Chapter 12 A MANNEQUIN.
\~~~RAINA.
I swear, I burst into laughter even though I had no plan to do that.
The sound escapes me before I can stop it and it is loud, and wild. I throw my hands in the air like this is some kind of joke, like the man in front of me didn’t just say what I think he said.
But… he isn’t laughing.
Luciano didn’t even blink. His expression stays still, hard, and terrifyingly calm. He looks like he means it.
Wait, he means it?!
“Excuse me?” I whisper, my eyes widening as disbelief prickles through me.
But Luciano didn’t say anything more. His gaze drops slowly, deliberately, from my face to my chest, then back up again, like he is silently reminding me what he asks for.
“You mean it?” I ask again, my voice barely steady.
His jaw flexes once. “What do you think I just said?”
“I…” I stop, because the words catch in my throat.
“If I have to tell you this again,” he says, his voice low and sharp as a blade, “you will regret the day you agreed to this union.”
Well, news flash. I didn’t agree with it.
No one gave me a fucking choice.
Not my twin sister, not my parents, and certainly not this man.
But I can’t say that out loud. Not now especially. Not when he looks at me like that.
My mind drifts slowly to my father’s warning.
What he says Luciano is. A mafia don. A man who might have killed his own father.
That can’t be true, right?
How could a man kill the one who birthed and raised him? The man who perhaps taught him to walk and talk?
The air feels heavier now, and it is like the walls themselves are listening.
Luciano’s gaze never moves away from me.
Trembling, I fidget with the tip of my blouse, my fingers cold and unsteady. My breath comes out too fast, and too shallow. I can’t even tell if it is fear or fury crawling under my skin but both feel the same right now.
“Luciano…” I try again, my voice small, and almost breaking. “Please, don’t make me do this.”
But he doesn’t answer.
So, slowly… so, so slowly, I move.
Like maybe he will stop me halfway, and say it was just a test.
But he doesn’t.
His gaze follows my every small movement, every breath, and every trembling of my fingers as I reach for the buttons.
The silence is thick, heavy, and unbearable.
And then, one by one, I undo the buttons.
My heart hammers so hard that it hurts, but my hands keep moving until my blouse slides off my shoulders and falls to the floor.
A wave of embarrassment hits me like fire under my skin.
My throat tightens, and I can’t even look at him. For a moment, I swear I hear him breathe so slowly, and deeply.
And God, I hate that my body reacts to that sound.
The air feels hotter somehow, and heavier against my skin.
I am wearing a mesh bra beneath my blouse, and right now, I wish I had worn a damn hoodie instead.
Just anything to make me feel less bare under his eyes.
And then, gently, I go on my knees in front of the monster whose eyes hold no expression.
He looks at me as though I am a mannequin, and I had to look down just to check if I actually look like one.
Not to brag or anything, but I know I have the prettiest boobs ever.
They are average in size, plump, and perky and it is enough to make any man lose his mind.
Only, not this man.
Luciano drops his eyes to my chest, and I swallow hard because I know he can see my breasts through the mesh material.
Oh, I hate the way my body betrays me.
I hate the way my nipples harden beneath the thin fabric, brushing against the mesh like they have a mind of their own.
Those idiots.
I try to breathe and to think of anything else, but his gaze burns hotter than fire.
Luciano didn’t move, or speak. He just watches me with an intensity that makes my skin crawl.
The silence extends until it feels like a rope is tightening around my neck.
Then, finally…
“Count,” he says, his voice low and unhurried, like he has all the time in the world.
Well, I don’t. I can’t wait to get off the fucking ground and rush to the bathroom and bury myself inside the bathtub till the shame washes away.
My eyes snap up to his face, confused, terrified, and curious.
“W… what?”
His lips curve just slightly, a smirk ghosting his lips. “Ten seconds.”
He reaches forward, his fingers brushing my chin, forcing my eyes back to his.
“If you make a sound, we start again.”
I swear, I still don’t understand what this man is going to do, so I part my lips as his fingertips move down slowly from my chin, and then to my neck.
“W… what are we doing?” I blink my eyes.
“You will know, all you need to do is count to ten. If you make a sound, I will start again, and add two to it.”
“W… wait! What are we…”
I stop halfway when his hand lands on my left breast and my breath hitches.
I can’t breathe… I can’t…
My lips part in a gasp, and the air suddenly thickens around us. Every nerve in my body tightens, and I freeze between fear and something I can’t dare to name. I stay on my knees, trembling, and trapped in his shadow as silence stretches dangerously thin between us.
T… this is the punish—
A yelp tears through my throat as a ripple of pain shoots through my body before I can even think it through.
“Fuck!”
“We have only just started, my wife,” Luciano says, smiling mischievously.
God, I am going to kill him.
How the fuck is this a punishment?
Why the fuck is he pinching my nipple so hard like it is the one who missed the curfew?!
“Plus two, now, count.”
My lips press together in defiance, but I know deep down that there is nothing I can do.
Monster.
I nearly spat on his face.
Again, Luciano cups my breast, and then trails his finger down my nipple before he squeezes it again.
I press my lips together, refusing to let the wince escape me.
“One,” I say.
When he pinches it again, I try hard to stop the sound from escaping my lips, but… it does again.
But, that is not the annoying part.
Why the fuck did I just moan at this madness?
Why does my stupid body feel excited about this humiliation?!