Chapter 4 Say Please

Chapter Four: Say Please

Aria didn't speak to him the next morning.

She sat across from Luca at the long, silent breakfast table, stiff and tense in one of his oversized silk shirts. The sleeves dwarfed her hands. The hem brushed her bare thighs. Her wedding gown was gone-abandoned somewhere in the hallway like a discarded lie.

Her face was bare. Her lips still ached. Her thighs were sore in ways she didn't want to acknowledge.

But she didn't flinch.

Not when he casually read the paper like nothing had happened.

Not when he handed her a steaming mug of coffee-black, no sugar, exactly how she didn't take it.

And not when he finally, quietly, said, "You'll need to change for the press conference. They'll want photos of the happy couple."

She slammed the cup down so hard it sloshed.

"I'm not your pet," she snapped. "I'm not going to play the smiling bride for your empire."

Luca didn't blink. Didn't look up. "You'll do as you're told."

"And if I don't?"

Now he looked at her.

Stood.

The air in the room shifted. Grew heavier.

He walked around the table slowly-deliberate, like a man who didn't rush for anyone-and held out a hand.

"Get up."

"No."

His voice dropped. "Aria."

She crossed her arms. "Make me."

He leaned in-just close enough for her to feel his breath near her temple-and said low, lethal, "You want punishment this early in the day?"

Her pulse jumped.

She tried to step past him, shoulder tense, but he caught her wrist mid-motion. Rough. Fast.

And before she could think or breathe or twist away, he dragged her out of the dining room.

The study door slammed behind them. The lock clicked shut.

She turned sharply-but he was already sitting on the edge of the desk, legs spread, eyes dark with that same terrifying calm.

"Want to act like a brat?" he asked, voice low. "Then get on your knees."

Her laugh was brittle. "You're insane."

Luca didn't move. Didn't blink.

"On your knees, Aria."

"You can't be serious."

"I'm always serious."

She stared at him. Her fists clenched. Her heart pounded hard enough to hurt. But something in his tone-something in his eyes-unraveled her.

She moved.

Slowly. Defiantly.

She dropped to her knees.

Not because he told her to.

Because she wanted to disobey, and still couldn't make herself stop.

He unzipped his pants.

She gasped, shoulders rising. "You can't expect me to-"

"I don't expect," he said, voice dark and smooth. His hand slid into her hair, fingers wrapping at the nape of her neck. "I command."

She stayed frozen. Her throat dry. Her thighs clenching on instinct.

He leaned down slightly, tugging her back just enough to force her to meet his eyes.

"You came on my fingers last night," he murmured. "I gave you that. Now you'll ask to taste me."

Heat flooded her cheeks.

Her body was already betraying her-again. Her breath shallow. Her lips parting.

She bit down on her bottom lip hard enough to sting.

"I won't," she said.

But she didn't pull away either.

His grip tightened just slightly in her hair.

"Say it," he breathed. "Say please."

God, she hated him. Hated that her body was already leaning forward. That her mouth wanted what her pride couldn't allow.

Her voice cracked.

"Please," she whispered. "Let me."

Luca's groan was low. Deep. Almost like it surprised him.

"Good girl."

He guided her mouth to him, slow and steady.

It was awkward at first. A mess of breath and nerves. But she figured it out. Found a rhythm. And the second she did, his grip shifted, his breath caught, and a low curse escaped his throat.

Her name left his mouth like a secret.

She let him guide her, let herself get lost in it-in the rhythm, the heat, the dark thrill curling in her stomach.

And when he finally pulled her off, her mouth was wet, her eyes dazed, her chest heaving.

"I'm not your toy," she rasped.

Luca looked down at her, thumb brushing along her cheekbone like a caress.

"No," he said, voice rough now. "You're my obsession."

And then he kissed her.

Not with heat.

With depth.

Slow, and deliberate. Like he wasn't kissing a girl who had just dropped to her knees for him-but someone he wanted.

Someone he was already losing control over