He lifted me in one motion into his arms. The rain started to pour as we ran to the car. He laughed showing all of his wicked wolf teeth.
Again he took off with unnecessary speed.
"For someone who wants to stay out of the eyes of the law you sure stick out. If you keep driving like this Romeo, you're going to get pulled over." I put my head in my hand knowing he'd never listen.
He only smiled simply shaking his head.
He carried me into the house with his hands around my waist. I was careful to hold my legs around him as he kissed me with force.
"Cecilia." He whispered mostly to himself.
Again my eyes remained closed as he carried me through the house. Was this going to be it?
He throws me onto the bed straddling my hips. I closed my eyes and silently prayed to myself. I still wasn't ready. There was nothing I could do feeling Romeo's hands find their way into my hair. At least he decided against a public beach.
His kisses made their way to my neck sending an uneasy feeling down my spine. I bit my lip trying to hold back.
"Stop!" I shot up as Romeo's lips grazed my breast.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" I pleaded looking into his dark eyes.
His hands grabbed at my arms crawling his way back up to look at me. My breath became scattered fearing the deadly jungle cat I had awakened.
"Do you have some kind of hearing problem I should be aware of?" His voice surprisingly smooth.
My eyes widened thinking about what he had in store for my ears. Possibly if we were home and in earshot of more people I might have the guts to make some sort of remark or even scream. But directly underneath his body in Monaco there was absolutely no hope for me. I knew he wasn't going to be taking me back to Italy. No matter how fond of me he might be, I was a weakness.
"Well?" He didn't have to make any violent gesture. He knew the calmness in his voice was enough.
I took in a shaky breath looking up to the ceiling. He didn't like when I looked away, but if I even glanced at that smolder I knew my breath wouldn't be the only shaky thing.
"No." I managed to get out.
"Then what did I tell you before cara mia?" His voice lowered shaking through my bones.
He wanted me to answer. He squeezed both of my arms into the grip of only one of his hands. He moved so quickly there was nothing I could do to protest. Vocabulary wise I might have been a match for Romeo, but physically I was a kitten and he was a puma.
"You asked me why you shouldn't-"
"Tell you! Not ask you." He corrected harshly.
"I don't know Romeo! Please stop!" I cried trying to look away but his face was getting so close.
"What did you want me to stop Cecilia?" He got quiet again.
"Touching me." I quickly admitted.
"You wanted me to stop this?" He asked.
His free hand traced the sides of my body and down my legs. I couldn't help but to sigh at what felt like relief.
"You don't know what you want Cecilia." He whispered spiteful in my ear.
"Yes I do." I thrashed under his body angered.
"I told you I wasn't going to fuck you until you wanted to fuck me. And you will want to." He let his weight rest on me now.
"I wouldn't be so sure." I glared looking him in the eyes this time.
"Of course you will. I can tell by the way you're eager to kiss me now." He touches his nose to mine slowly letting his hand graze my leg beneath the dress.
His lips met mine with a foreign passion.
"Get dressed Cecilia." He mumbled before abruptly lifting himself off of me. I stared confused watching him compose himself.
"Get dressed." He warned me.
"For what?" I asked.
"Church."
I reluctantly lifted my own body up realizing it was Sunday. The new clothes for me had already been hung in the closet.
"What should I wear?" I asked overwhelmed by the mass amount of clothes hanging in front of me.
"Modest. Anything you think I wouldn't pick." He calls from the bathroom.
"That's great considering you picked out all of my clothes." I rolled my eyes.
"As long as you're not naked I guess." He came in the closet, toothbrush in mouth.
"I guess." I said gawking at the muscles in his arms moving back and forth followed by the toothbrush.
We exchanged a moment of comfortable silence before he coldly turned back to the bathroom.
I took a deep breath returning my heart to its normal pace.
"Cecilia! Are you ready?" He called from the other room.
"Almost." I replied touching up my mascara.
"I'm leaving." I heard his footsteps down the stairs.
"Hold on! I'm coming!" I shouted slipping on a pair of heels.
I rushed down the stairs disappointed not to find him waiting for me.
"Boo!"
"Ahhhh!" I screamed reaching for my heart that slammed against my chest.
"This way tesoro." He laughed dragging me off the last step.
I struggled taking my my breath unsure of his guidance.
"Do you like church?" He opened the door to my side of the car.
"It's alright." I replied letting him shut the door for me.
"I used to see it as a chore when I was younger. But as I got older I started to listen." He didn't say anything else.
We sat in a comfortable silence to the chapel. It wasn't as large as the one we got married in but just as glorious. Large stained glass windows towering high to the decorated ceiling. My head tilted to the ceiling with my eyes trying to take it all in.
"You look nice." He whispered just as we entered the Roman Catholic church.
He kneeled before a pew saying a prayer to himself before he entered. I followed doing the same. Mass hadn't started yet. Instead of taking my hand and resuming our conversation, Romeo quickly put down the bench and clasped his hands together on his knees.
I didn't copy his movements this time, only watched. His eyes were shut tightly and if you looked very closely you could see his lips slightly shifting.
I so desperately wanted to know what he was praying about. What required so much of his energy? Then I remembered Romeo had a lot of sins. Sins he would never be clean of. This wasn't even close to getting even.
The idea of Romeo having a relationship with God in the first place was taboo to me. How could he even think about church after what he's done? What I didn't know was that Romeo was holy. Incredibly spiritual. He got down on his knees in his best slacks and swore he was sorry. The monster knew what he had done, and he'll do it again. He had to repent for that too.
And when the preacher began mass you could tell he was faithful in his religion too. It was like I was looking at a completely different man. He was still tough and hard. But more of a man than a careless boy.
My heart ached so bad I forced myself to look away. The choir started to sing a rendition of Dominus Vobiscum and I snuck a look at Romeo. His eyes slowly closed and his lips parted. As if he had taken that first drink of water after days in the desert. I licked my dry lips, mouth watering at the cleansing demon before me. The sight was too pure, too sad, too beautiful. The irony left me with my jaw on the beautiful floor.
My shoulders lifted upwards taking in a breath to kneel down next to him. Father started a prayer and asked us to join hands. Of course we all did but with only our families. That's just how Catholics were. I didn't expect Romeo to grab my hand so quickly. Nor did I expect him to keep it there when the prayer was over.
Who I learned to be Father Gabrielle, started a sermon about sin. I thought it might have been getting to Romeo but in some sick way it was helping. Father spoke of how God believes in forgiveness and he believes we are all capable of being forgiven as long as we truly repented are sins.
I looked over to Romeo, whose caramel brown eyes seemed glossed over. His hand still tightly intertwined in mine.
I looked away sitting in my place quietly till the end of the sermon. Toward the end Romeo leaned over to give me a slight kiss on the cheek. So gentle I doubted if I had felt anything at all. But it was plenty to know that Romeo was feeling something for me. Whether he wanted to admit it or not. It left a warm slushy feeling inside of me, and a cold fishy feeling at the same time.
Ted Bundy might as well have taken me to church and kissed me on the cheek. A single tear slipped from my eyes. I thanked God for letting this marriage go smoothly so far and asked him to keep my family safe.
The priest wrapped up his final statements ending the night.
"Do you like it zucchero?" He lifted his strained eyes to mine.
"Yes. It was rather confusing." I said pulling my eyes away. "I never thought I'd see the devil on his knees." I looked forward thinking over what I had just said.
Those long lethal fingers wrapped around my arm so fast, there could only be one outcome.
My eyes darted back to his. They almost looked red under the hot lights of the chapel. I had ignited a fire that couldn't be extinguished. He drug me out of that building so fast I thought I left a shoe inside.
"HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT ME IN A PLACE OF GOD!" He threw me down behind the building.
I whimpered quietly examining my bruised arm. He started pulling the black belt from his waist. The belt hung in the air by his threatening hands.
"One. Just give me one reason I shouldn't beat you half to death." He closed his eyes speaking very madly through a clenched jaw.
My lip quivered at his outburst. I tried to react so fast my mind went blank. He pulled back his arm unsatisfied.
"Wait! Oh please, no! I cried shielding myself with my arms.
"I'm waiting." He gave me one last shot.
"Because-because. . ." My fingers gripped the cold wet pavement below me. "Because that's why you go. You know it's true and you're afraid to face it. Isn't that why you like me?" I shielded myself again ready to take the beating.