Dante's POV.The lights were low, has shadows across the room, turning every curve, every movement, into something primal. The air was thick with the scent of perfume and sweat, a blend of desperation and desire. Around me, my men were lost in pleasure, tangled in limbs, mouths locked in passion, oblivious to the world. Women spread themselves over them, a mess of silk, skin, and sin. They were exactly where they wanted to be, and yet, I stood there, fully dressed, in the middle of an orgy.A brunette with a sharp jawline slid up to me, pressing her bare body against my side. Her hands trailed down my chest, teasing, challenging. “Dante,” she whispered, lips brushing against my ear. “Don’t you want to play?”I stared ahead, ignoring her, my jaw clenched. She pulled back, her eyes searching mine with a small pout, clearly not used to being dismissed. I saw the confusion flash across her face before she turned away, off to find someone who would appreciate her offer. Around me, women vi
Elena's POV I was deep in a dream, laughing with my older brother, Marcus, as we threw rocks into the lake. He looked so real, his face full of joy like when we were kids, and I felt... safe. Then, a sharp knock pulled me from that warmth. My eyes shot open, heart pounding, and I realized the laughter, the lake…all of it was just a dream. The knock came again, louder, more insistent. "Miss Elena?" A soft voice came from the other side of the door. I sat up, blinking, still a bit dazed. No one ever called me “Miss” here. It didn’t feel like an endearment; it felt... unsettling. “Who is it?” I managed, my voice harsh and wary. The door creaked open, and two young women slipped inside. They looked like servants, dressed in crisp uniforms, faces calm but unreadable. “We’ve come to assist you, Miss Elena,” the first one said with a slight bow. “On the master’s orders.” The master’s orders? I stiffened, feeling the pit of unease grow in my stomach. Why would Dante send maids
Dante's POV. The early morning sun filtered through the blinds, had lines of light across my office. I sat behind the heavy mahogany desk, fingers drumming, lost in thoughts that no amount of coffee could shake loose. Beside me stood Enzo, my most trusted man. He waited, arms crossed, his face impassive as always. But there was something different in his gaze…something that told me he had news, and that I probably wouldn’t like it. He cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “Boss, we’ve got a situation,” he started, keeping his tone as neutral as possible. “Angelo’s back in town.” The name hit me like a shot, my fingers stilling on the desk. Angelo. Once, he’d been more than just an ally; he’d been a brother. We built this empire together, clawed our way up through blood, grit, and back-alley deals. But that all ended the night he betrayed me, the night he thought he could take everything I’d built and call it his own. “Where is he?” I asked, my voice cold and sharp, laced with a
Elena's POV.I was escorted, my wrists still sore from the earlier restraints, into another part of the mansion. The air felt thick, a strange chill wrapping around me, and my heart pounded, not just from fear, but from frustration. The maids had done their job well, dressing me up in that ridiculous dress, twisting my hair and slathering on makeup. The last thing I needed was to look like some doll on display, but it seemed that was exactly what Dante had in mind.The heavy doors slammed shut behind me as I stepped into the room. The atmosphere was... different. There was a haze of smoke, the kind you’d find in some nightclub. It moved, swirling around, thick and suffocating. And then, like the scene from some twisted fantasy, sultry music began to play. The beat was slow, deliberate, as if it was meant to seduce and control. I hated it. Every second of it.The smoke parted slowly, like curtains drawing back to reveal a performance I hadn’t asked for, and there he was.Dante.He was
Elena's POV The words were coarse, brutal, leaving no room for misunderstanding. I could feel the heat of his breath against my skin, his hand coming up to brush my cheek with a strange, almost mocking gentleness. His fingers lingered, trailing down my face, as if savoring the defiance that tightened my jaw and the fury in my glare.Every instinct in me screamed to back away, to run. But there was nowhere to go, no chance of escape. I forced myself to stand my ground, heart pounding as he stared at me down, his intentions clear, his gaze dark and firm.The moment his fingers reached for the neckline of my dress, I felt rage surge through me…hot and fierce. This was my last straw. I couldn’t stand here, a mere object for him to discard when he’d had his fill. I didn’t think; I just acted. My hand flew up, smacking him hard across the cheek.He went absolutely still.“That’s right, Dante!” I shouted, my voice shaking with anger. “You don’t own me. I am not here for your entertainment!”
Dante's POV.I watched her walk away, that small, defiant firebrand of a girl, clutching her torn dress like it was her shield. My cheek still stung from her slap, the sting sharper than any knife wound I’d taken. I raised a hand to touch where she’d hit me, half-expecting to feel blood, though that would have been less humiliating. A slap from a petite, twenty-one-year-old woman. Me, Dante Moretti, one of the most feared men in this damned city, slapped by a woman who should have been too scared to breathe in my presence.I couldn't wrap my mind around it. None of my men would dare raise a hand to me. Hell, even my so-called friends know better than to cross me like that. And here she was…Elena. Thrown into my life by her bastard brother, who’d all but served her up on a silver platter. And somehow, in the days she’d been here, she’d managed to set something loose in me that I hadn’t felt in years. It wasn’t just lust. No, that would’ve been easier to control. She’d gotten under my s
Elena's POV.I sat at the edge of the bed, clutching my knees to my chest as the room spun in dizzying circles. The air felt heavy, thick with the smell of my own fear. My heart hammered in my chest, an endless drumbeat that never seemed to stop. I knew Dante would storm in at any moment. I could feel his presence hovering like a shadow over me, suffocating me with each breath I took.I’d expected it…him barging in, furious, and probably ending me right then and there. The slap. The defiance. He wouldn’t let it go. It was a matter of pride for him. A dangerous man, one who had made a reputation for destroying everything in his path. And I had dared to defy him.But nothing happened. Hours had passed. Time stretched on, thick and oppressive, and yet no footsteps came to my door. No shout, no knock, no angry command. I couldn’t stop myself from waiting, though. Waiting for the sound of his boots against the floor, the door slamming open, his cold, venomous eyes locking onto mine.But th
Elena's POV.The night seemed to stretch on endlessly, each hour blending into the next, and I sat alone in my room, the silence pressing in on me heavily. I couldn’t escape the unease that tugged at me, the constant uncertainty of what Dante might do next. I had no control over my fate, no idea what his next move would be. And that was the most terrifying part…his unpredictability.I wasn’t sure how long I had been sitting there, mind racing with questions I couldn’t answer, when the door to my room creaked open. My heart leapt in my chest, fear coursing through me. But when I looked up, it wasn’t Dante who stood in the doorway.It was two of his men, their eyes cold and unreadable as they stepped aside, allowing another figure to enter the room. This time, it wasn’t some casual delivery or a routine check. There was something different about the way they moved, the way the air seemed to thicken around them.The man in front of them was holding something large and wrapped in black c
Elena's POV. The storage room was chaos. Dante was a force of nature, firing with a precision that left no room for mistakes. I crouched low behind the crates, clutching my knees to my chest, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps. Every loud crack of gunfire made me flinch, but I couldn’t look away from him. He moved like he’d done this a thousand times, but the tension in his jaw told me he wasn’t invincible. Not here. Not now. And definitely not alone. “Dante!” I shouted over the noise. My voice cracked, but I didn’t care. He didn’t even glance my way, his focus locked on the men flooding the room. “We’re not getting out of this unless you run!” he yelled back, his voice harsh but layered with something I couldn’t name. Desperation, maybe. Or fear. Fear for me. I shook my head, crawling toward him despite his protests. “I’m not leaving you!” “You don’t get it!” he snarled, firing another shot. “This isn’t a negotiation, Elena!” But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Something about
Elena's POV.The storage room was chaos. Dante was a force of nature, firing with a precision that left no room for mistakes. I crouched low behind the crates, clutching my knees to my chest, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps. Every loud crack of gunfire made me flinch, but I couldn’t look away from him. He moved like he’d done this a thousand times, but the tension in his jaw told me he wasn’t invincible. Not here. Not now.And definitely not alone.“Dante!” I shouted over the noise. My voice cracked, but I didn’t care. He didn’t even glance my way, his focus locked on the men flooding the room.“We’re not getting out of this unless you run!” he yelled back, his voice harsh but layered with something I couldn’t name. Desperation, maybe. Or fear. Fear for me.I shook my head, crawling toward him despite his protests. “I’m not leaving you!”“You don’t get it!” he snarled, firing another shot. “This isn’t a negotiation, Elena!”But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Something about the wa
Dante's POV. My heart pounded, not from fear of the bullets…I’d faced them too many times to count, but because I had her to think about now. “Stay close!” I barked, glancing back. Her face was pale, her wide eyes darting around the scene as if trying to process the madness unfolding around us. “What’s happening, Dante?” Her voice trembled, but there was a sharp edge of demand in it. “Not now,” I said tersely, yanking her to the side as a bullet whizzed past us, close enough that I felt its heat. My instincts screamed for action, but I shoved them down, focusing on finding cover. The park, once serene, was now a battlefield. Families abandoned picnic blankets, couples screamed as they dove for safety, and children clung to their parents, wailing. Angelo’s men were swarming, their black suits standing out among the fleeing civilians. “Over here!” I spotted an old maintenance building up ahead, its chipped walls offering some semblance of shelter. I pulled Elena toward it, weaving
Dante's POV. The park was quiet but alive, the early morning crowd just starting to pick up. Elena walked beside me, her hands clasped loosely in front of her, her eyes wandering over the greenery and the clusters of people gathered on benches. It wasn’t often I had the time to do something as mundane as this…walking in the open, pretending for a moment that I wasn’t a man with a target on my back. But Elena had wanted to go, and I found myself indulging her far more than I ever thought I would. “I’ll be back,” I told her as my phone buzzed in my pocket. The call was unavoidable; Luca wouldn’t have interrupted unless it was urgent. “Stay close.” She nodded absentmindedly, already distracted by a group of children chasing each other near the fountain. I stepped away, still keeping her within my sight as I answered the call. “Yes?” I barked into the phone, my voice low. “Dante, we’ve got movement on the docks. We think Angelo’s men are…” “I don’t care what you think. Get confirma
Dante's POV. Elena was pulling away, and it was my fault. I noticed it the next morning, the way she barely looked at me when we passed each other in the hall. She was still polite, still offered a soft “good morning,” but her voice lacked that fire I’d come to expect from her. At first, I told myself it was better this way. She needed to understand that my world wasn’t for her. That getting too close to me would only drag her into the darkness I lived with every day. But as the days passed, her silence started to weigh on me. She didn’t argue with me anymore, didn’t throw those sharp-witted comments my way like she used to. She ate dinner at the far end of the table instead of sitting near me. She stopped wandering into my office to challenge me with her questions or to steal glances when she thought I wasn’t paying attention. She was still here, but she felt so far away, and it was driving me insane. One afternoon, I caught her in the library. She was curled up on the couch, a
Elena's POV.The following morning, the air inside the mansion felt heavier than usual. Maybe it was just me…or maybe it was the way Dante’s men whispered around me like I was some forbidden creature. I wasn’t in the mood to decipher their behavior. My mind was still a tangled mess from everything that had happened yesterday. Marcus, Dante, the way he held me together when I thought I might shatter into a million pieces.But today, something else drew my attention.I was exploring the mansion again, not because I was trying to escape this time but because curiosity had sunk its claws into me. Dante’s world was terrifying, yes, but it was also intoxicating. The massiveness, the secrets hidden behind every closed door, the dangerous man who made me feel more alive than I’d ever been before…it all kept pulling me in deeper.That’s when I found it: a door at the end of the west wing, slightly ajar but still shadowed, almost like it wanted to hide in plain sight.I didn’t hear any of the g
Elena's POVThe car ride was silent after I’d cried myself dry, and Dante had handed me his handkerchief. It wasn’t much, but it was something. I could feel his eyes on me the entire time, gauging me, trying to figure me out in that maddening, calculating way of his.When the car came to a stop in front of his villa, I stepped out, letting the cool night air brush against my tear-streaked face. The villa was ahead grand and firm, much like the man standing behind me.Dante followed silently, his presence heavy, commanding. I wasn’t sure what to say to him after everything. My emotions were a mess…grief, betrayal, and confusion tangling into one…but if there was one thing I was sure of, it was that I didn’t hate anything about him. Not anymore.If anything, I liked that he was with me. I liked that he stayed even when I was at my lowest. The thought scared me, but I couldn’t deny it anymore.“I want to walk,” I said, my voice was a little bit too low for my own good.But he heard me an
Dante’s POVThe car was quiet, save for the muffled sound of Elena’s sniffles beside me. She sat in the back seat, arms crossed tightly around herself, her face turned away toward the window. Even from where I sat, I could see her shoulders trembling, her head bowed. She was crying, trying hard to hide it, but failing miserably.Damn Marcus. That idiot of a brother. The mere thought of him made my jaw clench. I couldn’t believe she’d been forced to share blood with a man so vile, so weak. The anger burned in me like an old wound reopening, but when I looked at her, it dulled into something I couldn’t quite name. She didn’t deserve this. Not the betrayal, not the pain, and definitely not him.I shifted uncomfortably, my hands resting on my thighs. What the hell was I supposed to do? Comforting someone wasn’t exactly my forte. I’d spent years building walls, mastering silence, and commanding fear, not soothing broken hearts. And yet, watching her cry made something twist in my chest. It
Elena's POV.I never thought I’d end up here…falling for a man who had stolen me from my life, a man so dangerous the mere mention of his name sent shivers down the spine of anyone who knew him. But here I was. Stuck. There was no going back now. And the worst part? I didn’t even want to.Dante had taken me shopping today. It wasn’t a casual outing…nothing with him ever was. The moment we stepped out of his sleek black car, his men swarmed the street like shadows, keeping their eyes on everything that moved. Their presence should’ve made me feel trapped, but all I could focus on was him. Dante walked beside me, his hand firmly resting on my lower back, guiding me like he owned me.And maybe he did.“Pick anything you like,” he said, his voice low and commanding. He didn’t even glance at the price tags. Dante wasn’t the type to care about things like that.I tried to remind myself of who I was before all this…a woman who would’ve been upset at his possessiveness, yelled at him for dari