Page 27 of Little Rabbit

Alessio gives me an amused smile. “It’s been in our family home for a very long time, cara mia. And we both know telling you wouldn’t have changed your mind. My family lives here, and most of our staff and many guards live here as well. Aurelio prefers a separate home on the grounds, but for the most part, we all live and function here. I’ll give you a tour once you’re settled.”

Lazaro pulls the car up to the steps and I climb out, not bothering to wait for Alessio or Lazaro to help me. Alessio shoots me an annoyed look, which I promptly ignore. I agreed to be here, not to be pliant and obedient, so he’ll have to get used to it. Instead, I look around, trying to take it all in before Alessio leads me up the steps, with Lazaro right behind me.

Of course, the inside is just as grand. I glance around at the ornate paintings, carvings, and art tastefully decorates the walls and ceiling, and its sprawling marble floors. Just like outside, there is a double sweeping staircase that leads to who knows where. Hallways spread off to the left and right, with another two just ahead.

I’m going to need a damn map to figure my way out of here.

“This way,” Alessio instructs, taking my hand and leading me toward the corridor at the back of the room. I glance down the other one, but see nothing but a bunch of doors, and then a full story window at the end before it splits off into more hallways. I’m too entranced to pull my hand away from Alessio, and instead follow along, trying to create a mental map.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it,” Lazaro assures me quietly.

“Do you have any of those you-are-here signs somewhere?” I ask. “I mean, how the hell do your staff know where to go? Or is this one of those, ‘you can’t go into the west wing’ kind of castles? I mean, the beast has already shown his true colors, now we just have to find that pesky princess for him to terrorize.” Lazaro snorts out a laugh, while Alessio looks down at me with an irritated scowl. “What?” I ask with a bland smile. “It’s a good question.”

“I’m starting to think about adding a gag to my list of things to use on you, coniglietto,” he replies silkily.

I don’t even bother replying. Instead, I say to Lazaro, “Do you live here too?”

Lazaro’s eyes dance with mirth, clearly realizing what I’m doing. Alessio’s scowl darkens. “I do,” Lazaro replies. “As do my other brothers. My father prefers his own space. I think it’s because he’s been courting a lady as of late, though none of us have figured out who yet. The bastard is far too clever.”

“Tell Sofia. She’ll be able to sniff it out in no time,” Alessio says. We finally reach a corridor that splits off into a staircase on the right, and then another back hallway to the left. “We’ll be down shortly. Tell everyone we are not to be disturbed,” he orders Lazaro, and I narrow my eyes at him as he starts to lead me up the steps.

“Where are we going?” I demand.

“We’re going to get you settled.” Alessio tightens his grip on my hand when I attempt to pull away. “Keep that up, cara mia, and see what happens,” he warns, glancing back over his shoulder at me, his eyes dark.

I glare back, and while I want to argue and fight with him on principle, I also don’t want to risk not seeing everything. When we reach the top of the steps, I’m unsurprised to find more hallways, while another set of stairs leads up to another floor. Alessio pulls me to the left and down the hallway to the very end where a set of tall, wooden double doors wait. He pulls a key from his pocket, unlocks the door, and then pulls me inside.

I stare around the room in shock, though I suppose I shouldn’t. The room is large and grand, and far darker than I imagined. The fading sunlight shining through the windows is the only source of warmth. I crane my neck up to the golden ceiling; with intricate paintings of cherubs and clouds and other creatures I can’t quite figure out. It’s classic Italian, but still, there is a darkness that surrounds the images that has me curious. The walls are painted a dark gray, again almost black in color, with golden accents scattered around, including light fixtures and even a few lamps on small, elegant tables scattered throughout. In the center of the wall straight ahead is the four-poster king-sized bed that takes up a lot of the space, complete with black sheets and black and gold pillows.

Clearly the man has a thing for gold.

I look to the left of the bed and see two doorways, and assume they are the bathroom and closet. I wonder if the bathroom is as dark as in here. The place certainly could use a bit more color. I turn to look behind the broad door I’ve just walked through, and see that there is another door, and when I move to look behind the one on the opposite side, again, another door. Jeez, how many doors does one man need?

Alessio smiles at me as he shuts the door, a look of pure satisfaction on his face. “What do you think, coniglietto?”

I arch a brow at him in question. “What do I think of what? It’s a bedroom. And since I’m assuming it’s yours, I have to wonder where I’m going to be sleeping.”

He gives a low chuckle and steps forward, reaching up to grip my chin with his fingers. I resist the urge to jerk away, instead, holding his gaze as he leans down and murmurs, “You know very well where you’ll be sleeping, Sienna. You will not be away from me another night. And if I have to tie you to the bed, then I will.” Then he leans down to press a hard kiss to my mouth before he pulls away and lets me go.

“I am not staying in here with you.” There is no way I can resist him if I do, and I need to make sure that when Nico and my sister leave, that I’m with them. I will not let Alessio derail that. “I agreed to come here, but I never agreed to be your prisoner.”

“Prisoner?” Alessio repeats as he steps away, shrugging off his suit coat before moving to toss it onto the leather bench at the end of the bed. He watches me as he unbuttons the cuffs of his shirt, rolling up the sleeves to his elbows and baring his forearms. Fuck, why is that so hot? “I suppose that chaining you to the bed could count as such,” he muses thoughtfully, though his eyes are mocking. “And the thought of having you at my mercy whenever I please is a tempting one. Mmm, yes, I’m not seeing any downside to this at all.”

I scowl at him. “I’m not here to cater to your fantasies. You insisted on bringing me here, and now that I am, this whole charade can stop. You already fucked me, so you can lay off the bullshit. Please show me to my room so I can get some sleep. After that, I would like to meet my sister and brother-in-law.”

“Charade?” Alessio asks. His voice is silky as he watches me, but his eyes going dark has a pool of heat building in my belly. Fuck, I really need to get a grip. A man looking at you like that should not be so hot, which is exactly why I need to get away from him. Being around him is not good for my health. I’m far too tempted by him, when I should be running the hell out of this room. “Clearly you haven’t been paying attention, Sienna, if you think that any of this is some kind of ruse. I can assure you, I am very fucking serious.” He stalks toward me, but I hold my ground. “You’re right, I’ve fucked you, and I’m going to do it again. And again. And again. Because I am far from done, and if you think you’re going to escape me again, or even try and sweet talk your way out of here by cozying up to your sister, you had better think again. Your ass is staying right here, and the sooner you accept that, the better it will be.”

“Better?” I hiss. This man has some serious balls, and right now I’m about to drive them up into his fucking throat. “You call having no fucking privacy or freedom better? Let’s be clear right the fuck now, you and I are not going to be anything. Ever. If I have an itch I want scratched, sure, but other than that, I’m under your protection so my psycho family doesn’t try to kill me or sell me off to the highest bidder. You will not be that highest bidder, are we clear? I am not marrying you, and I am not going to spend every waking moment with you because I’ll probably end up murdering you.”

He towers over me, dark eyes flashing in the low light of the room. His face flushes with his anger, and while I should probably be feeling some kind of fear right now, it’s the last thing I feel. “You are pushing me, Sienna, and I think we’ve already established that doing so only ends in one of two ways. Me fucking all that attitude out of you, or…no, actually, I think that’s the only option at this point, because you don’t seem to be hearing me any other way.”

“Do you even hear yourself?” I demand in exasperation. I step away from him, dodging his hand when he tries to grab me. I shoot him a furious look. “Sex is not going to suddenly make me all happy and calm, you entitled prick. You want to get your rocks off, you go use one of the many willing women I’m sure you’ve got on speed dial. In case you’ve forgotten, ever since you barged into my life, I’ve been running, and I haven’t had any time to decompress. I’ve been worried sick about my parents, trying to dodge you, and now that you’ve got me where you want me, you think you’re going to run roughshod over me and I’m going to fall in line, all sweet and subservient? I want my own damn space so I can decompress and work, considering how far behind I am now. I am not, and will never be, at your beck and call. I will not spread my legs just because you want to prove a moronic point.”

His eyes are mere slits as he moves quickly toward me, countering every step I take until he’s successfully maneuvered me so that my back hits one of the slivers of wall between the windows. Before I can shove at him to get him away, he grips my wrists and pins them between us, and once again smoothly blocks the knee that I aim for his groin. I let out a low snarl when he pins me and then reaches up to grip the back of my neck to hold me in place. It’s a possessive and commanding hold, and I fight the urge to melt into it.

“That gag is looking better and better, cara mia,” he murmurs silkily, his fingers flexing on my neck. “Now, I want you to shut up and listen to me, because I’m tired of repeating myself. While you are under this roof, you are in my room, and in my bed. You’re mine, and this is where you belong. If you try to leave, I will follow you, find you, and bring your ass right back here. Every fucking time. I don’t care who I have to kill to get out of the way. I would think about that long and hard before you decide to do something stupid, like try to leave.”

My own anger rises. “For fuck sakes, I never said any fucking thing about leaving. Are you so fucking dense you can’t even comprehend that? I just don’t want to be around you every minute of the day, because I can’t fucking breathe with you smothering me.”

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