Accidental Bride by Cristina Lollabrigida

ChapterNineteen

The dining roomtable was centered beneath a softly lit crystal chandelier. Decorative plaster molding framed the high ceiling adding character to the room.

Alessandra couldn’t remember the last time she had a comforting home-cooked meal. She’d heard stories about her mother’s amazing cooking. After her passing, a private chef was hired to cook all their meals. At nine, Alessandra began cooking lessons, but she couldn’t cook a meal of this caliber. Alessandra complimented Mrs. Walker on the delicious meal they indulged in.

“I’ll pass your compliments to our chef. We always hire for guests, dear.”

The remainder of dinner passed smoothly. Alessandra joked and laughed with Drake’s family as they charmed her with tales of his misspent youth. She enjoyed seeing this lighter side of her husband.

After dinner, they retreated to the backyard. The comfortable outdoor seating was expertly arranged on the blue stone patio underneath a fairy light-wrapped pergola. Richard lit an enclosed fire pit, and they chatted beneath the twilight sky.

“We were shocked Riley left our poor Drake at the altar. Don’t you think it’s funny you sauntered down the aisle out of nowhere as a replacement bride?” Mrs. Walker began.

“Mother,” Drake warned.

Bitsy waved him off. “But seeing you together, I’m thankful our son has you. He seems happy.”

“We should have a girl’s day soon, Mom! Alessandra, you, and me. We can get mani/pedis, grab lunch, and do some shopping,” Beth suggested.

“I’d like that. It would give us a chance to get to know each other better now that we’re family,” Alessandra agreed.

“I’d like that too, my dear. How about we plan a day next week?” Bitsy pulled up the calendar on her phone.

“Your wife is smoking hot, Drake, and she’s cool as shit. Riley was always such a buzzkill,” Dustin said.

“Regardless of the circumstances that brought you together—we only care about your happiness.” Mr. Walker raised his glass with a smile.

Alessandra’s heart swelled at the blessing from the Walkers. Drake squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek.

“Thank you for inviting me, Mr. and Mrs. Walker. Is there anything I can help you with?” Alessandra gestured to the plates in Bitsy’s hands.

“That would be wonderful, dear, and please call me Bitsy.”

Alessandra helped Mrs. Walker and Elizabeth with the dishes while the men indulged in a nightcap. She smiled, enjoying the warmth Drake’s laughter drifting in from the patio evoked in her heart.

As night fell, it was time to return to the city. Everyone escorted them to the porch.

Dustin pulled her in tight and joked, “Are you sure my brother didn’t find you at Hooters?”

“Do I really seem like a Hooters girl?” she asked.

“You have the rack of one, but you’re too nice.”

Drake knocked Dustin upside the head. “You better watch it, Dustin.”

Dustin threw his hands up. “I yield, Mr. Walker.”

The family waved them off.

In the car, Drake turned to Alessandra. “Thank you, bella. I’m so glad you got along with my family.”

He leaned over the console to give her a sweet kiss. His tongue gave hers a gentle caress before retreating. He pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. His eyes shone joyfully as he smiled at her in the dim light.

“Thank you for introducing me to your family, Drake. I had a good time tonight.”

Drake rested his hand on Alessandra’s knee again. She laced their fingers and held his hand as they returned to the city.

* * *

At home,Alessandra picked up the gift box Drake gave her and took it to her room. She wanted to show Drake her appreciation and slipped into a sexy pink and white lace lingerie set with thigh-high white stockings attached to a pink ribbon garter belt.

Seeking to capture her husband’s attention, Alessandra swung her hips seductively. Her heels click-clacked across the wooden floor as she approached. Drake focused on the beer in his hand as he rested on the couch. She stood at attention and waited for him, drawing satisfaction at the lusty gaze in his eyes.

He placed the beer on the coffee table and stood. She stepped away from the couch, and he followed. His hands lightly brushed her body during the inspection. “I wasn’t expecting this tonight. You are so fucking sexy.”

“Tell me, Drake… was this really a gift for me or you?” she said breathlessly.

Drake grabbed her chin with one hand and a handful of her pert ass with the other. He turned her face to the side and whispered, “Oh, bella, this is a gift we’ll both enjoy.”

Liquid heat pooled in Alessandra’s core, causing it to throb painfully. Drake let her go and took a step back. She whimpered at the loss of contact.

“On your knees, gorgeous. There are some things we need to discuss.”

Alessandra followed Drake’s command, resting with her knees spread and her palms face up on her thighs, presenting herself to him. She purred as he caressed her cheek affectionately.

“How many masters have you served before me?”

Drake’s question caught her off guard. She raised her eyes to his. “What?”

“If our relationship is to progress, it’s time we discussed these things. I expect complete honesty, or there will be punishments. Capito?”

“Yes, sir.” She nodded in understanding.

“Good girl. Now… How many masters have you served before me?”

“None.”

Drake produced a black crop seemingly from nowhere. He placed the tip of the crop below Alessandra’s chin and forced her head up to look him in the eyes. A quick flick of his wrist and the crop stung her lap. She glared at Drake.

“Completa onestà.”

“You want complete honesty, Drake? All right, then—”

Another flick of Drake’s wrist brought the crop down on her, but she didn’t care. If he wanted complete honesty, the truth wasn’t pretty. Alessandra swallowed the sting and sighed. Her shoulders sagged with the weight of the scars she carried.

“I’ve never had a master, only a trainer.”

“Who was your trainer?”

Alessandra and Luca planned to elope on her eighteenth birthday. Marcello was supposed to join them as they left Chicago for good. Their first stop was a wedding chapel in Vegas, and they would figure out where to go from there.

Alessandra beamed as she arrived at the airport, hand in hand with Luca. They were growing impatient waiting for Marcello, who was on assignment. They worried when he didn’t show, but Luca didn’t want to miss their flight.

After rebooking Marcello, they headed toward the gate, where airport security caught up with them and detained them without explanation. Shortly after, Tony’s guards arrived. They grabbed Alessandra and dragged her out of O’Hare kicking and screaming. Many people stared, but no one dared intervene.

When they returned to the house, Tony was livid. He ordered the guards to strip Alessandra naked. Russell tried to intervene and was knocked unconscious. Tears rolled down her face as every stitch of cloth was torn from her body, and two guards forced her to her knees and held her there.

Pain blinded her as Tony’s belt buckle connected with her bare skin. He lashed her ten times, and by the last one, she couldn’t hold herself upright anymore. She collapsed, naked and bleeding, the moment the guards released her. The scars on her back still ached years later.

The lashing wasn’t her punishment. It was Luca’s. Her punishment was being forced to watch as they beat him to the point of losing consciousness. She was afraid they would kill him. He suffered multiple fractures and lost a tooth.

The next day, Tony hired a man to train his daughter to obey and serve. He beat Alessandra and called her a whore. She had no value anymore unless she learned how to properly please men. She cried and told them she was still a virgin. But that didn’t stop their cruelty and the pain they inflicted.

Drake dropped the crop and stared at Alessandra. His fists were clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.

“Porca puttana! Who was he? What did he do to you?”

Alessandra never saw his face, only the black leather hood he wore during their training sessions. But she saw him shirtless several times. A tattoo of Vlad the Impaler stared at her from his back as the silhouettes of impaled victims stood around him. His voice was deep and his eyes were ice cold.

Some men enjoy their women tied up and completely at their mercy. Ropes were crossed between her breasts, wrapped around her upper arms, and tied in a knot around her wrists. She was rendered immobile from the waist up. Luca was brought in for the intimate session.

She screamed and pleaded for him to untie her. Luca turned green when she started crying. He resisted at first, and Alessandra’s heart fluttered. She thought he still loved her and would save her. But the trainer pulled a gun from his belt and whipped Luca over the head.

Luca still refused, and the man in the leather hood pressed the muzzle against Alessandra’s temple. She struggled and screamed, begging them to let her go. Cold sweat broke out across her forehead as she began praying. She implored her mother and any god who could hear her to save her.

The trainer gagged Alessandra to keep her quiet and kept his finger poised on the trigger until Luca was naked. Blood dripped from his forehead onto her back as climbed over her. She struggled until the coarse rope tore through her tender flesh. Luca left her aching and bleeding in multiple places.

“Luca… he—” She sobbed and held her wrists out to Drake.

The beast within Drake roared and threatened to tear Tony apart with his bare hands. Seeing his wife broken and shaking before him, he sank to the floor and pulled Alessandra into his lap as she continued recounting her story. He soothed her by stroking her hair.

Alessandra fell into a deep depression and couldn’t stand the ugly scars any longer. She fingered the jeweled hilt of the dagger she was allowed to keep for protection. Slowly drawing it from its sheath, she watched as the balanced blade reflected the soft candlelight of her room. Alessandra placed the sharp edge against her still-tender skin and prayed for relief from her pain.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t muster the courage to drag the blade across her skin. She wept and threw the dagger across the room, and it sank into the wall with a thunk. Blinded by her tears, Alessandra curled into a ball and cried herself to sleep. She wished for death more nights than she could remember in the confines of her father’s mansion.

Luca had sworn to love and protect her, but he’d broken his promise. He could no longer look her in the eye. He often stumbled drunkenly down the halls, sometimes alone, sometimes with a woman under his arm. He had stolen Alessandra’s innocence, and in the years that followed, Luca had warped into a man she didn’t recognize.

“Those fucking cocksucking motherfuckers! I’m so sorry for everything they put you through. I’ll never let Anthony, Luca, or anyone hurt you ever again.” Resolve burned in Drake’s eyes.

Alessandra’s heart burst at his promise. She wanted so much to believe him, but life had served her one bitter disappointment after another. Baring her soul to Drake was genuinely cathartic. He knew her deepest, darkest secret now.

Drake lifted her off the floor, carried her to his room, and gently laid her in the bed. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed beside her, pulling her against his side.

“I’d like you to sleep in bed with me from now on.”

It wasn’t a command but a request. Alessandra didn’t have to see his face in the dark bedroom to know vulnerability would shine through.

“Yes, Drake,” she agreed.

They traded caresses and sweet kisses. A new level of intimacy opened for them through Drake’s ability to put his wife’s needs above his own.