“Rocco, stand outside the door,” Luciano orders.
“Si, Don.”I watch as Rocco nearly has to duck to walk under the door frame and closes the door behind him.
“He will be with you 24/7 unless I say otherwise,” Luciano tells me.
I step closer to him. “I thought we agreed I could have freedom in the house again and only a guard when I left the estate?”
Luciano stands tall, his body exerting dominance in the room. “I’m not having a repeat of last time you went wondering,” he points out, and it feels like a slap to the face.
“Thanks for the reminder…” I mutter under my breath, “asshole.”
Stefano’s head snaps up at me, his eyes like daggers. “Fai attenzione a come parli quando parli al Don.”Watch your mouth around the Don.
Luciano eyes his brother, and he instantly backs off. I take this as my cue to walk over to the desk and take in the massive map of New York City. Red, green, and blue dots scatter all over it. I lean in, my curiosity now piqued. “What do those mean?” I ask, pointing at the chaotic map.
Luciano’s voice is low, eyeing the map. “Green are the businesses we own, blue are the ones we’re about to own, and red? Those are the hostile takeovers in progress.”
Stefano chimes in, his tone guarded as he glances my way. “I’ve got Mattia tailing the owner of Dominix. We’ll have a detailed report in seventy-two hours. Then we move to the next stage.”
I lean closer, trying to play it cool, but it’s a lot to take in. “Dominix?”
Not looking up, Luciano replies, “It’s a BDSM club.”
“Interesting,” I murmur, my fingers drumming the edge of the mahogany desk. “Can I go undercover there?” The idea sparks a dangerous thrill inside me.
Stefano shifts uncomfortably, making it obvious he isn’t happy with my presence. Luciano looks over at his brother, then cuts in, “Charlie, go to the gym. Carlo’s waiting for you.”
“For what?” I shoot back.
“Defense training.”
“I know how to defend myself, Luci,” I snap, standing my ground.
He storms around the desk to stand right in front of me. “Show me.” He lifts his chin. “Fight me, Principessa.”
I throw a punch to his chest, but he blocks it effortlessly. I try a sneaky side punch, blocked again. Out the corner of my eye, I catch Stefano smirking like he can’t wait to see my ass handed to me, making my blood boil.
I give it everything I’ve got and try launching a kick at him instead, but Luciano catches my leg, pushing me back until I hit the wall. Luciano’s face is that close to mine, I can feel his warm breath on my lips, close enough I could lean in and kiss him.
“You’ll have defensive training with Carlo three times a week,” Luciano snaps. “You’ll train with Mattia twice a week learning to shoot.”
“What if I don’t want to?” I shove him hard in the chest, frustration boiling, but he doesn’t budge. “These are my terms if you want your freedom,” he snaps.
Rage fogs my mind, and I bring my hand up and slap him across the face. “Fuck you.”
His eyes instantly darken again before he grabs me around the neck and presses down. I can feel my airways being restricted. Oh shit! I was not expecting this.
“Principessa,” he grits through his teeth. “Do that again, and I will bend you over in front of my brother and fuck you. I don’t care if you’re Caterina’s daughter. Right now, I am the Don and no one strikes the Don.”
Stefano clears his throat behind us, and my eyes go wide in shock. Luciano, clearly amused by my reaction, whispers in my ear, “Or should I shove my cock in your mouth and make him watch?”
I wrestle to get out of his grasp, which only causes him to let out a deep, throaty chuckle. “Principessa or not, keep trying to piss me off and you will be punished.”
He smashes his lips down onto mine, forcing me to open my mouth. His tongue darts into mine, and I bite down on it with such force that I can taste his blood. He pulls away from me and touches his tongue, his finger red with his own blood. I feel his dick grow harder against me—this turns him on. He grins sadistically and licks up the side of my face, like he’s marking his territory for all to see, his blood now smeared across my face. But I stand my ground. I will not back down.
He squeezes harder on my throat, causing me to gasp for air. “You have five seconds to get out of my sight.” He lets go of me and shoves me to the side as he readjusts his growing bulge in his pants.
I clutch my throat instinctively, the sting sharp and immediate, and storm out of the room.
