5. Claiming her

My head collided with the cantrail when I was thrown into the front seat like a sack of garbage.

Before I could even adjust my dress or sit up properly, the driver's door slammed shut, and the Rolls-Royce roared to life. Dante slammed his foot on the accelerator and the car shot forward with such violent speed that my head snapped back against the leather seat.

I held my breath along with my tongue. I wasn't ready to die tonight.

Right now, he looked like an incarnation of the devil himself. His jaw was clenched so tight that the scar over his left eyebrow looked almost bone-white under the dashboard lights. His dark eyes were pitch black and fixed entirely on the winding, empty road ahead.

Suddenly, he twisted the volume knob of the car's sound system to its fullest, and heavy, aggressive rock music blasted through the speakers. It was so painfully loud that the entire frame of the car began to vibrate, and I was afraid I might become deaf.

But it wasn't the first time I had seen him like this. He sees music as the only distraction when the anger goes out of his own control too.

He drove like a madman, cutting through the dark woods. My eyes widened in horror, and I immediately hid my face with my palms when a massive oak tree appeared right in front of us.

"Dante!" I gasped. My heart was literally in my throat.

Apparently, my husband had decided murder-suicide was an acceptable way to celebrate our reunion.

Suddenly I felt a large, rough hand over my bare thigh. I folded my fingers to uncover my eyes and watched him smoothly move the steering wheel to the left.

I let out a sigh of relief, and he pinched my thigh before taking his hand away.

I bet he was smirking internally at his small win of scaring me.

He slammed the brakes right in front of the Salvatore Mansion. My jaw dropped at its dark beauty, and I didn't even realize when Dante cut the engine and stepped out of the car. I only realized his presence when he appeared in front of me, yanked open my door, and grabbed my arm to pull me out.

I pulled away my arm from his grasp and spat, "I can walk on my own!"

Shrugging my shoulders and straightening up my spine, I walked into the lion's den confidently. My heels clicked against the marble floor with every step I took. I was feeling slightly weak from the adrenaline, but I wasn't going to let him see me shaken.

My feet came to a pause when I realized that it had changed completely from the last time I saw it. It was as huge as before, but the interior was all dark and gloomy with no trace of color or life.

Before I could see it fully, I was hoisted up in the air.

A sharp gasp escaped my throat as Dante swept his arm under my knees and lifted me in bridal style.

My hands instinctively reached up to grab his collar.

"Dante, put me down!" I shouted

But he didn't even glance at me once. His eyes were fixed on the way ahead as he held me like I weighed nothing. His chest was heaving with heavy breaths, his broad frame radiating pure, dangerous heat against my bare arms.

Soon I realised where he was taking me when he kicked open the doors to his room and threw me like a sack of potatoes.

For a moment I thought he had smashed me against the wall to kill me right here and now, but instead I landed on the bed. My body was against the soft mattress, and for a moment I was completely disoriented. My hair fell over my face, obscuring my view.

I immediately propped myself up on my elbows and expected him to be standing on the edge of the bed, but instead he was beside the wooden bar cart near the window, with his back facing me.

He poured himself a heavy glass, filling it to the brim, and chugged the entire drink in one single gulp. He then poured a second glass and then a third, chugging them too before slamming the glass on the cart. I could feel his wrath in every single move.

Then, he turned around to face me.

And I flinched for a second.

Every sense in my body became alert when he started taking predatory steps towards me.

Right now, his inner beast is just waiting to be unleashed.

He reached for his black tie and yanked it free before tossing it carelessly on the floor. Next, he unbuttoned his expensive suit jacket and let it fall to the carpet, and slowly began unbuttoning his white shirt, exposing the thick muscles of his chest and the tattoos creeping up his skin.

His muscles flexed as he shrugged off the shirt and climbed onto the bed.

Instinctively, I crawled back, my dress slightly bunching around my thigh.

"What... what are you doing?" I asked, holding his gaze, trying my best to keep my voice composed.

His eyes simply moved up my body as he grabbed my ankle, dragged me forward, and pressed his heavy, masculine frame down until I was completely trapped beneath him.

He held my jaw and brought his face so close to mine that I could feel his hot breath fanning my face as he growled in dangerous hunger,

"I am claiming my wife."