“I told him he better treat you like a lady on your wedding night. No dominant shit or anything.”
My cheeks blazed with heat, and I hit his shoulder hard.
He frowned, rubbing the spot. “What?”
“What!? You embarrassed me in front of Danilo. How could you talk about something like that with him? My wedding night isn’t your business.” My entire face was burning from embarrassment and anger. I couldn’t believe him. He had always been protective of me, of course, but this took things too far.
Samuel grimaced. “Trust me, it wasn’t easy for me. I don’t like to think that my little sister is going to have sex.”
I hit him again. “You are only three minutes older. And you have been having sex for years now. Do you even know how many women you’ve slept with?”
He shrugged. “I’m a man.”
“Oh shut up,” I muttered. “How am I ever going to face Danilo after what you did?”
“If it was up to me, you’d become a nun,” Samuel said, and I lost it.
He had a way to drive me up the wall. I lunged at him again but like before it was futile. The last time I stood a chance fighting Samuel was more than five years ago. Samuel wrapped his arms around me from behind and held me in place.
“I think I’ll carry you downstairs like this. Danilo is still talking to Dante. I’m sure he’ll love to see his future wife this disheveled. Maybe he’ll decide against marrying you if he sees you’re not quite the obedient lady you want him to believe you are.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” I kicked my legs but Samuel carried me, lodged against his chest like I was a puppet.
Dad came in, his eyes moving from me pressed against Samuel to my twin gripping me tightly. He shook his head once. “I thought you’d stop the brawling once you got older.”
Samuel released me and I stumbled to my feet. He smoothed his clothes, righting his gun and knife holsters. “She started it.”
I gave him a look. Smoothing my hair and clothes, I cleared my throat. “He embarrassed me in front of Danilo, Dad.”
“I told Danilo I’d rip his balls off if he didn’t treat her right on their wedding night.”
I scowled at my twin. He hadn’t mentioned that detail to me.
Dad gave me a wistful smile, touching my cheek. “My little dove.” Then he moved to Samuel and clapped his shoulder. “You did good.”
I gave the two of them an incredulous look. Stifling my annoyance—and worse, my gratefulness for their protectiveness—I walked out of Samuel’s bedroom into my own. I sat down on the bed, suddenly overcome with sadness. I was leaving my family, my home, for a city I didn’t know, a husband I barely knew.
At the sound of an unfamiliar knock, I stood and walked toward my door, opening it.
Surprise washed over me when I saw Danilo’s tall form. I opened my door wider but didn’t ask him in. That would have been too forward. Instead, I stepped out into the corridor. “I can’t ask you in.”
Danilo gave me an understanding smile. “Of course not. In case you’re worried, your uncle knows that I’m up here.”
“Oh,” I said, overwhelmed by his presence and the memory of what Samuel had done.
“I wanted to say goodbye. I’m leaving in a few minutes,” he continued.
“I’m sorry,” I said with as much dignity as my burning face allowed.
Danilo smiled with a small frown. “What for?”
“For what my brother did. He shouldn’t have talked to you about … about our wedding night.”
Danilo chuckled and moved closer to me, his spicy scent wrapping around me. He took my hand and kissed it. My stomach fluttered. “He wants to protect you. That’s honorable. I don’t blame him. A woman like you should be treated like a lady, and I will treat you that way on our wedding night and on every night that follows.”
He leaned forward and lightly kissed my cheek. His eyes made it clear that he wanted to do more than that. He stepped back, letting go of my hand. I swallowed.
“I’m looking forward to being married to you, Serafina.”
“Me too,” I said quietly.
With a last look at me, he turned around and left. My heart pounding in my chest, I returned to my room and plopped down on my bed. I wasn’t in love with Danilo, but I could imagine falling for him. That was a good start and better than many other girls in my world got.
A few minutes later, someone knocked again. This time I recognized the unabashed pounding of a fist against wood. “Come in,” I said.
I didn’t have to look up to know who it was. I recognized Samuel’s steps with my eyes closed. He sank down beside me. “Thank you for obeying me when Danilo was around,” Samuel said quietly. He took my hand.