"Here you are, dear. Nothing too heavy—I thought you might not have much appetite." She set the tray on the desk by the window. "Don Salvatore is out for the evening, but he'll expect to see you at breakfast tomorrow morning. Eight o'clock sharp."
My stomach dropped. Breakfast with Salvatore. Perfect.
"And Kai—that's Don Salvatore's son—he'll come by in the morning to show you around the estate. Help you get familiar with everything."
My stomach didn't just drop. It plummeted straight through the floor.
"Kai is going to... showme around?"
"Yes, dear. Don Salvatore thought it would be good for you to have someone help you settle in." Mrs. Rossi's expression softened. "Kai's a good boy. Bit intense, keeps everyone at arm's length, but he's protective of those he cares about. Especially his sister Lia. You'll meet her soon too."
I managed a weak smile. "What's he like? Kai?"
Mrs. Rossi considered this, her weathered hands smoothing her apron. "He's had a hard life. Lost his mother when he was young—terrible tragedy. Don Salvatore is... demanding with both his children. Expects a lot. Kai learned early to keep to himself. But he's smart. Watches everything. Misses nothing." She paused. "He's not like his father, if that's what you're worried about."
I wasn't sure if that made things better or worse.
After she left, I tried to eat. Managed a few bites before giving up. Tried to read. Couldn't focus. Took a shower, hoping the hot water would help me relax.
It didn't.
I put on pajamas—cotton shorts and a tank top because despite everything, it was still warm—and climbed into bed. The sheets were expensive. Soft.
I lay there, staring at the ceiling, thinking about Kai.
About that night. The way he'd looked at me like I was the only person in the entire club. The way his hands had felt on my skin. The way he'd been gentle and rough at the same time, taking me apart piece by piece and putting me back together completely different.
I'd never felt anything like that before. Hadn't known my body could feel those things. And now I was supposed to pretend it never happened. Supposed to marry his father and act like I hadn't been with Kai first.
Sleep came eventually, fitful and full of dreams I didn't want to remember.
I woke up around midnight needing the bathroom. My mouth was dry, probably from crying earlier. I stumbled out of bed, still half-asleep, and made my way across the dark room.
The bathroom was ridiculously luxurious. Marble everywhere, atub big enough to swim in, a shower with more settings than my car back home. I splashed cold water on my face, trying to wake up properly.
When I walked back into the bedroom, I wasn't alone anymore.
My heart stopped.
Kai was leaning against my doorframe like he had every right to be there. Like walking into a woman's bedroom in the middle of the night was perfectly normal behavior.
He'd changed clothes since this afternoon. Dark jeans that hung low on his hips. Black t-shirt that clung to muscles I remembered feeling under my hands. His hair was slightly messy, like he'd been running his fingers through it.
And those eyes. God, those eyes. Dark and intense and locked directly on me.
The hallway light behind him turned him into something dangerous. Something predatory. All sharp angles and contained power and barely leashed control.
My body remembered him before my brain could catch up. Heat flooded through me, pooling low in my stomach. My skin felt too tight. Every nerve ending suddenly hyperaware of exactly how little I was wearing.
Cotton shorts that barely covered anything. A thin tank top with no bra underneath because I'd thought I was going to sleep, not have a midnight visit from the man who'd taken my virginity.
His eyes traveled down my body slowly. Deliberately. Like he was cataloging every inch of exposed skin. When his gaze came back to my face, something dark and hungry burned in those depths.
"We need to talk."
His voice was rough. Low. It did things to me that were absolutely inappropriate given our situation.
"You can't be here." My voice came out breathier than I wanted. "You need to leave. Now."
