Page 31 of Beautiful Enemy

The one thing I can’t help but notice is how much the blanket smells like Dante. It’s like I’m being wrapped in his arms. I should feel horrified by that idea and yet, I’m not. I can’t stop thinking about our kiss. How passionate it was. How…goodit felt.

I must be losing my mind because there’s no other explanation for how I feel. I don’t like Dante. But I can’t deny that there’s something strangely intoxicating about him. The way he captures me with his eyes and holds me in place is electrifying. I feel seen in a way I’ve never been before.

Sleep finally takes me and my dreams are filled with Dante.

Dante looking at me. Dante smirking at me. Smiling at me. Kissing me.

I wake up with a shudder. It’s light out now. Another day has passed.

A plate with another sandwich on it is resting by the mattress. The thought that someone, either Matteo or Dante (or worse – one of the Irish brothers) came down while I slept sends a shiver down my spine.

My stomach rumbles from hunger and I eat. At least this sandwich is better with lettuce and tomato on it and not just ham and cheese.

I tense up when the door opens and footsteps descend. It’s a sound I have become intimately familiar with.

Dante enters the basement, looking smug. “I’m pretty positive your family got my video I sent them.”

“How do you know?”

“Because your father left me a message in my old apartment. It read: I will kill you, you bastard. It wasn’t very original, I thought. Pretty basic. That’s why I’m confident it was your father. He doesn’t seem to have many creative braincells within him. I also figured if it was Erik, he wouldn’t leave me a message. He would just try to do a sneak attack on me. I’m sure he’s planning one right now.”

The thought that Erik is out there trying to get to me warms my heart. It means I’m not alone in this.

“Too bad I don’t know what your sister thought of the video.” He sits on the mattress beside me. Too close for comfort. Subtly, I shift away from him and he doesn’t move closer. “What do you think she thought when she watched it? If she even watched it. Was she too scared to? Not brave enough?”

“My sister is the bravest person I know.” My words come out as a snap. Passionate. Firey. For the first time, I sound a lot like Anya.

Dante looks taken aback for a second before he slowly smiles. “So, your passionate side comes out when you talk about your sister. Good to know. Now I know what buttons to push.” His eyes flick over the blanket around me. “Cozy?”

“No. I was still cold.”

“Well, I can’t have you getting too comfortable, can I? That would defeat the purpose of what I’m doing here.”

“You could just pretend you’re torturing me. You don’t have to actually do it. If my family believes it, then that would still hurt them.”

He chuckles and taps his finger against my temple. “You are clever. I could do that but where’s the fun in that? I can’t make this too easy on you, Nadia. You’re still my enemy.”

“I don’t have to be,” I whisper, staring down at my knees.

“What are you saying?”

“Just that I don’t have to be. You’re choosing to hate me but you could choose not to. It’s not beyond your control.”

He’s silent for a long moment before he stands. “Get up.”

“No.” The more I defy Dante, the easier it gets.

“Get up, Nadia. I won’t ask again.” There’s a clear underlining threat there. I’m still not fully sure what Dante is capable of and I don’t want to risk it, so with a sigh, I do as he says.

“Good.” His eyes rake over me, from head to toe. “Now, slip the blanket off. I want to see your pretty wedding dress.”

“It’s cold in here,” I whisper.

“Take it off.” The way he commands it makes a tremor go through me. It settles right inside my core.

Slowly, I let the blanket fall to the ground. Dante circles around me like a lion, testing my defenses, trying to find a way in.

He makes his way back facing me. “Take your dress off.”

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