29. Trilby

T rilby

Sera looks up, and a shadow falls over her face. I follow her gaze, craning my neck upward.

"Savero," I say with a forced smile.

I hate how timid my voice is with him. I wonder if I'd still sound this way if I weren't so petrified he might see through to my true feelings.

"You can leave."

My heart leaps into my throat. He knows.

Then his gaze flicks briefly to my sister. "I will take Trilby back to her rooms."

He wasn't speaking to me. My pulse thrums in relief but is now fueled by the fear of being left alone with him.

"Um ..." Sera glances at me. "Okay."

Savero stares at her with a hard look. Then, in a split second, he smiles. It's sharp and disarming. "I'm going to look after her, don't worry. I'll be the perfect gentleman. After all, I'm not just marrying this beautiful girl here ..."

Sera swoons a little, making me want to vomit.

"I'm marrying into your family. I want to make the best impression I can."

"Of course, yes," she replies sweetly. She pushes back her seat and stands, ignoring my panicked glare.

I don't want to be left alone with him.

"Trilby, shall we?" He holds out an arm. It's thinner than Cristiano's, and his veins are more prominent beneath the purpling ink.

I take it even though every nerve in my body screams at me not to. I can't shake the fact I'm positively repelled by my future husband. I hate what he's doing to my family. I cannot stomach the way he treats death so theatrically. And now I know how it feels to fall hard for someone else, to be touched at the core by a man who truly wants me, I couldn't be more against the idea of marrying him.

Sera shoots me a wary smile. "I'll call you later."

I feel a small measure of relief in those words. They mean she's going to check in.

My nerves are prickling with anxiety. He could do anything to me, and my father wouldn't be able to back out of the arrangement—not unless he was prepared to lose our legacy and an unhealthy number of lives.

Cristiano's number burns a hole into my skin. I can only hope Savero is as traditional as I've been led to believe and that he won't try to get a sneaky pre-wedding glimpse at the goods he's purchasing. If he saw his brother's number written across my breast, he would kill us both.

We pass the library and the lounge, and as we reach the entrance hall, my heart ratchets up a notch. The staircase looks shorter than usual, and Savero's grip around my arm is tight as he walks me up each step. My head starts to tingle when we turn left and head toward my rooms in the east wing.

I glance sideways at his face. It's set like stone, his lips a thin, downturned line and his eyes hooded by a long, furrowed brow.

The lights along the corridor are spaced farther apart than elsewhere in the house, making it appear darker. I find myself hoping for witnesses in the shadows—not that anyone would stand up in a court against Savero Di Santo.

We reach the door to my rooms, and I hold my breath. My heart is racing, because I don't know why he's walked me this far or what he's planning to do next.

He tugs me backward and then shoves me into the wall. It's so unexpected my head slams back against the coving, disorienting me.

His face cuts through my blurred vision. "Do you have something to tell me?"

"What?" My heart is thundering so hard I'm sure he can hear it. "Savero, what are you talking about?"

"My brother," he hisses. "The two of you seem ... close . Closer than a woman should be to her brother-in-law."

Oh . . . fuck .

My legs tremble, making my teeth chatter. "Savero, you're scaring me."

He continues talking as if I haven't just confessed to being terrified of my own fiancé.

"It wouldn't do to have a wife who only has eyes for my brother," he seethes. His gaze is pinned to the wall above my head, but his lips move close to my own, each word tasting bitter as it falls across my face. " I am the don of this family, of this city, not him . Do you understand?"

"I-I ..." What? "Of course I understand. I'm marrying you , Savero. I want to marry you." I inhale deeply and then breathe out every doubt I have about my ability to lie, because I cannot fail now.

Savero could end me right here if he chose to, and as the thinly veiled rage pulses beneath his skin, I wouldn't put it past him.

"I can't wait to marry you, Savero. I want to be your wife. It's all I want—for our families to be joined. I want the shipping business and your businesses to be the success you and my father want them to be. I wouldn't dream of standing in the way of that. You must believe me."

The words scratch my throat, but I chase them with a look of desperation, like I want this marriage more than anything in the world.

"Please don't doubt me, Savero. It would break my heart."

He lowers his gaze, but it disappears into the shadows, making me shudder.

"You're not attracted to my brother?" His voice is low, challenging me.

I force my head to shake firmly. "No, I am not."

"We'll see soon enough."

My heart races. "What?"

"He's stopping by tomorrow on his way back to Vegas, and I will be watching you. Both of you." He leans in close so his lips brush against my cheek.

I fight every urge to move away, because it doesn't feel warm or friendly; it feels hostile.

"And if I can be convinced of your loyalty to me—the don —I will break you in softly."

My breath catches in my throat. I've already been broken in, merely a few hours ago, and I can feel the aftereffects still. We'll be married by the time he thinks he's taking my virginity, so the deal with my father will have been sealed, and hopefully he won't care.

One look at his devious eyes tells me that's wishful thinking. Of course he'll care. His ego and pride will demand it. I need to come up with a way to convince him I'm still a virgin on our wedding night, and fast.

And that's only if I manage to convince him I'm not in deep with his brother first.

I want to ask what will happen if I can't convince him, but I already know the answer.