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Home / Romance / CRAVING THE WRONG MAN: DANGEROUS DESIRES BOOK 1 / Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

All Chapters of CRAVING THE WRONG MAN: DANGEROUS DESIRES BOOK 1: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

130 Chapters

CHAPTER 41

Rhaena's POV"No, no, that's okay," I said quickly, shaking my head. "You don't have to do that. You've already done enough for me. I can just order a cab or an Uber or something. It's really not a big deal."The last thing I needed was to be trapped in a car with him for however long it took to drive to my apartment. More time alone together. More opportunities for weird tension and confusing feelings."Rhaena, I'm driving you home," he said firmly, his voice leaving no room for argument. "You're wearing a club dress at ten in the morning and you don't even have a jacket. I'm not letting you take a cab. I'm taking you home myself. End of discussion.""Alessio, really, I can—""I insist," he interrupted, already walking toward the bedroom door. "Come on. My car's in the garage downstairs. It should take twenty minutes tops to get you home."I stood there for a moment, holding his folded shirt in my hands, knowing that arguing with him was pointless. When Alessio made up his mind about

CHAPTER 42

Rhaena's POVThe intensity in his green eyes hit me like a physical blow. For just a moment, just a brief second, I saw everything there - desire, frustration, want. It was like looking into a mirror of my own feelings, and it scared me how much I recognized in his expression.My breath caught in my throat. My heart started pounding harder.He didn't say anything. Just looked at me with those intense green eyes that seemed to see right through every wall I'd built up, every defense I tried to maintain.I couldn't look away. Even though I knew I should. Even though I knew this moment was dangerous. Even though every rational part of my brain was screaming at me to break eye contact and look literally anywhere else.The car behind us honked, breaking the spell.Alessio's jaw tightened and he turned his attention back to the road, pressing the accelerator a bit harder than necessary. The car lurched forward and I grabbed onto the door handle instinctively.The silence now was different.

CHAPTER 43

Rhaena's POVIt was Monday morning and I was already in my office, trying to focus on work and not think about what had happened over the weekend. Trying not to think about waking up in Alessio's bed, or the tension-filled car ride, or the way he had looked at me with those intense green eyes that made my whole body feel like it was on fire.I had gotten to the office early, before most people arrived, hoping to bury myself in spreadsheets and reports and emails. Anything to keep my mind occupied and away from dangerous thoughts about my future stepbrother.Alessio hadn't arrived in the office yet. His office was just down the hall from mine. We worked in the same building, on the same floor, just a few doors apart from each other. I would be seeing him constantly. There was no escape.I tried not to think about that. Tried not to think about having to see him every day and pretend everything was normal between us.My thoughts were

CHAPTER 44

Rhaena's POV"That's impossible," I said flatly. "We're done. We've been done for two months. It's over, Jake. Move on."His smile faltered slightly. "Rhaena, please. You don't understand. I need you in my life. My life is falling apart without you." His voice was getting more desperate now, more frantic."What do you mean your life is falling apart?" I asked suspiciously.He ran his hand through his gelled hair, messing it up. "I lost my job," he admitted. "Three weeks ago. I got fired. And I'm in huge debt, Rhaena. Credit cards, loans, I owe so much money. I don't know what to do."I stared at him, understanding starting to dawn. "And what exactly do you want me to do about that?" I asked slowly.He stepped closer to my desk. "You could give me the money," he said, and there was something greedy in his eyes now. "You could help me out. I know your mom is marrying that wealthy guy - Alessandro Ravelli, right? One of the richest men in the city? You'll have access to so much money now

CHAPTER 45

Rhaena's POV"No," I said quickly. "No, he didn't touch me. He was just... he was saying horrible things, but he didn't hurt me physically."Alessio nodded, but I could see he was still tense, still angry. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides.He moved even closer to me, until he was standing right in front of me. Close enough that I could smell his cologne. Close enough that I could see the flecks of gold in his green eyes.Then he reached up slowly and touched my cheek softly with his fingers. The touch was so gentle, so tender, such a complete contrast to the violence he'd just displayed."You're shaking," he said quietly, his thumb brushing across my cheekbone.I hadn't even realized I was. But now that he mentioned it, I could feel my whole body trembling slightly with the aftermath of adrenaline and shock."I'm okay," I said again, but my voice was shaky too.His hand was still on my cheek, warm and solid and comforting. I found myself leaning into his touch without m

CHAPTER 46

Rhaena's POVMore silence. But it was a different kind of silence now. Quieter, somehow. Like something had been acknowledged between us without either of us actually acknowledging it.Alessio looked around my office, taking in the scattered papers and the broken vase on the floor and the flowers lying among the shattered glass. He bent down and started picking up the flowers carefully, gathering them in his hands."You don't have to—" I started."Sit down, Rhaena," he said gently but firmly. "You're still shaking. Sit down and let me clean this up."I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell him I was perfectly capable of cleaning up my own office. But my legs were still feeling weak and unsteady, and the look in his eyes didn't invite argument. So I sat down in my chair and watched him.He picked up the flowers first, then carefully gathered the larger pieces of the broken vase with his bare hands. He went to my small private bathroom and came back with paper towels to clean up the water.

CHAPTER 47

Rhaena's POVThe week had gone by slowly, each day feeling longer than the last. Every time I saw Alessio at the office, there was this tension between us that neither of us acknowledged out loud. We kept things professional, polite, distant. But I could feel his eyes on me sometimes when I walked past his office. Could feel the weight of everything unspoken hanging in the air between us whenever we ended up in the same meeting room or the same hallway.I had tried to distract myself. I had gone out for dinner with Micah on Wednesday night - a nice, safe, boring dinner where he talked about his work and asked polite questions about mine. He had been a perfect gentleman, walking me to my door and giving me a chaste kiss on the cheek before saying goodnight. And I had felt absolutely nothing. No butterflies, no racing heart, no desire for more. Just... nothing.Which made me feel guilty because Micah was nice. He deserved someone who could appreciate how nice he was. Someone whose thoug

CHAPTER 48

Rhaena's POVThe ride to the airport was quiet but comfortable. Alessio drove his sleek black sports car with easy confidence, one hand on the wheel, occasionally glancing over at me. We made small talk about work, about the villa, about the weather in Italy this time of year. Safe topics. Easy topics. Nothing that touched on the tension simmering beneath the surface.When we pulled up to the airport, I expected him to head toward the main terminal. But instead he drove past it, following signs for private aviation."Where are we going?" I asked, confused."Private terminal," he said simply."Private terminal?" I repeated. "I thought we were taking a commercial flight."He glanced at me with a small smile. "Did you really think my dad was going to make us fly commercial for an eight-hour flight to Italy?"I hadn't really thought about it, to be honest. I knew Sandro was wealthy - extremely wealthy - but I hadn't fully processed what that meant in practical terms.We pulled up to a muc

CHAPTER 49

Rhaena's POV I felt sick. My stomach was churning. Part of me wanted to open my eyes and tell her to back off, to stop propositioning him right in front of me even if she thought I was asleep. But another part of me - a part I didn't want to examine too closely - needed to hear what Alessio would say. Needed to know if he would accept her offer.The silence stretched out for what felt like forever.Then I heard Alessio's voice, cold and firm. "That won't be necessary, Elena.""Are you sure?" Elena pressed. "I'm very good at—""I'm sure," Alessio interrupted, his voice harder now. "I'm not interested. Please leave.""But—""Now," he said, and there was no room for argument in his tone.I heard footsteps - Elena walking away, probably embarrassed and rejected. I heard her mumble something that sounded like an apology before I heard the sound of a door closing quietly somewhere in the bac

CHAPTER 50

Rhaena's POV"I can't," I finally whispered."Can't what?" he asked, his eyes locked on mine."Can't tell you to stop," I admitted, my voice barely audible.Something flickered in his eyes - triumph, desire, relief, maybe all three. He leaned closer again, so close that our lips were almost touching. Almost but not quite."Then what do you want, Rhaena?" he asked against my lips, his breath mingling with mine. "Tell me what you want."What did I want?I wanted him to close the tiny distance between us and kiss me. I wanted to feel his lips on mine, to know if they were as soft as they looked. I wanted his hands in my hair, on my body, everywhere. I wanted to forget about our parents and the wedding and all the reasons this was complicated. I wanted to give in to this thing between us that had been building for weeks.I wanted him.But wanting something and being able to have it were two very different things."I want..." I started, but my voice trailed off."Yes?" he prompted, his eye

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