FAZER LOGINHis fingers curled, his thumb pressed, and Eve shattered.
The orgasm hit her like a tidal wave, pleasure so intense it was almost painful. She screamed his name like he'd commanded, her body convulsing, her nails digging into his shoulders through his expensive shirt.
He worked her through it, prolonging it, until she collapsed against his chest, gasping and boneless.
"Beautiful," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her temple. "So fucking beautiful when you let go."
She couldn't respond. Could barely think. Her entire world had narrowed to the feeling of his arms around her and the aftershocks still rolling through her body.
"That," he said quietly, "was just the beginning."
She lifted her head, confused. "Beginning?"
"You asked me to show you what you've been missing." His smile was dark. "We've barely started."
Before she could process that, he was standing, lifting her with him like she weighed nothing. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist.
"Where are we going?"
"I have a bedroom attached to this lounge." He carried her through a door she hadn't noticed. "And we're going to use it."
The room was all dark wood and masculine luxury. And in the center, a massive bed.
He set her on her feet beside it, and she swayed, still drunk on alcohol and orgasm.
"Strip," he commanded.
"What?"
"Take off your dress. I want to see all of you."
Her hands shook as she reached for the zipper, but she did it. The dress pooled at her feet, leaving her in just her black lace bra and matching panties.
Dimitri's eyes raked over her like a physical touch, and she resisted the urge to cover herself.
"Fuck, you're perfect."
"I'm not...."
"Yes. You are." He stepped closer, his hands spanning her waist. "Say it."
"I'm perfect?"
"Again."
"I'm perfect."
"Whose perfect girl are you?"
Oh. Oh.
"Yours," she whispered. "I'm your perfect girl."
"Yes, you are." His hands slid up her back, unclasping her bra. "And I'm going to ruin you for anyone else."
The bra fell away. Then he was guiding her backward, laying her on the bed, following her down.
His mouth found her breast, tongue swirling around her nipple, and she arched into him with a moan.
"So responsive," he murmured against her skin. "I'm going to enjoy teaching you exactly how good it can be."
"Teach me," she breathed.
''Oh trust me piccola, i will''
And he did.
His mouth mapped every inch of her body, finding places she didn't know were sensitive. Behind her knee. The inside of her wrist. The spot where her neck met her shoulder.
By the time he hooked his fingers in her panties and dragged them down her legs, she was already trembling again.
"Spread your legs for me, piccola."
She did, shameless in her need.
He settled between her thighs, and the first touch of his tongue made her cry out.
This was nothing like the quick, awkward oral sex Simon had occasionally attempted. This was worship. Devotion. A man who knew exactly what to do and took his time doing it.
Dimitri licked and sucked and nibbled, alternating between gentle and rough, learning her body's responses. When he added his fingers again, she came apart for the second time, this one somehow even more intense than the first.
"Please," she gasped when she could speak again. "I need... I need you inside me."
He lifted his head, his lips glistening with her arousal. "Not yet."
"Why not?"
"Because you're drunk, and when I fuck you for the first time, I want you sober enough to remember every second."
"But..."
"No." He kissed his way up her body. "Tonight, I make you come on my tongue and my fingers. Tomorrow, when you're sober, you can have my cock."
"That's not fair."
"Life's not fair, cara." He rolled onto his back, pulling her with him so she was sprawled across his chest. "But I'll tell you what. Tomorrow, you come to me sober, and I'll fuck you until you can't remember your own name. Deal?"
She should say no. Should tell him this was a one-time thing, a mistake fueled by alcohol and heartbreak.
But looking into his eyes, feeling the solid warmth of him beneath her, she couldn't.
"Deal," she whispered.
"Good girl." He stroked her hair. "Now sleep. You're safe here."
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"You're still..." She gestured vaguely at his very obvious erection.
"I'll survive. This is about you, not me."
She wanted to argue, but exhaustion was pulling at her, the combination of alcohol and orgasms making her eyelids heavy.
"Dimitri?"
"Mm?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For making me feel wanted."
His arms tightened around her. "You are wanted, Eve. More than you know."
She fell asleep like that, wrapped in his arms, feeling safer than she had in years.
She didn't see him pull out his phone.
Didn't hear him make a call.
Didn't know he was arranging for legal documents to be prepared and brought to the lounge within the hour.
Because Dimitri Valentino was many things...ruthless, possessive, morally gray....but he was also a strategist.
And he'd just been handed the opportunity of a lifetime.
Eve Thorne, drunk and vulnerable and desperate to belong to someone.
He'd give her exactly what she asked for.
And in the morning, she'd realize she'd signed away far more than she ever intended.
She was addicted to the medication.Isabella's legs nearly buckled under the weight of that understanding.She gripped the balcony railing again, feeling the tremor in her hands, and realized with devastating clarity what had happened.She'd escaped her father's house. She'd run away from his control, his plans, his orchestrated future. She'd chosen Dante. She'd claimed her own agency and her own freedom.Whatever was in those pills, She craved it. And she had no way to get it.Not for days. Maybe longer.And in the meantime, her body was going to punish her for every hour she was without it.Isabella's breathing became ragged.She caught her reflection in the window...pale, hollow-eyed, trembling.She pressed her eyes closed and forced herself to breathe. Forced herself to calm down. Forced herself to remember that Dante was sleeping just inside the villa, and if he woke to find her like this, he would ask questions.And she couldn't answer those questions.Because she didn't underst
"It will take time," Lorenzo said. "He's had hours of head start. He could be anywhere by now.""He's not anywhere," Antonio said. "He's moving south. Away from Rome. Away from established territories. He's looking for somewhere your reach is weaker and mine doesn't extend.""The coast," Lorenzo said, understanding. "He's going to the coast.""Probably," Antonio confirmed. "Which means we start with every property, every contact, every safe house that exists on the coast south of Rome. We narrow the search radius. We find him.""And when we do?" Lorenzo asked."Then we decide together what happens next," Antonio said."Understood," Lorenzo said."I'll be in contact," Antonio said. And Lorenzo?""Yes?" Lorenzo asked."Your daughter chose Dante," Antonio said. "But that doesn't mean she made a good choice. It just means she was vulnerable and he exploited that vulnerability. We're going to deal with the man who did that. What happens to Isabella after is up to her."The line went dead.
Lorenzo stood in the master bedroom of the empty villa.Around him, his tactical teams were finishing their final searches. They'd cleared every room. They'd found the tunnel. They'd understood the complete scope of their failure.His daughter had been here. Right here in this building. And she'd walked out voluntarily with his enemy.It was the most humiliating defeat of his life.He stood at the window, looking out at the moonlit countryside, and made a decision.He pulled out his phone and dialed.***Antonio answered on the second ring."Lorenzo," Antonio said, and there was something almost expectant in his voice, as if he'd been waiting for this call."I wondered when you'd call," Antonio continued."My daughter is gone," Lorenzo said without preamble. "Dante took her. They used an underground tunnel that was built into the property. We had a forty-minute window, and they were already gone before my teams even breached the villa."There was silence on the other end of the line.
"South," Dante said. "To the coast. There's a property about eighty kilometers down....a villa right on the water. It's secure. Your father's reach doesn't extend that far south, and The Covenant doesn't have operatives there.""How long will we stay there?" Isabella asked."Long enough to figure out the next move," Dante said. "Long enough for your father's initial fury to settle. Long enough to understand what Dimitri is going to do."Isabella turned to look at him."You're thinking about Dimitri," she said. It wasn't a question."Always," Dante confirmed. "Dimitri is the variable I can't control. Your father I can manage. The Covenant has its own agenda. But Dimitri....Dimitri is unpredictable. And unpredictable is dangerous.""Do you think he'll come after us?" Isabella asked, and there was fear in her voice."Possibly," Dante said honestly. "But not immediately. He has other concerns. His empire. The Covenant. His woman. We have time."He squeezed her knee gently."And I won't le
A figure stood beside it, one of Dante's operatives, waiting with complete patience."Go," the operative said, opening the back door.Dante guided Isabella toward the vehicle. She was breathing hard, adrenaline pumping through her system, but they were out. They'd made it through the tunnel. They'd escaped.Dante helped her into the back seat and slid in beside her."Drive," he commanded.The vehicle accelerated smoothly, moving away from the clearing, away from the tunnel, away from the safe house where Lorenzo's teams were about to arrive and find nothing but empty rooms.Dante pulled Isabella close against him, his arm around her shoulders."You're safe," he said. "We made it."Isabella nodded, unable to speak, completely overwhelmed by the reality of what had just happened. She'd escaped her father's reach. She'd chosen Dante. She'd made her own decision and followed through with it completely.She was free.***The tactical team breached the safe house by 9: 47.They moved throug
Isabella's expression shifted from concern to confusion."Are we leaving here?" she asked. "I thought you said it was safe here, Dante.""Yes, it is safe," Dante said. "But we're still within your father's territory. So we need to leave."Isabella processed this information, understanding the implication. This safe house wasn't permanent. It was temporary. A way station. A place to regroup before moving on to somewhere truly beyond Lorenzo's reach."Where will we go?" Isabella asked."Somewhere your father can't reach," Dante said simply. "Somewhere we can be together without looking over our shoulders constantly."Before Isabella could respond, Dante's phone rang.He glanced at the screen...Luca, and then looked at Isabella apologetically before picking up."Yes?" Dante said into the phone.He listened for a moment, and Isabella could see the shift in his expression."Lorenzo's men are within the perimeters of the safe house?" Dante said, his voice absolutely calm despite the words.







