Born in Blood Collection Volume 1 - Cora Reilly Page 0,33

room. He’d turned on the lamp on his nightstand. I waited. I knew he was watching me, but I kept my face pressed against the pillow. Maybe he’d leave the room if he got fed up with the noise. He touched my arm, and I jerked so violently that I would have fallen off the bed if Luca hadn’t pulled me toward him.

“That’s enough,” he said in a low voice.

That voice. I stilled immediately and let him roll me onto my back. Slowly I uncurled my legs and arms, and lay as unmoving as a corpse.

“Look at me,” he ordered, and I did. Was that the voice that had made him notorious? “I want you to stop crying. I want you to stop flinching from my touch.”

I nodded numbly.

He shook his head. “That nod means nothing. Don’t you think I recognize fear when it stares back at me? The moment I turn out the light, you’ll be back to crying as if I’d fucking raped you.”

I didn’t know what he wanted me to do. It wasn’t as if I enjoyed being scared out of my mind. Not that fear was the only reason for my breakdown, but he wouldn’t understand. How could he possibly understand that I felt like my life was ripped away from me? My sisters, Fabiano, my family, Chicago; they were all I had ever known, and now I had to give them up.

“So to give you peace of mind and shut you up, I’m going to swear an oath.”

I licked my lips, tasting the saltiness of tears on them. Luca’s fingers tensed on my arm. “An oath?” I whispered.

He took my hand and pressed my palm against the tattoo over his heart. I exhaled as his muscles flexed under my touch. He was warm, the skin much softer than I’d anticipated.

“Born in blood, sworn in blood, I swear that I won’t try to steal your virginity or harm you in any way tonight.” His lips quirked and he nodded toward the cut on his arm. “I already bled for you, so that seals it. Born in blood. Sworn in blood.” He covered my hand with his over the tattoo, looking at me expectantly.

“Born in blood, sworn in blood,” I said softly. He released my hand and I lowered it to my stomach, stunned and confused. An oath was a big deal. Without another word, he extinguished the light and returned to his side of the bed.

I listened to his rhythmic breathing, knowing that he wasn’t asleep. I closed my eyes. He wouldn’t break his oath.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Sunlight hit my face. I tried to stretch, but an arm was thrown over my waist and a firm chest pressed against my back. It took me a moment to remember where I was and what had happened yesterday, and then I stiffened.

“Good, you’re awake,” Luca said in a voice that was gruff with sleep.

Realization hit me. Luca. My husband. I was a married woman, but Luca had kept his promise. He hadn’t consummated the marriage. I opened my eyes. Luca’s hand gripped my hip and he turned me on my back. He was propped up on one elbow as his eyes took in my face. I wished I knew what he was thinking. It was strange to be in bed with a man. I could feel Luca’s heat, even though our bodies weren’t touching. In the sunlight the scars on his skin were somehow less prominent than last night, but his muscles were just as impressive. I wondered how they’d feel to the touch.

He reached up and took a strand of my hair between two fingers. I held my breath, but he released it after a moment, his face becoming calculating. “It won’t be long until my stepmother, my aunts and the other married women of my family knock at our door to gather up the sheets and carry them into the dining room, where undoubtedly everyone else is already waiting for the fucking spectacle to begin.”

A blush spread over my cheeks and something in Luca’s eyes changed, some of the coldness replaced by another emotion. My eyes found the small cut on Luca’s arm. It hadn’t been deep and was already scabbing.

Luca nodded. “My blood will give them what they want. It’ll be the foundation of our story, but we’ll be expected to fill in the details. I know I’m a convincing liar. But will you be able to lie to everyone’s face, even your mother’s, when you tell