I didn't know anything about Dante Castellano.
Nothing.
Just his name.
And the fact that he'd killed a man without blinking.
After the gala, he said we were going home.
His home. Not mine unfortunately.
I had expected a mansion. Something rich-people dramatic. Huge, sure, but still… normal.
The car slowed.
I took in a sharp breath.
The gates were tall. Too tall. Iron and stone and lights that barely reached the top, like even the glow was scared to climb higher. They opened slowly like they had all the time in the world.
My mouth hung open.
This wasn't a house.
It was a freaking castle.
It looked like a place people disappeared into and would never be found.
I gulped.
A place I would never be found….
The car stopped.
No one said anything. Just the engine cutting off and silence rushing in too fast.
Dabte stepped out of his car.
I followed him because my legs moved before my brain caught up.
Inside was cold. Not temperature-cold. The kind that settles in your bones. Marbles decorated the house. It looked ancient. Like it had watched generations of bad things happen and learned to keep quiet.
People moved around us. Servants, I think. No one looked at me. Not really. Just quick glances and then their eyes slid away like I was something they weren't allowed to see.
A woman handed me silk pajamas.
Oh well…at least were cute. I loved heart prints.
I changed then sat on the queen sized bed. I caught my reflection in the large mirror and stared at it like if I stared long enough I'd recognize myself again.
I didn't.
My eyes were tired after all I had gone through in one night.
A sharp knock startled me.
"My master wishes to see you."
I think I might throw up.
"Now?" My voice didn't sound like mine.
She nodded.
Of course. Now.
The hallway felt longer on the way back. Like it was stretching just to mess with me. She stopped in front of a huge wooden door and left me there.
Alone.
I sucked in a breath before I knocked.
"Enter."
His response was lazy. Like he wasn't the reason my hands wouldn't stop shaking.
The room smelled like leather and smoke and something metallic I didn't want to think about. Books lined the walls. Guns too. I didn't count them. I didn't want to know how many.
He wasn't wearing a suit anymore.
That shouldn't have mattered.
It did.
Dante wore sweatpants and a black T-shirt that clung to him like it had nowhere else to be. His muscles strained beneath the fabric with every movement. It was hypnotizing, making it hard for me to look away.
His glasses sat perfectly on his chiseled face which was an unfair contrast to everything else about him. The tattoo curling up his arm looked less like ink and more like something carved into him.
There was no denying he was ridiculously handsome.
I kept on staring like a pervert.
I should have looked away.
His laptop snapped shut.
Slowly, his eyes lifted to mine then drifted down deliberately tracing my body until they settled on my bare legs.
Lingered there way too long.
I suddenly hated my shorts. It was too short. Too revealing. My bare legs felt exposed, and i was reminded that there was no one else here. Just us.
His gaze stayed on me, heavy enough to make my skin prickle. I shifted on my feet and cleared my throat.
"You called me?" I asked.
"Yes."
He pushed off the desk and crossed the room like he wasn't thinking about it.
"There are rules," he said. "I'll explain what happens next."
I drew in a breath. This was it. My fate.
"We'll be married in three days."
I actually stopped breathing.
"Three days?" The words came out wrong.
"You'll play my wife for one year."
A whole damn year?!
I laughed. I think. Or maybe that was something breaking inside me.
"There's more," he said.
Of course there was.
"You're a lawyer."
That startled me enough to look up.
"A good one."
That wasn't a compliment. I felt it in my gut.
"My parents were murdered," he continued, his voice flat. "Three men did it. I know one of them."
I swallowed.
"You want revenge."
"I want destruction."
Same thing.
He took two steps closer.
My back hit the door before I realized I'd been moving.
"You understand how the law bends," he murmured. "Where men hide."
His hand came up. Not touching me but close enough that I felt the heat from his body anyway.
"You'll help me drag them out."
My mouth opened…then closed.
"And if I don't?"
He smiled.
"Sweetheart," he said softly, "I'm sure you already know the answer "
His fingers brushed my arm lightly as if testing much I'd flinch.
I didn't speak.
My mouth opened but nothing came out, it was like my body had forgotten how to work.
"I'm not here to hurt you…" he added, quieter now. Almost kind.
His eyes strayed to my lips. I felt the air vanish from my lungs and I curled my fingers into fists at my sides.
I should run maybe or push him away but my body just…wouldn't move.
"Unless you make me."
A knock broke the tension.
"Boss. Antonio is here."
Dante's mood flipped like a switch.
"I'll be down in a minute" he said.
He looked at me then. Really looked at me.
Something dark flashed in his eyes and my stomach twisted.
"We have a guest," he said lightly, like we were about to meet an old friend.
"Let's go say hello."
꧁༺ ❦ ༻꧂
"DANTE! Dante! Where the hell is Dante?!"
The shouting hit us the moment we stepped into the lounge. It echoed off the walls, loud and angry.
A man was pacing back and forth like a caged animal. Black trousers. Red dress shirt. Hair slicked back so tightly it made his face look sharper. Meaner. Rage rolled off him in thick waves.
Antonio.
I hated that I recognized him.
The second he spotted Dante, it was like someone flipped a switch. His shoulders loosened. His breathing slowed. He didn't calm down just…looked more controlled.
"Antonio," Dante said smoothly, like this was a pleasant surprise. "What an unexpected visit. I didn't see you at the gala."
Antonio's eyes flicked to me suspiciously.
Like he was trying to place me.
"I couldn't attend," he snapped. "Some bloody idiot killed my brother."
My breath hitched.
Greg.
The name rang inside my head but my mouth refused to move. My heart was beating so loudly in my ears I was sure they could hear it.
Dante sat down on the couch like none of this mattered, like we were discussing the weather. He gestured for me to sit beside him.
I didn't remember deciding to move. My body just did.
"Greg is dead?" Dante said calmly. "How unfortunate."
Antonio's face darkened instantly, his jaw tightening like it might crack.
"I'll find out who did it," he growled. "And when I do, they'll pay with their life."
I stiffened beside Dante. He must have sensed it because he shot me a glance.
Then he went on to pour himself a glass of wine.
Just… poured it. Seeming unbothered and relaxed.
The complete opposite of what i was feeling.
"Let me know the funeral date," he said casually, lifting the glass. "And if you ever find the killer, do let me know. I'll assist you in every way possible."
Antonio stared at him for a long moment. Too long.
Then he turned on his heels and headed towards the door.
"I definitely will."
"Oh—and Antonio," Dante added lazily.
Antonio paused and looked back.
"Good luck."
Something unreadable crossed Antonio's face before he left.
Antonio had just promised to hunt down his brother's killer.
And he'd been sitting right across from him the whole time.
The door hadn't even fully closed when Dante spoke again.
"Dario."
"Yes, boss?"
Dante set his glass down. The soft clink echoed louder than it should have.
"He came into my home," Dante said quietly, "and disrupted my peace."
Dario didn't hesitate or ask any questions.
"That won't happen again Boss"
Dante finally looked up.
"See that it doesn't."
"Consider it done."