Page 48 of The Enforcer's Possession
“You broke his hand,” I said finally.“At my father’s dinner table.In front of my family.”
“I did.”No defensiveness.No justification.Just acknowledgment.
“You could have started a war.”
“I may have started a war.”He shifted slightly, turning to face me more fully.“But no one will ever threaten you again without understanding the consequences.”
His hand moved from mine to my face, cupping my cheek with a gentleness that contradicted everything I’d just witnessed.His thumb brushed across my lower lip in a gesture that made my breath catch.
“No one will ever hurt you, Caterina.”His voice dropped lower, more intimate.“Not while I’m alive to prevent it.I don’t care what it costs.I don’t care who I have to break or kill or destroy.You’re mine to protect, and I take that responsibility seriously.”
I should have been frightened.Should have been disturbed by the casual way he talked about killing people.Should have pulled away from his touch.
Instead, I leaned into his palm, my eyes closing as I felt a shiver run through my entire body.Not fear.Not exactly.Something more complicated.More primal.
“I watched you break his fingers,” I whispered, opening my eyes to meet his gaze.“And I…”
I couldn’t finish.Couldn’t admit out loud what I’d felt.What I was still feeling.
But Dante’s expression shifted to something knowing.
“And you liked it.”Not a question.A statement of fact.“Liked watching me hurt him for threatening you.Liked knowing I’d do worse if he touched you.Liked seeing proof of exactly how far I’ll go to keep what’s mine safe.”
My breath came faster.I wanted to deny it, wanted to tell him he was wrong, that I was horrified by his violence not aroused by it.
But my body betrayed me.My pupils dilated, my lips parted, and my thighs pressed together harder, trying to manage the need building inside me.
Dante saw all of it.Read every physical response like he was reading a book.
“There’s nothing wrong with what you’re feeling,” he murmured, his thumb still tracing my lip.“Nothing shameful about being aroused by violence committed in your defense.It’s primal.Natural.Your body recognizes that I’m strong enough to protect you, brutal enough to eliminate threats, powerful enough to keep you safe.”
His hand slid from my face to the back of my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair with just enough pressure to make me gasp.
“And tonight, when we get home, I’m going to show you exactly what it means to be married to someone who’ll break bones to defend you.”
The promise in his voice sent another shiver through me -- equal parts fear and anticipation and undeniable desire.I was trapped in this car with a man who’d just proven his capacity for controlled violence, heading toward a penthouse where he’d already demonstrated his capacity for controlled domination.
And I wanted it.Wanted him.Wanted to feel his hands on me the way they’d been on Marco -- firm and unyielding and absolutely certain of his right to touch, to take, to own.
“You awakened something in me tonight,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.“Something I didn’t know was there.”
“I know.”His fingers tightened in my hair.“I could see it in your eyes.In how your breathing changed.In how you pressed your thighs together under the table while you watched me hurt him.”
Shame burned hot in my chest, mixing with the arousal until I couldn’t separate them.
“Don’t.”His other hand cupped my face again, forcing me to meet his eyes.“Don’t be ashamed of what turns you on.Don’t hide from what you want.You’re my wife.That means I get to see all of you -- the defiant parts and the submissive parts and the dark parts you don’t want to acknowledge.”
The car slowed, turning into the underground parking garage of Dante’s building.We’d be in the penthouse in minutes.Alone.With nothing between me and whatever he had planned.
My pulse jumped.My breathing went shallow.My body prepared itself for what came next even as my mind tried to catch up.
The car stopped.The driver opened my door.Dante slid out first, then offered me his hand.
I took it.Let him pull me from the car and guide me toward the private elevator.Let him enter the code that would take us up forty-three floors to where I’d be at his mercy again.
As the elevator doors closed and we began to rise, Dante pulled me against him.His mouth found my ear, his breath hot against my skin.
“You’re mine,” he whispered.“And tonight I’m going to prove it in ways you’ve never imagined.”
