I hail a cab and, just as luck would have it, one screeches to a halt right in front of me, mere inches from my legs.I slide into the backseat, already reaching for the door to close it behind me.But before I can pull it shut, the door is yanked out of my grasp and a very furious Damiano is staring down at me.
“You can’t leave, Lily.I will drive you home.”
My anger is boiling over.“In fact, I can and I will leave, Mr.Santaluccia.Since I declined your generous offer, you cannot order me around like one of your underlings.Now if you could let go of the door, I have places to be and none of them is here.”
He grits his teeth as he visibly struggles for control.I feel a surge of fear when his hand moves to the breast pocket of his suit jacket.But he merely retrieves a leather wallet from which he takes out a few bills he carelessly throws to the cab driver, his eyes still locked on mine.
“Take her safely home and do not leave until she is inside and has locked the door, do you understand?If something happens to her, I will know where to find you and your family, and you wouldn’t want that to happen.”
Before I can even react, he moves with such speed that I’m caught off guard.He seizes the back of my neck, yanking me toward him with an unrelenting force.His lips crash onto mine in a bruising, punishing kiss that leaves me breathless.My surprised gasp gives him full access to swipe his tongue in, conquering my mouth like his life depends on it.My toes curl and a very undignified moan slips out before I can stop it.When he pulls back, his breath is as ragged as mine, both of us struggling to regain control.
He brushes his lips over my forehead and orders in a raspy voice, “Be a good girl.I will be in touch.”
The cab pulls away and a very pale driver looks through the rear mirror at a very breathless me.
“You okay, miss?”he asks, his voice laced with concern.
I nod, still dazed, my mind racing to process everything that just happened.The shock of it lingers, settling heavily in my chest, making it hard to breathe properly.
“You want to go to the police or somewhere?”he tentatively asks.
“What?”I look up at him in confusion then realization hits.I shake my head.He looks at me with kindness.
“No, don’t worry.He seems a bit…intense, but he wouldn’t harm me.Thank you for taking care of a stranger.”I try to look reassuring while I smile at him.“And he won’t hurt your family, I promise.”
At least, I hope he won’t.
Chapter Ten
Damiano
Fucking Melinda…Melanie…whatever her name is.
I am seething as I watch the cab disappear into the distance, the weight of my frustration building.I almost didn’t make it to her in time before she left me standing.
Again.
Luckily, I have an open tab with the restaurant and didn’t have to bother with the bill when I managed to get out of that woman’s claws to rush after Lily.
Fuck, she’s fast.And stubborn.
I am so going to enjoy fucking that stubbornness right out of her.
I pause.No.
She is a sweet little flower, I remind myself.She can’t know about the dark and depraved images of her that flash through my mind whenever I look at her.
“Why this nickname?”she asks, tilting her head with that curious little spark in her eyes.
Goddammit.Of all the questions.
I freeze for a heartbeat.She has no idea what she’s just stepped into.No clue that the name she is wearing like a crown was made of madness and forged in obsession.
Because she is light, she is pure, like a white flower blooming in the middle of a battlefield.
Because she looks at me without fear when everyone else either grovels or runs.
Because I want to ruin her, crush her in my palm like the delicate flower she is.
