“What?” She recoils.
“Admit it. You’ve been afraid of this connection between us since the first time I fucked you in that boutique. If not for the placebos, you would have found a way to sabotage our relationship sooner or later because when you’re with me, you have no choice but to be who you truly are. The true Leandra Del Rossa, and not some stereotypical poor girl society has programmed you to be. And you can’t accept that. You can’t accept who you really are.”
“You don’t fucking know me,” she snaps, her cheeks red as anger starts to simmer.
“I know every little part of you, inside and out.” My cock stirs. “No one knows you as I do, and no one else will have the privilege. I’ll make sure of it.”
“By keeping me locked in here?”
“No. As a matter of fact,” I take the key and unlock the door, opening it and standing to the side, “you can leave your room whenever you want. I won’t keep you locked up in here anymore.”
Her eyes narrow with distrust. “You're letting me leave?”
“Your room, yes. But you’ll stay on the estate at all times.”
“So, I’m still a prisoner?”
“If you choose to see it that way.”
“Then how the fuck do you see it?”
I shrug. “Protection.”
“From what?”
My eyes meet hers. “From making the wrong decision.”
I half expect her to challenge me, to snap back with some wise-ass remark or well-aimed sarcasm. I can almost see the words forming on the tip of her tongue. But she chooses silence, her eyes studying me as if she’s trying to see inside my head. I wouldn’t be surprised if she could because this woman has managed to infiltrate the deepest parts of my being, occupying every corner of my soul, controlling my thoughts and haunting my dreams while I sleep without her next to me. It’s the worst part of hell I’ve ever experienced.
There’s suspicion in her eyes as she watches me. “What’s going on?”
“There’s no hidden agenda here, Leandra,” I say, trying to set her at ease. “I realize that having you locked up is unnecessary when this estate is heavily guarded at all times.”
“In other words, I’m still a prisoner. I just got awarded a bigger cell with outside courtyard privileges.”
“See it as you will. But for now, this is how it will be.” My gaze falls to her belly and drags back up to meet her eyes. “You belong here with me. All three of you. And until you see that, until you realize that no matter what happens, your place is at my side and in my bed, you’ll be guarded at all times.”
“Like your captive,” she snaps.
“Like the one thing I can’t stand to lose.”
Her lips part, her throat bobbing as she swallows. Even in an oversized turtleneck and black tights, her hair in a messy bun and no make-up, she’s still fucking stunning.
I smile. “I saw it the day I walked into your apartment, determined to make you accept my offer.”
She reaches behind her ear, sinking her nail into the scarred flesh. “What did you see?”
I step out the door and into the hall, glancing back at her. “What a beautiful mess you are, and the disaster we’ll be.”
It takes everything I have to walk away from her, to not slam the door and lock us in so I can prove to her what we have is stronger than the betrayal she clings to. All it would take is a slick slide of my dick inside that sweet pussy of hers, and she’d be reminded who owns her, who loves her, who gives her the ecstasy she needs. With every step farther away from her bedroom, I’m fighting the urge to turn around. It’s been too long since I’ve had her, tasted her, felt her. All I can fucking think about is watching her face as I sink into her, witnessing the pleasure on every crevice of her beautiful face while I make her come.
Fuck.
As if I don’t have enough shit to deal with, I have my goddamn cousin’s unexpected arrival to deal with. Rome Savelli. The prodigal son returns.
I round the corner into the dining room and find Caelian leaning back on the couch, staring at the whiskey in his glass. He looks up when he hears me, then glances at the antique grandfather clock. “When two brothers need a drink at eleven a.m., that means shit is quite close to hitting the fan.”
“I won’t argue that.” I pour myself a drink, slam it all back, swallowing before pouring a second glass, deciding to nurse this one rather than gulp it down.