Dante’s POVThe slam of the door cut through the haze in my head like a blade. My body jerked toward it instinctively...heart clawing, hope catching in my throat.Leona. She came back. Please, let it be her.But the figure in the doorway wasn’t her.Marcello stood there, shoulders tense, a steaming mug clutched in his hand. His gaze flicked over me, sweat-soaked, trembling, still half-hard and feral in the sheets and something in his jaw tightened.Disappointment soured on my tongue. I wanted her. I needed her. Not him.“She said this would help,” Marcello said curtly, as if the words tasted strange to him. “Told me exactly what to do.” He set the mug on the nightstand, but when my hand shook too violently to reach it, he sighed, muttered something under his breath, and pressed it to my lips himself.Humiliation burned hotter than the concoction sliding down my throat. Being fed like a child, like a beast chained by its own hunger. The taste was bitter, pungent, clinging to my tongue.
Dante’s POV The orgasm should’ve drained me. Normally it left me heavy, satisfied, sated with her body. But this time… it didn’t stop.My cock was still rock-hard inside her, twitching like it hadn’t finished. My chest burned, my pulse thundered too loud in my ears. The sweat slicking my skin wasn’t enough to cool me, if anything, the heat kept climbing, boiling under my flesh.Leona shifted beneath me, her breathless little laugh trembling against my shoulder. But when I lifted my head, I knew something was wrong.My vision swam, pupils blown wide, and when I caught sight of myself in the gilt mirror across the room, my eyes looked… feral. Dark. Like I didn’t recognize the man staring back.Her fingers traced my jaw gently, but I grabbed her wrist too fast, too tight. She winced.“Dante…?” she whispered, uncertain.I tried to say her name, tried to ground myself in the way her body hugged mine, but all that came out was a ragged growl. My hips jerked, driving into her again, rougher
Dante’s POVThe slam of the front door rattled the silence of the mansion, but it wasn’t enough to bleed out the poison still roaring in my veins. I don't know how I didn't crash the car on my way home. Every step I took up the stairs was heavier than the last, the drug clinging to me like chains, heat pulsing under my skin, urging me to lose control. I didn't even know what I was high on.Valentina’s laugh still echoed in my skull. Her perfume still clung to my clothes. My jaw ached from how hard I’d been grinding my teeth.I wanted to scrub her touch off my skin with fire.But then I pushed open the bedroom door and everything inside me stuttered.Leona.She was sitting on the edge of the bed, silk draped over her like a whisper. Bare legs curled into the covers, hair tumbling around her shoulders, eyes wide as they locked on mine.For a moment, the haze tilted. The heat that had been clawing at me with Valentina’s face burned hotter, sharper, crueler because it wanted her. Not Vale
Dante’s POVThe message came just as I was reviewing a stack of contracts in my office. Valentina’s name flashing across my screen was already an irritation, but the words made me pause.“I know who’s been going after Leona. If you care about her safety, meet me tonight. Alone.”My first instinct was to delete it. I didn’t owe Valentina a damn thing, and I certainly didn’t trust her. If she thought dangling Leona’s name in front of me would earn a second chance, she was more desperate than i imagined.I set the phone aside.An hour later, Marcello strode into the office, that ever-measured calm on his face. “You got her message.” It wasn’t a question.My eyes narrowed. “If this is about Valentina, I don’t want to hear it.”Marcello didn’t flinch. “And if it’s about Leona? What if she really knows something? You’ve made enough enemies, Dante. Someone’s targeting her because of you. Would you rather find out too late that Valentina was telling the truth?”A muscle ticked in my jaw. I ha
Leona's POV The slam of the front door echoed through the hall like a verdict. Dante didn’t follow me. He didn’t even look back when I turned away.By the time I climbed the stairs, my chest felt heavy, like something was lodged deep inside, refusing to let me breathe. The corridors stretched endlessly, empty and suffocating.When I reached our room, I pushed the door shut behind me and collapsed against it. My legs wouldn’t hold me anymore. The sobs came before I could stop them, jagged and raw, tearing through my throat until my whole body shook.I buried my face in my palms. His silence replayed over and over louder than any accusation he could’ve thrown at me. Silence that told me I wasn’t worth defending. Silence that cut deeper than his rage.For a long moment, I let the tears fall. I hated myself for it. Hated how much he could still break me with nothing more than doubt.But beneath the ache, something hardened.I dragged myself up, wiping at my cheeks with the back of my han
POV: LeonaThe boutique smelled faintly of roses and polished wood, too polished, too pristine for how rattled I felt. Gianna was supposed to be here with me since she had suggested and insisted I pick up a gown for an upcoming charity gala. Being a Don's wife, that is all there is to do since Dante doesn't want me to work for the fear I'll be attacked at work. Gianna cancelled at the last minute saying she was feeling too tired from 'all of the fun' she had with her husband yesterday. I'm not complaining though because I’d wanted a moment away from the estate walls. Just me, other activities, and a fleeting illusion of normalcy.“Leona?”The voice froze me mid-step. I turned, and my blood turned cold.Adrian.I rolled my eyes.Of all places, of all times. He leaned against a display like he owned the room. Same storm-dark eyes, same crooked smile that once had the power to unravel me. Except now, instead of warmth, there was something sharper lurking underneath.“I didn’t expect to s