51. Dante
Chapter 51
Dante
I don’t want to share an intimate moment with Adalina next to the warm corpse of her dead father, but she leaves me no choice. She is persistent, pursuing me with reckless abandon and forcing her tongue into my mouth, a reminder that I am still alive. Before I can push her away and implore her to think twice about her decision, she slinks down my body and falls to her knees.
I am powerless against the seductive lure of Adalina. She kneels before me, her intense gaze locking with mine as she delicately tugs on my belt and deftly undoes my pants. I know I should push her away, but she holds me under her spell. And when she reveals my throbbing erection, all thoughts of reason are lost. The scent of blood fills the air from Tommaso’s lifeless body, yet my attention remains fixed on Adalina as she expertly moves her hands back and forth, sending shivers of pleasure through my body.
Do the right thing. Stop her. Don’t do this while your brothers are waiting upstairs for you.
The little voice in my head makes a whole lot of sense, but when Adalina wraps her lips around the head of my penis, the only thing I hear is a hallelujah choir.
I throw my head back in ecstasy as her warm, wet mouth engulfs me, the tip of her tongue dancing over the ridge of my crown while her soft hand gently strokes my shaft. Adalina’s eyes gaze up at me with such intense desire that it sends a surge of lust coursing through my veins. Her long hair brushes against my thighs in rhythm with her bobbing head as she takes more of me deep into her throat, her lips stretching to accommodate me fully. The sensation is almost too much to bear; every nerve ending is on fire, and my whole body tingles with anticipation.
I groan in pleasure as my hips instinctively thrust forward to meet each motion of her hot, sucking mouth. Every now and then, she releases me from her grasp only to run the flat of her tongue along the length of my shaft from base to tip before taking me back into her warm embrace. Her fingers continue their gentle massage, driving me wild with need.
I can feel myself getting closer and closer to release, my muscles tensing up, anticipating the inevitable explosion about to occur. Adalina matches my pace, and I grab onto her hair and thrust deeply into her mouth one last time before filling it with my seed. She swallows it all, her throat working rhythmically around me to milk every last drop from my shaft. I watch as a few pearls drip down her chin when she pulls away, and she brings her hand up to wipe them without disgust or embarrassment.
“Adalina…” I breathe her name like a prayer, lost in the haze of afterglow.
She climbs to her feet, a soft smile on her lips. There’s something in her eyes—not quite desire, not quite hate. “Tonight, you gave me the only thing I’ve wanted since I was a child. I can never repay you enough.”
She can. She can repay me in so many ways. She can give me a happiness that I never realized I wanted. “Marry me,” I say, the words spilling out in post-orgasmic bliss.
The smile on Adalina’s face falters, and her jaw drops open. If only I had a ring, I could be down on one knee; I could offer her the world with a 14K white gold diam-
“I thought you’d let me go.” Adalina interrupts my thoughts, sending a piercing arrow straight through my desires. “My father is dead. There’s no reason for me to stay.”
The pain that blinds me is white hot. A mixture of anger, frustration, and humiliation fills me with rage. I thought she felt the same way about me. Our courtship may have started with a few lies and false pretenses, but time has bonded us together. Trauma has forced us to see each other in a new light, and now we are bound by a deeper understanding. We’re meant to be…
“Dante,” her face darkens, “please.”
Adalina’s words trigger the beast inside of me. I reach out to grab her by the throat, stealing the oxygen before it can fill her lungs. “Your family still owes mine a debt,” I reply between gritted teeth.
She reaches up to grab my wrist, scrambling to free herself from my clutches. I loosen my grip slightly, enough for her to squeeze out the words, “I don’t have any money.”
I could force her to sell her father’s property. After all, she’ll inherit it now that he’s dead. I could take the money and free her, let her live out the rest of her days as a penniless whore offering her body to men in exchange for a roof over her head for the night. I have all the power. I can do whatever I want.
But I only want Adalina.
“You’ll pay with your life then.” She is mine. From the moment I saw her at that nightclub, she belonged to me. I tried to resist the pull she had on me, but I’m no fool. I know when I’m beaten. And despite my best efforts, Adalina has captured my heart.
“What about your fiancé?” Her eyes, usually bright and inviting, narrow into slits. “You can’t have two wives, Dante.”
I release her throat, but only for the purpose of grabbing her by the wrist and hauling her from the room. We step over the threshold, across the hallway, and to the room next door. “I can do whatever I want, Adalina. I could marry my betrothed and keep you down here as my fuck puppet for the rest of my life if I choose. Don’t test me.”
We are surrounded by comforts only slightly upgraded from the cells in the dungeon. The mattress on the floor is an old queen-sized that my father was getting rid of. There’s an actual toilet and sink. A dusty mirror hangs on the wall, and there is room to run laps. “You’ll stay down here until I decide what to do with you.”
I retreat to the entrance, pulling the bars closed behind me. Adalina stands in the middle of the room, her eyes pooling with tears. Her beautiful clothes are spattered in blood, and her bandaged wrist needs to be looked at. “You can’t do this, Dante.” Her voice cracks, and I almost feel bad.
“I can, and I will. Welcome to your new home, Adalina. I hope you enjoy your stay.”
This was not the intent of tonight, but I must, and will, have Adalina as my wife. I’ll find a way out of my impending marriage to Lucrezia. I’ll force Adalina to take her rightful place by my side.
I never wanted a wife or kids, but she changed my mind. Now, I want everything, and I want it with her. And if she won’t give it to me by choice, I’ll take it by force.