10. Adalina
Chapter 10
Adalina
I hoist a heavy chair above my head, preparing to throw it through the bedroom window and secure my freedom. But just as I’m approaching the window, the door unexpectedly creaks open. “Oh, thank God,” I exhale in relief. The last thing I wanted to do was jump from the second-story window and break my leg.
“Were you going to throw that at the window?” Dante’s lips curve upwards, betraying a hint of amusement in his expression. His eyes are bright, and his eyebrows are raised. There’s a playful sparkle in his gaze as he takes in the sight of me holding the chair and preparing to throw it.
I set the chair down because it was already ungodly heavy, and there is no point in holding it now. “Something like that. It’s none of your business.”
As he leans casually against the door frame, I can’t help but feel a tug of desire towards him. His shirt clings to his toned physique, sending my heart racing. But I know better than to be drawn in by mere physical attraction. We come from different worlds, and our paths should never have crossed. “This is my house. Everything that happens here is my business.”
I run my finger along the soft, wood-polished arm of the chair I was about to use to break the window. The cool sensation warns me to hold my temper, but my father would tell you that I’m not a good listener. “Don’t you mean it’s your house and your wife’s?”
Dante snorts. “I don’t have a wife.”
Without saying a word, I look down at the dress I have on. “Then whose clothes am I wearing?”
“My sister’s. This is Lucia’s old room. But don’t worry about her. She’s a teacher in Topeka and rarely comes back home even though it’s only a forty-five-minute drive. Family, am I right?” He asks with a charming smile.
What a convenient response. “Why does your sister have a room at your house?”
“It was my father’s house before it was mine. I grew up in this house. If you’d like, I can show you my bedroom from when I was a teen. It’s a guest room now, but I figured you’d be more comfortable here. Lucia was rigid about thread count or down comforters or something. She tried to explain it to me once, but bedding has its own language that I don’t understand.”
“Fascinating,” I deadpan. “Can I go now? I have somewhere to be.”
Dante frowns and then checks the watch on his wrist. “It’s 8:07. Where do you have to be?”
Irritation swells in my chest. “It’s none of your business.”
“Oh,” he nods slowly. “Then no, sorry, you can’t leave.”
My mouth hangs open, the corners of my lips pulled down in disbelief as I stare at Dante in astonishment. “Come again?”
The corner of his lips twitch into a smile as his eyes travel over my body. “Baby girl, I’d love to come in you again. Last night was nice, but it was like fucking a corpse.”
I can’t move. I don’t remember having sex with him. I know I had a few drinks, but not enough to black out and forget about having sex with a man that looks like that. “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t remember?” He pushes off the door frame and walks toward me. Every step makes me feel like prey being stalked by a predator. “You laid down on my bed, moaning and begging for me to be inside you, and I eagerly complied. God, it felt so good to feel you tighten around me as I entered you. And when you finally succumbed to the sleeping pills I slipped in your drink, I stayed inside you, relishing the warmth and wetness that enveloped my cock. It was a moment of pure ecstasy.” Dante stands in front of me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I was tempted to pull out after a bit and let you sleep while Enzo and I fixed your room, but I couldn’t help myself. You were soft and warm. Even unconscious, your pussy was pulsating and slick with desire. I couldn’t help myself. I started thrusting into you until I couldn’t take it anymore. I pumped you full of my hot seed and stayed there until my dick started getting hard again.”
I’m shocked, horrified, and aroused—it’s the second worst combination of emotions I’ve ever felt. “What the actual fuck.”
Dante nods in agreement. “I know. You’re telling me. What kind of sick, twisted son of a bitch fucks a woman knocked out cold?”
Suddenly, I remember another part of our conversation from last night.
“Oh, yeah, me,” he grins. Dante reaches up to grab my chin, running his thumb along my jawline in the process. “And frankly, I’d do it again. You’re hot when you’re passed out, naked, and full of my cum.”
“You mentioned my father,” I frown. The dregs of last night’s events come back to me. “Who are you?”
Dante’s gaze fixates on my lips as he draws his thumb across them next, leaving a trail of heat and electricity in its wake. His eyes glimmer with possessiveness. “I’m Dante Terlizzi. You may not know me, but I know you, Adalina Martinelli. I know your father owes my father a significant debt. I know your father has no intention of paying mine back. And I know the only thing your father loves in life is you.”
I almost burst into laughter. “You’re wrong. My father hates me.”
“Your father loves to torture you. He loves to hurt you. And sure, maybe deep down, he hates you. But he loves to hear your screams too much to let you go. So until he pays me the money he owes my family, you’re mine, cara mia . All. Mine.”
A shiver runs down my spine. Last night, I wrote this man off as a quick fuck before my carriage turned into a pumpkin at midnight, and I went back to my tortured existence. This morning, he has turned my entire life upside down.
“You don’t know what my father is capable of.” Dante doesn’t know what Tommaso Martinelli will do in the name of hatred.
“That’s why I’m inviting him over for lunch. You’ll join us.”
My father is going to kill me when he gets me back. Dante Terlizzi might as well sign my death certificate now. “You’re making a mistake,” I warn him one last time.
He does not heed my advice. Instead, he leans down to press his lips to mine. It is the briefest of kisses, so quick that I almost think I imagine it. Dante pulls centimeters away a fraction of a second later, leaving our faces achingly close. “Perhaps, but Tommaso made a mistake when he borrowed without intent to return. He’ll find out soon why delinquent men in this city run and hide when they see me coming. I am nothing short of a nightmare, gorgeous. His, yours, and everyone else’s.”