Chapter 3


Chapter 3: Shadows of the Past

The car sped through the rain-slicked streets while my body still hummed from their touches. I sat squeezed between Dante and Leo in the back seat, Nico driving with sharp focus. My dress was back on, but it felt different now, like a thin barrier over skin that remembered every caress. My breasts still ached. My thighs pressed together against the lingering heat. I had been seconds away from giving in completely, from dropping to my knees like Dante commanded, and the interruption left me frustrated in a way I did not want to admit.

Dante’s arm stayed heavy around my shoulders. His fingers traced lazy circles on my arm, a silent promise that we would finish what we started. Leo kept one big hand on my thigh, possessive and grounding. Their warmth cut through the cool blue light flashing past the windows. For the first time in a long while, I felt protected. Wanted. But the phone call had shattered the moment and dragged reality back in.

I closed my eyes and let the memories surface. My father had been desperate at the end. The family business sank under bad deals and mounting debts. He saw only one way out. Marcus. That ruthless rival with cold eyes and a reputation for breaking women who crossed him. Father had arranged everything, ready to sign me over like property to settle the scores.

I ran. I chose the Voss brothers instead. I walked into their penthouse with my head high and my signature ready on their contract. That choice lit the fuse. Marcus did not take rejection lightly. Now his men hit the warehouse tonight, and the war had officially begun. All because I refused to be traded like a pawn.

A shiver ran through me. Dante noticed immediately. He pulled me closer, his voice low against my ear. “You are safe with us. Marcus will never touch what is ours.”

His words should have terrified me. Instead they sent another wave of heat through my body. I did not need a man. I had told myself that for years while I fought to keep the business alive after Father passed. Yet here I was, curvy and exposed in every way, letting three men wrap me in their strength. Their praise still echoed in my head. The way they looked at my soft stomach, my full hips, my heavy breasts. Like I was a masterpiece instead of something to tolerate.

Nico glanced at me in the rearview mirror. His smile flashed even in the tense moment. “Thinking about us, beautiful? About how those thick thighs felt under Leo’s hands? Keep that fire. We will need it when we get you alone again.”

I flushed hot. “This is not the time for games.”

Leo squeezed my thigh, his touch firm and reassuring. “It is exactly the time. You chose us over Marcus. That took courage. Now let us show you what that choice earns you.”

The safe house rose ahead, a sleek modern building tucked behind high gates and heavy security. We pulled inside and the doors locked with a heavy click. Dante led me upstairs to a large bedroom suite while Leo and Nico checked the perimeter. The room felt luxurious yet secure, with soft lighting that cast warm golden tones over the king-sized bed and dark furniture.

Dante closed the door behind us. He turned and looked at me with that primal intensity that made my knees weak. “Marcus thinks he can take you from us. He is wrong. You belong here. With us.”

He stepped close and cupped my face. His kiss came sudden and deep, claiming my mouth like he had already claimed my signature. I melted into it, my hands fisting his shirt. The fear from the attack mixed with the desire they had stirred earlier until I could barely tell them apart.

When he pulled back, Nico and Leo had joined us. They moved with purpose, surrounding me again. Nico’s fingers found the zipper of my dress once more. “Let us remind you how perfect you are,” he whispered. “Every curve. Every soft inch.”

The dress fell. I stood bare before them, vulnerable but no longer ashamed. Leo dropped to his knees again, his mouth pressing reverent kisses along my stomach. “So beautiful,” he murmured against my skin. “Made for us.”

Dante watched with dark eyes while Nico’s hands explored my breasts, pinching lightly until I moaned. Pleasure built fast and overwhelming. I had run from one cage only to step into another, but this one felt like velvet chains I did not want to break.

Then Leo’s phone buzzed on the nightstand. He ignored it at first, his mouth moving lower, but the buzzing continued. Dante picked it up and his face hardened.

“It is Marcus himself,” he said. “He wants to talk. He says he has proof that your father promised you to him first. He claims the contract with us is invalid.”

My blood ran cold. The past I tried to outrun had followed me here. I had chosen the brothers to escape Marcus, but that choice started this war. Now it threatened to pull everything apart.

Dante’s eyes met mine, fierce and unyielding. “We end this tonight. But first, Serena, you need to decide how much you are willing to fight for what we have started.”

He held the phone out. Marcus’s voice waited on the other end, ready to tear apart the fragile new world I had stepped into.

My heart raced between fear and the lingering heat from their touches. I reached for the phone, but Dante held it back, waiting for my answer.

The war was here. And so was my choice.