Page 5 of His to Hold

“I guess not.” Now that I think about it, I never really believed Antonio would permit that. It wasn’t because I imagined for one minute he actually cared about me. Something primal motivates men like Antonio. “I knew you wouldn’t allow another man to touch your property.”

Antonio doesn’t react when I describe myself that way. The arrogant swine actually believes I belong to him, since he put a ring on my finger. I grew up around men like him. Their mindset regarding women is stuck in the Middle Ages.

“If you suspected he was acting against orders, why didn’t you ask one of the other guards for help?” Antonio steeples his fingers as he mulls over his own question.

“They’d stick together, act as if I was being hysterical.”

Antonio nods, apparently realizing I’m right. “Why didn’t you call me?”

Contacting him hadn’t seemed like an option. I doubted he would help, considering he hadn’t spoken to me since the night he was shot.

“Why would I call you, Antonio? It was quite clear you wanted nothing to do with me.”

As he rises from his chair, I grasp the edge of mine, digging my fingers into the dark green leather. What is he doing? He comes around to my side of the desk and leans back against it. He cups my cheek with his hand. It’s a tender gesture, at odds with the dark desire in his eyes.

“Oh, Isabella, where did you get the idea I want nothing to do with you?”

Fuck! His smoldering gaze makes my pulse race. My clit throbs as I imagine his hand trailing lower, exploring my body. I picture him parting my legs and caressing me through the lace of my panties and then pushing a long, thick finger inside me. Just the thought makes me wet.

“Did you eat the snack I left for you?” Antonio asks.

The unexpected question jolts me from the salacious thoughts I was having. “Uh, yes.”

“You don’t feel unwell? Faint?”

Where has this concern for my welfare come from? He’s spent the entire year demonstrating he no longer cares about me. Perhaps he’s worried I’ll pass out before he has the chance to tell me what he intends to do with me.

“No, I feel fine.”

A wicked grin crosses his lips. “Then I want you to stand up, remove your panties, and bend over the desk.”

“What?” The command startles me. “Why?”

“You remember our wedding night?”

I remember it vividly. It would be impossible to forget the night I lost my virginity to the last man I ever expected to find myself married to. Though I’d been around the Volantes since I was a child, Matteo was the one I was friends with. I’d never thought his oldest brother would end up asking for my hand. Not that he actually asked. He summoned my father to a meeting one day and told him he was going to marry me. Since nobody argues with the head of one of the most powerful mob families in North America, my father agreed.

Antonio was the scariest man I’d ever encountered, but our wedding night wasn’t the ordeal I’d anticipated. Despite his gruff demeanor during our brief courtship, he took care of me, ensuring I was ready for him. He’d been so tender I’d deluded myself I was living in some sort of fairytale, despite his ominous warning that he’d spank me if I stepped out of line. I assume that’s the threat he wants me to remember now.

“Of course I do.”

“Then you recall I said your actions would have consequences?”

I snort derisively. “Are you planning to spank me for what happened a year ago, or for defending myself against a man who intended to rape me?”

He actually flinches at the accusing tone of my voice. Antonio sanctions acts of savage violence on a regular basis, but he can’t bear the thought of a woman being taken against her will.

“Neither. Your exile was punishment for your treachery, and I commend you for dealing with Rico so thoroughly.”

Well, that was unexpected. He sounded genuinely proud of me for standing up for myself.

“Oh.” I don’t know what else to say.

“What I’m going to spank you for is dialing 911.”

I still haven’t worked out how Leo Volante interrupted my call, but I have to admit I was relieved when he turned up instead of the police. Though I’ve always feared the man, I knew he would take care of things.

“You can’t punish me for that. I panicked.”

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