All Chapters of SUBSTITUTE BRIDE FOR THE MAFIA DON: Chapter 291 - Chapter 300

Andrea's POV"I'm an only child," he said, his hands moving to my back, rubbing gentle circles that were soothing and grounding. "And an orphan. My mom died when I was fifteen. Ovarian cancer. By the time they found it, it was too late.""Dante, I'm so—""It's okay," he said, cutting off my apology. "It was a long time ago."But I could hear the old pain in his voice, could feel the tension in his body. It wasn't okay. It would probably never be okay."My dad never got over her death," he continued, his voice flat and detached like he was telling someone else's story. "He loved her too much, I think. She was his whole world, and when she died, he just... fell apart."His hands stilled on my back."He started drinking. Heavy drinking. Every night, every morning, all the time. Lost his job. Stopped taking care of himself. Stopped taking care of me, really. I had to grow up fast, learn to take care of both of us."I turned in his arms, water sloshing, so I could face him properly. His exp

Andrea's POVLuca didn't find out about Dante and me.The days following that night passed in a strange blur of normalcy tinged with anxiety. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Luca to corner me with questions or for Dante to slip up and reveal what had happened between us. But nothing came.Luca seemed completely oblivious, too wrapped up in his own world—specifically, too wrapped up in Dee—to notice anything was off with me.And honestly, watching him with her was both sweet and frustrating.He'd had a painting room set up for her. An entire room, right across from his office, filled with natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows, equipped with easels and canvases and every art supply imaginable. The walls were painted a soft cream color that Dee had apparently mentioned loving once in passing, and he'd even had a comfortable reading chair installed in the corner for when she needed a break.It was incredibly romantic. Thoughtful. The kind of grand gesture that screame

Dante's POVWatching Andrea skip up the stairs, my cock twitched against my will, hardening in my jeans in a way that was both uncomfortable and completely involuntary.She looked breathtaking in that bikini.Absolutely fucking breathtaking.The black two-piece left very little to the imagination—the top barely contained her full breasts, the bottoms riding up to show off the curve of her ass and those long legs that I'd had wrapped around my waist four nights ago. And that sheer coverup she'd been wearing? It hid absolutely nothing. Just made everything more tantalizing, like a gift waiting to be unwrapped.I'd tried not to stare. Tried to keep my expression neutral and professional when I'd run into her in the hallway. But the moment I'd seen her, dripping wet from the pool, her skin glistening, her hair damp and falling around her shoulders, every good intention I'd had flew out the window.My eyes had roamed her body without permis

Andrea's POVMy phone pinged just as I settled onto my bed with my laptop.I picked it up, expecting maybe a message from Dee or my mom checking in. But when I saw Dante's name on the screen, my heart did that stupid flutter thing that I hated.I opened the message.We need to talk. Tonight. I'll pick you up at 8.I stared at the words, reading them over and over, feeling my initial flutter of excitement morph into irritation, then anger.I scoffed out loud, the sound harsh in the quiet of my room.Who the hell did he think he was?He ignored me for four days. Four entire days without a single call, text, or acknowledgment that we'd slept together. Four days of radio silence after taking my virginity, after marking my body, after making me feel things I'd never felt before.And now he was summoning me? Not asking if I was free, not suggesting we meet up if I wanted to, but telling me he'd pick me up at eight like I was his employee and he was my boss.Like I was just supposed to drop

Andrea's POVMy eyes widened. My breath caught. Heat pooled instantly between my thighs at his words, at the promise in his voice."That's—you can't just—" I stammered, my brain short-circuiting."Can't what?" He pulled back slightly to look at me, that smirk still playing on his lips. "Can't tell you exactly what I'm thinking? Can't tell you that I've spent the past four days trying not to think about you, failing miserably, and jerking off to memories of that night?""Dante," I breathed, my anger warring with the desire that was flooding through me."Can't tell you that seeing you in that bikini today nearly made me lose my mind? That I wanted to throw you over my shoulder and take you right there in the hallway, Luca be damned?"His other hand came up to grip the railing on my other side, fully caging me in now. I was trapped between his body and the balcony, and I couldn't bring myself to care."Can't tell you that I'm done staying away from you? That I don't care what we agreed,