Sleeping with the Enemy

Chapter 3: A Vow Carved in Stone

The heavy church bells started to ring loudly. It was time.

I was still standing frozen in the middle of the dressing room, my hand tightly gripping the silver locket around my neck. The cold metal burned against my skin. I did not have time to think about what Luca knew or time to ask questions about my mother.

A loud knock hit the heavy wooden door.

"Siena," my father’s rough voice called from the hallway. "Open the door. The music is starting."

I quickly dropped my hand away from the necklace and smoothed out the front of my white wedding dress and took a deep breath. I walked over to the door and unlocked the deadbolt.

My father was standing in the hallway. He looked me up and down. His eyes dropped on the heavy silver locket resting on my chest and his face completely went pale.

"Where did you get that?" my father demanded. "Who gave that to you?"

"My groom gave it to me," I said coldly. "He brought it to me as a wedding gift."

My father's jaw tightened. "Take it off. Right now, You are not wearing that."

He reached his hand out to grab the necklace, but I stepped back quickly and slapped his hand away.

"Do not touch me," I warned him. "Luca put this on me, He told me to wear it. If you take it off, you will have to explain to the Phantom Boss why you threw away his wedding gift."

My father froze. He dropped his hand, he was terrified of Luca, and I knew it. It felt good to use Luca's power against him.

"You are making a mistake, Siena," my father said in a low, angry voice. "Do not trust him."

"I do not trust you," I shot back. "Now, let's get this over with. I am ready to be sold."

My father glared at me but did not say another word. He held out his arm but I did not want to touch him, and I had to play the part so I placed my hand on his arm. We started walking down the long, dark hallway toward the main church doors.

"Keep your head down," my father whispered as we got closer to the doors. "Do not look at his men. Just look at the floor."

"No," I said. "I am not a coward."

The heavy wooden doors swung open and traditional wedding music started playing, but the church did not feel like a place of God but instead like a war zone.

The room was packed. On the left side sat the De Luca family. On the right side sat the Moretti empire. Every single man in the room was wearing a dark suit, and I could easily see the heavy guns hidden under their jackets. They were all staring at each other with pure hate.

But I did not look at the men in the crowd. I looked straight ahead at the altar.

Luca Moretti stood there waiting for me.

He looked like a dark king. He watched me walk down the aisle like a starving man watching his next meal.

His stare was so intense, so predatory, that my legs felt weak, but I forced myself to keep walking. I could feel his gaze burning right through my thin white veil.

"Slow down," my father hissed quietly. "You are walking too fast."

"I just want to get away from you," I whispered back.

When we finally reached the end of the aisle, my father stopped. He turned to Luca and opened his mouth, probably to say something traditional about giving his daughter away.

But Luca did not even look at my father. He completely ignored him.

Luca stepped forward and reached out his large, bare hand toward me.

"Come here, Siena," Luca commanded. His deep voice echoing in the quiet church.

I let go of my father's arm and placed my hand in Luca’s hand.

He did not hold my hand gently. His grip was completely firm, He pulled me away from my father and closer to his own big body.

As soon as I was standing in front of him, Luca’s thumb dropped to my wrist. He slowly and deliberately stroked the sensitive skin on the inside of my wrist.

My stomach completely flipped.

"You are shaking," Luca whispered softly, leaning his head down slightly.

"I am not," I lied, keeping my voice very low. "Let go of my wrist."

"No," he replied simply stroking his thumb over my racing pulse again. "You are mine now. I hold you however I want."

The old priest stood nervously in front of us. He cleared his throat and he looked absolutely terrified to be standing between the two most dangerous mafia bosses in the city.

"We are gathered here today," the priest started, his voice shaking.

As the priest spoke the traditional words, Luca stepped even closer to me. The heat radiating off his large body wrapped around me. I could smell his expensive cologne mixed with the faint smell of gunpowder.

"Tell me about the locket," I whispered up to him while the priest kept talking.

"Not right now," Luca whispered back without looking at me but he kept his eyes strictly on the priest.

"You cannot just put my dead mother's necklace on me and then ignore me," I said angrily, trying to pull my hand away.

Luca’s grip tightened on my hand. He did not hurt me, but he made it very clear I could not escape.

"Stop fighting me, Siena," he ordered in a low, rough voice. "Everyone is watching. Look like a happy bride, or I will make you look like one."

"How?" I challenged him.

Luca finally looked down at me. His blue eyes dark and full of heat. "I will bend you over this altar right now and show both of our families exactly who you belong to. Do you want me to do that?"

My mouth fell open, a slightly hot flush spread across my chest and up my neck. The image of him taking me right here, in front of all these dangerous men, sent a heavy, throbbing ache straight between my thighs.

"You would not," I breathed out.

"Test me," he whispered back. "Say your vows."

I swallowed hard. My heart beating so fast that I felt dizzy. I turned my attention back to the priest.

"Do you, Luca Moretti, take Siena De Luca to be your lawful wedded wife?" the priest asked quickly, sweating from his forehead.

"I do," Luca said loudly. His voice was firm and carried absolute power.

"And do you, Siena De Luca, take Luca Moretti to be your lawful wedded husband?" the priest asked me.

The entire church went completely silent. I could feel my father glaring at my back and could feel the hundreds of men waiting for me to speak.

I looked up at Luca. He was staring deeply into my eyes. His thumb stopped stroking my wrist and pressed firmly into my pulse. It was a silent demand.

"I do," I said clearly.

"Then by the power vested in me," the priest rushed out the final words, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

I froze. I knew this part was coming, but I was not ready for it.

Luca did not hesitate, it was as if he was waiting for ages for this particular day. He let go of my hand and reached up grabbing the edge of my white veil and slowly flipped it back over my head.

He stared down at my bare face. His eyes dropping to my lips, The raw, possessive hunger in his look was completely terrifying, but it also made my entire body burn with heat.

"Open your mouth for me," Luca whispered.

"No," I whispered back, my chest heaving.

Luca’s large hand came up and gripped the back of my neck. His fingers tangling deeply into my perfectly pinned hair. He did not give me a choice.

He pulled my face up and crashed his mouth down into mine.It was not a gentle first kiss. But rather it was a punishing, bruising claim. He pressed his lips hard against mine, forcing my mouth to part. The second my lips opened, his tongue swept inside, tasting me deeply.I gasped into his mouth. My hands automatically flew up and grabbed the edge of his tuxedo jacket to keep myself from falling.My knees went weak.

Luca groaned low in his chest. His other arm wrapping tightly around my waist, pulling my body flush against his hard chest. There was no space between us. I could feel the heavy metal of his gun hidden inside his jacket pressing against my stomach.

He devoured my mouth and he tasted like dark coffee and mint.He slanted his head, deepening the kiss even more. His thumb stroked the sensitive skin right under my ear, sending violent shocks of pleasure straight through my body.

I hated him. I wanted to fight him. But my body completely melted against him. I kissed him back.A soft moan escaped my throat.

When Luca heard my moan, his grip on my waist tightened possessively. He kissed me harder, proving to every single man in the room that I was his property now. Nobody else could ever touch me.

He was cold and ruthless to the world, but the way his large hand held the back of my neck was surprisingly protective. He made me feel completely surrounded and safe. It was entirely messed up, but in his arms, I felt like nothing could ever hurt me again.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Luca slowly pulled his mouth away from mine.

My lips were swollen and tingling. My chest was beating up and down as I tried to catch my breath. I stared up at him, my eyes wide and entirely flushed.

Luca stared back down at me. His breathing was heavy too. His blue eyes were completely black with lust.

"Mine," he whispered roughly, his thumb brushing over my swollen bottom lip. "You are completely mine now." he said

I could not speak. I could only hold onto his jacket and try to steady my shaking legs.

He slowly turned his head to look out at the crowd, keeping one arm wrapped tightly around my waist to hold me up.

Everything was silent for exactly one second.

But then, a massive, deafening crash shook the entire church.

CRASH!

The giant, heavy tainted glass windows on the right side of the church shattered completely. Thousands pieces of sharp, colorful glass rained down onto the marble floor like a storm.

Women screamed. Men started shouting. The sound of chairs scraping and guns clicking echoed through the big hall.

I jumped, grabbing Luca’s jacket harder. "What is happening?" I screamed over the noise.

Luca instantly pushed me behind his back, shielding my body with his massive frame. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out his black handgun in a smooth and fast motion.

The shattered glass was not from gunfire.

A large, heavy object flew right through the broken window frame. It crashed violently on the marble floor, rolling several times before stopping right at the bottom of the altar stairs, just a few feet away from our shoes.

I looked around Luca’s side and stared down at the floor.

I screamed in absolute horror.

It was a body.It was a man in a dark suit, completely covered in thick, dark blood. His throat was cut wide open. His dead, empty eyes were staring straight up at the ceiling and I knew that face.

"Oh my God," I choked out, covering my mouth with my hands. "That is Marco."

Marco was my father’s top lieutenant. He was the guard who had escorted me to my father's office just yesterday and he was supposed to be guarding the main doors outside the church.

"If Marco is dead, the outside perimeter is gone," Luca said. His voice cold . He raised his gun, his eyes scanning the broken windows.

"What does that mean?" I asked, completely panicked. My heart was beating so fast that my ribs hurt.

"It means my men outside are dead too," Luca stated. He grabbed my wrist, pulling me tighter against his back.

More glass started to shatter near the roof. Smoke started pouring right through the broken windows, filling the church with a thick, gray cloud. The smell of burning chemicals and gunpowder completely replaced the smell of wedding flowers.

"Get down!" Luca roared to his men in the crowd.

He looked down at me, his face a mask of pure violence.

"We are completely boxed in," Luca told me. "Do exactly what I tell you, Siena, or we both die right here."