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His laughter floats back to me as he jogs down the steps. I lock the door before turning back to Aurelia to find her examining the marriage license.
"Thinking about tearing it up, topolina?"
She lowers it an inch to scowl at me over the top. "Thought about it. Decided you'd probably just drag him back here and make him redo the whole thing."
"Accurate assessment." I stroll toward her. "We can't file it if it doesn't exist."
"You're making ripping it up sound better and better," she says sweetly. And then she frowns. "Seriously, though. How did he get a license so fast?" Her brows furrow. "Did you threaten him?"
I pause midstep, eyeing her. "You think I threaten people to get what I want?"
She shrugs. "You threatened me."
Fuck. Is that what she thinks?
"I didn't threaten him, Aurelia."
"Then how'd he get a license and show up here so fast? There's a waiting period, isn't there?"
I stride the rest of the way toward her, carefully taking the document and folding it up before putting it in my breast pocket for safekeeping. "I'm a powerful man with powerful friends," I say, holding her gaze. "And he has habits he'd rather no one knows about. He owed me a favor for keeping quiet about what I know. He waived the waiting period for us. Judges are able to do that."
"Oh."
"When I said your life was in danger, I wasn't threatening you either, cara mia. I told you before I ever brought you here that I won't hurt you. I meant that."
"You said I might not survive if I didn't marry you, Mattia. How is that not a threat?"
"Brio Cascella is a dangerous man, Aurelia. You think you can trust him, but you're wrong. Whatever lies and false promises he sold you are exactly that." I tip her chin up when she tries to look away from me. "You're a pawn in whatever game he's playing with your brothers, and pawns are expendable to men like Brio. If he thinks you plan to betray him, he'll kill you. If you don't do whatever he sent you here to do, he'll kill you. You need me."
Her gaze flits across my face, searching for something. "H-he didn't send me here, Mattia. You kidnapped me."
My lips lift into a sardonic smile. "You're a terrible fucking liar, topolina. What does he want?"
"How should I know?" She jerks away from me, trying to put distance between us. "If you want to know Brio's mind, maybe you should have drugged, kidnapped, and married him."
A burst of laughter escapes me, an unexpected, dark sound that makes her jump. "Perhaps I should have," I muse, my eyes never leaving her face.
She crosses her arms, her fierce eyes shooting daggers at me. But there's fear there too. Fear she's desperately trying to mask. "Can we just drop this? I'm so tired, Mattia."
"Of what?" I ask, leaning against the wall. "Lying to me? Hiding? Denying the truth?" My gaze doesn't waver from hers. I want all of her secrets, every last fucking one.
"Of everything!" She throws her hands up in frustration, pacing back and forth across the living room. "You're such a…a…" she stutters, anger overriding her ability to articulate.
"Bastard? Monster?" I supply helpfully, watching as she spins around to glare at me.
"Yes!" she snaps.
"Good. Be honest with me," I order, pushing away from the wall and moving toward her. "You think I'm a monster? A bastard? A fucking asshole?" The hurt in her eyes makes me pause, but I force myself to stay focused. This is important.
"I think you're dangerous," she finally admits. There's fear in her gaze now, but there's something else, too. Something…heated. The danger excites her.
My lips curve into an amused smirk. "You're not wrong about that."
She flinches, taking a step back.
"But don't mistake danger for cruelty," I warn, advancing on her. My words hang heavy in the air between us. "I'll never be cruel to you, Aurelia. You're safe with me."
She tenses at my confession, almost as if she'd rather be anything but safe with me. As if she doesn't want to let herself believe it. I think she's afraid if she lets herself relax, she'll let herself trust me with her secrets, and that scares the shit out of her.
