She watches me curiously. “You like him, don’t you?”
“It’s not like that,” I say.
“I think you can trust him, Grace,” she says. “I’ve seen what real evil looks like. And Mr. Mancini is one of the good ones.”
I look at him now.
I really wanted to believe that. But…I don’t know.
I don’t know anything anymore.
16
DANTE
She watches me as I close the distance between us.
"It's time to leave,” I say.
She purses her lips and turns back toward her friend. They hug each other goodbye, and Sarah is escorted back inside the villa.
"She thinks you're some type of hero," Grace says, turning back toward me.
"I'm sure you corrected her," I say.
"She'll see for herself soon enough that you're a monster," she replies.
I take a step toward her. Unlike all the times before, she doesn't move away now. She tilts her chin up, keeping those lethal eyes on me.
"You can call me whatever you want," I say, slipping my fingers into her hair and tugging on it. Her lips part open, begging to be kissed hard. "But it doesn't change that a man like me is exactly what turns you on. I see you, little bird. I see you for exactly who you are. And you need the darkness. You crave the thrill of it. It makes you feel alive.”
I don't think she knows it, but she's leaning into me again.
Before I do something I'll regret later, I pull away. She blinks up at me, her breathing already heavy. She wants me, but she's not ready to admit it to herself.
"I'll wait for you," I tell her. "I'll wait until you're ready to be honest with yourself. And when that time comes, I'll demand your complete submission. I'll bury my cock so deep inside you that you'll see stars."
She turns that pretty shade of red again.
"Do you have no shame?" she whispers.
"I'm a man who knows what he wants, little bird," I say. "And I want you.”
“You’re so unbelievably full of yourself,” she says.
Her hands ball into tight fists. Maybe now isn't a good time to tell her that I find it adorable when she's mad at me.
"I have errands to run. You’re coming with me,” I say, walking toward the Vespa. She huffs and follows me.
“I still don’t get it,” she says.
“What don’t you get?”
“Of all the girls in the world, why did you pick me to be your temporary wife?”
“I’ve never wanted anyone else like I want you,” I say honestly.
She blinks a few times. It might be too much for her to digest, but it’s the truth.
