The Devil Promised

Chiara woke up the following day with trembling hands and a light headache. It seemed Dante’s angry demeanour had startled Chiara more than she cared to admit. She quickly shook the idea out of her head, going to the bathroom to freshen up.

As she got ready, Dante was the only thing going on in her head. Why was he so angry yesterday? Was it because of her? But it couldn’t be.

She left the bathroom, walked over to her closet and opening it. After what had happened the previous day, she knew better than to wear a tank top without anything to hide her figure. She finally settled for a plain pink shirt and jean shorts. The shirt was long enough to cover her butt from Dante’s perverted stare so she was satisfied.

Putting on some black sneakers and tying her hair in a messy bun, she finally made her way downstairs; hoping she would remember where she had seen the dining room when she arrived yesterday – she was hungry.

After climbing down the staircase, she could hear Dante’s voice from a nearby place. He was humming something – familiar. The same tune her mother loved to play on the piano, but from Dante, the sound sent shivers running down her spine. For some reason, his simple humming sounded better than it did on the piano – maybe even sexier…

She blushed furiously, trying to chase the thoughts that were invading her mind as she slowly made her way to him. He was on a dining table, his eyes on his phone as he probably waited for his breakfast to be ready.

“Good morning.” She greeted, her voice cautious and measured.

Dante looked away from his phone, his smirk wide as his eyes explored Chiara’s body. “Come here.” He said, his voice full of mischief but also tinged with the authority he knew he had over her.

Chiara shuddered but made her way to him without any form of resistance. She knew she had to be obedient if she wanted Dante to allow her see her family.

He smirked, his hand gripping Chiara’s waist. She let out startled gasp but bit her lip to stop herself from calling him out.

“You’re being surprisingly docile today, Darling,” Dante said, his smirk widening. He made her straddle him, his thumb tracing her lower lip.

“About my family -” He cut her off when he crashed his lips on hers. The kiss was rough and possessive as if trying to assert his authority over her.

He pulled away, enjoying Chiara's flushed face. The kiss was partly to blame for her flustered state but the main cause was the hard-on he knew she felt.

“You should forget about them till it's time for you to go back home.” He said, his hand stroking her red cheek.

“I know that's what you want, but I miss Aria and Matteo and…” She suddenly trailed off, her heart feeling heavy in her chest.

Dante looked at her without a smirk, “Your papa?” He quipped, causing Chiara to huff.

“Like I could miss him, he's the reason I'm here.”

Dante chuckled, looking at Chiara with amusement flickering through his gaze. “But I can tell you like being here, just look at how flustered you are.”

Chiara scoffed, silently cussing at her pale skin. “You’re the one who keeps touching me in inappropriate ways.” She defended, her voice lacking the conviction it needed.

“But you like it, don't you? You like knowing what you do to me, don't you?” Dante asked, referring to the hard-on she was currently sitting on.

She opened her mouth to say something – defend herself – but no words came out. He chuckled at her silence, moving his face to the crook of her neck. Her breath hitched, her heart drumming in her chest. He trailed kisses down her neck and Chiara bit her lip to stop the sound that threatened to escape her lips. She wanted to protest, but the only thing that she knew would leave her mouth was the sound he wanted to hear.

Footsteps slowly approached them and Chiara's eyes widened. She started squirming but his hand moved to her waist, gripping it tightly.

“Stay still.” He mumbled, his lips still trailing kisses down her neck.

“Hey – I see you were in the middle of something.” A male voice sounded his tone one of amusement.

Dante finally pulled away, leaving Chiara to get up but she didn't want to. She wished she had worn a hoodie so she could cover her face and waltz out of there but she wasn't.

“You could have at least had the decency to do that in your room,” Allegra said with a scoff and Dante rolled his eyes.

His eyes darted slightly to Chiara, whose face was buried in the crook of her neck. Her flustered reaction only made his smirk widen more. “Darling, I thought you would want to get off.”

Chiara shook her head quickly, she knew what he was trying to do and it was working. “I’m fine.” She muttered, her voice muffled.

“I thought you’d want to, or are you staying like this because you want what you’re feeling inside-“

Chiara immediately stood up, not giving Dante the chance to finish his statement. She couldn’t understand how he could shamelessly flirt with her in front of his friends and how he had let them walk on him without yelling or anything of the sort. Her gaze was fixed on the marble floors, still too embarrassed to even look at his friends.

“Sit, we’re still having breakfast,” Dante said, his voice tinged with amusement.

Chiara wasted no time in shaking her head. She wasn’t about to have breakfast with the same people who had just seen what Dante and her had been doing.

Dante only chuckled at her reaction, tapping the chair next to him. “C’mon, you missed dinner last night, didn’t you?” he asked, his voice compassionate but his gaze holding a hidden threat.

Chiara reluctantly obeyed, trying to ignore the shiver that crept down her spine as she made her way to the chair where he had gestured to. She sat down, picking up her fork. She could feel Allegra glaring at her and raised her head, returning Allegra’s glare.

They both were still staring each other down when Chiara cut a piece of breakfast, moving it to her mouth with her fork. She cringed, reluctantly letting the flavour sink in. It was pancake – she hated pancakes, and it was Allegra’s fault she had eaten it without knowing.

Dante turned to Chiara, his gaze flicking between her uncomfortable pout and the pancakes in front of her. “You don’t like pancakes?” He asked, his voice tinged with concern and compassion.

She nodded, poking the food with her fork. “I don’t, but its fine. I’ll still eat it.”

Dante frowned, “You shouldn’t force yourself if you can’t eat it.”

Before she could object, Dante leaned closer to where she sat to remove her plate. Something about the way his muscles clenched under his shirt as he collected the plate in front of her.

“Well, this is a touching, romantic scene. What do you think, Allegra?” The other man asked, his curled up in a smirk.

Allegra scoffed, her gaze darting everywhere except to Chiara and Dante. “I don’t think so, its very cringe.” She said, her voice tinged with jealousy.

Dante only rolled his eyes, gesturing for the chef to come to them. The maid almost seemed hesitant but slowly approached the table.

Dante turned back to Chiara, smiling slightly. “Darling, what do you want to eat?”

Chiara’s breath hitched. She felt everyone’s eyes on her and she wanted to disappear. “J-just some waffles, please.” She muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

He nodded, turning to the chef. “You heard her, didn’t you?” He asked and the maid nodded, heading back to the open kitchen.

Chiara’s gaze flicked to the other man sitting across from Dante. He had black hair, light olive skin and a small black moustache under his nose. He was the only person she knew nothing about.

The man, seeming to notice her curious stare, looked up and flashed her a slight grin. “I’m Nico, Dante’s best friend.”

Dante rolled his eyes, looking at Chiara. “Ignore him. He’s stupid.”

To Nico’s surprise and amusement, Chiara only nodded. His eyes roamed Chiara’s face, his smirk widening. “You’re lucky you’re hot, otherwise… I would have had to punish you.”

Chiara looked down, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

Dante, sensing this, placed a familiar device in front of her. It was her smartphone. “Your sister said you forgot it,” Dante muttered, watching Chiara’s reaction intently.

Chiara smiled, excitedly picking up her phone. “Th-thank you so much!” She squealed, opening it.

Dante stared at her screen watching her as she scrolled through her apps. She finally settled for a reading app and he raised a brow, knowing she couldn’t see him. “I’m guessing you’re a fan of reading.”

She looked at him, nodding quietly. “Yeah, I like reading.” She mumbled awkwardly, immediately returning her gaze back to her screen.

Dante pouted. It seemed returning her phone was a bad idea.

Allegra and Nico laughed at his childish reaction, Nico more amused than Allegra. “Jealous that your pet loves her books more than you,” Nico asked, his voice tinged with amusement and mockery.

Dante raised his middle finger at him, his irritation tipping over. “I swear, someone’s gonna do the same to you one of these days.” He said, his voice sounding annoyed.

Nico’s eyes darkened slightly, his gaze flicking to Chiara. “So, Allegra told me your girl was actually one of Luka’s princesses.” He said, in a hushed and cautious tone.

“Of course she did.” Dante said in a bored tone, hoping they would change the topic.

“You do know what that would mean for us if he were to find out, right?” Nico pressed, his voice rising slightly.

“Of course he does, but it doesn’t seem like he cares.” Allegra muttered, her gaze fixed on her painted nails.

Dante sighed, turning to Chiara who was now looking at them curiously. “Go to your room, I’ll have a maid give you your food there, okay?”

Chiara hesitantly nodded. She didn’t want to go yet, but she knew they would never include her. She got up, nervously walking away as she felt everyone’s gaze on her.

The room remained silent for a few moments. The tension very palpable and uncomfortable until Luka spoke. “Do you really know the implications of having Chiara here?! She’s not just one of his granddaughters and his first one at that?!”

Dante groaned, rubbing his temples to sooth his incoming headache. “I know the consequences and I have my reasons for what I’m doing. You all should mind your business and let me do what I want, I’m still your leader.”

Allegra scoffed. “You don’t control me! I’m only here because my father asked me to go in his place. I have issues with what you’re doing and I’m going to fucking talk about it because I don’t need anybody hunting me or my family just because of you and your slut-“

“She’s not a slut!” Dante yelled, silencing Allegra. He sighed, tiredly running his hand through his hair. “Look, I understand where you’re coming from and I don’t blame you. I just need you guys to trust me okay?”

Nico sighed, leaning back in his seat. “I’ll try, but if anything happens to my baby sister, I’m going to kill you.” He said jokingly, his smirk returning.

Dante rolled his eyes at him for the umpteenth time, final relaxing in his chair. “Don’t you mean, you’ll ask me to let you kill me?” He asked, his voiced tinged with mockery.

“I’ve been training you know? I’m pretty sure I could kill you if I tried.”

Dante raised a brow, chuckling at Nico’s statement. “Trust me, if you had the chance to kill me, you probably would have done it already…” His voice trailed off, his gaze lingering on Allegra’s worried face.

“Allegra, you’re worried,” Dante muttered, his voice tinged with concern.

“How could I not? You want me to follow and trust you blindly but I can’t, not when my family could be at risk.” Allegra mumbled, struggling not to cry. Though she seemed selfish and shallow, Allegra valued her family more than herself – she was alike with Chiara in that way.

Dante furrowed his brows, his confusion overwhelming him. “Is there any way to convince you?” He asked, trying his best to make a compromise.

Allegra pursed her lips, finally letting out a resigned sigh. “Just promise you’ll at least try your best to ensure my family’s protection.”

Dante smiled at her expected response. “I promise.”