Cristiano had taken two calls during the ride home, neither of which had offered anything of value with his monosyllabic responses.
When Max parked out front of the house, Cristiano spoke his first words to me since we’d left my father’s. “Wait there.”
As he came around to my side of the car, he removed his jacket and undid his cuffs. He opened my door, rolling up his shirtsleeves and looking expectantly at me.
“What?” I asked.
“You will always sit in the car until I come to the door for you. It’s a show of respect.”
“You can’t command respect,” I said. “It has to be earned.”
He took my waist and spoke low in my ear as he lifted me from the truck. “Put your claws away. I’m the one showing you respect.”
“I’m not a dog.” I took his hand and jumped out of the SUV into the dirt. “You don’t have to train me to stay until you tell me to come.”
“Only time will tell,” he said.
I wasn’t on my feet two seconds before Cristiano spun me around by my shoulders and yanked my back against his body. He wrapped an arm around my front and something cool and flat pressed against my neck.
I lost my breath entirely, my body registering a millisecond before my mind that he was holding a knife. He knew. He’d seen Diego press his lips to mine. He’d seen him slip the cell phone into my pocket.
“Wh-what are you doing?” I managed.
“I’ll tell you what I’m not doing,” he said, his voice pure grit and gravel in my ear. “I’m not standing here shaking like a leaf, letting panic overtake me. That’s what you’re doing.”
“Why?” I choked out. “Why are you doing this?”
“Does anyone need a reason to hurt you? Scare you? Touch you against your will?” He marched me forward to the lawn in front of the house. My heart pounded painfully as I felt the phone against my thigh with each of our long strides.
“I’m sorry,” I pleaded.
“For what?”
“For betraying you.”
He paused, and I could’ve sworn I felt his heart beat against my back. “When did you betray me?”
“Diego touched me, but I told him not to. I tried to stop him.”
“And you think I’d punish you for his gutless actions?”
When I swallowed, my throat moved against the blade. I was afraid to even speak. I sure as hell wasn’t going to nod.
“Do something, Natalia.” When I didn’t respond, he growled. “I said fucking do something.”
Tears filled my eyes. I didn’t know what he was asking. Did he mean something sexual? But I was firmly in his grip. I’d made a grave mistake dropping my guard with Cristiano for even a moment. Now, we were going to consummate the marriage as I’d wished—but with a knife to my throat.
I closed my eyes and moved my hips back against him.
He inhaled a sharp breath and threw the knife on the ground. “If that’s your move, then I won’t say no.” He laid a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Get on the ground, facedown, so I can fuck you.”
“No,” I cried, my throat protesting. “Not like this.”
“You’re grinding against my dick, Natalia. What did you expect?” He tried pushing me to my knees. “Get down or fight back.”
“I c-can’t,” I said. “I can’t fight you.”
“Then I’ll teach you how,” he said, releasing my shoulder and stepping away.
I clutched my throat, whirled around, and backed away as a tear slid down my cheek. “What?”
“I wanted to see what you’d do in that situation, and I have to say, Natalia—I’m sorely disappointed. You wilted like a flower. I thought you were a survivor.”
“Fuck you.” The unbidden words rasped from me as tears built in the back of my throat, but I wouldn’t take them back. “What’s the matter with you?”
“I could’ve beaten you. Raped you. Slit your throat. And you didn’t even try to stop me.” He picked up the knife, wiped the blade along his pants, and sheathed it. “Nobody should ever be able to touch you against your will, Natalia.”
“You’re the only one who would,” I shot back.
“And you stand there and let me, trembling and freezing up the way you did last night.”
I gritted my teeth, anger overtaking my fear. “What am I supposed to do?” I accused. “I’m half your size. You’re probably five times stronger than me.”
“Yet I possess the same weak spots you do, mamacita. You just need to know where they are.” He looked almost amused as fury burned through me. With a smirk, he said, “Show me the self-defense moves you learned after I tried to kidnap you eleven years ago.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t know any.”
“As I suspected.” He shook his head at the ground. “Your father threw you on the ground. Diego tried to kiss you earlier when you told him not to. And me? I don’t have to tell you I could’ve done any number of things to you back in that tunnel—as I could right now. What’s it going to take to get you to fight back?”