CHAPTER 5

POV: ADRIAN

My hand was shaking so badly I almost dropped my phone onto the club’s tiled floor.

I’m going to kill you.

I had just received a death threat from a mafia boss. My mom always told me that if I kept living like this, I’d end up in trouble, but I never imagined things would get this bad.

“Are you okay, Adrian? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” Vera asked, tilting her head with a playful smile as she stepped closer, her fingertips grazing my chest.

“I... I have to go,” I stammered, feeling the air completely leave my lungs. “I’m sorry, Vera. I’m really, really sorry. I’ll give you my number, I’ll call you, I promise whatever you want, but I have to get out of here right now!”

“What are you talking about? We were just...”

I didn’t let her finish. I turned on my heel and sprinted toward the club’s main exit. My mind was in absolute chaos.

That man was a fucking mafia boss!

He had proof that I was cheating, and to top it off, he had just threatened to kill me in the most literal way possible.

I tried to escape down the left hallway, but two burly men in dark suits with terrifyingly cold expressions appeared out of nowhere, blocking my path with terrifying efficiency.

“Not this way, Mr. Vale,” one of them said in a voice straight from the grave.

I spun around and bolted toward the back alley. Big mistake. Two more massive men were closing off the other exit. I was trapped in the shadows of the club, my heart slamming against my ribs like a jackhammer.

And then, stepping out from the darkness of the VIP booths, came him. Matteo Rossi.

His suit was immaculate, his jaw was set, and he radiated a calm so terrifying it made my blood run cold.

“Having fun, Adrian?” he asked in a deep voice, taking a step forward.

“This isn’t what it looks like!” I yelled, throwing my hands up defensively as panic completely took over. “Listen to me, Matteo! Things between your sister and me aren’t even that serious, I swear! We can talk about this like civilized adults!”

Matteo didn’t say a single word. He just calmly walked toward me.

He smiled when he reached me, which gave me a tiny sliver of hope that I might actually survive this.

A hope that instantly vanished the second I saw him throw a precise punch straight to my face.

A second later, a dull, crushing pain exploded in my jaw. The blow was so fast and heavy that the world went black instantly, plunging me into complete darkness.

I opened my eyes to a throbbing headache and the metallic taste of blood on my lips. My rapid blinking revealed that I was no longer at the club. I was in a luxurious suite with dark mahogany walls and dim lighting that brought me back to reality way too fast.

And there he was, standing right beside the bed, staring down at me with a mix of disgust and absolute control.

“Take off your pants.”

I blinked, convinced the air in the room had suddenly turned to lead.

“Excuse me?” I managed to choke out, my voice trembling.

“I’m not going to repeat myself,” Matteo snapped, stepping closer with agonizing slowness.

“You’re crazy!” I protested, scrambling backward until my back hit the headboard. “Let me go! I’m not gay!”

Matteo completely ignored my shouting. He loomed over me with overwhelming strength, pinning both of my wrists to the sheets with just one hand while the other began unbuckling my belt.

“If you like fucking women and then throwing them away like they’re worth nothing...” he whispered close to my ear, his breath burning my skin, “I’m going to make you feel what it’s like to be on the other side.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! Leave me alone!” I thrashed in desperation, feeling the humiliation burning in my throat.

Matteo slid a hand down my hip, moving down the denim of my jeans until his palm brushed directly against my dick, which—to my utter and absolute betrayal—reacted immediately at the touch.

“If you’re such a playboy, maybe it just means you haven't found what you actually like yet,” he murmured in a low, deliberately crude voice. “And maybe what you really like... is getting fucked in the ass.”

“You’re sick!” I screamed, out of my mind, trying to shake him off me. “Get off me! I swear this is just an involuntary physical reaction!”

Matteo paused for a second. His fingers were still pressing firmly against the fabric of my underwear, feeling the undeniable proof of my body’s reaction. He tilted his head, his eyes gleaming with a dark, twisted pleasure.

“Do you want me to fuck you?” he whispered with a fake sweetness that froze my blood.

“NO!” I shrieked, my heart in my throat.

Silence instantly swallowed the room.

Matteo let go of me. He pulled away from the bed in a sharp movement, straightened his jacket, and looked down at me. But there was no trace left of the disturbance or the twisted desire from a second ago; his eyes had returned to that look of pure, icy contempt that terrified me so much.

“Then, if you don’t want to die and you don’t want me to fuck you,” he said in a frigid voice, “you’re going to be good to my sister. Alicia has been really sad lately, and nothing I’ve tried has made her happy. Because the only thing she wants is you. And my sister gets whatever she wants.”

I was left breathless, lying on the bed, covered in sweat and shaking from head to toe.

Matteo leaned down a bit closer over me, planting his hands on the mattress and invading every inch of my personal space until our eyes locked once again.

“You’re going to go back to my sister, you’re going to treat her like a queen, and you’re going to make her very happy... or I will make sure you completely forget about women forever.”