Submitting To The Devil - The Devil's Snare - Book 2

Chapter Twenty Eight

Niko

The afternoon was mostly uneventful. When we had enough of hiding out under the waterfall, we emerged through the water and swam up to the boat to find Sven awaiting us on tenterhooks.

Playing in the water, I managed to get Bianca to laugh freely, and I spent a good hour or two showing her the underwater life swimming of their own free will.

Surprisingly, she's a good swimmer and breath holder. Moreover, she allowed me to hold her hand, albeit underwater, to enable me to lead her around the little marine cove we found ourselves in.

Luckily, we found a cuttlefish and an octopus that was more than friendly, suctioning onto my arm as he explored us before moving off. We even noticed a pod of dolphins playing around offshore.

The sun was quickly descending in the—wrong direction—sky, and I knew we hadn't much time to ensure we travelled around the island back to shore where we could enjoy our own company again.

So I encouraged Bee back to the boat, where I asked Sven to stay closer to shore this time. I pointed out the birds and wildlife that Bianca seemed to enjoy watching. I particularly liked watching her track the birds' flight paths and the lizards she chased with her gaze.

When I demanded Sven make the journey back to shore, the sun was an hour or less away from setting.

Swearing in his own language as I ushered him away from the house I had just delivered Bee into, he proceeded to waste five minutes of his borrowed time with the intent of staying here on the island with us.

The sky was darkening in a pretty pink shade, the sun lying low along the shoreline. A chill that hadn't been around earlier promised nightfall, and the sea was becoming calmer by the second.

"Absolutely not, I share my wife with no one. This is our honeymoon; you are just the day help."

"It'll be dark before I reach shore, and I'm back tomorrow to take you out again," he argued back as I walked him down to his boat. I smiled despite facing away from him, no doubt I wasn't privy to that particular piece of information. After all, Dimitri obviously liked having the element of surprise regarding this honeymoon.

"If you leave now, I'm sure you'll arrive with ten minutes to spare."

"Don't be ridiculous. The house is big enough for ten."

"There's only one room made up," I argued with gritted teeth and a roll of my eyes. I wouldn't give in, and I think he damn well knows it. Not only because I wanted to keep this bubble I've been forming with Bianca, but because I genuinely didn't like the guy, and nor did I trust him one bit.

"The beds are in storage in the basement; it'll only take—."

I cut him off with a hard stare and a shake of my head.

"Just go, Sven. You won't be staying, so if I were you, I'd get on that journey asap," I warned in a tone I hoped would make him realise he had no room for argument.

He left begrudgingly, but I felt instantly more at ease, knowing it was just the two of us again.

Bianca's walls were slowly crumbling around her, leaving the girl I was desperate to meet standing bare in the rumble that was bringing her to the surface of our reality.

I'd hoped my behaviour over the last few days was evidence enough for her to realise that I was a reliable man—she could let me in. That I wouldn't hurt her. At least, not in the mental sense, anyway. After all, orgasm denial was just one torturous way I enjoyed to make my woman squirm, and she would be no different when the time finally comes that I can freely take her.

Of course, I have my needs at the forefront of my mind. Still, even so, I could wait a little longer if only I could gain Bianca's trust and have her stand beside me as my equal. God knows she needs to be that before we get back; otherwise, the lowly ranked of Luca's men might just start to try and get close to her to piss me off. Especially those whom I dislike or have had run-ins with, and most of all, those who know of my work alongside Luca's father. And that's not even mentioning the Rossi men that have migrated over, most of whom know Bianca's true lineage and might try to 'save' her for their own gain over her needs.

I don't know why I'm thinking so deeply into this relationship when I hadn't wanted it before. But I'll be stuck beside Bianca for the long haul.

Precisely why you need to make this fucking work, not only for your peace of mind but your needs too!

"Is he gone?" Bianca asks me as I step inside the house. She's hiding behind the only pillar inside the foyer. It's a supporting beam for the upstairs, and though she's bigger than it, she's using her body at the right angle to be shadowed in the dark by it.

I had presumed she went straight upstairs; the lack of lights led me to believe that, but she obviously hadn't, which makes me wonder how long she's been hiding here, waiting for me to return sans Sven.

"He's gone, didn't want to, but I managed to get him to leave."

"I don't like him?" She states.

"No one does; he's unlikeable, Bee. You want dinner?" I ask while walking through the dark by memory until I reach the kitchen island.

"I could eat," she admits shyly. Well, she wouldn't have admitted that yesterday!

Her admission makes me smile despite my attempts to fight the emotion. A few weeks ago, she would have declined her hunger just to remain independent to her own standards.

"I'll cook; why don't you go relax?" I suggest.

"Relax," she fires back to me with a soft tone. I turn to look at her in the dim light that the fridge shines over her. She's stood against the island looking more relaxed than I thought she might've. She's staring at me, searching the fridge, her hair hanging down around her face and back now.

"Yeah, flip the switch for me as you pass it?" I dictate.

Smirking, she nods, leaving me and the kitchen. Moments later, the lights above flicker on, drenching the kitchen in a pool of soft white light.

The soft slaps of her bare feet indicate that she's climbing the stairs.

Alright, Niko. Let's make something that'll have her melting at the fucking tongue!