Chapter 7 #3
When I feel my heart softening, a sudden jolt of panic snaps through me. I yank my hand away from his bare chest and clear my throat. I force myself to look away from his gaze, concentrating entirely on finishing the last few stitches.
When I finally tie off the medical thread and snip it, Alessandro tests the arm, flexing his fingers with a smile. He stands up, shrugs back into his blood-soaked shirt and jacket. I watch him closely, wondering if he’s finally about to leave through the same door he used to invade my sanctuary.
“What happened to you tonight?” I ask, the question slipping out before I can stop it. "Who did that?"
Alessandro doesn't give a straight answer, his expression instantly closing off into an unreadable mask. Instead, he turns his sharp grey eyes on me, shifting the ground beneath my feet. "The gathering at Belvedere Manor this weekend. Are the Carusos invited?"
I blink, thrown off by the sudden pivot. "Yes. We got an invitation."
"Are you going?"
"No," I reply, shaking my head. "We aren't. My father already decided we're staying back because it’s Rosalia's husband's birthday that evening. We have family obligations."
Alessandro steps closer, the shadows of the room wrapping around his large frame. "I need to get inside that manor, Sienna. And I need the Caruso name to do it."
I let out a cold, dry laugh. "That sounds like a personal problem. It's definitely not my problem."
"Make it your problem," he rumbles, his voice dropping into a low, predatory threat.
"Because if you help me get through those doors undetected, I promise to make your life a hell of a lot easier once we’re wed.
If you don't? Well... you’re in for a world of misery less than two weeks from now when you bear my name. I will make sure of it."
I glare at him, my blood boiling at the blatant blackmail. "If you're so desperate, why don't you just ask my father for the invitation? We're getting married. If you tell him it's family business, he would let you use the Caruso backing willingly, whether I want to go or not."
Alessandro sneers, a flash of pure disgust crossing his features. "I don't want anyone to know what I'm up to at Belvedere. Least of all a man I dislike as thoroughly as your father. This stays between us."
I stare at him, weighing the dangerous edge in his eyes against the terrifying promise of what my life will look like in two weeks if I defy him. He has me trapped, and he knows it.
"Fine," I snap, my jaw tight. "I'll go with you. I'll sneak out of the estate and we'll use the Caruso name to get you through the gates."
A slow, wicked smile stretches across his face, and just like that, the heavy, suffocating sexual tension snaps right back into place. His eyes slowly drop from my face, landing directly on my chest.
"Good girl," he murmurs, his gaze lingering on the thin fabric of my nightgown. "And, by the way, I see you're still happy to see me. Your nipples are practically begging through the silk."
Before I can curse at him, he closes the distance between us. His good arm snakes around my waist, yanking me flush against his hard body as his mouth crashes down onto mine.
The kiss is deep, dominating, and absolute, but he keeps total control of the moment, refusing to let me lose myself completely in the heat.
He pulls back just an inch, his breath hot against my lips, and reaches down to pick up the plastic vibrator still vibrating on the edge of the mattress. He forces the handle into my hand.
“Since you wanted to touch yourself to my words so badly earlier," he whispers, his grey eyes burning into mine as he steps back, completely removing his body from mine. "Do it now. Let me watch."
"No," I gasp, my face burning with fresh mortification. "Alessandro, stop—"
"Do it, Sienna. Or the deal is off, and I revert right back to making your life a living hell." He folds his arms, leaning back against the wall with a detached, agonizingly cruel patience. He isn't going to lay a single finger on me.
My hands shake, my body entirely betraying my mind as the heavy warmth between my legs demands release.
Under his unblinking, dominant gaze, I am forced to lift the hem of my gown.
Tears of frustration and raw desire prick the corners of my eyes as I press the vibrating plastic against my aching clit.
Alessandro watches every single movement, his jaw clenched, his breathing heavy but his body entirely still. The sheer indecency of his gaze accelerates everything, sending sharp, violent waves of pleasure straight up my spine.
Within moments, my knees buckle. A loud, broken moan tears from my throat as a shattering climax crashes over me, leaving me trembling and sagging against the bedpost.
I open my eyes, panting, completely undone and stripped of my pride.
Alessandro doesn't say a word. He merely gives me one last, lingering look, turns on his heel, and slips silently out through the patio doors into the midnight fog.
I collapse onto the bed, staring at the empty glass doors, shaken, angry, and utterly unable to pretend any longer that the monster doesn't completely possess me.