Chapter 0005

Aurora POV

My heart pounds hard in my chest.

There, standing in front of me, is none other than the man I lost my virginity to. The man I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since waking up in his penthouse, the man who has haunted my dreams no matter what I’ve tried to do to stop it.

He has an ease about him as he works his eyes up my body, taking in the revealing outfit I’d been forced into. It’s the same way he regarded me back at the penthouse, not at all hiding the lust in his eyes when he finally makes eye contact with mine. A small smile plays on his lips.

He finds all of this undyingly funny, it seems.

Oh my god, I slept with Leonardo’s son. And I told him who my fiance was right to his own son’s face!

My cheeks must be run hot by now, embarrassment making them burn.

“Aurora,” Leonardo sweeps a hand towards his son. “This is Dominic. My first born.”

“A pleasure.” Dominic murmurs. “I didn’t think we’d be meeting officially so soon.”

Bile churns in my stomach.

To anyone on the outside, his comment seems innocuous, completely innocent in that clearly playful way of his. But to me it speaks volumes. A subtle ‘I told you I’d see you again’ that I don’t at all miss.

Whatever his thoughts were back in that penthouse when I told him I was to marry his father is a mystery to me. Though he probably had thought of me as a complete fool. No wonder he teased about seeing me at my own wedding.

“Since we’re all here, I did want to extend my official apologies to you both.” My father says. “For what happened last year.”

Surprise rockets through me when he lifts his hand to rest against my shoulder blade. He looks pained for some reason, something I’m not at all used to seeing from him. My father never regrets things. He’s always steadfast in his beliefs and decisions. There’s never been a time in my life where I’ve seen him show true remorse.

Well, except for now.

I can’t believe he’s actually admitting to fucking them over.

An official apology isn’t something I thought my father would be capable of giving. Even when wrong, my father hardly ever bends the knee. Especially not to another mafia family. It’s a matter of pride to him, to refuse any sort of wrongdoing and looking weak to the friends he keeps close and the enemies he keeps closer.

Leonardo’s expression hardens. “Your apology is… appreciated.”

But not accepted.

His tone leaves a shiver rolling down my spine.

“Well, in any case. Shall we celebrate with a toast?” Dominic says.

He turns to grab a few champagne glasses off of the table nearby, handing them to each of us while raising his own.

With a smile, he says, “To the soon-to-be newlyweds.”

Leonardo chuckles. “I’m surprised you’re giving me your blessing. Usually you never approve of my women.”

A subtle tick in Dominic’s jaw catches my attention. It’s barely there, covered up quickly by him forcing a wide smile onto his face and raising his glass towards the center of where we are gathered. “What wouldn’t I? Aurora is quite beautiful, no?”

His father chuckles again. “Beauty doesn’t quite make a wife, Dominic.”

“There seems to be more to Aurora than just her beauty.”

Another shiver races up my spine, but for a completely different reason than when my father touched me. I know Dominic is teasing me, that much is obvious in the way his eyes linger on my body again while subtly tipping the edge of his flute at my father to get him to clink their glasses together.

If this is how it’s going to be for the rest of my life, if Dominic is going to hold our one-night stand over my head in an effort to blackmail me against my father, I’m never going to survive. Even if Leonardo doesn’t kill me for not coming to him as promised—as a virgin—he’ll absolutely beat me for it.

My throat tightens at the thought.

I force myself to move my glass towards the circle, clinking the rim with the other three already there. Dominic’s glass pauses against my own for a few seconds longer than the other two. My hand shakes when I pull it back, making the liquid inside of it jump.

“I…” I force myself to swallow the panic rising in my throat. “I need to use the restroom.”

Without looking, I shove my flute into my father’s chest, waiting only a second for him to take it before spinning on my heel and marching out of the hall. My head is swimming too much to focus on where I’m going, or even try to actually find the bathroom in order to make my lie a reality.

I need air. I need to get out of this place. I need to get away from Dominic.

My heels barely hit the tile of the hallway before a hand is wrapping around my arm.

“Where are you going?” Dominic asks.

Oh great.

Of course he’s followed me.

I yank out of his hold and keep going, beelining it for the entrance. Even if it’s only for a few minutes, getting out of this banquet hall will save me from having a nervous breakdown.

“Oh, come on.” He’s saying as he walks with me. “You’re not actually upset by a little teasing, are you?”

I turn and glare at him. “Can you please leave me alone?”

That wolfish grin returns to his face. “Oh, so she does speak.”

I shove through the front doors, one of them snapping against the outside wall and slamming into it from the force. I barely wince at the sound, my heels pounding on the sidewalk. The fresh air hits me instantly and I pull in a deep lungful of it.

It’s chilly out here without a jacket and with such thin fabric covering me but I don’t care. This is ten times better than being stuffed inside of a banquet hall surrounded by people who wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.

“I was only going along with your suggestion.” He tries again.

I turn to look at him. “What suggestion?”

“The one where I crash your wedding.”

“I never suggested that.”

“Oh?” Suddenly, he’s close to me, forcing me to quickly back away from him. He advances with each step I take, cornering me until I’m pressed against the rough brick of the building. “Is that how we’re going to play things?”

“We’re not playing anything.” Even to my own ears though, I sound breathless.

I hate how good he smells this up close. I hate how if I were to reach out and touch him, he’d pull me in like he did back at that bar. I need to stay far away from Dominic Gurrero yet all my body wants to do is draw him close.

“For both our sakes, let’s pretend nothing ever happened. We’ll take it to our graves and be done with it. Whatever I said while I was drunk can’t be held against me, anyway.” I say.

He chuckles. ““And what if I don’t want that, future-Mrs.-Guerrero?”

My breath catches when he leans in close, his breath hovering over my ear.

“Or… should I call you mother?”