ANMELDENDANTE'S POVThe trust in her eyes broke my insides and mended it at the same time."You think you have this figured out." I took a slow step forward. "You think holding her makes you safe. But you're wrong.""Am I?" Lorenzo's laugh was nervous. "Then go ahead. Take the shot. See what happens. See if you're fast enough to hit me without hitting her. Are you willing to take that risk?""Dad, stop this." Gianna's voice was hoarse and breaking. "This isn't... you don't have to do this. Please. If you ever loved me, if any of it was real, just stop.""I'm doing this because I love you!" Lorenzo shouted, his composure shifting. "To save you from him! Why can't you see that? Why can't you understand?""Because you're not saving me!" Tears streamed down her face, her voice rising with each word. "You're using me! Just like you've always used me! I'm not your daughter, I'm just a tool to you. A bargaining chip. Something to hide behind when you're scared!"The words provoked Lorenzo even furth
DANTE'S POVMy heart had been ripped out of my chest the moment Bruno called.Gianna ditched security. The words had sent every worst fear crashing through me. But even in my darkest imaginings, I'd never expected to find her here, in a meeting with her father. The betrayal cut deep, a wound that would scar. But I couldn't focus on that. Not when the man who'd destroyed my entire world, the ghost I'd hunted for years, was standing across the room with his hands on my wife.I raised my gun, aiming directly at Lorenzo's head."Dante." She gasped my name like salvation.She's relieved to see me. After running from my protection. After meeting with him behind my back.The thought burned through me, but I shoved it down. Later. I'd deal with the betrayal later.Lorenzo's grip tightened on her arm as a slow, cruel smile spread across his face."De Luca." His voice dripped with dark amusement. "We finally meet again.""The coward who faked his own death." My finger tightened on the trigger.
GIANNA'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 POVThe reception was in full swing.A live band played from the corner, classical and elegant. The music drifted through the hall, turning the evening into something otherworldly.The long table was draped in white silk and covered with elaborate floral arrangements. We were seated at the
Dante's POV I hadn’t expected breakfast to be simple, but I didn’t expect it to nearly blow up in my face either. When I walked in and heard the way my sister-in-law and my daughter spoke to Gianna, so condescending and cruel, I saw the hurt in Gianna’s eyes, and it broke me in ways I couldn’t exp
Dante's POVI knew Gianna's promise not to harm herself wasn't enough. I had to give her a way out, some control she could hold onto, or she'd never stop trying to escape."And in return for giving me your word, I'll strike another deal with you."Her eyebrows lifted. "What kind of deal?""I propos
Dante's POV The moment her hand moved, I lunged. I didn’t waste a second or stop to consider the consequences. My protective instinct rose so fast it drowned everything else out, and all that mattered was reaching her, stopping her, closing the space between us in a heartbeat. I grabbed her wrist







