LOGINRoman’s POVVegas air was hot, but back in New York City, the air felt different.It hit my lungs like a harsh reminder of who I was. I had asked my driver to take Gianna straight home.I watched her car disappear down the street.I am not a man who meddles with people. I do not chase women. I do not work hard to get someone I want. Usually, getting what I desire is an easy task. I take it, or I command it, and it becomes mine.With Gianna, it has been a wild roller coaster.She was in love with my brother. Or rather, she was in love with him once. At least, I damn well hope that feeling is dead and buried now.If she were any other woman, I would not have batted an eye. I would have ignored her. I would have walked away without a single second thought. But when it comes to Gianna Voss, I simply can’t.No matter how hard I try to hide it, I fail.No matter how many times I tell myself that my dark ways will hurt her, I can’t stop looking at her. My dangerous lifestyle might make her r
Gianna’s POVRoman stood towering over me, his gaze locked onto mine. His eyes didn't miss a single thing. They tracked the rapid rise and fall of my chest, tracing the thin line of my collarbone before sliding down to my mouth.His deep voice vibrated through the quiet room, setting my nerves on fire."I’m not..." I stammered, my heart slamming against my ribs. "I just... I want to know if we’re on the same page."Roman didn't answer right away. Instead, he took a slow step forward.The scent of his expensive cologne hit me hard. He lifted one hand, his fingers brushing against my skin as he gently held my chin, tilting my face up until I had nowhere else to look."We are on the same page, Gianna," he murmured as his thumb lightly caressed my jawline. "As long as you don't go against me.""What counts as going against you?" I whispered, staring into his eyes."You know what I mean, Gianna."His tone was quiet, but it carried an undeniable weight. He wasn't asking. He was laying down
Gianna’s POV"What the fuck, Dario?" I muttered through gritted teeth.My voice was barely a whisper, but the fury behind it burned hot. I stared at him, my mind spinning. Why would he do this? How did he still have the nerve to call me his fiancé in front of everyone?My chest caved in. I had genuinely thought he was gone. I thought he had slipped out like a coward. But here he was, standing right beside me, marking his territory like a dog.What is Roman thinking right now?Panic clawed at my throat. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. How was I supposed to explain this? How could I make an excuse for my ex-fiancé spending the night in my house, looking like he just rolled out of my bed? Especially when Roman was sitting right there, offering his power to save my father's skin.I stood paralyzed. My face burned under the suffocating weight of the room.Dario glanced around, taking in the stunned silence with a slow, wicked grin. He didn't look bothered at all. He looked thrilled
Gianna’s POVThe morning sun sliced through the linen drapes, hitting my face like a direct slap.I winced from the pounding ache in the left side of my head.My mouth tasted terrible and dry. I hadn't meant to fall asleep. My plan had been flawless, stay awake, keep my eyes locked on Dario, and make sure that bastard didn't try anything pathetic while I was helpless.But the stolen wine had betrayed me. It had dragged me under, drowning my paranoia until I passed out cold.I grabbed the edge of the duvet and dragged it up, peeking underneath. Bare skin. Pale, untouched, free of any new marks. I let out a long exhale that rattled in my chest. Nothing had happened.I scanned the corners of the bedroom. The armchair in the corner was empty. Dario was gone. slipped out before dawn like the ghost he was.Relief washed over my skin.Who the hell did he think he was? Coming into my home, dropping ridiculous conditions, demanding a fake marriage just so he could keep sleeping with Franca un
Gianna’s POVThe silence in the room stretched thin, brittle enough to break. The house was dead quiet around us, the distant hum of the air conditioner the only sound left."You don’t know my brother, Delilah," Dario said, using that old, mock-affectionate name that made my teeth ache. "He is too good at this game. He uses people so smoothly that you’ll actually believe you’re the one using him.”“You’ll think you’re playing him to get what you want, but he’s just sitting back, watching you trap yourself."My fingers tightened on the sheet. "Roman doesn't forgive," Dario snapped. The flat intensity in his tone made the alcohol haze clear for a terrifying second. “If he can kill the one he loves, then you are absolutely nothing to him."The air left my lungs.My throat felt dry, "Wait," I breathed, my confidence wavering for the first time since he walked in. "What do you mean by that, Dario?"Dario’s lip curled into a cold, satisfied smirk. He enjoyed the sudden shift. He liked se
Gianna’s POVThe silhouette in my doorway didn’t belong to Roman. For one dizzy second I thought it was him.The moonlight trickled through the curtains, carving out the sharp angle of his jaw, the posture I once knew like the back of my hand. My breath hitched in my throat, a warm, wine-soaked haze blurring the edges of my perception. Then he moved.Not the lethal, silent glide of Roman but a looser stance. A heavier step.Dario.Panic surged through the alcohol in my veins. I scrambled backward on the bed, my limbs tangled in the heavy duvet as I dragged it over my body. “Oh, hell.”The laptop continued playing until I reached across the bed and slapped the lid down.Silence.Thank God.I grabbed my phone and turned the screen facedown, hiding Roman’s image.My knee throbbed and my chest heaved.Dario took another step deeper into the room, his eyes scanning the place. He looked at my flushed skin, my disheveled hair, the half-empty glass on my nightstand.My heart was still raci







