Still nothing. I hit the door with my palm once. Then again. “You can’t just leave me like this!”
His voice finally came through the heavy wood. Low. Controlled again somehow.
“Yes,” he said calmly. “I absolutely can.”
I wanted to scream. “You were talking about breeding me two minutes ago!”
A rough laugh echoed faintly from the other side. “And that’s exactly why this door is locked.”
Heat flooded my entire face. I pressed both hands against the wood. “Come back.”
“Shut up, Chiara.” The way he said my name through the door made my stomach twist. “You’re not ready for me yet.”
“I am ready!” I felt hot tears running down my cheeks. My pride was forgotten. Freaking non-existent.
“No,” he said quietly. “You’re just horny.”
I nearly choked. “That’s your fault!”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “It is. But that’s enough for night. You… in my bed… that was a mistake. I should have known better.”
The realization only made frustration burn hotter through me. I leaned my forehead against the door breathing shakily while the memory of his mouth on mine replayed over and over in my head.
God. I could still feel him. Still taste him. Still hear the things he whispered against my lips.
“You can’t just lock me up again,” I whispered.
His voice softened slightly. “The wedding is in one week.”
My pulse fluttered harder. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Because if I touch you again before our wedding night,” he said roughly, “You’re going to be walking down that aisle with a baby inside your belly. And I want to give you a proper marriage. Not a shotgun wedding.”
Heat exploded through me again. My grip tightened helplessly against the door. “Leo…”
“You wanted honesty tonight, baby?” His voice lowered dangerously. “Here it is.”
I stopped breathing.
“The second I’m inside you, I’m going to want to keep you pregnant,” he said through the wood. “You’ll never know what it’s like to be like this again. Innocent. Do you fucking understand that?”
The words wrecked me, and my knees nearly gave out beneath me. I pressed harder against the door. “Please.”
No answer this time. Only silence.
“Leo?”
Nothing. Panic flickered briefly through me before turning into frustration all over again.
“Leo!” I hit the door harder this time. Then again. “You can’t just say things like that and leave!”
Silence. My chest heaved harder while heat and humiliation and desperate want tangled painfully together inside me. “Leo!”
Nothing. Slowly, horribly, realization sank in. He was gone.
And I was left standing there alone in his bedroom, lips swollen from kissing him, body aching for him, and desperate enough to want to cry. I barely recognized myself anymore.
Chapter Eleven: LEO
