4. Isabella
4
ISABELLA
“ I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!” I scream through the locked door.
There’s a nice little dent in it now from where I was punching it earlier. My hands, now bruised and bloodied, had given up before I could get all the way through, but I get a little bit of satisfaction that Teo will have to pay for the repairs.
“LET ME OUT OF HERE!”
Of all the prisons I expected to find myself in, a premium hotel suite is by far one of the least offensive. It’s pristine—or at least it was before I got here—and covered in all the garnishes of opulence. And he was right; the hotel has Netflix .
That doesn’t make it any less of a prison, though.
“I know your name, Dante. You’ll be the first one my brother skins alive,” I threaten once more.
To his credit, the quieter man hasn’t broken once, not in the three hours I’ve been held here. Not when he undoubtedly heard me smashing the desk lamp on the floor, nor when I nearly broke my own hands on the door.
I slam the wood once more before backing away.
I go back to the window, where I’ve been crafting a sheet rope for the last hour and a half. I keep stopping every ten minutes to make some kind of racket so they think I’m not plotting anything.
The room is on the thirteenth floor. I triple-counted while leaning out of the window over the dizzying heights of Brooklyn below. Between the bed sheets, towels, and the spare linens in the closet, I think I can make it down at least four stories.
Which obviously doesn’t get me all the way to the bottom. But it does reach the open window a few floors below.
Chances are, there’s another wedding guest in there. But at least their door won’t be locked and guarded. I hope
I just need to find a solution to my current conundrum: what can I tie the top of the sheet rope to?
The bedframe seemed like the most sensible option, but it scrapes across the floor whenever I put any weight on it. My current idea is to tie it to the brass doorknob because, despite my best efforts, that door hasn’t moved an inch yet.
But I need extra length to get the rope through the entirety of the room, which is why I’m currently rifling through Teo’s suitcase.
I try not to pry too much, but it’s hard for me not to judge the contents. The man has more laptops than he does pairs of boxer briefs, and the only item of clothing that doesn’t seem to have been purchased from T.J.Maxx is a pristine Rolex hidden at the bottom.
None of which help me with the sheet-rope conundrum.
With a sigh, I snatch up a couple of hoodies and get to work. It’s not ideal, but it holds and stretches far enough to reach the open window below.
I give the knot around the doorknob one last experimental tug before I make my way back over to the window.
The drop isn’t any less terrifying, but it’s not like I have any other choice.
I secure the rope around my waist and slowly climb up onto the sill, testing the hold as I lean my body weight further and further out the window.
This will work. This will work. It has to work.
Suddenly, the rope goes slack.
My arms flail, reaching for something, anything to hold on to. My fingers graze the side of the window frame, just millimeters away from finding their grip. But nothing is stopping me from falling forward anymore.
That terrifying drop looms before me. Wind whistles in my ears. My heart rises to my throat as I begin to plunge down, down, down.
The rope suddenly tightens around my waist, slamming me into the side of the building.
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?”
A voice cries out from above, barely audible over the barrage of wind in my ears. Over the blood thumping through my brain.
Then, agonizingly slowly, someone hoists me up. Inch by inch, I return to the open window on the thirteenth floor.
Teo’s bare arms pool the sheet rope on the ground as I shakily climb back through the window into the safety of the hotel suite.
“Are you insane?” his voice is breathless as he looks at me.
I all but fly into his arms, my knees immediately buckling as soon as they hit solid ground. I’d fall to the floor if his arms weren’t there to catch me.
“I think so,” I gasp as I steady myself. Fuck. That was too close.
“We’re on the thirteenth goddamn floor!”
I look up at him then, straight into the panic of his endlessly dark eyes, noting the twist of concern on his mouth, the sweat of his rescue effort evident on his brow. This is a man who was so close to losing his greatest asset, he was willing to do anything to secure its safety.
“In my defense,” I reply, sounding more confident than I feel, considering I almost fell to my death. “It would have worked if you hadn’t opened the door.”
“And if it had, you’d have fallen the other hundred feet just fine?”
My mouth clamps shut at that. No need to let him know the truth, just in case the opportunity to escape arises again.
Instead, I take a moment to school my breathing. Closing my eyes as I inhale and exhale, I try to ignore the scent of soothing sandalwood as my heart returns to a semi-regular pace.
His tux jacket is open and loose; his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, and the pin in his lapel hangs onto a single white rose by a thread.
Teo’s hands tighten around my arms. “Are you all right?”
“Remind me why you care?”
“I just saved your life.”
“You just ruined my escape.”
He suddenly steps away, and I try not to stumble forward. Annoyance and anger riddle his expression as he turns back to the door. He sticks his head out, no doubt to inform Dante or whoever is stationed out there what just happened.
I eye him cautiously as he does, weighing my options.
Plan A didn’t work. Now, I will be stuck with Teo until my brother does something stupid like show up and barter me for information on my mother.
This, obviously, can’t happen. So. What are my options?
“He’s just a man. Placate him,” a voice that sounds suspiciously like my mother's whispers through me. “Let him underestimate you.”
I swallow hard. Teo Vitale may hold all the cards, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.
When Teo returns, fresh tears are falling out of my eyes.
If I had a camera, I would take a picture of his shocked expression and frame it. Possibly give it to Ida as a souvenir of my exploits here today.
“What are— are you…?” je splutters over his words.
I quickly cover my eyes in an attempt to look bashful. “I-I-I’m sorry. That was just…I was so scared and…and…and…”
He staggers forward a few steps. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.”
“I’ve never been so…so…so…scared!” I fling myself into his arms and bury my face in his neck.
His hands slowly, hesitantly fall onto my hips.
Someone give me a motherfucking Oscar.
“It’s okay,” he breathes in my ear.
A hand reaches up to stroke the back of my hair. I tell myself it's a part of the act when I lean into the caress.
“Come on, why don’t you lie down?” Teo whispers softly.
I nod into the crook of his neck and allow him to guide me over to the bed. There are no sheets, but Teo pulls up the comforter anyway.
“That was so stupid,” I say as I take a seat, tucking my legs under myself so that I can lie down flat.
“At least we can agree on something.” Teo almost smiles. It’s almost sweet how he tucks the comforter around me and brushes the hair out of my eyes.
“Thank you for saving me.”
Teo does smile, then. “I might be a don, but I’m not a monster.”
“You’re my hero.”
He looks away bashfully. Got him.
“No, really,” I continue, allowing my tears to stop entirely. “I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you. I owe you my life. I owe you, well…anything really.”
This gets his attention. Onyx eyes meet mine, a simmering hunger lying just below the surface. “Anything?”
I lick my lips, and those hungry eyes follow the movement. “Mmhm.”
He doesn’t need more encouragement than that. He leans in slowly as if to test if I’m sure. And then…
And then…
And…
Oh.
His lips touch mine, and something inside me feels like it’s been cleaved in half. My mind goes entirely blank as a bolt of sheer electricity ignites my entire being. There is nothing else in this moment except him and his lips and the fact his lips aren’t moving at all…
So I do it for him, devouring his mouth, greedy for more of this feeling. Sparks fly across my skin as he responds just as eagerly, his tongue dipping into my mouth with expert authority. Nothing has felt this good, ever. In the history of anything and…
What was I doing? What did I want? What am I doing?
Click.
We both freeze.
Teo smiles against my lips. “Nice try.”
He pulls away, revealing the handcuffs, now restraining me to the bedpost.
I blink at him several times, frantically trying to remember why we shouldn’t be kissing right now.
“You think your little crybaby act had me fooled?”
Okay, but forget about that; that kiss was…was…
“Honestly, if I was offended that you thought throwing yourself out the window was a better alternative to my company, it has nothing on how insulted I am that you think I’d be stupid enough to fall for your little tricks.”
Teo is talking and talking and talking. But his lips aren’t moving against mine anymore.
“You’re going to stay on that bed until your brother arrives. I’ll be watching you all night from the couch, so don’t even think about–”
“I’m sorry, but what the actual fuck?”
It’s Teo’s turn to blink at me.
“You kissed me,” I elaborate, needlessly. Because why isn’t he thinking about it?
He frowns. “I was under the impression that’s what you were trying to get me to do. Was I wrong?”
“No, but–”
“Then why are you looking at me like that?”
I open my mouth and then close it again. “You.”
“What?”
“You kissed me.”
“I did.”
“How are you not…”
Understanding dawns in his eyes. “I’m not falling for this again, Isabella.”
“I’m being serious this time,” I counter, the handcuff digging into my wrist as I try to reach him. “Did you not feel that?”
He stands up, looming over me. “Feel what?”
“Do it again,” I demand.
A hand reaches down for me, and suddenly, I’m being pressed into the bed. Teo’s calloused fingers enclose around my neck, his breath mingling with mine as he glares at me. My heart almost leaps out of my chest.
“Let me make one thing very clear. You are my prisoner. You will be my prisoner until your brother gives me what I want. I will not play these games with you.”
Every word vibrates between us enticingly.
“Sounds like you’re scared,” I whisper, tilting my head up so he can better grip my neck. “You felt it too, don’t lie to me.”
“I felt nothing.”
“Then prove it.”
Whatever semblance of self-restraint holding him back seems to snap at my words. He closes the inches between us instantly. Crashing his mouth against mine in the most delicious way…
Yes.
Yes, yes, yes.
He’s hovering over me, tantalizingly close and yet too far. My free arm wraps around his neck, hoping to drag him closer.
He chuckles against my lips, holding firm. “You’re very eager to disgrace your family name.”
In response, I hook both legs around his waist. The sudden weight has him falling on top of me, a wall of solid muscle, and…yes, a hardening cock pushes into me.
I twist him over in a heartbeat. One arm still strung to the bed frame, I straddle him, pressing myself into that hardness with reckless abandon.
“As it seems, are you,” I purr right back, my free hand pinching his cheeks together. I bite at his puckered bottom lip and draw out a feral groan from him.
His hips suddenly buck up, catching me off guard. Stars close over my vision as the force of him against my throbbing core threatens to wreck me entirely.
The next thing I know, he’s on top of me again, breathless in our fight for dominance.
He stares down at me hungrily. His eyes snag on the fallen strap of my dress, low enough now to show off the side of my breast
“I’d take it off for you,” I smirk. “But someone handcuffed me to the bed.”
He shoots me a frustrated look. It’s the only warning I get before the sound of tearing fabric reaches my ears.
The sting of having my clothes ripped from me doesn’t register at all when the sight of Teo mouthing down my naked torso overwhelms my every sense.
“You can seduce me all you want. You’re not leaving this bed,” he says, his head getting lower and lower.
“Is that a promise?” I breathe.
Fingers pull down at my thong. His tongue follows behind every touch. It’s the perfect kind of agony, wrapped in longing and lust.
He doesn’t play with me. He just takes his devilish tongue and licks up my juices with one long, almost lazy sweep. My thighs tighten around his head in retaliation.
“You’ll be begging me to let you go by the time I’m done,” he murmurs against my inner thigh. Before biting down. Hard.
“Fuck!” I gasp. But he doesn’t let go. He brands me there, and I thrash against him in agony and joy.
His hands hold me still. “Just remember, you started this.”
Then Teo Vitale buries his tongue inside of me.
I don’t know how long I last, gasping for breath at every lash of his cruel tongue, Riding shamelessly after my own pleasure as my free hand buries itself in his hair, holding him there.
The sound I make when his fingers pry me open is inhuman. I beg, cry, and scream for more, so much more as he brings me to the very precipice of my own desires.
That’s when I pull on his hair hard,ragging him up to my lips so that he can taste my orgasm for himself. So he can see exactly what he’s done to me.
But instead of capturing my lips, he assaults my neck, biting it like he did my inner thigh. The pleasure of that pain is the thing that pushes me over the very edge.
He pulls back as I do, watching me with a morbid kind of fascination as wetness pools onto his hands. He slows the near-vibrating beat of his strokes.
When I come to, he smirks in cruel satisfaction. “Do me a favor and let your brother see what I’ve done to your neck.”
I smile back, still riding the waves of my euphoria. I reach up, carding my hands through his hair, bringing him closer.
Then headbutt him in the nose.
“Jesus!”
He jerks back, clutching his now bleeding nose. He doesn’t notice the rose that’s just fallen from his lapel.
“You left your mark. I left mine,” I reply innocently enough. My free hand is fisting the pin that now curls within the boutonnierre.
Teo glowers. It’s almost funny how little difference there is between his anger and his lust.
“I’m sleeping on the couch,” he reiterates firmly before storming away to the bathroom.
“What, you don’t want to go for round two?” I call after him, earning me a slammed door.
I allow myself a minute. One full minute to process what the hell just happened before turning on my side to feign sleep.
Where I count every single second until Teo returns and falls asleep on the couch.
I’m brutally ignoring the fact that I might have just made the biggest mistake of my life.