“Go,” he says to the driver.
We back out, and I rest my head on the window, closing my eyes and concentrating on the cool glass.
Paolo doesn’t say anything to me the entire drive, and I don’t ask where we’re going again. He’s spoken more to me today than he ever has, and my guess is he’s through with it. It isn’t the pressing thing on my mind anyway.
The SUV stops, and I open my eyes. We’re stopped outside a wrought-iron gate. The driver rolls down the window and leans out of it to press an intercom button. The gate opens with a grating sound without anyone saying anything.
I sit up straight as we pull through the gate. We weave down a driveway, trees blocking what’s up ahead, and when the house,okay this one is definitely an estate, comes into view, my eyes go wide. This one makes Paolo’s look like a charming townhouse. The lawn is far too green for Nevada’s never-ending drought. Strong, stone walls hold the building together like it’s trying to make a statement. There are three balconies jutting out on the second floor, and I try to count the windows in the place to guess how many rooms there are. Paolo interrupts before I make it to ten.
“You need to do what you’re told, Alexa.”
I turn toward Paolo, my breath caught in my chest. There’s a tinge of worry in his voice that flips my stomach.
“What?”
“You’re here because I need you to impress an important man. It’s vital forbothof our families that he’s pleased with you. Do you understand?”
My brows knit and I stare at Paolo, waiting for him to elaborate. He doesn’t. He stares back with a nervous look, and already I fear whoever he’s referring to. Even more than I do him.
“No, I don’tunderstand.” I draw out. “What the fuck is going on, Paolo? Why do you need my help impressing someone? And why is it important for—”
“Alexa.” Paolo leans forward, his hand wrapping around my throat and squeezing. My eyes go wide, and he eases his grip to allow me to breathe. “What did I just get done telling you? You will dowhateverI ask,withoutquestion. Remember? Do I really need to remind you what your life will look like if you don’t?” He squeezes my throat again, cutting off my air supply. I claw at his hands and buck against him. “Or is it physical pain that motivates you to obey?”
I keep struggling against him, and when my nails tear a red stripe into his flesh, he pulls back and looks at his hand. He lays it in his lap and looks at me. I gasp and push my back into the door, my hands at my throat.
“My boss wants you. It’s nothing but a power trip, but regardless, it can work in our favor. If you please him.”
I lower my hands from my neck, but my eyes stay wide. “You want me to have sex with your boss?”
Paolo doesn’t answer.
My door opens and I jolt forward so I don’t fall. I look over my shoulder at a large man with jet black hair and a scar running from his cheek to his jaw. He grabs me, and I pounce onto Paolo, grasping his shirt. “No, please,” I beg, my eyes frantically searching his. He faces forward and says nothing.
The man leans into the car and grabs me under my arms, but he doesn’t yank. Not yet.
“What about…” I swallow. “What about my virginity? Don’t you want—”
“I don’t care about that,” Paolo snaps, taking my hands and yanking me off him. “It’s just sex, Alexa. Don’t make a bigger deal out of it than it is.”
He nods at Scarface, and I’m yanked from the car.
My fight instincts go into overdrive, and I flail my limbs to get away from the man. “No!” I scream, grasping at the door. The man jerks me back, and I hit his hard chest. He shuts the door and throws me over his shoulder with me kicking and screaming.
He walks me inside without so much as acknowledging my efforts, and Paolo’s SUV is a distant memory. He left me here,deliveredme here.
My body tenses and I stop screaming when Scarface throws open the door to a large bedroom. My brain registers the impressive taste of its owner, but I’m far too scared to appreciate the architectural beauty of an inch of this place.
Scarface sets me on my feet, and I spin toward him and scurry backward. I bump into a bed and whip to look behind me before looking back at him.
He stands straight, his legs braced apart. He grabs his wrist and hangs his hands in front of him.
“Undress,” he commands.
“What?” I shake my head and grip the edge of the bed frame.
“Undress.”
I shake my head again. “No.”