. Merc won’t dare say a word because he’d be in just as much shit as I would be, maybe more.
It would be easy to panic right now, but I don’t. Time is short enough as it is and I don’t want to waste it. Trespassing is the least of my concerns.
Keeping a fair distance from the house, I make a cautious circle around it, the grass cool and damp on my bare feet. There are security cameras angled on every exterior wall, but I should be far enough away to stay out of view if they’re anything like Uncle Sergio’s cameras at home.
