Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66590 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66590 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Giovanni’s jaw ticced. “No.”
I frowned. “What? I thought that’s what—”
“No.”
“You want me on my knees begging, Giovanni? Is that it?”
He simply stared back at me. I do like a woman on her knees. I swallowed every ounce of pride I had as my bare knees met the cold patio slabs.
“Is this what you want? The girl you bought kneeling like a submissive little slave?” I spat the venomous words at him.
Rough fingers threaded through my hair, wrenching me flush to his thigh. The hard outline of his dick pressed to my cheek, and I gritted my teeth. He groaned, then forced me to look up at him.
“There is not a submissive bone in your body, Emilia, but fuck, you look good down there.” He stepped back, releasing a long breath as his fists clenched at his sides. “Get up.”
I did, and he reached out, tracing his knuckles over my jaw.
“When you agree to marry me, it won’t be for your fucking brother. I want submission, not sacrifice.” His thick thigh forced my legs apart until I was practically straddling him, the soft material of his pants caressing my skin. “And the next time you get on your knees like that, you will be willingly choking on my dick, princess.” Never.
He stepped back so suddenly that I swayed on the spot. My heart beat an erratic tune in my chest, fear and that twisted sense of curiosity threading through my veins. I needed to find a way to escape him because Giovanni Guerra had the ability to make me weak.
_____
It was the next afternoon when a knock came at my bedroom door. That in itself was weird because Giovanni’s men never came in here, and he didn’t knock; he just walked in. Still, I ignored it and kept dragging the pencil over the page. Of course, Giovanni’s version of boundaries only lasted so long and he walked right in.
“Fuck off—”
He tossed a phone onto the bed and walked out without a word. I frowned down at the device and scooped it up. The red-haired guy who had helped kidnap me and threatened my brother was on the screen, his smile warm and inviting in a way that annoyed me.
“Hey, sweetheart. I’m Tommy, by the way. Didn’t get a chance to introduce myself before.”
“What—” The image blurred, and then it was Renzo’s face filling the screen. I choked on a sob at the sight of him. “Renzo?”
My brother looked tired and pale but otherwise seemed okay. ”Emi.” His smile was like a fire when I’d been out in the freezing cold for days. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” he asked, his voice shaking slightly.
I shook my head. “I’m fine. Captive, but…fine. Are you okay?”
He raked a hand through his mop of dark curls. “Yeah, the bullet wound is healing.”
“Good, that’s…that’s good.” I tried and failed to blink away tears, and Renzo frowned.
“Don’t cry, Emi. I’ll get us out of this.” Of course, he would say that, but his situation was worse than mine. He’d nearly died, and Giovanni Guerra didn’t want in his pants.
His expression turned hard, jaw clenching. “When is the wedding?”
“I… don’t know yet.” I wasn’t going to mention the fact that I had tried to barter for his freedom and was turned down. I want submission, not sacrifice. Giovanni had to know I’d never submit, though. “I have some time.”
“If you don’t marry him, then he’ll have to send you back. Sergio—”
“I know. I know, Ren.”
My brother knew what awaited me in Chicago. Renzo loved me, but I was pretty sure he’d rather I married Satan himself than go anywhere near Matteo Romano. That man was evil incarnate, and he’d already stolen too much from us.
“Stefano tried to kill you. I can’t believe Dad would sign off on that. It’s fucked up.”
“It was Matteo,” I whispered.
Renzo growled, pinching the bridge of his nose and turning his head away as though he were too ashamed to even look at me. “What Uncle Sergio did to you, to Chiara, is fucking wrong, Emi.” He shook his head, his expression crumpling. “And one day, I promise you, I will kill him for it.”
I believed him. I truly did.
“But until then, if you get the chance, you run. Get as far away from all this shit as you can. Because if you don’t, you’re going to end up married to one of them, and you’ll never escape.” Like Chiara, who’d only had one way out.
“But what about you?”
“I’ll be fine. If Giovanni Guerra wanted me dead, I’d be dead. Without you, he’ll need me as leverage even more. He obviously needs The Outfit for something.”
If I ran, Renzo could still be safe… “I’ll be fine; better if I knew you were away from all this. I don’t want him using me against you.”