Becoming Mrs DeLuca novel Chapter 24

VALENTINA

The single word, though spoken in a low voice, carried the weight of command. Adrian didn’t need to shout to assert himself; authority clung to him like a second skin. He was a man who gave orders in every aspect of his life, and expected them to be obeyed without hesitation.

I refused to meet his eyes. If I looked at those hard, unrelenting features, if I saw the steel in his gaze, my courage might falter. No. This was the start of my new life, and I couldn’t allow him to flatten me at the very first challenge. If I surrendered now, I’d be surrendering forever.

“Valentina. Don’t.” His voice was a warning, low but edged with the kind of danger that made most people step back.

I didn’t. Instead, I opened the door wider and bent down, scooping the trembling bundle of fur into my arms. The tiny dog didn’t bark this time. It pressed against me, quivering, as if it knew I was its only shield. Its coat was tangled and coarse, patches of it rough beneath my fingers, telling me all I needed to know about how neglected it had been.

Adrian rose from the sofa in one fluid movement, and suddenly he was in front of me, tall and immovable, his presence blotting out the space. His shadow seemed to swallow the hallway whole. I tilted my head back, meeting his furious gaze head–on.

“That thing stays outside,” he said coldly. His eyes burned, daring me to defy him.

I clutched the dog closer to my chest, the small body warming against me. My heartbeat rattled in my ribs, but I didn’t flinch.

“I gave you an order.”

An order. That was what I was to him- someone to command, to bend.

My mouth curved before I could stop it, part fear, part defiance. “Then I suppose I’m as badly trained as your dog.”

My mother’s voice rose in my memory, warning me never to let my tongue run wild. Insolence, she’d said, could cost a woman dearly. But the words were already out, and even if I could take them back, I wasn’t sure that I would.

Adrian’s expression changed in an instant. First, surprise flickered across his features, then anger hardened them like stone. “Put it down,” he ordered. “I won’t allow that thing inside.”

Allow. There it was again, the word that made me want to go mad. Orders, permissions, commands- it was how he spoke, how he ruled. But I was his wife, not his servant. He might be Underboss, and he might be used to absolute obedience, but marriage wasn’t supposed to be another one of his territories to govern.

“If the dog can’t be inside,” I said, holding my chin high, “then I’ll stay outside with it. We can keep each other warm.” I turned on my heel, already imagining myself curled on one of the lounge chairs with the shivering ball of fur pressed against me.

Adrian’s arm shot out before I could take a step, like a wall of muscle blocking my way.

I froze. My father had never raised a hand to me, but my mother had slapped me twice, sharp reminders of who held the power. It wasn’t first hand experience that made me wince, but I’d seen men hit women and children. My uncles, in particular, were of the violent sort. It happened often in our circles.

His brows drew together, not with rage this time but with something that looked like confusion. His grip on my elbow was firm, yet oddly careful.

“That flinch,” he said quietly, his voice rough with disapproval, “was unnecessary. I don’t want to see it again.”

I studied him, searching his face for the man behind the command. “You don’t want me to react that way,” I asked slowly, “or you won’t give me a reason to react that way?”

A ghost of a smile flickered across his mouth. It was there and gone so quickly I almost doubted I’d seen it. Then the stern mask returned. He bent down until our eyes met. “You won’t ever have reason to,” he said.

“You sure?” I asked, tilting my head slightly. The words came out more as a challenge than I intended, softened only by the small, stubborn smile tugging at my lips.

“Absolutely.” His certainty left no room for argument.

“Good,” I murmured.

The corner of his brow ticked upward, as if he wasn’t sure whether I was agreeing with him or mocking him. Was I really that hard for him to read? His gaze lingered on me a moment longer, then his tone sharpened again. “Now put the dog down.”

My smile grew. “No.”

He looked as if I’d just spoken another language. For a man like Adrian, the word no probably wasn’t something he heard often- maybe even ever. His hand released my elbow only to shift higher, his fingers were firm but not hard as they framed my chin, tilting my face up toward his. This time I didn’t flinch. I held his gaze, and I knew he noticed. Something about it pleased him, though he didn’t say so aloud.

“I gave you an order,” he reminded me. “I am your husband. My word is law.”

“I know. And if you insist the dog stays outside, then I’ll stay outside too.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed, studying me as if trying to decide whether I was bluffing. His breath carried the faint, warm spice of liquor, and for a ridiculous moment I caught myself wondering what it would taste like on his lips.

“You really expect me to believe,” he murmured, leaning in closer, “that you’d spend the night in the cold… for a dog?”

I stared back stubbornly.

He barked out a laugh. “I think you might actually do it. Your parents didn’t mention your stubborn streak when they bartered you away.”

“They were too eager marrying me off to the cruelest Underboss of the Brotherhood,” I muttered.

“The cruelest Underboss, hmm? That’s what they call me?”

“They did, and other people do too.”

“Why would your parents tell you something like that about your future husband?”

“To get me in line. My mother worried you might beat me to death if I’m insolent.”

Something on Adrian’s face shifted, a shadow of the past. “They shouldn’t have scared you before our wedding.”

“Is it a lie, then?” I whispered. For some reason his mouth appeared even closer than before.

“There’s no scale to judge someone’s cruelty.”

“That means it’s the truth.” He didn’t contradict me. I couldn’t read the look on his face. Acting on impulse, I leaned forward and brushed my lips across his then darted my tongue out, tasting the liquor clinging to his mouth. It was smoky and sweet.