CHAPTER 5: The Punishment

  I made my first mistake as Mrs. Vane at breakfast.

  

  I smiled at the delivery boy.

  

  He was just a boy from the bakery, maybe 19, holding croissants. He said, "Morning, ma'am, you have a beautiful smile."

  

  I said, "Thank you."

  

  That was it. Two words.

  

  But Caelum heard it from the kitchen doorway.

  

  I felt the air change.

  

  He was in a grey suit, coffee in hand, but his knuckles went white around the cup. His eyes locked on the boy, then on me.

  

  "Leave," he told the boy, voice low. The boy ran.

  

  Then he looked at me. I was in one of his white shirts, bare legs, hair messy from sleeping in his arms. I thought I looked innocent. He thought I looked like I belonged to someone else.

  

  "Elira. Come here."

  

  I stood, nervous. "Caelum, he was just -"

  

  "I said come here."

  

  I walked to him. He set his coffee down slowly. Too slowly.

  

  "You remember clause 3 of our contract?" He asked, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. His touch was gentle but his eyes were storm.

  

  "What clause?"

  

  "You will not smile at another man. You will not let another man look at you like you belong to him. You broke it in less than 12 hours, wife."

  

  My mouth opened. "That wasn't in the contract you showed me! You just made that up!"

  

  "I write new clauses when my wife forgets who she belongs to." He grabbed my waist and lifted me onto the kitchen island, his body between my legs. The white shirt rode up. I gasped.

  

  "Caelum! Irena is here -"

  

  "Irena left. It's just us." His hands slid up my thighs, pushing the shirt higher. His eyes were dark, jealous, obsessed. "You smiled at him. With this mouth that is mine."

  

  He brushed my lips with his thumb, pressing.

  

  "Do you know what happens when you break my rules, principessa?"

  

  I shook my head, heart pounding, heat pooling despite fear.

  

  "You get punished."

  

  Then he kissed me. Hard. Possessive. Punishing.

  

  He kissed me like he was angry, like he was marking me again. One hand fisted in my hair, holding my head back, the other gripping my waist so tight it would leave bruises.

  

  I whimpered against his mouth, and he growled.

  

  "You want to smile at other men? Smile at me. Only me." He broke the kiss, breathing hard, his forehead against mine. "Look at me, Elira."

  

  I looked. His ice-blue eyes were blazing.

  

  "Whose are you?"

  

  "Yours," I whispered.

  

  "Louder."

  

  "Yours! I'm yours, Caelum!"

  

  "Good girl." His mouth crashed back to mine, but slower now, deeper, like a reward after punishment. His hand slid under my shirt, over my bare stomach, feeling my soft skin. "My wife. My innocent wife who drives me insane."

  

  He lifted me off the island, carrying me, my legs around his waist.

  

  "Where are you taking me?"

  

  "To our bedroom. You need to learn the punishment clause properly. So you never forget."

  

  He threw me gently on the bed. I bounced, shirt up, breathing fast.

  

  He stood over me, taking off his jacket, rolling his sleeves.

  

  "Rule one," he said, climbing over me, caging me. "You sleep in my bed."

  

  His lips brushed my neck.

  

  "Rule two. You wear my ring."

  

  He kissed my hand where the diamond sat.

  

  "Rule three. You don't look, smile, or talk to another man without my permission."

  

  His mouth hovered over mine.

  

  "Break rule three again, and I will lock you in this penthouse, in this bed, wearing nothing but my shirt and my ring, until you forget any other man's name but mine."

  

  His voice was dark, possessive, but his eyes... his eyes were begging me to understand. He wasn't just a mafia devil. He was obsessed. With me.

  

  "Are you scared of me now?" He whispered.

  

  I reached up, trembling, and touched his cheek, his stubble, his scar.

  

  "Yes," I admitted. "But I also... I don't hate the punishment."

  

  His eyes flared. Pure fire.

  

  "Elira..."

  

  "Don't stop," I whispered, shy but bold. The innocent bride speaking for the first time. "If I'm yours, then punish me like I'm yours."

  

  That broke him.

  

  He groaned like an animal and kissed me until I couldn't breathe, until I was arching, until his name was the only word on my lips.

  

  "Caelum... Caelum..."

  

  "Say it again," he ordered against my mouth.

  

  "Caelum Vane, you are my husband -"

  

  "Your owner."

  

  "My owner," I gasped, dizzy.

  

  He smiled, pure triumph, devilish and beautiful.

  

  "Finally, Mrs. Vane learns."

  

  He pulled the sheets over us, tucking me back into his arms, his hand possessively over my stomach, over his shirt, over his ring.

  

  Outside, his empire waited. Inside, he had everything he wanted.

  

  Me.

  

  And I, who married a devil to save my family, was starting to fall for the monster who punished me with kisses.