Page 37 of Beautiful Devil

She takes in a sharp intake of air and gasps in disbelief. Her next words are spoken so softly that if I wasn’t standing so close to her, I wouldn’t hear them.

“You’re going to kill me if I don’t marry you?” Fear and another emotion I can’t decipher cloud her eyes.

“Not me,gattina. Dante and his men are looking for you, and if I let you go now, there’s a good chance they will either capture and torture or kill you by morning. The choice is yours. You can either stay here, where I can keep you safe, or risk being hunted down and killed. Which one will it be? You have sixty seconds to decide before I decide for you.”

No sooner do I finish that sentence than I feel her body go limp in my arms before she passes out.

Cazzo!

CHAPTER12

GIA

The feelingof fingers in my hair brings me out of my slumber. Long, delicate fingers massaging my head.

Oh, that feels good.

Turning my head into the amazing feeling only to be met with resistance. Is that…is that a female voice I hear? Why would I be dreaming about a female massaging my head? Trying to turn my head again, I’m met with a smack to the side of my head.

Ow. What the fuck?

Peeling my eyes open and trying to put an end to this weird dream, I’m met with bright lights, and yep, that’s definitely women’s voices I hear, but I can’t understand a single word they’re saying. Why can’t I understand what they’re saying?

Another smack has me raising my head and locking eyes with a beautiful, tall woman. She looks like she’s just stepped off the runway, with bleach blonde hair – poker straight – pulled back into a super tight, high ponytail. She’s extremely skinny, but you can see the outline of muscles on her exposed arms and legs. A tight, bright red, sleeveless bodycon dress hugs her figure, accentuating her ginormous breasts that can no way be real. Natural makeup covers her face, besides the red lip that matches her dress.

I instantly scream, jumping up from the seat, and take a look around the room. What the hell is going on? This isn’t my room andwho the hell are all these people?Why am I soaking wet? Lifting a hand up, I touch my hair, and yep, it's soaking wet. Was she washing my hair? Seriously, what the fuck is going on?

Looking at the blonde Malibu Barbie, I ask, “Who are you and what are you doing to my hair?”

It comes out more as a screech than I intended but I’m seriously freaking the fuck out right now. Blondie gives me a look of boredom, as if I’m being irrational here.

Cocking a hip, she says in a clipped tone, “Vieni a sederti. Ti devo finire i capelli per il matrimonio.”

What? I can’t understand a single word she’s saying. Is she speakingItalian? Wait a minute. Did she say matrimony? As in Wedding? No. No, no. This can’t be happening.

I finally take a look around and see that I’m in some sort of salon. Light gray walls that match the gray and white marble floor. A row of sleek black salon chairs sits at the far side of the space with a modern floating workspace and a four-foot-tall black rectangular mirror in front of every station.

This salon is absolutely stunning, but I still have no idea how I got here or what I’m doing here. Although if I had to guess, I could probably figure out why. I spin back around to the beautiful blonde in front of me, who’s now yelling at me in Italian – or at least I think she’s yelling, because she doesn’t sound happy.

Trying again, I say frantically, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand a word you’re saying. Do you speak English? My name is Gia, and I was kidnapped ten days ago by Fabrizio Moretti. Somehow, he got me here, although I don’t know how, and he’s forcing me to marry him. Please, can you help me? Or call the police? I need to leave before he comes looking for me. Please, I’m begging you. Please help me!”

I don’t realize I’m hanging off her arm and crying until she lifts her left hand to extract mine and calls over her shoulder, “Vieni.”

Not understanding what she said, I stand up while trying to figure out if there is anyone in here that can help me before she comes rushing back my way.

When she reaches me, she doesn’t say a word, just walks around me until I feel her nudging my back.

I turn around and start running around the space looking for an exit while screaming at the top of my lungs, “Someone help me! I’ve been kidnapped. Call the police! Please!”

Not watching where I’m going, I collide with a wall of hard muscle. I know who it is before he opens his mouth and says, “Gattina.”

Damn him and his deep, sexy voice. I try to back away from him, but he grabs me by the shoulders, holding me in place.

Before he can say or do anything, I start to kick my legs wildly and speak through gritted teeth, spewing venom with every word, “Let. Go. Of. Me!”

He looks at me with a droll stare and simply says, “No,” as if this is just another conversation he’s bored with.

No?