His rules

‎Chapter 3: Rule One

‎Elias (POV)

‎The door to Alessio's room stayed closed.

‎My phone buzzed again in my hands. The vibration traveled up my arms and into my teeth. I looked down at the screen.

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‎You made the wrong choice. I collect what's mine too. – R

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‎I deleted it immediately. Hands still shaking from the gun fire downstairs. The sound of it still echoing in my ears. The smell of gunpowder was still stuck in my throat. I had never seen blood on marble floors before tonight.

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‎"Stop hiding your phone."

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‎I spun around so fast I nearly dropped it. Alessio was back in the room. He had not made a sound when he came in. He was just there. Standing in the doorway.

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‎Black shirt now instead of the white one from earlier. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. The gun was gone from his hand and now I could see the outline of his forearms. Muscles and veins and old scars. There was a tattoo on the inside of his left wrist. Black ink. I couldn't make out what it was from a distance.

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‎He walked to me across the room. He didn't ask for my phone. He just took it out of my hands. His fingers brushed against mine. It felt like being burned.

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‎He scrolled through the screen. He saw the deleted message. I knew he did because his jaw ticked. Once.

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‎"Roman texted you," he said. It was not a question.

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‎"Y- Yes." My voice quivering in fear. I hated that my body was reacting like way.

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‎Alessio tossed the phone across the room without looking. It slammed against the floor tiles and the screen cracked down in the middle. The sound made me flinch. "He's not allowed to contact you. Ever. That is rule three."

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‎"I don't take rules from kidnappers," I snapped back at him. My voice louder this time. Angrier.

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‎Alessio moved fast. One second he was across the room. Next, his hand was around my throat. He didn't squeeze my windpipe. He just held me there. His palm was warm against my skin.  Thumbs pressed against my pulse. I could feel my heartbeat jumping.

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‎"I'm not a kidnapper," he murmured. His face was inches from mine. I could see the flecks of gold in his dark eyes. "You signed a contract with your name. That makes it legal employment."

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‎"At gunpoint," I said. My breath was coming too fast.

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‎"At survival," he corrected. His thumbs brushed my throat. I hated that my pulse jumped under his touch. I hated that my body reacted to him. "Rule one, Elias. No contact with Anyone

‎.No messages. No calls. They don't exist to you anymore."

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‎I grabbed his wrist. Tried to pull it off. His skin was warm. My hands were cold.

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‎"And if I do?" I asked. I was trying to sound brave. I did not feel brave.

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‎Alessio smiled. Slow. It did not reach his eyes. "Then I remind you why you chose me."

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‎He let go. Stepped back. Like he hadn't just had his hand on my throat. Like my pulse wasn't still racing.

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‎"Rule two," he said, walking to the bar stand in the corner of the room. "You sleep in my room from now on. On my bed. Under my protection."

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‎"The hell I will." glaring at him.

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‎Alessio poured himself another drink from the crystal decanter. He didn't offer me one. "You will. Because rule three is: You don't leave this penthouse without my permission. Ever. Not for groceries.Not for anything."

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‎He turned back to me. Took a sip of his amber liquor. "You can test the rules, Elias. I encourage it. But every single time you break one of my rules, I break something of yours in return."

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‎The threat was clear as glass.

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‎"What do I get out of this arrangement," I asked. "Besides a cage with expensive furniture?"

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‎Alessio set his glass down. Walked to me again. This time he didn't touch my throat. He touched my face. One finger under my chin, tilting it up.

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‎"You get to live," he said softly. "You get my protection from anyone. My money. My name. Anyone who touches you without my permission dies. People who become interested in what's mine tend to disappear"

‎ Possessive. Territorial. Unhinged.

‎"You wanted protection. Now you have it.“

‎His thumb brushed my lower lip. My breath hitched. I didn't pull away. Couldn't.

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‎"Last rule," he whispered. "You don't lie to me. I always know when you do."

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‎"How?"

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‎Alessio leaned in. Breath hot against my ear.

‎"Because I'm watching you. Even when I'm not in the room with you. Even when you think you're alone."

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‎Chills ran down my spine. Not fear. Something worse. Something that felt like recognition.

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‎He pulled back from my ear. "Now. Come.“

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‎"Where?“ I asked. I was still frozen in place.

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‎"Bedroom," he said simply. Like it was obvious.

‎"Rule two starts right now."

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‎I didn't move my feet. "No.“

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‎Alessio sighed through his nose. Like I was a stubborn child who was refusing to take a bath. Then he moved.

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‎He scooped me up in a princess carry before I could step back. One arm under my knees, One around my back. He lifted me like I weighed nothing.

"Put me down right now.“ I slammed my fists against his chest. He didn't even flinch at the impact. His chest was solid muscles. Hitting him was like hitting a wall.

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‎"No,“ he said. Carrying me through the penthouse. Past the kitchen. Past the office. Into a  room that was bigger than my entire old apartment back in the city.

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‎Black sheets on a king sized bed. Floor-to-ceiling windows on three walls. The city lights below us.

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‎He dropped me on a bed. He didn't do it gently. I bounced once on the mattress.

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‎Alessio stood over me at the side of the bed. Undoing his watch. Slow. Deliberate. The metal made a quiet clicking sound.

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‎"You sleep here.  With me. In this bed. Every night.“

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‎"I'm not sleeping with you,“ I said. Scooting back on the bed away from him.

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‎Alessio unclipped his watch from his wrist. Set it on the nightstand. Then his shirt. One button at a time from top to down.

‎The scar through his eyebrow caught the light from the city.

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‎"I don't share beds with anyone,“ he said. His shirt hit the floor at his feet.

‎His chest was all muscles and old scars. " Ever. But I am making an exception. For you.“

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‎His chest was all muscles and old scars. There was a long one across his ribs. There was a burn mark on his left shoulder. There was a tattoo over his heart.

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‎He crawled onto the bed with me. Hands gripped my ankles. Pulling me closer.

‎One knee on either side of my hips. Caging me in without touching.

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‎"Last chance, Elias.“ his voice low. Hands on either side of my head. "Sleep. Or I show you what happens when you don't obey my rules.“

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‎His eyes dropped to my mouth. Then they came back up to my eyes.

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