I should say something. Words of reassurance or promise. Instead, I brush my thumb across her cheek, a gesture so natural, it startles even me.
I withdraw my hand. “Go.”
She slips inside the bathroom, and I stand motionless for several seconds, staring at the closed door, before forcing myself to walk away.
I move through the hotel, avoiding the ballroom entirely. The thought of engaging in small talk, of shaking hands with men who would just as soon put a bullet in my back, feels insufferable after what just happened.
I message my driver who brings the car around. As we pull away from the hotel, I watch the building recede. Inside is the woman who has somehow breached my defenses.
This wasn't supposed to be complicated. A business arrangement. A strategic alliance. Not this hunger that gnaws at my insides, this dangerous desire to claim more than just her body.
I close my eyes, leaning back in the seat. Six more days until she's my wife. Six days to rebuild the walls she's broken through.
But as we move through the city, I find the scent of her still lingers on my skin. I can still feel the heat of her body against mine, hear her soft gasps as she came undone beneath me.
Fuck.
I've had women before. Countless nameless faces. Sexual release was always just that, a physical response.
This was different.
I grind the heels of my palms into my eye sockets as I try to make sense of what just happened. Was it her innocence? The trust in her eyes as she offered herself to me? That initial resistance of her body as I claimed what no man had taken before?
No. It was more than the novelty of her virginity. There was something in the way she looked at me. Like she saw in me places I’ve buried out of necessity.
I think of Luca and how he nearly lost himself when Katerina was taken. He had the wild, unhinged look of a man who'd found his breaking point.
Then there's Adriano, who once swore he'd never love again after losing Eva. Now he walks around with that dopey grin, his hand constantly touching Eva's belly, as if reassuring himself his happiness is real. The transformation would be comical if it weren't so terrifying.
Even Valentina, my fierce little sister who used to spit in the face of emotion, now bends to Cristian's will.
They're happy, I can't deny that. But at what cost? Each of them broke before they could rebuild. Each suffered agonies I witnessed firsthand when their lovers were threatened, injured, nearly lost.
The thought of feeling that kind of fear... of having someone who could be used against me, taken from me...
No. I refuse to follow their path.
Love is a luxury I cannot afford. Not with the Vitale family's history, not with the tenuous peace we're building. Not with the future of the Dante empire on my shoulders.
But can I stop it?
A dangerous sensation tightens my chest, one I haven't felt since I was a boy. Before Father taught me that emotion was weakness. Before I learned that vulnerability brings destruction.
Fear.
Pure, primal fear. Not of death or failure. I've faced those countless times. This is the fear of losing control, of caring for something that can be taken away. Of having a weakness that can be exploited.
What if this is their plan? What if Isabella is bait in an elaborate trap? Marco Vitale has coveted the Dante empire for decades. What better way to bring down a king than through his heart? The Vitales could use her to dismantle us from within.
I clench my jaw, staring at the passing city lights. If I allow myself to fall for her, I risk everything my father built, everything I've sacrificed to maintain.
I can't let that happen. Can't afford to be compromised.
When I see her next, I'll be careful to keep my distance. Whatever this dangerous, intoxicating pull is, I need to master it before it masters me. Before it destroys everything.
When we finally pull through the gates of my estate, I've made my decision. Isabella will be my wife in name only. I'll treat her with respect, provide her security and comfort. But whatever ignited between us tonight cannot continue.
I am the head of the Dante family. I'll be damned if I let some green-eyed girl with a sharp tongue change that.
