When She Loves (The Fallen, #4)(24)

Nero comes up beside me. “Should we remove it before Cleo comes out? If someone jokes about it, she’ll probably try to claw their eyes out.”

Unlikely, given it’s my blood everyone is whistling at.

I turn to him. “We’ll take it down in ten minutes.”

“What the fuck happened to your lip?”

Fuck.

I didn’t think the swelling was that obvious when I checked this morning in the mirror.

“We need to have a word. Let’s go talk in the library.”

Nero gives me a curious look. “You all right?”

“Not here.”

He follows me inside. I close the door behind him and lock it for good measure. I don’t want anyone interrupting us. Nero takes one of the leather armchairs, but I don’t feel like sitting. I walk over to the large window facing the back garden and link my hands behind my back.

I didn’t sleep much after I left Cleo in our wedding suite. Thankfully, we rented the entire hotel, so there were more than a few empty suites available. I grabbed the closest one and spent the rest of the night trying to come up with a plan to seduce my wife.

I didn’t get very far.

I’m good at many things, but understanding the psychology of women isn’t one of them. Good thing it’s something my consigliere excels in.

Nero clears his throat. “So…?”

I turn around.

Whatever he sees in my expression makes him laugh. “Seriously, what the fuck happened?

When I stay silent, the amusement in his expression melts away. “Did it go okay?”

“No, it didn’t go okay.”

He frowns. “Is she…hurt?”

I walk over to the bar cart and splash a bit of whiskey into a glass. “I didn’t fuck her. Barely even touched her.”

Nero shakes his head, confused. “Whose blood was that then?”

“Mine.”

Nero stares at me for a split second before he bursts out laughing. “What did I tell you? Did she bite the whole thing off or just give it a nibble?”

“She didn’t get close enough to my cock to even breathe on it.” I point at my face. “She bit my lip.” I take a swig of the whiskey, and it burns the shallow wound inside my mouth. “She sucked my blood and spit it on the sheets.”

“Holy shit.” He’s taken aback. He didn’t expect her to pull something like that. “So what happened after?”

“Nothing. I left. Before she gnawed on me like a fucking piranha, she made it clear she wants nothing to do with me.”

“She’s your wife.”

“She is,” I mutter. “But like you said, that doesn’t mean she likes me.”

Nero blows out a breath. “What are you going to do?”

I take a seat across from him. “You’re my consigliere. I was hoping for a little advice.”

He rubs his jaw. “Sorry, I’m still processing. Maybe she just needs to warm up to you. Take her out to dinner.”

“It’s not going to be that easy. She called me her jailer. She’s determined to hate me.”

Nero looks thoughtful. “She’s got a rebellious spirit. Look how she lied to everyone about not being a virgin just so that she could ruin her father’s plans for her. Now, she’s going to rebel against you.”

I frown at my glass. “Rebelling to what end? What’s done is done, and no amount of rebellion on her part will undo our marriage.”

He shrugs. “Maybe she just wants to feel in control. She chose to marry you in her sister’s place, but since making that choice, she hasn’t had any say in anything. This could be her trying to assert herself, making it clear you won’t get to dictate all of the terms of this marriage.”

“And she’ll do this by denying me her body?”

He nods. “To start. But I suspect it won’t be the end of it. She lost her freedom when she married you. That will take a while for her to process, and I think it’s safe to say she won’t do it quietly.”

My thoughts turn inside my head. “Maybe I can pacify her by giving her an illusion of freedom. She thinks I’ll restrict her even more than her father. I can prove her wrong while still keeping the situation under my control.”

Nero nods. “That’s good. She won’t expect leniency from you. It’ll lower her defenses.”

“But I can’t allow her to do whatever she wants.”

“Give her a leash so long she forgets it even exists. If she crosses any real lines, you’ll have to remind her of it. There’s no way around that. If she can’t come to terms with it, I don’t know how this will work out.”

“She will come to terms with it.” She has to.

“Pick your battles carefully. She’ll want to get a reaction out of you when she acts out, so don’t give it to her unless she’s really pushing it.”

Cleo won’t hold back. She lacks any sort of restraint. “It’s a good thing I’ve had a lot of practice not showing my emotions,” I mutter, dragging my thumb over my sore lip.

Nero knows better than to say it, but I can see the thought reflected in his eyes. I told you so. He crosses his ankle over his knee. “By the way, Joseph Ferraro called this morning. Wanted to offer his congratulations.”