Chapter 4 Four

DOMINIC

I’d already been in a shitty mood right from the moment I woke up. I prided myself on being a man who wasn’t complicated.

Which was why it pissed me off that the fools had managed to fuck up this much. Marco, one of my closest business partners, sat across me, blowing from his pipe.

“You’d think they’d manage to get one thing right.” He sighed.

“You don’t need to worry about it.” I assured him. “I’ll get it all sorted out. The next shipment is scheduled to arrive in the next two days. The distribution ring should handle the rest.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll leave it all to you then.”

“Alright.” I sank back into my seat, my thoughts drifting to Veronica.

She was…odd. I’d expected feistiness, a bit of attention seeking with what Viktor had told me about her.

But she—she was different. Quiet, more withdrawn and careful with her words. How possible was it for someone to change within the span of two weeks?

I’d been so close to cutting off Viktor’s dick two weeks ago when he couldn’t pay back the debt he borrowed from a couple of my brokers. It would have been easier to just kill him. But I’d been on a particular high that day.

“Your daughter’s hand in marriage. I don’t care which of them. Get her ready for me within the next two weeks or else.”

To think I’d be more or less married. The title didn’t matter. All I needed was a puppet to stand by my side. It would do well for my image and give me more rep in the underworld.

After exchanging a couple more pleasantries with Marco, I saw him off and began making my way to the dining room.

It was already time for lunch. I was about to demand for Veronica to be brought before me when I spotted her from the entrance. And next to her was Zayn.

My mood soured instantly. “What the hell is going on here?”

Her head snapped to me. Zayn was the first to speak. “You were pretty busy, so I thought I’d show her around a bit. Can’t have the signora not knowing her way around the estate.”

“Bless your bleeding fucking heart.”

I let out a grunt, turning my focus to Veronica. She was silently shoveling forkfuls of spaghetti in her mouth but her eyes seemed distant. Was she not enjoying it?

I snapped my fingers and a maid immediately moved to plate my food. It was hard to miss how her body stilled when I took the seat beside her.

“Something wrong, wife?” I smiled slowly.

She shook her head, trying hard not to choke back on the spaghetti. After taking it down, she chugged down some water. “Nothing’s wrong. He actually just showed me around like you said.”

I let out a small hum, my eyes never leaving her. “And the food? Is pasta not to your taste?”

“No, no.” I shook my head. “It’s just a lot. The breakfast made me pretty full already.”

I watched her for a long time, examining every single reaction on her face. She wasn’t as good at keeping a straight face as she must have thought she was.

Slowly I cupped her face, forcing her eyes towards me. “Keep behaving till tonight. It’s about time we consummate our marriage.”

All the blood seemed to drain from her face. She didn’t say anything else. Simply turning back to her pasta.

I turned away from her once, fixing my attention back on the food. Sneaky or not, I’d find out everything I needed to find. One could only keep an act for so long. And so help me if this turned out to be one of Viktor’s tricks, he’d have a hell of a lot to pay for it.

Night came quicker than usual. Veronica had hurried straight to her room after dinner. It was hard to miss the small grimace on her face as she scurried away.

“Don’t you like spicy food?” I stared at her incredulously as she chugged down some water.

“Yes,” she swallowed. “It’s just—this one has a lot of heat to it.”

I clicked my tongue, throwing back the rest of my scotch. I’d held back long enough. She was standing in front of a mirror when I opened the door.

As soon as she noticed me enter, her whole body recoiled. “Dominic.”

That was the first time she’d called my name fully. It sounded oddly pleasing hearing her say it.

“In the flesh.”

Wordlessly, I crossed the room, stopping when I was only a few inches away from her. My hands instinctively snaked themselves around her waist.

“Every single inch of you,” I inched my lips towards her nose, biting it softly. “Every bit of it is mine.”

A small whine left her lips right before I claimed it with mine. It wasn’t soft or tender. I had nothing of that sort to give her.

I continued to kiss her, biting her lip until she finally gave me access into her mouth. Each flick of my tongue gave me a taste of her mouth. I wanted a more, the hunger in me soaring with each passing second. My hands moved down to pajama shorts, pulling it down.

She flinched, trying to pull away. I let out a growl, pulling away just a bit. “And what is it?”

“I—” She failed to get her words. “It do—”

I cut her off with my lips again, slowly guiding her towards the bed. This time around, I made sure she was caged underneath my body. My mouth moved to her neck, trailing kisses down it and sucking a little.

“No.” She let out a small moan.

I pulled back, watching as she tried to catch her breath. Try as she may, it was hard to mask the panicked look in her eyes.

When I reached for her panties again, she flinched more violently. “No—let’s…Another day. I—It doesn’t have to be now.”

My eyes narrowed on her instantly. Without a word, I grabbed her chin and forced her face closer to me.

“You don’t tell what I can and can’t do.” She whined when I tightened my grip on her face. “Repeat this again, and I will punish you.”

Her eyes were already watering but she gave a small nod. I thought of tearing her clothes of and just claiming her there and then.

My eyes remained on hers before I pushed her down back to the bed. I was irritated now and the mood was long gone.

Without sparing her a glance, I left the room, slamming the door hard behind me. Veronica loved to douse herself in perfumes and should have been wearing one of those lingeries.

I let out chuckle, lips slowly tugging into a smirk. Viktor, that damn rat. If this was one of his dirty ploys, then I’d show him what it feels like to look straight into hell.