Chapter 6: Dangerous Deception: Chapter 6

Adelina is more interesting than I expected.

Given what I know about her family, I expected her to be cut from the same cloth as her father, but the fire in her intrigues me. Beyond the investment in Pascal’s business and the injection of income I’ll receive from becoming what is essentially a shareholder, I didn’t factor in much interaction with Adelina other than the wedding and then a few requests to make her life here easier. And now here I am with her lipstick lingering on my lips and an unexpected want sizzling in my gut.

What a woman.

She lingers on my mind for the rest of the night even though her reappearance in the banquet hall is merely for show. She refuses to interact with me and spends the rest of the night with her friend, Marie. Not that it matters to me. I don’t need her approval, but despite my attempts to bury myself in business, I can’t look away from her for long. Thankfully, she finally has something to eat and the rest of the evening passes without incident.

We cut the cake, although Adelina remains distant. Vito gives a short speech about the wedding and thanks all the guests for attending, and the night finally draws to a close. Once all the guests have left, I find Adelina at the front door saying goodbye to her friend. Marie has clearly had too much to drink, so I task some of my security to ensure she gets home safely.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Adelina murmurs as she stands at my side watching Marie clamber into a limo.

“Do what?”

“Send security with her.”

“And risk your adding another thing to that ever-growing list of hatred?” I remark. “No thanks. Besides, everyone else has some kind of escort home, so it wouldn’t make sense to send the civilian back into the city alone.”

Adelina looks at me with narrowed eyes, and I suspect a sharp remark is on the tip of her tongue. She chooses to say nothing, though, and instead stifles a yawn. “I’m tired.”

I motion to the nearest guard. “Can you escort Adelina upstairs to the bedroom?”

“I don’t need an escort to find a bedroom,” she mutters.

“Just go. I will be back shortly.”

“Where are you going?” Tiredness seems to vanish as my words pique her interest.

“I have a few things to attend to, and you have that impossible dress to get out of.”

“Whatever.” Sullen at my refusal to answer her, Adelina turns away from me and strides toward the stairs.

I watch her for a few minutes, then head in the other direction down a hallway adjacent to the kitchen until I reach my office at the end of the hall. Vito stands outside and raises his brow slightly as I approach, but he says nothing. Instead, he opens the door and sidesteps to allow me to enter.

Inside, Pascal Castiglioni sits on the leather couch with a fat cigar hanging from his lips.

“Smoking kills,” I say as I enter. “Put that shit out.”

“You were giving them out as a party favor,” Pascal replies. “But they aren’t to be smoked?”

“Not in here.” I cast him a withering glance, but he doesn’t seem to notice, becoming focused on stamping out the cigar. I walk behind my large desk and immediately open two windows to get rid of the small. “What are you doing here?”

“Well.” Pascal huffs as he climbs out of his seat. “I came to make sure you will be taking care of my daughter.”

“You should have thought of that before you sold her to me.” I face him, my expression as neutral as possible. “Now is not the time for a change in terms.”

“What do you mean?”

“You want to make sure I’m going to take care of your daughter? You should have put that in the terms to be agreed upon before we made this deal. But you didn’t.”

“It was implied, surely,” Pascal says with a huff. He frowns deeply and his mouth disappears up into his mustache. “I want her safe. That’s why I did this.”

“I understand that,” I reply. “But at the time, all you cared about was my money. My money for your daughter, to save your business, allow you a portion of the Pharmaceutical drug market for your business with the hospitals, and keep your family name relevant in these ever-changing times. Isn’t that how you put it?”

“More or less,” Pascal mutters.

“Exactly. You didn’t include any rules, any promises. You didn’t even include a request for divorce after a number of years. Honestly, I’m surprised and expected your daughter to be some kind of hag with how little you seemed to care.”

“Don’t you dare insinuate that I don’t care about my daughter,” Pascal snaps, pointing a thick finger at me. “She’s the only thing I care about!”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Why you⁠—”

“I’d be careful, Pascal,” I interrupt cooly. “You’ve had a few drinks tonight, and I’m sure it was an emotional day for you, so I’ll let your little display of attitude slide. But you should know that I will treat Adelina how I see fit, within the terms you negotiated. Unless my money is no longer good enough for you?”

I watch the wheels turn behind Pascal’s beady, slightly watery eyes. Hindsight is a glorious thing, and maybe he regrets giving his daughter away like he would a piece of meat. That’s not my fault, though.

“My apologies,” he says after a long period of silence. “It’s the excitement of the day, you understand.”

“Indeed.” I move to my chair, and as I sit, I wave Pascal away. “The first payment will be in your account tomorrow. Go home, Pascal.” As I sit, I glance at him once more. “Unless you want to see Adelina first?”

“No, no, it’s quite alright.” The mention of money seems to have perked him up a little, and a curl of distaste moves through my chest as he hurries for the door. “Goodnight. And congratulations.”

“Goodnight.”

What an odd man. There’s something about Pascal that I don’t quite like—beyond the sale of his daughter—but I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it’s a generational thing. As silence falls over my estate like a blanket, Vito sends a message stating that he’ll take Pascal home to ensure he makes it there safely.

We can’t take any risks. It’s already a surprise that the whole day went off without a hitch. Two families joining like that usually causes some kind of stir, but today was as quiet as a mouse. I should be grateful, but it merely makes me suspicious. The number of threats I receive daily highlights how strange it is that no one tried anything today.

I intend to look into it, but as I pull up the security cameras for the bedroom on the other monitor, Adelina catches my eye and all thoughts of late-night work flee my mind.

She stands in the middle of the room with her arms twisted up her back as she fights with the last bit of lacing keeping that wedding dress attached to her body. I shouldn’t watch but I can’t help myself. I’m drawn to the way she moves herself back and forth, and it’s amusing how she stomps around and twists herself back and forth while fighting with the lace. Anyone else in their right mind would ask for help, but she’s clearly committed to doing this by herself.

Her beautiful hair flips over one shoulder as she wrestles with the fabric and turns on the spot, and then she throws her head back in what I presume to be a victory cry by how her lips are parted. The dress finally gives away and falls from her body, and she immediately kicks it as far away as she can. She stretches her arms above her head, then moves her hands back and forth over her ribcage as if massaging the imprints that corset left behind.

In a strapless bra and panties, she looks so beautiful and my mouth runs dry.

How unexpected.

As I watch her sigh and move toward the discarded dress, my eyes trail over her body. She’s slim, with a small chest and wide hips. That dress accentuated her curves, but I prefer how she looks now. This is who she really is. Warmth curls in my lower gut, and the arousal I wrestled down earlier while kissing her in the bar comes back with a roaring vengeance. My pants tighten so quickly that it’s painful, so I quickly unzip myself and pull my cock out of my boxers before the restriction of fabric causes me any harm.

Then Adelina picks up a bottle of lotion from the dresser and begins lathering up her long legs. It’s difficult to watch and I know I should look away, but I can’t. With my cock in my fist, I’m utterly hooked by the way she angles one leg out, then bends over to lather the lotion all over her shin and calf. She strokes slowly, massaging muscles that are surely tired after such a day.

My cock twitches and my gut tightens like a punch.

Fuck.

My fist moves with a mind of its own, following the rhythm of Adelina’s own hands over her body. Down her leg, back up over her knee, and then up to her creamy, gorgeous thigh. I want that to be my hand. I want to feel how soft her skin is, how warm it is between her thighs and how silky the skin of her lower belly surely is. I want to trace her belly button, kiss her hip, and map out every rise and curve of her body with my tongue.

Her hands move over her abdomen, then up to her chest where she lathers the lotion over her shoulders and arms. Then she discards her bra, and her beautiful breasts are on full display. My cock twitches once more as I move my hand from tip to base, squeezing the shaft on each pass. On the camera, Adelina slides her lotion-covered hands over her breasts, and I lurch forward into my desk as a punch of pleasure catches me by surprise.

I’m hot. My suit is suffocating. My skin prickles with heat, and my cock aches for a satisfaction that my hand can barely provide. Pre-cum beads at the crown, and each pass of my hand slicks up my movements as I watch her lather and moisturize herself with slow, careful strokes. Then she slides her hands up to massage her back, and when her head falls back with her lips in the perfect O shape, my orgasm crashes over me with zero warning. I’m coming hard, my body rigid and only as a reflex remembering to grab a handful of tissues from the box. I can’t take my eyes off her, and as I’m in the throes of orgasm, I imagine how her nipples would feel against my tongue, how fast her pulse would thrum under my fingertips, and how hot her pussy would be if I had the chance.

“Fuck.”

Panting heavily, reality returns quickly as I clean myself up, but Adelina has other plans. She rummages around in the drawers set up for her and pulls out a large nightie that she immediately puts on. After dragging a brush through her hair, she yawns and crawls into the large four-poster bed. Just as I expect her to settle down to sleep, she lies flat on her back. The blanket dips as she spreads her legs, and one hand disappears under the sheet.

“Is she…?” I murmur softly, watching as her head settles to one side and her eyes close. The movements are subtle, but she suddenly bites her lip and arches slightly down against the mattress. Then she rolls onto her side, and her eyes flutter.

She’s playing with herself. Without me?

I can’t have that.

Turning the cameras off, I fix my clothes and immediately head up to the bedroom. I walk right in without knocking, and Adelina bolts upright as if she’s just been burned. With wide eyes and her hair slightly messy, her cheeks flare dark pink as she glares at me.

“What the hell? Don’t you knock?”

“Why would I knock to enter my own room?” I ask casually.

“Your room?” Her mouth falls open. “This is where they told me to sleep. I didn’t know it was the wrong room.”

“No, this is the right room,” I reply, shedding my tie.

Her hands are still under the blanket and when she spots me looking, she quickly puts them above the blanket and pulls the covers tight around her. “The right room?”

“We’re sharing a room,” I say, placing my suit jacket on the chair near the door.

“What?”

“Why are you so surprised? We’re married.” My shirt is next, and Adelina does a terrible job at trying not to look at me or my bare chest.

“That… that doesn’t mean we should be sleeping in the same bed!”

I drop my trousers, standing in just my boxers as she once again looks down my body and then away as her cheeks turn red.

“You’re welcome to sleep on the floor,” I say tiredly. “I don’t care. I’m tired and I’m going to sleep.”

Her mouth opens and closes while she repeatedly looks at me and then looks away. Staying in just my boxers, I slide into my side of the bed and quickly get comfortable.

Adelina scoffs sharply, but she doesn’t leave. Instead, she scoots to the far end of the bed on her side and folds her arms across her chest after ensuring the blanket is tucked around her.

“Goodnight,” I say, and I turn out the light, barely able to hide my smile. I’m pretty certain I interrupted her at the right time so she couldn’t finish playing with herself, which means it will torment her all night long.

“Night,” comes her irritated voice through the dark.

As I expect, she isn’t able to lie still. Her shifting is subtle at first as if she’s trying not to draw attention to herself. Adelina tosses one way, then the other. Her legs seem to have a mind of their own and constantly shift as she struggles to get comfortable amid the denied state I’ve left her in. She repeatedly sighs, growing louder and bolder when she presumably thinks I’ve fallen asleep. It continues until I can’t take it anymore.

“Adelina.” Rolling over in the bed, I catch her arm in the dark and pull her closer to me while she squeaks in protest, but before she can speak, I roll on top of her and shove my thick thigh between her legs. “Beg me and I’ll help you come so we both can sleep.”