Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Eleonora
I didn’t think it was possible to be this aroused and furious at the same time.
After Nico led me out of his closet and back into my bedroom, my luxurious prison, I’ve been a mess.
My body is still buzzing, skin hypersensitive everywhere he touched me. My ass still throbs from that sharp smack, a constant reminder that makes heat pool low in my belly every time I shift.
I took a long, cold shower hoping it would calm me down. It didn’t. If anything, it made it worse. The second my hand slid between my legs, all I could picture was him, his big hands, his low voice in my ear, the way he smacked my ass.
I’ve read about this in romance novels, the spanking, the dominance, the pain that somehow turns into pleasure. I always rolled my eyes at those scenes, thinking it was ridiculous. No way someone could actually enjoy that.
Yet here I am, aching because Nico Lombardi spanked me like I was his to discipline… and I liked it. I wanted him to do it again. Harder.
I want his hands on me. His breath on my neck. His teeth on my earlobe.
God, I’m losing my mind.
I yanked my hand away like I’d been burned, pissed off at myself more than at him.
I step out of the shower, dry off quickly, and throw on a pair of soft black shorts and a simple sleeveless top.
I notice that more clothes have appeared in the closet while I was locked in Nico’s bedroom, more comfortable pieces.
There were even tubes of ointment for my raw wrists. How generous of my captor.
I twist my damp hair into a messy bun and head for the bedroom door, half expecting it to be locked, like always.
It isn’t.
I pause for a second, surprised, then step out into the hallway and find Daniel standing right outside my bedroom door like a silent sentinel.
“I’m starving,” I tell him. “Can I get something to eat?”
He gives a short nod and starts walking without a word. I fall in step beside him, glancing at his face. The black eye and swollen, broken nose I noticed this morning are even more obvious now in the daylight.
When I asked him about it earlier, he just grumbled something. I know it’s because of me, because I slipped away to the basement yesterday. I apologized to him right after, but he brushed it off with a tight smile, saying it had nothing to do with me.
I know he was lying.
As we head down the stairs, I ask, “How’s your nose?”
“It’s fine,” he grunts.
My bodyguard isn’t exactly friendly, but I’m not giving up. If I’m ever going to get out of here, I’m going to need his help. And to get that, I need to earn his trust.
We reach the kitchen. One of the younger maids is moving around, wiping down counters.
“Hi,” I say politely. “Could I get something to eat? A sandwich would be great.”
She smiles nervously. “Of course, Miss. I’ll make it for you.”
“I can make it myself—”
“No,” she says quickly, almost panicked. “Mr. Lombardi gave strict instructions. We’re not to let you do anything yourself.”
I grumble under my breath, “Of course he did.”
I sit at the breakfast nook by the window while she prepares a sandwich, turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato, on fresh bread. She adds a cold glass of lemonade beside it before quietly leaving the kitchen.
Now it’s just me and Daniel. He’s standing stiffly in the corner, eyes forward like a good soldier.
I pick up half the sandwich and look at him. “You can come sit with me, you know. You don’t have to just stand there like a statue.”
Daniel might be loyal to Nico, but he’s still human. If I keep being kind, keep showing him I’m not the enemy… maybe, just maybe, I can crack that wall.
Because right now, he might be my only real shot at getting out of here.
He gives a small shake of his head.
“Come on,” I try again, softer. “It’s just us. You can at least sit.”
“I’m fine standing, Miss.”
I sigh and I take a big bite of the sandwich and chew slowly, watching him.
“Suit yourself,” I mutter. “You don’t have to act all stiff with me, you know. You can loosen up a little.”
He doesn’t respond. Not even a twitch.
I try again anyway. “So… how long have you worked for Nico?”
Nothing.
“When did you start? Were you born into this life or did you choose it?”
Still nothing.
I ask a few more questions, about his family, if he has siblings, what he does for fun, but it’s like talking to a brick wall. Eventually I give up and eat the rest of my sandwich in silence, washing it down with the cold lemonade.
I turn my gaze to the large kitchen window. The view is stunning. Rolling green lawns stretch out under the afternoon sun, bordered by tall and perfectly trimmed hedges.
In the distance, I can see the thick forest that surrounds the estate like a natural wall. It looks peaceful. Almost beautiful. If I didn’t know it was all part of my prison, I might have appreciated it more.
When I finish eating, I look up at Daniel with my best pleading expression.
“Can I stay down here a little while longer? Please? I really don’t want to be locked in that room again. Maybe I could walk around the grounds? Just get some fresh air?”
Daniel’s face remains blank. “Unfortunately, I can’t allow that. I can’t take you outside the house without the boss’s approval.”
I give him my best puppy eyes. “Daniel…”
“I’m sorry, Miss. I can’t.”
I huff loudly and push my chair back. He accompanies me upstairs in silence, then locks me back inside my bedroom like clockwork.
I try to nap, but the second I close my eyes, all I see is Nico, his hands on my waist, the sharp sting of his palm on my ass, his breath against my ear. My body heats up all over again. I toss and turn for almost an hour before giving up.
I head out to the balcony instead.
The afternoon sun feels warm on my skin as I sink into one of the cushioned lounge chairs. A gentle breeze brushes over me, carrying the sweet scent of flowers from the garden below. I close my eyes for a moment and just breathe.
Looking down at the beautiful garden, I wonder who tends it. The flowers are so carefully arranged, so vibrant. Daniela would have loved this place. She always loved flowers.
When we were younger, she used to spend hours in our late mother’s garden, tending to the roses and lavender with care.
But Papa destroyed that too, just like he destroys everything we’ve ever loved.
One day he had the entire garden ripped out and paved over, then banned Daniela from any kind of gardening.
“Flowers are a waste of time,” he’d said. “You have more important things to do.”
He’s never cared about our happiness. Only about what benefits him.
I pull my knees tighter to my chest and stare down at the beautiful garden, but my mind drifts far away from the flowers.
Our life has always been so empty of love.
The only person who ever truly loved us was Mama.
She tried so hard to shield us, to give us whatever affection she had left after Papa drained her dry.
He broke her slowly, year after year, until she was just a hollow shell smiling for appearances.
She was miserable until the day she took her last breath.
And after she died, it was only me and my sisters against the world.
Papa has never seen us as daughters, only as leverage. He never failed to remind us how disappointed he was that he only had girls.
“I must have done something terrible in my past life to be cursed with five useless daughters,” he’d say.
He always told us we had to make ourselves useful. That’s why he’s been marrying us off like prized cattle. To strengthen his empire. He started with Rosalia, then was ready to hand Sienna over to Andrea Gallo without a second thought.
The reason he was marrying Sienna before me? Because I have a mouth on me. I’ve always questioned him, pushed back when the others stayed quiet. He hates it. He used to threaten me constantly and said one day he’d give me to a man who would “bring me to submission.”
I always believed him. I knew he’d punish me by marrying me off to one of the most brutal men in his circle, someone who would break me the way he broke Mama.
All my life, I’ve either been used as leverage or have been waiting to be used.
I used to dream about escaping it all, running away, disappearing, finding a life where I wasn’t someone’s bargaining chip. But deep down, I knew it was only a fantasy. Girls like me don’t get happy endings.
And now I’ve been captured by another dangerous man who’s using me as leverage once again. I should hate him. I should be plotting his death every waking second.
Instead, I’m sitting here thinking about his hands on my body. The way he grabbed me. The sharp sting of his palm on my ass. The heat of his breath against my ear. The way my body lit up like it had been waiting for him.
I press my forehead against my knees and let out a shaky breath. I need to get out of this place.
A sharp knock sounds on the bedroom door.
I stand up, heart jumping, and walk back into the bedroom. Daniel opens the door and steps inside.
“The boss has given permission for you to leave the house,” he says flatly. “You can move around the property.”
A rush of relief floods through me. “Thank God for small mercies, I guess.”
I follow him downstairs and out the front doors. I need to move and get my mind busy, before I drive myself crazy thinking about the man I should hate.
Because right now, the only thing I can think about is how much I want his hands back on my body… and how terrifying that is.
The moment the fresh air hits my skin, I feel like I can finally breathe again. I’d been slowly losing my mind being trapped inside.
We walk along the wide stone paths that wind through the estate. The grounds are even more beautiful up close. Manicured lawns, blooming rose bushes, tall oak trees casting long shadows in the late afternoon sun.
“You don’t talk much, do you?” I ask Daniel, glancing over my shoulder.
He doesn’t reply.
“Where’s Nico?” I try again.
“Training with some of the men.”
That catches my attention. “Training?”
Daniel nods once but offers nothing more.
We keep walking, and soon I hear the sound of grunting, fists hitting flesh, and low voices. We round a corner and the training area comes into view, an open, grass-covered courtyard surrounded by trees, with heavy punching bags and mats laid out.
And there he is.
Nico is shirtless in the middle of the ring, circling one of his men. His body is glistening with sweat, every muscle sharply defined under the sunlight. The dark tattoos across his chest and back seem to shift and move as he strikes.
Each punch lands with brutal precision. His abs flex, his shoulders roll, and the low-slung workout shorts hang dangerously on his hips.
I stop walking. I can’t look away.
He throws a combination, then grabs the man and flips him hard onto the mat.
The move is so smooth, so dominant, that heat flares low in my belly.
My thighs press together instinctively. I remember exactly how those hands felt on me, gripping my waist, spanking my ass, pressing against my throat.
I imagine them doing much worse… much better things.
His head snaps up, and his eyes lock directly onto mine across the courtyard. The intensity in that gaze hits me like a physical blow. My breath catches.
For a long, charged second, the entire world narrows to just us. His chest rises and falls heavily. Sweat drips down the deep grooves of his abs. He looks feral. Dangerous. And so fucking hot I can barely stand still.
He barks an order at his men without breaking eye contact with me. “Leave.”
Everyone scatters immediately, including Daniel, who gives me one last glance before disappearing.
Now it’s just the two of us.
Nico stands in the middle of the training ring, breathing hard, eyes burning into me like he wants to devour me whole.