Her jaw tightened. “Try me.” She was giving him a challenge, and he never sidestepped a challenge. He moved closer to her—close enough that the tension in the room shifted and changed into something that he couldn’t quite name.
“You don’t leave this house without me,” he said.
Her expression hardened immediately. “No,” she immediately responded.
“You don’t go anywhere alone,” he continued.
“No,” she simply said again.
“You don’t answer calls, texts, or messages from anyone without me knowing,” he said.
Her eyes flashed, and he could almost feel her anger. “Absolutely not.”
Luca’s gaze darkened. “We’re not negotiating here, Isabella.”
“I’m not trying to negotiate with you, Luca. I’m simply not agreeing to your demands,” she said.
“You don’t have a choice in any of this, honey,” he growled. Silence snapped between them as her chest rose sharply from breathing hard.
“Stop saying that,” she spat.
“Then stop telling me no,” he said.
Her hands curled into fists at her sides. “I’m not one of your men to control.”
“No,” he said. “You’re not.”
He stepped closer. “You’re something I protect.”
Her breath caught. Damn it. He saw it—that crack in her armor that did strange things to his heart. Seeing her that way made him care when that was the last thing he needed.
“Don’t,” she said, quieter now.
“Don’t what?” he breathed.
“Don’t make this into something it’s not,” she insisted.
“And what is it?” he asked.
Her voice sharpened again. “It’s a cage.”
Luca didn’t flinch. “Yeah,” he said. Honesty seemed to hit harder than denial would have. Her eyes widened slightly.
“You’re admitting that?” she asked.
“I’m not going to lie to you,” he said. “I don’t have time for games like that.”
“Why not?” she snapped. “You control everything and everyone else around you with your lies. Why make an exception for me?”
Luca stepped closer again until there was barely any space between them. “Because lies get people killed,” he said quietly. “And right now, I need you alive.” Her breath hitched, telling him that he had her attention. “And the only way that happens,” he continued, “is if you stay exactly where I put you.”
She shook her head, backing up a step. “No. You don’t get to just decide?—”
“I already did,” he interrupted. Her legs hit the edge of the bed, and she stopped—not because she wanted to, but because she had nowhere else to go. Luca closed the distance between them, one step at a time, until they were practically nose to nose. Her pulse was visible in her throat—fast and unsteady. He noticed, because he always noticed things like that.
“You keep thinking this is about control,” he said.
“It is,” she insisted.
