CHAPTER FIVE: WINTER
“What’sthatonyour shoulder?”
I nearly jump out of my skin at the unexpected voice.
I whip around, placing a hand to my chest, my heart thumping wildly beneath my fingers. Vito is standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He’s wearing a three piece gray suit, his hair pulled back into a ponytail, his bright eyes are narrowed on me and his lips are tilted down into a frown.
I move my hand onto the counter behind me as my heart slows down.
Enzo had come to my room and told me I was free to roam the house today as long as I didn’t leave. The words felt like a trap, but when I made a face at him, all he said was that permission had come from Giovanni.
I’d stayed in my room for a few hours, debating on taking the bait.
Now as I stare at Vito, I know I should have followed my first thought, because the look he’s sending me has me shifting from foot to foot.
His gaze moves from my face, down my thighs which are on view in the romper I’m wearing. Another, comfy floral print.
I wonder if someone else has taken over wardrobe duty for me, because I’m definitely liking these clothes a lot more.
I push the unimportant thought from my mind as
Vito’s gaze returns to my face and he takes a step forward.
“What’s on your shoulder?” he asks again, his gaze moving to said shoulder.
I try to avert my eyes to where he’s looking, but I see nothing but smooth skin.
I look back at him, jumping back when I realize he’s right in front of me now. He places a gentle finger to my shoulder, trailing it over my skin and I flinch when a small bite of pain moves through my shoulder.
His grip doesn’t leave me but the frown on his face deepens at the same time that I figure out exactly what he’s looking at.
Marks from Maximo’s fingers.
It’s been a few days since he fucked me and the last time I looked, the marks from where he’d dug his nails into my skin had scabbed over. I’d assumed they would be healed up by now. I hadn’t bothered to look in the mirror after I got dressed this morning, so I hadn’t thought too much about them.
But as Vito continues to look at me, I wish I had.
What would you have changed into if you’d seen them anyway? This was the outfit laid out for you today, and the odds of them being changed at your request are low.
“Who did this?” he asks roughly, trailing another finger over the area.
From the tone of his voice, I know what he’s thinking. That someone hurt me again, touching me without my permission. He probably even has the right culprit in mind, Maximo. But I know he can’t possibly be thinking that the whole thing was consensual, which it was.
I shiver, my skin buzzing. My throat tightens and I move my shoulder back, pulling away from his touch.
It feels much too intimate.
His hand balls into a fist and he pulls it away, letting it fall to his side. He raises a brow as he continues to watch me with a look that promises murder to whoever hurt me.
I try not to think about the warmth that spreads through my chest.
I swallow.
“I scratched myself,” I lie before turning around. I go back to looking through the cabinets for a snack, hoping it’ll make Vito leave me alone.
No such luck.
He steps into me, his body covering mine and his cologne invading my senses. My head swirls and I grit my teeth.