Stolen Vows

CHAPTER TWO

Adrianna's pov

Darkness was around me. Not the kind that comes from nightfall, or the type that brings a quiet warmth but the suffocating and panicked kind that wraps itself around your eyes and steals your sense of self. The blindfold was tight, restricting every bit of light from coming through. My wrists were bound in front of me, and I sat upright, motionless, trying to slow my breathing.

I didn’t need to see to know I wasn’t alone.

Leather creaked beside me. The steady breathing of another human sat inches away. The hum beneath my feet vibrated into my bones. I heard the quiet whir of machinery, the hiss of circulated air, the distant echo of wind against steel.

A plane, I was on a damn plane. s**t. Where I was going, I had absolutely no idea and that was so dangerous.

I shifted slightly, testing the limits of my restraints. The handcuffs pinched but didn’t cut. My ankles weren’t bound together, but someone had placed a firm hand on my thigh the second I moved.

“Don’t,” came a stern voice, deep and calm. The same voice from the church.

Valerio Costa.

I leaned back in my seat, pressing my head against the cushion. My heart beat against the inside of my ribs like it wanted to break out. But I said nothing, holding back the whimper. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of hearing my fear.

The plane ride was long. At least four hours, maybe more. I was fed some snacks and given water through a straw. No one spoke. The silence was louder than a bomb. My thoughts screamed so loud as panic raked through me.

Eventually, the sound of descending wheels jolted me. The pressure shifted and the roar of the engine grew louder as the aircraft landed. My ears popped from the pressure. The moment we hit the runway, I knew this wasn’t a city airport. The ground was rough, not smooth concrete but something coarser, maybe gravel.

The door opened with a hiss, and wind rushed in. It hit my face like salt and freedom. The scent of the sea washed over me. It was warm and salty. But underneath it, there was something else, pine from trees. The cool mountain air. Cold and clean.

I was being taken somewhere remote. Somewhere high or behind a mountain. Thank God for my Geology and Geography skills from highschool.

I heard the crunch of boots on gravel as we walked. My heels clicked against stone, unsteady, and someone guided me with a strong hand on my elbow. The breeze shifted again, and I caught the scent of rain-damp moss and forest earth. Wherever we were, we weren’t near the hustle and bustle of civilization.

A door creaked open, then another. The air inside was warmer, drier, but smelled like aged polished wood, old stone, leather, and faint smoke. I heard the clink of keys. A lock clicked.

My blindfold was finally tugged away. Bright light attacks my eyes, making me close them and blink rapidly to get used to the rays. I opened my eyes finally.

We were in a room. Grand looking but minimal. A fireplace burned low in one corner, with a massive window that looked out over a cliffside, and the sea sparkled below in violent waves. The walls were all stone and the floors dark wood. A bed sat centered against the far wall, massive, with deep crimson sheets.

Valerio stood in front of me with his arms crossed across his chest. He wore the same black suit, but now his shirt was unbuttoned at the throat down to his chest. Externally, he looked calm and composed, but his eyes, those eyes were thunder.

“Welcome home,” he said. “This is your room for now until you are ready to share one with me. This house is your house.”

I stared at him. “You’re insane.”

“I’m your husband.”

I recoiled like he’d slapped me. “You are nothing to me. You’re just a criminal who stole me from my wedding and dragged me across God knows where.”

His jaw ticked. “You were mine first Adrianna and you still are.”

I shook my head trying to ignore the shivers that came when he called my name. “No. I never agreed to anything. I want to leave and go back home.”

He stepped forward making me back up until my back hit the stone wall.

“You don’t get to leave,” he said, his voice low, lethal. “Your place is by my side. That’s where you’ll stay.”

I turned, trying to slip past him, but he caught me around the waist. One strong arm wrapped around me and spun me. My back slammed against the wall. He pressed in close, his body hard against mine.

The air between us turned molten. He didn’t touch me inappropriately in any way but he didn’t have to.

His presence affected me in ways I didn't understand.

His warm minty breath hit my cheek. My wrists were still cuffed. My chest rose and fell too fast.

“You belong to me,” he murmured. Not as a threat but as a definite statement.

I glared at him. “You can’t own me.”

He leaned in closer. “You’d be surprised what I own, Adrianna.”

His lips hovered above mine close enough to steal air, far enough to never touch. My pulse thundered. My thighs clenched together.

Every part of me wanted to slap him. Every part of me wanted to see what he’d do if I kissed him first.

He pulled back slowly, his eyes still locked on mine.

“I’ll allow the maids to uncuff you when you understand something,” he said. “You’re not leaving. You’re mine. And the sooner you stop fighting that, the easier this will be.”

Then he stepped away, leaving me burning and breathless. The door clicked behind him.

I stood there, cuffed and furious, trembling from more than just rage.

God help me.