MasukGIANNA'S POVI was doing exactly what Dante feared most. And the realization made me hate myself more than I'd ever thought possible."So you lied." The betrayal cut through whatever remained of my hope that he might have changed. "You made me think you were dying just to manipulate me into coming here.""We had to do what was necessary." My father said it so simply, as if lying and manipulation were just tools in his arsenal. As if my feelings didn't matter at all."No." I shook my head, backing toward the door, my hands trembling. "You didn't have to do anything.""Gigi, sweetheart." His voice softened, turning gentle, coaxing. He stepped closer, his hand reaching out to brush my hair back from my face with a tenderness that I'd once longed for but now didn't need. "I know you're upset, but this is for your own good. For your future. Our future. You're my daughter. My blood. That has to mean something."I jerked away from his touch, my skin crawling where his fingers had been. "This
GIANNA'S POVHours later, my skin still burned where Dante had touched me. He'd owned every inch of me in that shower, and my body had responded with an eagerness that left me humiliated.I hated how easily I surrendered to him.But worse than the physical surrender was what he'd said after.He'd find out whatever I was hiding.He knew. Or at least, he suspected.And if Dante suspected something, he wouldn't stop until he uncovered the truth.My hands trembled as I sat in the lecture hall, barely hearing the professor's words.Students shuffled papers around me, packing up as the lecture drew to a close, but I was somewhere else entirely, caught between loyalty and doubt.Why hadn't I confronted him about the inheritance? Demanded answers. Made him admit what he'd done.But I knew why. Because Dante had a way with words. He could make me believe anything when he wanted to. His voice and the intensity in his eyes when he looked at me... it was my weakness. He was my weakness. And I ha
DANTE'S POV I slid two fingers inside her, feeling her walls clench around them. Tight, hot and perfect. I fucked her with my fingers while my tongue worked her clit, the dual sensation making her thighs tremble. My other hand reached up, finding her breast and rolling her nipple between my fingers. "Oh God..." Her head fell against the glass with a soft thud. "Fuck... yes..." I curled my fingers inside her, finding that spot that made her see stars. Her grip on my hair tightened almost painfully, her hips rocking against my mouth. "Dante... I'm close... I'm so close..." I pulled away, my fingers slowing. "What do you want, Gianna?" "Don't stop." Her voice was desperate, needy. "Please don't stop." "Tell me what you want." "You." The word came out on a moan, raw and honest. "I want you inside me. Now." I slid my fingers out slowly but kept my thumb on her clit. Pressing just enough to keep her on edge but not enough to push her over. She whimpered, her hips chasing the pre
DANTE'S POVThe thought had been eating at me since last night. Each passing hour made it worse.I woke alone. The sheets beside me were cold where Gianna should have been.I found her in the shower.Steam clouded the glass door, but I drank in her silhouette through it. Water cascaded over her body, running down curves I'd memorized with my hands and mouth. Her head tilted back, dark hair plastered to her shoulders and spine.Beautiful. She'd always been beautiful.But the shift between us felt like a chasm now, and I needed to know why.I stripped off my clothes and left them on the bathroom floor. The glass door slid open without a sound. She didn't turn around, didn't flinch. Lost in her own world.I stepped inside. Hot water hit my skin as I moved behind her, close enough to smell jasmine body wash mixing with steam.My hands found her waist and pulled her against my chest.She went rigid."Good morning to you too," I murmured against her neck, pressing a kiss to the wet skin jus
GIANNA'S POV I pulled the covers up to my chin, curling onto my side. The silk sheets felt cool against my skin, a poor substitute for the warmth I craved but couldn't allow myself to have. The bathroom door opened. Footsteps crossed the room, then the mattress dipped behind me. Dante's arm slid around my waist, pulling me back against his chest. His body was solid and familiar, the heat of him seeping through the thin fabric of my nightgown. I tried to shift away, but his grip tightened, his other arm sliding beneath my pillow to cage me against him. "Where do you think you're going?" His voice was low and rough. "Dante..." His lips found the curve of my neck, pressing slow, open-mouthed kisses along my skin. The scrape of his stubble sent shivers down my spine. His hand splayed across my stomach, fingers spreading wide as he pulled me flush against him. I felt him, hard and wanting, pressed against my lower back. My body responded before my mind could catch up, moisture po
DANTE'S POVMy father's hair was more gray than I recalled. Lines creased his face that hadn't been there before. But his eyes, those cold eyes, were exactly as I remembered.The air left my lungs."Dad?" The word came out choked, disbelieving."Gigi." His voice broke. "My beautiful girl."My knees nearly gave out. I'd mourned him.When Dante first confirmed he was alive, part of me had refused to believe it. But seeing him now, standing right in front of me, breathing and real..."I thought you were dead." Tears were already streaming down my face. "They told me you were dead. I mourned you. I grieved for you.""I know." He stepped toward me, his hands outstretched. "That bastard Dante tried to kill me. I barely escaped with my life."The mention of Dante's name pulled me back to the present. To the reality of why I was here."You're not innocent either." The words burst out of me, raw and accusing. "You killed his wife. You made him a widower. You took a mother from a child and a wi
Gia’s POV Bruno walked into the dining room mid-bite, and honestly, if I didn’t know better, I’d swear he looked like a big, scary man suddenly made harmless. He wore an almost dorky smile, eyes bouncing between Dante and me as though he had stepped into forbidden territory. He leaned down and w
Gianna’s POV I walked the length of the room for what felt like the hundredth time, fury rolling through me. Dante DeLuca, with all his arrogance, had actually ordered me to my room at breakfast, like he was the principal and I was the disobedient student. What angered me most was that I had to ag
Gia's POVI ran into the bedroom, tiny sparks coursing through every nerve in my body as I dropped onto the edge of the bed, my breath still shallow.My eyes darted to the closet door, expecting him to come bursting out at any second. Part of me wanted him to. God help me, I wanted him to.My heart
Dante's POV Gia couldn’t hide the sweet conflict in her stare, and it had me hard as fuck. But then her hands slipped back under her dress. She shifted in the seat, wiggling her hips as the fabric slid down her thighs. My eyes followed every move, every little twist of her body as she took her pa







