Page 104 of Ruthless Desire

I cling to him, this kind man who's shown me more fatherly affection in a few short weeks than Dante ever has. "What if something happened to him, Enzo? What if Dante..."

I can't finish the thought, bile rising in my throat. Would Dante be so cruel, so calculating, as to eliminate the last tie to my old life? To erase any hope of escape from this gilded nightmare?

I already know the answer. Mon dieu, I wish I didn't.

"Shh, no tears now, eh?" Enzo tips my chin up, his smile impossibly gentle. "You're stronger than you know, Natalie. A true survivor, like the roses. Relentless in their determination to thrive, even in the harshest conditions."

I wish I could believe him. But with every passing day, I feel less the rose and more the damaged goods Dante's so intent on molding me into.

The moment shatters like fuckin' glass at the sound of his voice, dark and deadly.

"Interrupting something, am I?"

Enzo and I spring apart like teenagers caught necking by an overprotective father. Which, I suppose, isn't far from the fucking truth, considering Dante's twisted proclivities. Dante's imposing 6'2" frame filled the doorway, his olive skin gleaming in the low light. The intricate tattoos on his muscular arms seemed to writhe as he moved. His obsidian eyes, set deep in his chiseled face, bore into me with an intensity that made my breath catch.

The man himself stands at the garden's edge, pristine in his black-on-black suit, a cruel sneer twisting his cruel beautiful mouth. "Natalie. Inside. Now."

Every cell in my body screams to comply, to run headfirst into the lion's den if it means wiping that homicidal glare from his face. But some last, recklessly defiant part of me hesitates, spine stiffening with a vertebrae at a time.

Enzo, God bless him, tries to intercede. "Dante, amico, it was just a bit of gardening between friends, nothing to upset yourself over--"

"I don't recall asking for your input, Enzo." Dante's gaze never leaves mine, stripping me bare and flaying me alive in turn. "In fact, I don't recall giving you permission to be alone with my woman at all."

My nostrils flare, the frayed leash on my temper snapping like a gunshot. "I'm not your fucking property, dickhead toro! Jesus Christ, one nice capo and look at you, puffed up like a wet meatball in the sun, si?!"

The temperature plummets and Dante freezes, black eyes going impossibly blacker as he slowly cocks his head. "What did you just say to me, puttana?"

Oh fuck. Abort, Natalie, abort--

But in for a penny, in for a pound of Italian megalomaniac flesh. I toss my hair over my shoulder and meet Dante's arctic gaze head-on, a small feral smile pulling at my lips.

"Ti ho chiamato un cazzone, amore. I know your ears are getting old but try to keep up, eh?"

Enzo makes a strangled noise and edging away slowly, recognizing the oncoming hurricane. Dante's lips peel back from his teeth in the fakest fucking grin I've seen this side of a political debate.

"You have a big mouth for such a piccola topa. Perhaps it is time I reminded you of your fucking place."

He glides for me, a black mamba striking from the shadows. I barely have time to draw breath before he's on me, one hand clamping bruisingly hard on my arm as he drags me back toward the villa.

"Dante, figlio, think before you--"

But Enzo's entreaty falls on deaf ears as Dante hauls me through the French doors in a mockery of a gentleman on the promenade with his lady. I spit curses and claw at his grip, but it's like trying to move a mountain - immovable and implacable as he pulls me to our chambers.

The door slams shut, the sound ricocheting through the room like a gunshot. I whirl to face Dante, my heart jackhammering against my ribs as his dark gaze rakes over me, predatory and assessing.

"What the hell was that about?" I demand, channeling my fear into bravado. "Enzo and I were just talking, for fuck's sake."

Dante stalks closer, a panther on the prowl. "Talking? Is that what we're calling it now, solnyshko?" His voice is soft, dangerous. "Because from where I was standing, it looked an awful lot like you were seeking comfort in another man's arms."

I scoff, even as a shiver runs down my spine. "Don't be ridiculous. Enzo's old enough to be my father."

Something dark and possessive flashes in Dante's eyes. "Ah, yes. Dear old Dad." He crowds into my space, backing me up until my thighs hit the edge of the mattress. "Tell me, did you enjoy your little phone call? Did it make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, hearing Daddy's voice?"

My breath catches, icy realization crystalizing in my veins. "You knew. How...?"

Dante smirks, a cruel twist of his sensual mouth. "Oh, moy voron. Haven't you learned by now? I know everything that happens within these walls. Every word, every action, every treacherous little thought that flits through that pretty head of yours."

Anger surges through me, hot and potent. "You had no right! That was private, you fucking psycho!"

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