Deadly Vows

by Haley Stuart

  Luca immediately rolls me over and pins me down. I have barely any energy to fight him. He separates my legs and enters me roughly. I cry out loud. He leans on top of my body, rubbing against the new wounds he has given me on my side. I cry out from the pain, sobbing and groaning. With every thrust, he rubs against my skin, causing me more and more agonizing pain each time.

  He grabs my jaw, making me look at him as he fucks me ruthlessly on the floor.

  “Whom do you belong to?” he says out loud.

  I can’t think; I can only feel. Even though there is pain where he has cut me, I can feel pleasure from his earlier ministration. His grip on my jaw tightens.

  “Whom are you fucking married to?” His voice snaps me out of my trance.

  “Y-you,” I groan out.

  “Say my goddamn name.”

  “Luca,” I gasp as he thrusts deep.

  He smiles an evil smile at me.

  “That’s right. You’re married to me. You belong to me. Luca Pasquino. You’re mine, Elise, and nobody else’s. Don’t you ever forget that. Do you understand me?”

  The pain mixed with the pleasure is too much, and I feel myself spilling over as my orgasm hits me hard.

  “Yes!” I shout out.

  “Only I can make you feel this way. Me. Your fucking husband. No one else,” he hisses as he ruthlessly fucks me through my orgasm.

  I nod and groan, unable to handle the pleasure and the pain. And possibly the blood loss. I black out.

  The next time I awake, I am lying in bed, with Luca’s arm wrapped around me, spooning my back side. I can feel his rhythmic breathing against my back. There is a dull throbbing on my side. The tears immediately come. He has fucking sliced me open because a waiter has made me smile. I shift in the bed and slowly move out of Luca’s grasp, heading toward the bathroom.

  Apparently, he has bathed and clothed me while I have been passed out, moving me back into our bedroom. I am wearing one of his shirts. I look in the mirror and lift the massive shirt I am wearing. There is a cloth gauze wrapped around my torso. The dull throbbing is getting worse, and I begin to unwrap the gauze, each layer I peel off making me more and more terrified to see what horrible scar will be waiting underneath. As the cloth gets thinner, I can see the pinkish tint seeping through in spaced-out patterns. My breathing speeds up as I get closer to my skin. I let the cloth fall to the floor and gasp at what I see carved into my ribs. Reaching all the way from the underside of my breast to the top of my hip bone:

  L U C A

  His name is carved into my skin, the angry red lines a reminder that he has used a knife to do so.

  I hear shuffling and see Luca’s tall figure leaning in the doorway of the bathroom, his steel-colored eyes rooting me to my spot as he leans away from the doorjamb and makes his way toward me. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into him, kissing my neck.

  “You’re mine, Elise.”

  I can’t stop the sob that escapes my lips.

  Chapter 8

  Elise

  Every day since Luca has carved his name into my side, I haven’t run and hidden from him. There is no point; he always gets what he wants, and I’ll only be making him angry. I just go outside with a blanket, sitting on the front lawn, watching the staff tend to the yard.

  Each morning I wake up, I have to rub some antibiotic on the wound. A few days after the incident, it has begun to get infected and scab up, but now that he has taken me to the doctor, I have something to prevent it from getting gross. I also have to change the gauze every day. I’ve been wearing loose tank tops to keep the shirt from rubbing and trying to keep the pain at a minimum. And now I am sitting outside, trying to air out the wound. It has begun burning earlier, so I take the gauze off and let the wind caress it slightly.

  It is a beautiful day today. I look over to see the gardener tending to the flowers. A beautiful rainbow arrangement covers the front of the house.

  “Elise.”

  I jump as Luca’s voice pulls me out of my trance. I look up to see him standing over me and quickly lower my shirt. Every time he sees his name etched into my skin, he gets this look on his face. Like the sight brings him joy. And it scares me.

  He moves down on the blanket next to me, propping himself up on his forearm. He cranes his neck to look at me.

  “I haven’t heard you play in a while,” he says, almost as if he were pouting. “I miss hearing your beautiful melodies.” His eyes roam down to the hem of my shirt, and he begins playing with it. I don’t speak; I only keep my eyes trained on the gardener.

  “You know, now that your father is out of the way, the matter of who’s going to run the South is very tender. And since you are the only heir he had, well, it’d make sense that your husband take over.” He slowly pushes my shirt up so that the A and the C are visible.

  “But I was thinking, maybe we should appoint someone.” He is still pushing the shirt up. “But it’s just a matter of who.” He pauses for a moment, as if thinking, and finally releases a breath before laying his head on my lap.

  “I think I want you to play in another recital for me so that the whole world can know how talented my beautiful wife is.”

  I almost don’t register his words.

  “What?” I say aloud.

  He shifts his head so that he is looking up at me from my lap. And damn, if he doesn’t look sexy as hell. His curly dark hair is falling in ringlets away from his face, and his thick lashes are more defined from this angle. He is smiling at me. A smile that radiates joy.

  “I knew that would catch your attention. I want to share your talents. You really are a wonderful musician. I actually have an audition set up for you in an hour and a half.”

  My heart slams in my chest. He what?

  He chuckles slightly at my speechlessness.

  “But for now, I just want to relax in the sun with my wife.” He closes his eyes for a moment, letting the sun wash over his face.

  Luca puzzles me completely. I never understand what he is thinking or what he wants. But I think, in his own twisted mind, he has some feelings for me; he just doesn’t know how to express them.

  As if sensing the direction of my thoughts, he begins speaking.

  “You are perfect, Elise. The perfect woman. The perfect wife. I love everything about you. I know you would never want that pathetic waiter. I just wanted to see you smile.” He opens his eyes and sits up so that his face is parallel with mine, and he is staring into my soul.

  “Can you do that for me, Elise? I want to see you smile.” He watches me as if he were staring deep into my soul. So I give him a smile.

  “No, I want to see the smile you gave your cousin.” His face darkens, and I have to dig deep within myself and give him the smile I had when I saw Ari. He stares at my face for a while, and I have no idea what he is thinking.

  “You are so beautiful. Your father was a damn fool to give you away so easily for power. But I’m glad he did.” His eyes roam down, and he lifts my shirt so that his name is exposed on my side.

  “I love my name on your skin.” He traces it lightly with his finger. “Now the world will know you belong to me.” He is staring at the jagged scars with a dreamy expression.

  “Whom do you belong to, Elise?” He doesn’t look up; he is still staring at his name etched into my skin.

  “You, Luca.” My voice is small and frail. Just like me.

  I’ve never had any strong will when coming into this place, and now even more so. I am not going to pretend to be the hard girl in those books that likes to get attitudes and believes she can’t be broken. Because this isn’t a book; this is real life. And if I ever try to mouth off to Luca, he can lose control and kill me. He is ruthless. And he terrifies me to the bone.

  He moves up closer to me on the blanket and places a hand on my face before pulling me in for a kiss. It takes everything in me to kiss him back. I know that if I resist, he will make things worse. He may even kill the gardener just to prove a point to
me.

  “Go get dressed. It takes about forty-five minutes to get to the city from here, and we need to get to your audition.”

  I look at him, not knowing what to say, but stand and walk into the house, following his orders.

  * * * * *

  I zip up the dress I am wearing to dinner tonight. After the audition, Luca has sprung on me that we are having guests for dinner. The audition has gone great. I’ve earned first chair and actually get a solo in the upcoming tri-city symphony.

  Luca’s excitement when I tell him the news is beyond the ceiling.

  Luca steps out of the closet, messing with his suit jacket. I watch him from my spot across the room. How can someone so handsome be capable of such cynical things? As if sensing he is being watched, he looks up from the buttons on his suit jacket and takes in my form at the mirror. A smile creeps its way onto his face.

  “Damn, if I’m not the luckiest man in the world.” He walks over to where I am and leans in to give me a quick kiss on the cheek.

  “I wish I could show you how lucky I feel.” He winks at me and leans in, giving me a kiss on my exposed neck. My cheeks burn from his innuendo.

  He takes a seat on the bed and begins messing with his cufflinks. I turn back to my face in the mirror. I have to wear a loose-fitting dress tonight due to the scars on my ribs. Nothing tight, seeing as it can rub and tear open the healing wounds. I feel a pang of anger toward Luca. How he can walk around here without a care or regret that he has used a knife to slice his name into my body, I will never understand.

  “Elise, I want you to be on your best behavior tonight.” I turn around and meet his eyes in the mirror. He is staring at me with a serious expression. “The guest that we’re having is important, and I don’t want to do anything rash because you can’t control yourself.”

  Downstairs, I stand at the left-hand side of the table. Luca sits at the head, and I am to sit on his right. That is how it is. The staff is scurrying to set the table and get things in order for the dinner. This is probably the second time I have seen any of them. They steer clear of me, and once their jobs are finished, they leave the house.

  Luca comes around the corner, smiling at something his friend has said, but there is something off about his smile. The man next to him is barely shorter than Luca, with blond hair and blue eyes to match. He has dimples on his face when he smiles. He looks to be around Luca’s age, and I have no idea who he is. Then his date steps in the room, and I see the source of Luca’s off smile.

  Jessica steps in the room wearing a bright-red dress that clings to her body, showing off every curve she has. Her breasts are falling out of the top, and her stilettos are echoing loudly off the wall with each step she takes. My stomach drops when her eyes meet mine. Her face twists into a smug grin as she looks me up and down, obviously turning her nose up in distaste. She isn’t here out of coincidence. And she obviously is going to cause me trouble.

  Luca leaves his friend’s side and comes next to me to pull my chair out. As I take a seat, he leans in and whispers in my ear, “Don’t do anything you’ll regret.” And as he stands to go to his seat, he pushes a short curl behind my ear, reminding me of how far he will go to make me pay for disobeying him. I shudder and almost begin to cry as I take my seat and see Jessica’s scowling face across from me.

  “Elise, this is Nicolai. You may or may not recognize him, but he is of the eastern region of the North Mob. I’m looking into his becoming the next head of the South, if we don’t integrate it under one power.” In the whole sentence he has just spoken, a total of three new facts are revealed to me. Who this man is, what he is doing here, and the fact that Luca is considering conjoining us under one rule. His rule.

  I bring myself quickly back into reality. “Nice to meet you.” I give him the best smile I can muster. He smiles back, both of his dimples being revealed. He has a boyish charm to him. Where Luca is hard and set, he is almost playful.

  “Nice to meet you too. Luca has told me so much about you.” He smiles at me. I am caught a little off guard. If Luca has told this man about me, then he knows him more than he is letting on.

  After a moment of silence, Jessica clears her throat. Nicolai smiles and gestured to her. “Oh, and this is my date, Jessica. We met a few weeks ago.”

  He obviously doesn’t sense the tension between Jessica and everyone at the table. I look at Luca’s face, and if looks could kill, Jessica will be dead, dead, dead. Speaking of dead, I seem to recall, the last time Luca has said if he sees her, he is going to kill her. Is he going to really kill Nicolai’s date?

  “Oh, this is a lovely home you have here, Luca.” She looks around the room with a smug grin on her face.

  I look at Luca to see his reaction, but he doesn’t give anything other than a straight face. But I can tell by the muscle working in his jaw that he is irritated. He doesn’t even respond to her. Finally, the waitstaff comes out of the kitchen with dinner and begins serving. Some of them look a little shocked once they gaze upon Jessica’s face, which only makes her smug grin grow even more.

  Luca and Nicolai fall into conversation with each other. They speak of relations, opportunities, and even memories. So it is obvious that this man and Luca are friends. And Jessica somehow knows that, but Nicolai doesn’t. Nicolai also doesn’t notice when she pipes in with her snide remarks directed toward Luca. I don’t know if he is trying to restrain himself from killing her or what, but he is doing a marvelous job.

  Finally, the conversations go from an interview to actual conversations that I can listen in on to get more information about my husband. Apparently, he likes to be the one to inflict torture; he can get a clean kill but likes to miss possible shots to make that happen so they can suffer. He is pretty much the man that the stories say he is.

  The only normal thing he has revealed about himself is that he is a medical magician. He knows where all the arteries are, the bones, how to stop the bleeding and make it last longer. He has the IQ of a neurosurgeon, and it all leads to killing. Go figure.

  He and Nicolai begin laughing boisterously, pulling me from my thoughts. He looks over at me with adoration in his eyes.

  “You know, my wife is a musical prodigy. She plays the violin like an angel.” Once he speaks the words, Jessica doesn’t give Nicolai a chance to respond. She scoffs arrogantly.

  “Since when are you into classical music, Luca?” She looks at me through narrowed eyes, probably expecting a response, but I am not about to give her one with Luca sitting less than three feet away from me. If she is going to get killed, I am going to have no part in it.

  “Since I heard Elise playing the day of our engagement party,” he says, annoyed.

  Nicolai is looking at her with a questioning glance, but she ignores him, the adoration Luca is showing me in front of her obviously making her angry.

  “Luca, you wouldn’t even listen to classical music even if someone held a bullet to your head.” Her voice is coming out equally annoyed.

  “Well, once I heard my beautiful wife here playing it, I instantly fell in love.” Luca looks at me and winks.

  “You might love her sorry musical abilities, but I know for a fact she can’t pleasure you like I used to.”

  Nicolai looks at her, stunned.

  He starts, “Now, wait a se—”

  But she cuts him off, standing quickly in her chair, the furniture screeching back on the marble floor. Her eyes land immediately on me, all the hate and rage she is feeling coming at me.

  “Tell me, little girl, can you pleasure Luca the way I used to? Can you handle all his needs? He’s a man, and you’re just an inexperienced little cunt that doesn’t know who or what she has.” I don’t even know what to say or how to respond. But I don’t have to, since Nicolai speaks up.

  “Wait, Jessica, you know Luca?”

  She rolls her eyes, as if calling him an idiot. I look over to Luca and see a grin of amusement on his face as he leans back in his chair.

  “Of cours
e I know him. I was the one that kept his bed warm before this lowly tr—”

  She suddenly stops speaking and holds her stomach, a look of shock on her face. It takes me a moment to register what has just happened. Suddenly, there is a growing dark stain on the front of her red dress. And it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together. I look across the table and see Luca still holding a silencer. It’s a gun usually used for silent kills. No one can hear it as the shooter takes a life, and that explains why I haven’t heard anything before Jessica has gotten shot.

  I gasp and cry out as her dress becomes overly saturated with her blood and begin dripping on the tile. I look at Luca, and he still has an amused glint in his eye. There is the ghost of a smile on his lips.

  I run to Jessica and begin putting pressure on the wound, not thinking about the fact that Luca is the one that has shot her and she has insulted me moments ago.

  Jessica collapses on the ground, breathing hard and looking around frantically.

  “Oh god, oh god, oh god,” I keep chanting to myself. She can’t die. Not here. Not like this.

  I quickly jump on the table and grab one of the napkins, pressing it to Jessica’s bloodied side. I hear Luca’s deep chuckle in the background.

  “See, this is why I say I’m so lucky. Even though this woman doesn’t deserve it, my wife is still trying to save her life.” I hear his footsteps come toward me, but I focus on all the blood that is now coating my hands.

  “Luca, help her, please. She’s dying!” I shout, but he doesn’t respond. I turn to Nicolai, hoping he has some shred of compassion for the woman he has brought unknowingly into this mess.

  “Nicolai, do something!” I look at him, but he is not even paying attention.

  He is watching Luca with a steel expression, as if waiting for his orders. Jessica’s body begins spasming, and I shout out in frustration. Why won’t anyone help her? My eyes are burning, and I realize I am crying over her body. She can’t die here—that is all I keep repeating to myself. She just can’t.