8. Lucia

My heart is thudding so loud in my ears that I can barely think, and when he puts the tip of the weapon to my breastbone, I flinch and close my eyes.

“Relax, I’m not about to murder my bride on our wedding night,” he says and when I hear the tearing of fabric, I open my eyes to feel the fabric of the negligee pool at my feet. “That’s for later.”

Later? What does he mean that’s for later?!

Cutting off the straps of my thong as well, he takes a step backward and removes his bowtie, which was already loose and hanging around his neck. As he gets to work unbuttoning his shirt, his eyes do not leave mine and even as they’re filled to the brim with anger, I can see the hunger.

I was right about his body being covered in tattoos, but in this case, only his back and sides, save for one tattoo over his left pectoral, right over his heart. It is a black heart with a dagger with the words SANGUE PER SANGUE.

A shiver shoots up my spine as it feels like an omen meant just for me.

“On the bed, Mice