A water feature spilled out of the wall to my right, and I faltered in my steps, letting Valentino brush past me.
“Move,” he grumbled and the spicy scent of his cologne assaulted my nose.
I followed after him, and he paused in front of a door before pushing it open.
“This will be your room. There’s no lock on the door, and you will stay in this room until I call for you. You do not have free rein of my home, Leda. You are not a guest.”
Yeah, tell me something I didn’t already know.
“Get cleaned up,” he continued as I stepped inside. “I will be back.”
I didn’t ask what for when he shut the door.
Chapter 9
Leda
Finally with a moment to myself, I took in the sight.
The room was huge, with a king-sized bed dominating the center, all in muted earth tones. There was a balcony to my left, and I crossed the room immediately, sliding open the glass door and stepping out, shivering at the cold air the moment I did.
The soft lights on the balcony barely illuminated the space, but as I peered down, I noticed I wasn’t as high as I thought I was. There was a patio underneath the balcony and it was surrounded by greenery. I glimpsed the faint glow of a pool in the distance against the backdrop of other lights in the distance.
So, we weren’t far from a town or city, which was good. Maybe I could find some help if I could get out of here.
Turning back to the room, I located the en-suite bathroom and made use of it, stripping off the negligee and throwing it on the fluffy rug as I did so. I wanted to get under the warm stream of water and cry until I couldn’t cry any longer, but Valentino told me he was coming back.
And the last thing I wanted him to do was catch me naked.
After I took a moment to gather myself, I didn’t bother to look in the mirror as I walked back into the bedroom and threw open the wardrobe, frowning as I riffled through the hangers.
Nothing but lingerie. All in black.
There were long slips and short ones, sheer material and satin. I pulled out a bra and garter set, the satin glimmering in the light, and threw it back in disgust. Not even a set of pajamas in sight. I was nothing more than a plaything to Valentino, a set of holes not even fit to be considered a full human being.
I reached for a satin chemise and shrugged it on, surprised by how well it fit. Did Valentinoplanfor this?
There were matching slippers on the floor of the wardrobe, and I grabbed a pair, sliding them on my aching feet. I would have killed for a pair of sneakers, but these would do for now. At least these didn’t have heels on them.
I closed the doors and walked over to the bed, frowning as I looked down at the creamy comforter. Was I the first woman to be in this room? Did this chemise belong to someone else? Perhaps another woman that he had broken and then destroyed?
A cry of frustration clogged my throat and I let a few teardrops fall, wrapping my arms around my waist as I did so. Valentino was a horrible asshole, someone who had literally purchased another human being. If he were just a Don, I could deal with him. After all, I had dealt with them all my life.
But he was something else, something that was dark and dangerous.
Something that my mind screamed at me to stay away from.
Something worse than my father.
I should have never gone back to my penthouse this morning. Nico had warned me to be careful, to at least get a bodyguard or two until our father could get completely cut off from prison life. He had warned me that our father would retaliate hard, and I hadn’t listened, too caught up in the fact that he was truly locked up to worry that he still had his claws deep into my life.
Rory’s best friend Emilia had also asked me to come with her to Paris, to forget about my life for a while, but I had been too stubborn. Emilia and I moved in the same circles, and I enjoyed her company just as much as I did my sister-in-law. She had been good to Rory, and she was good to me.
If only I had listened to either one of them and chosen to be cautious. I could’ve avoided this entire situation. I could be safe, looking forward to the rest of my life and not contemplating my death at the hands of someone who hated my father, who had bought me like a breeder buys a prized mare and was going to do who knows what to me.
I was alone, truly alone in this.
Chapter 10