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“Do you understand now why I need my freedom? Please, Paolo, you can help me, you can—”
“I can’t,” he cuts me off with a surprisingly deep and thoughtful voice, staring at the fire. “I’m sorry, Jacinta, I can’t let you go—but I can understand you. I know what it’s like to be forced into a place your family has chosen for you.”
Does he? I tilt my head, leaning on the table, as Paolo takes a big gulp of his wine and puts the glass on the table. I don’t know if he’s drunk or simply weakened by the intimacy between us, but I can see that he looks different. There’s no mask on his face now, no cold walls in his eyes. His frown is pained, and the look in his eyes is full of inner torment that finds a response in my own heart.
“You know my brother, right?” He chuckles under his breath and gestures around with a theatrical flare, giving me a quick glance. “Riccardo Messina, the eldest son of Cassio and the Don of the Messina Clan. Even his name sounds greater than mine, huh?”
Well, with such a presentation, any name would—but I don’t say it out loud. Paolo looks too vulnerable to make fun of him. He goes back to staring at the fire, and the flickers make his features even more dangerous and even more handsome.
“I almost want to hate him, but I can’t. Riccardo is my only brother. We’ve always been together, and I know just how much he has to go through every day, but…am I not also worthy of respect?” Paolo looks at me as if pleading with me to give him an answer, but before I have the time to shake my head, he hits the table with his fist and looks away. “I’ve spent my whole life serving my family and devoting every day to our purpose—but no one has ever acknowledged that. Riccardo is the one to shine the brightest in our family, and I’m nothing but a shadow by his side.”
But isn’t it good to be there for your brother? Isn’t it as important to support the one you care about? The words of sympathy are on the tip of my tongue as I reach out to hold Paolo’s hand. He deserves it. He’s just as wounded as I am, and something in me blooms with warmth at the thought of it. Maybe I’ve finally found someone who can truly understand me.
“You’ll find a way to shine, I’m sure.”
As soon as I touch Paolo, he blinks and looks at me, and I offer him a smile. I know what he’s going through. We can find solace in each other, and my body responds to that thought with a wave of desire. God, does the story of his pain actually turn me on? But I can’t help it. I finally see Paolo as a person, not as an enemy, and the connection that’s always been between us only seems to grow stronger.
Does he feel it too?
As if hearing my thoughts, Paolo exhales and smiles a little, looking into my eyes. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m not gonna stay in the darkness any longer. This time, everyone will knowmyname.”
I smile in response to Paolo’s excited voice, squeezing his hand a little tighter, even though the meaning of his words doesn’t settle right away. What does he mean,this time? Does he already have a plan for something? I open my mouth, ready to ask—when it finally dawns on me.
He isn’t planning to do something grand. He’s already done it.
“Wait, are you—” I blink a few times and sit up straight, refusing to believe that everything about this moment and this connection between us is so goddamn fake. “Are you talking about me? Do you think that kidnapping me is your chance to make a name for yourself?”
I want him to get offended, I want him to say no—but Paolo looks at me with confusion and nods. “Yes, of course. It’s so big that the whole of Chicago is already—”
I don’t care, I don’t fucking care!
Quivering in waves of fury, I grab my glass of wine and splash it right in his face, making him stop in the middle of the sentence. Maybe that will finally clear his mind. I get up and look down at him, feeling so hurt and betrayed. But how could I even think there was something between us?
Paolo cares about nothing but his own fucking ego.
“You’re the worst man I’ve ever met,” I hiss, watching Paolo’s eyes widen for a moment—before he audibly growls and jumps up on his feet, towering over me with a ferocious glare. But at this point, I’m too angry to be scared. “I hope Dad kills you personally.”
I turn around, ready to storm out of the room, but Paolo grabs my arm and tugs me back so sharply that I yelp in pain. I bump into the table from the force of his pull, and our glasses sway dangerously, clinking against the marble surface.
“Who do you think you are?” Paolo growls and grabs my shoulders, pushing me back so fast my heels scratch the floor. “Walking around, giving me orders, teasing me like a slut only to pull a knife on me. Do you really think you’re so fucking untouchable?”
He forces me to walk back until I feel the cold edge of the table pressed into my thighs. We’ve reached the empty side of the table, and Paolo corners me against it, not allowing me to get away. But I don’t even think about it. The only thing on my mind is how much I hate the eyes in front of me and how much I need him to touch me again.
“I’m the princess of the Escarra family,” I say into his face, raising my chin high, and Paolo grabs it and forces me to push my head back.
“No, you’re my hostage,” he says lowly and steps closer, pressing into me, breathing into my lips. “And it’s time to punish youproperly.”
Before I can say anything, Paolo closes the distance between us—and suddenly I find myself in the middle of my first kiss. Goddamnit, this asshole manages to steal even this! I shut my eyes, hum into his lips with frustration, and kiss him back, pushing my hands into his hair to pull him closer. Why the hell does this have to be so hot?
I always imagined that my first kiss would be gentle and romantic—but this one immediately sets my body on fire. Desire spreads through my veins from Paolo’s touch, and I don’t know if it’s the heady smell of wine on his shirt or the intoxicating heat of our bodies, but I can’t resist it anymore. Iwanthim with every inch of my body.
“Not so cocky anymore, princess?” Paolo pulls away just enough to meet my heady gaze and chuckle while his hand slides down between our bodies. “I know you want it.”
“Shut up.”
Even I can hear how strained and breathless I sound, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t care if I want to kill him or kiss him; when Paolo gathers my dress up and slides his hand toward my panties, the only thing I care about is for him to keep touching me.
“I will kill you if you stop,” I breathe out and shiver when his fingers rub me teasingly before climbing into my panties. Paolo chuckles at that and leans into my ear.
