seemed to be so taken aback that he needed a moment to compose himself. “What did you just say to me?” His voice was calm, but then raised an entire octave when I failed to offer a reply. “Porca miseria! If I wanted someone else, I wouldn't be here. How can you suggest something so disgusting?”
“I just thought,” I stammered, intimidated by his reaction. “There are plenty of women—”
“Madre di Dio!” he bit out furiously. “Is that what you want me to do? To go whoring around like some kind of desperate pervert?”
“Alessandro—” I tried to pacify him, but he wouldn’t hear me out.
“Mark my words, tesoro.” He leaned really close, possessing my personal space. “For as long as we’re married and living under the same roof there will never be another woman for me nor another man for you, capisci?”
“Yes, Alessandro,” I whispered meekly. “I'm sorry.”
He shook his head. “You're sorry? You've just suggested you wouldn't mind if I fucked another woman and you think sorry is going to cover it?”
“What else can I say?” I muttered in slight fear. “I didn't really mean it like that. I just don't want...”
“What?” he demanded, and when I didn't answer, he expelled a harsh breath. “You better speak up, tesoro, because right now I’m exercising an admirable amount of self-restraint. If you don't explain yourself, I might just lose my patience with you and I don't want that, okay?”
“I don't want you to use me,” I blurted out in a silent voice.
Suddenly, traces of anger faded from Alessandro's expression and his dark eyes flashed with realization. “Is that what you think I came to do?” he asked in a quiet tone. “To use you?”
There was no evading his persistent scrutiny. He gazed at me, waiting for a reply.
“Yes,”—I admitted and bit the inside of my cheek to keep my emotions in check before continuing to speak—“just like you’ve done before.”
His fingers brushed against my cheek. “Tesoro, I’ve never once used you. I might have been vigorous in my demands, but I haven't asked for more than safe vanilla sex nor have I ever treated you with disrespect. You mean more than that.”
We gazed at each other for a few moments, then he reached into his pocket and drew out a small object. He held it out in front of me, and I gulped. It was the wedding ring he'd snatched from my finger that night in the hotel.
“I’ve waited for a long time for you to come and get this, Olivia,” he murmured, holding it up and observing it with a fathomless expression. “Tell me you want me and I'll give it back. You will be my wife again and we'll start over.”
He stared at me and waited, taking in my reaction with undivided interest.
“Alessandro...” I felt pressured to speak, but I had nothing to say.
“Just do it,” he urged softly. “Tell me you want me and everything will be okay. We'll move on as if the past never happened.”
Our eyes locked in an expectant gaze. Black to grey; powerful to helplessness. “Alessandro, I...” I parted my lips to tell him what he wanted to hear, but I couldn't make myself say it. “I can’t,” I admitted quietly, lowering my head. “I don't want this.”
Alessandro exhaled and stood without saying a single word. After gazing at me for a few long moments, he turned his back on me and strolled to the other end of the room. He seemed calm on the surface, but I knew him well enough to realize it was a façade. My instincts were proven true when he threw a vase with flowers on the floor, breaking it into pieces. Then, he punched his fist against the wall and cursed in Italian. When he whirled around and confronted me, his eyes were soulless. There was nothing there but bottomless darkness.
“Then I shall have you without the fucking ring.” His voice sounded like a growl, ringing with strong emotion as he came closer to the bed. “I wanted it to be different, Olivia. I humbled myself before you, but you rejected me again...”
Again...I didn't understand what he meant and there was no time to think. Fear coursed through my veins and I jerked off the bed and bolted for the door. He caught up with me and yanked me toward him without a shred of mercy, holding me imprisoned in his tight grip, so I wouldn't get another chance to flee. Then, he lifted me in his arms