Jesus fucking wept.
“Riccardo was talking to you. He was asking you if you’d chosen a best man yet.”
I blink at my mother, understanding only half of what she’s saying. All I can think about is dragging Viola upstairs to my room and fucking brains out.
“I’d be interested to know that too,” Viola says, as she teases the tip with her nails. It’s the first thing she’s said all night to me. I can feel her eyes boring into me as she plays with me hidden from the view of everyone else.
I have no clue what her game is, only that everything else has gone out the window.
“Who will you pick? Jude or Lorcan?” Her voice is dark velvet, taking me back to the night I fucked her tied to the bedpost.
“Lorcan,” I grit out, after a pause.
“Interesting,” Viola says.
“The Duke boy?” Riccardo asks, his brow furrowed. Sal shifts in his seat and the rest of the table goes quiet.
Fuck, I wasn’t thinking. I was supposed to say Sal. I can’t back out now. I’ll look like a right knob.
“He’s been my best friend for years,” I say dismissively.
I actually don’t care who my best man is, I just want to punish Viola six ways from Sunday for the agony she’s putting me through right now.
Dessert comes not a moment too soon. She’s awoken some kind of beast inside of me, and all I can do is grunt whenever someone asks me a question. I’m not even eating.
I’ve never wanted someone so badly. As soon as this shit dinner is over, she’s mine.
All fucking mine.
Our plates are cleared and everyone talks among themselves, paying us no attention, I lean in and discreetly whisper a promise in Viola’s ear.
“You fucking brat. I’m going to annihilate you when I get you upstairs.”
“You’d better,” she snipes back, under her breath, pausing in the attention she’s been giving me all night.
That’s it. How can I bear another fucking second in this room with my family? I seize her upper thigh, squeezing as I slide up the split. Her breath catches until my palms cross over the H branded into her skin and she stiffens. My grip tightens. Viola shoots me an unfathomable look and draws her hand away, leaving me reeling.
Leaving me empty and desperate.
How can she still have her claws in me after what she did?
I glance at her, talking now to my mother about horses, making that smooth transition from my private whore to the pretty hostess in seconds. I’m half listening, half sulking. I didn’t know she could ride horses. In fact, it dawns on me that I know nothing about Viola at all. After all this time, she still doesn’t talk about herself.
Well, if we’re going to be married, that’s going to fucking change.
Dinner is finally over.My mother and stepfather and my two uncles take their drinks into the parlor to talk about the wedding and the business deal structured around it. Sal fucks off to wherever he goes at night—the casino probably. Sorrow, my cousin on my mother’s side, shoots a burning look at me which I ignore. I don’t want to talk business or family shit tonight. I want to fuck my fiancée and then sleep until morning.
Sorrow gives up when I don’t immediately come over and stalks out of the room. We’re the only two left in the dining room. I still can’t look at her so I don’t. But Viola leans in any way as we walk to the door, her sweet perfume taking me back months to when she was in my arms most nights and she was all mine.
“I’m heading upstairs. I suggest you do the same in a few minutes,” she purrs.
I nod at her, running a hand through my hair.
With my family in the house, it’s dangerous ground, but I don’t give a fuck. It’s expected of me to fuck my would-be wife. What kind of Vice would I be if I didn’t?
Viola disappears up the stairs. I don’t follow her. Not yet. I know where her bedroom is. The parlor has an outside terrace attached. I take my drink and head out. Lola and Ric are deep in conversation by the fireplace. Lola’s on her meds, thank fuck. Ric is good at keeping her on them, so when he’s around I don’t have to worry about her going off the rails.
It’s bitter and wet on the terrace, but I let the cold seep through my shirt, enjoying how it feels against my skin as I take out a smoke and light it.