Библиотека
Искать
Главная / Mafia / The Auctioned Bride / Chapter 13: Under the Microscope

Share

Chapter 13: Under the Microscope

Aвтор: Annie
last update Последнее обновление: 2025-09-13 21:54:29

I cleared my throat and started to descend the stairs, earning attention from him.

As I reached the bottom, I caught Valerio’s gaze, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes. His usual confident demeanor wavered…he looked… stunned. The way he stared at me, taking in every detail of the red dress and my face, made me feel like I was under a microscope.

A surge of satisfaction hit me. I’d caught him off guard, even if it was only for a second. His eyes roamed over me, lingering on my curves, and there was something in his gaze..admiration, maybe even attraction. For just a moment, the tough mask slipped.

But as quickly as it came, it was gone. He pulled himself together, calm and collected once again. Still, I knew what I’d seen. That flicker had been real. And it made me happy.

“Uhm… I’m sorry I’m late,” I said softly, unable to meet his eyes, catching the faint whiff of his woody scent.

He didn’t respond. That silence forced me to look up, and there his eyes
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Заблокированная глава
Предыдущая глава Следующая глава

Latest chapter

  • The Auctioned Bride   Chapter 21: Claimed

    How dare he?I paced the room, barefoot on the cold floor, clutching the hem of his shirt like it might rip if I pulled harder. I had only tried to be kind. To show the guards… the men who bled for him that they were human. And he dragged me, humiliated me, like I’d done something shameful.His words were stuck in my head. Do you enjoy being stared at? Do you like their eyes on you?I bit down on my lip until it hurt. Did he think I was that kind of woman? That I wanted attention?No. He wanted control. He wanted me caged, silent, invisible unless he chose otherwise.I threw myself onto the bed and hugged my knees. My throat burned. The scent of him hung on the shirt, on my skin, and it made the fury coil tighter.I kept thinking about the way his hand had yanked me. Something ugly flared inside me. Not fear. Rage. At being owned. At being treated like a thing to be corrected in front of his men. I had tried to be kind for five minutes, and he acted like I’d committed a crime.I hated

  • The Auctioned Bride   Chapter 20: Breakfast and boundaries

    I slept.I didn’t know how or when exactly, but when I woke up, light seeped faintly through the curtains, soft and golden. The bed beside me was empty. My stomach dropped.Valerio was gone.Panic sparked in me before I even thought it through. Where could he have gone this early? Why didn’t he say anything? My eyes darted around the room, searching for some sign that this wasn’t abandonment. Then I saw it on the vanity, a folded note.I scrambled toward it, my heartbeat too fast for something so small.“Out for work.”Simple. Short. Cold. But it was something. At least it meant he hadn’t vanished without a word. At least it meant he was safe enough to leave words behind. I let out a shaky breath. My chest loosened.I freshened up quickly, pulling the shirt he’d left me tighter around my body. When I opened the door, two guards stood stationed like stone pillars on each side.Typical.“Excuse me,” I said carefully, testing if they’d even respond to me.One turned his head slightly.“W

  • The Auctioned Bride   Chapter 19: The weight of his touch

    The shower stopped in the bathroom and my heart started to pound again. I sat on the edge of the bed, clutching the blanket so tightly my knuckles went white.The bathroom door opened.Steam spilled out first, curling into the air. Then Valerio stepped out. His hair was damp, darker, dripping slowly down his temples. A towel hung low on his hips, and that was all he wore.I tried not to look. God, I tried. But my eyes betrayed me. I wanted nothing more than to see what was underneath. He was definitely going to be huge.I swallowed the saliva that had gathered in my mouth as I stared. He moved like nothing weighed him down, calm, dangerous.My eyes fell to the lines of his shoulders, the slope of his back, the way the towel clung to him. Heat pooled in my belly and I fought the stupid, needy urge to just reach out and touch him… to see if he was real.He didn’t look surprised that I was watching. He never seemed surprised by anything. He dropped the towel into a chair and reached for

  • The Auctioned Bride   Chapter 18: The predator and the prey

    The safe house was as beautiful as our mansion.. Uhm.. The mansion, but only smaller.It felt built in a hurry, but Valerio called it a safe house and that was enough.After the guards said the area was clear, he came around and pulled me out of the car himself, his hand on mine again. I looked down at our hands as we walked in. I looked at him, but he didn’t seem to notice whatever I was feeling.Inside, he kept walking until we reached a room. He shut the door and the guards left after his orders. It was just the two of us.“It’s best I keep you safe for now,” he said. “Those bastards might still be lurking.” I had no answer.He started to take off his wristwatch and cufflinks. He didn’t wear a tie. It felt wrong to stare, but everywhere else to look was worse.He took off his jacket, then slowly unbuttoned his shirt. I thought that was all until he slid the shirt off over his head.I hadn’t expected that. One moment he was a hard, sharp man and the next he was peeling his shirt off

  • The Auctioned Bride   Chapter 17: Ambush

    The night air was sharp, heavy with the scent of smoke and champagne. Guards fanned out around us, their steps quick, tense. Valerio’s hand was still locked on mine, pulling me toward the car like I was another weapon in his arsenal.I thought we were free.Then movement.Shadows shifted near the line of cars. A man stepped out first, then two more. Guns glinted under the floodlightsThe night froze.Three men. Guns raised. Their faces were half-masked, eyes sharp and desperate.“Capo Moretti,” one of them barked, voice rough with nerves, “this is the end of the line.”Everything happened too fast for me to think. Valerio shoved me hard toward one of his men, barking, “Get her down!”I stumbled, caught by the guard who pulled me low behind a car door. My heart hammered so loudly I swore the gunmen could hear it.The night shattered, gunfire cracked through the air. Sparks flew as bullets struck metal. People screamed inside the hall, rushing to the windows, but no one dared step out.

  • The Auctioned Bride   Chapter 16: Blood on the dancefloor

    We had barely left the dance floor when the weight of all those eyes pressed harder on me. Whispers followed us, soft and sharp. Valerio didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he just didn’t care. He moved with that same steady stride, commanding the room without lifting a finger.I tried to breathe, tried to shake off the warmth of his hand still burning against my back, but then I saw him.The man at the bar.He was still there, his glass trembling in his hand, eyes darting toward us like he couldn’t look away. The more I watched, the clearer it became that it was dread, not just nerves.And then, as if he felt my gaze, he froze. His eyes locked onto mine, wide, frantic, before flicking quickly to Valerio. The glass slipped from his hand and shattered against the floor, sharp cracks cutting through the music.Every head turned. The chatter died.The man staggered back, his face pale. “Capo…” his voice broke, desperate. He shook his head once, twice, as if trying to form words but too afrai

More Chapters

Вам тоже понравятся

Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status