Page 32 of Hearts Of Darkness

“Who’s the girl?” I ask, ignoring his question.

“Which girl?”

“The one who was in my room earlier…hanging up stuff. Brown hair.”

“Valentina,” he says, preoccupied with tapping out a reply.

“I know her name, but who is she? Does she work for you?”

Dante glances up. “Yes, why?”

“She’s nothing more to you than that?”

The corners of his mouth start twitching. “No,mi alma, she’s nothing more to me than that.”

“She’s not one of your whores?”

He puts his phone back in his pocket and crosses his arms. “Are you going to insist on wearing my T-shirt to dinner?”

“I asked you a—”

“Change,” he orders.

His message is loud and clear. The subject is done as far as he’s concerned. This man doesn’t explain himself to anyone.

“Fine.” I storm over to the closet and fling the door open. The rails are over-flowing with the silks and satins of thousands of dollars’ worth of designer luxury.

“Do you like them?”

“They’re all white,” I say stupidly.

“Fitting for an angel, don’t you think?”

How can I be an angel if I succumb to a devil and his darkness so easily? Surely, I should be putting up more of a fight than this.

“No, it’s not, it’s weird, and it doesn’t change anything.You can’t buy my affections.” I reach out and touch the material of the nearest dress—a short, halter-neck shift. It’s sexy and sophisticated. I’ve never owned a wardrobe like this. I’ve never even dared to hope that one day I might.

“I never assumed it would.” He snakes a forearm around my waist and yanks me back against that thick wall of muscle.

I close my eyes and let the warmth of him penetrate my defenses again. I’m furious with myself for wanting himandfor being so easily sidetracked.

“I know you like them,” he murmurs into my hair.

“No, I don’t,” I whisper, throwing my head back against his chest.

He groans long and deep as his hand disappears under my T-shirt, his fingers climbing a trail up past my hip to roughly palm my breast. “Don’t lie to me.”

“If I wear one of your dresses, will you fuck me like you did on that beach?” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.

With another groan, he seizes the tip of my shoulder and spins me around. “Let’s get one thing clear. Those clothes are a gift, so be a good girl and remember your manners.” He drops his fingers to the hem of the T-shirt again, and he whips it over my head before I have a chance to protest. Next, he’s fisting his hand around my hair, and bringing his mouth dangerously close to my own. “And as for your last request? Why, my angel, I’ll fuck you any way I choose.”

He picksout the white halter-neck for me to wear. He must haveguessed how much I like it. As predicted, it fits me perfectly, and I have to suppress the urge to preen in front of the mirror. I don’t recognize the woman staring back at me. I’ve lost weight since I’ve been his captive, and I didn’t have much to spare in the first place. My breasts are still heavy, but my cheekbones are more defined.

It’s the gleam in my eyes that startles me the most. It tells me that not all the change has happened on the outside.

An old English quotation springs to mind as we descend the stairs together, his fingers resting against the base of my spine. He is my best of times and my worst. He’s my enemy who keeps me captive and features in all my revengeful fantasies. But he’s also a lover who presses at something so base in me. Someone who shines a light on my true desires.

My family is never far from my thoughts, but I’ve realized something today. For the past five years I’ve been living for them, not for me. I’ve been trying to project the image of a perfect daughter to make amends for my brother’s mistakes.

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