With my back against the wall behind the door, she slipped past me and stood in front of the sink. Her whole body tensed before I even pushed the door closed and revealed myself standing behind her in the mirror’s reflection.
Her crystal-blue eyes widened as she twisted around, her mouth opening to scream. But before she could, my body collided with hers, spinning her against the wall and covering her mouth with my hand. She was panting, her chest heaving and her eyes dilating to reveal a blue halo around the black holes of terror.
Keeping her caged between my body and the wall, with my hand firmly pressed against her lips and the other at the side of her head, I dipped my face towards hers.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I husked, my eyes boring into hers. “I’m only interested in hearing your screams of pleasure,Bella Ribelle. So if I let you go, you’re going to be good,si?”
She slowly nodded her head.
“Bravo ragazza.”
When I took my hand away from her mouth, I brushed mythumb over her parted lips, gazing at them longingly. I still hadn’t tasted them, even though it was all that had been on my mind, but I was a hopeless romantic, and some things felt sacred. A first kiss was more intimate than anything else. I wanted her to give it to me willingly—not when she thought I was Cesare, not when I was some mysterious stranger she couldn’t resist. But when I had stripped away all fear, her doubts, and her desires, and shown her who I was beneath the mask. Who I truly was to her.
“What are you doing here?” she breathed, her body stiff as her eyes flicked between mine.
I lifted my bandaged hand with a smirk. “Needed medical attention.”
“I mean–,” she swallowed hard, trying to hide the tremble in her voice. “How did you get inhere?”
“Did you like the flowers?” I asked, changing the subject as my fingers traced down the column of her throat.
“They’re inappropriate. You need to stop.”
“Why?”
“Because…I can’t see you anymore.”
I made a dissatisfied grunt as I continued to explore her skin.
“I know who you are,” her voice trembled.
My gaze met hers, and I smiled wider because, there, beneath the fear instilled by her father, was the truth. She knew who I was, and she was still intrigued.
“I know. We’ve met. I’m Sani. The hotel owner.”
“No,” she breathed. “You’ve told me lies.”
Frowning, I tilted my head back slightly, narrowing my eyes at her because that wasn’t true. I may have omitted certain things, but I’d never lied. “What lies are you referring to?”
She gulped, her logic still telling her she should be afraid, but her instincts... they were saying something else entirely. “You used me. And you’re still using me to get to my father. I don’t know what you’re planning here, but I know it won’t work.”
My nostrils flared as I struggled to keep my irritation hidden. “I never used you, Aria. I learned the truth about who you were the same moment you learned about me. But it doesn’t change anything.”
“I don’t believe you.” She narrowed her eyes. “It changes everything.”
Of course she didn’t believe me. Trust had to be earned, and at that moment, I had none of it. But that didn’t change the inevitable—she would trust me, eventually. I pressed my body into hers, forcing my thigh between her legs as I gripped her hips and kept her pressed against the wall. A soft gasp escaped her lips at the shock of that move, but she hardened her gaze, hiding her desire terribly. I smirked.
“Does it?”
I licked my lower lip, dropping my gaze to hers as I moved my leg, causing her skirt to hitch up a little higher on her thighs. She bit her lip, fighting a moan, while her hands gripped my biceps and tried to push me away.
“Si,” she panted, trying to escape, but it only caused her skirt to ride higher up her hips as my thigh rubbed against her pussy. “I won’t be part of whatever game you’re playing,SignorBuccini. I won’t be used as a pawn in a war against my father.”
“SignorBuccini?” I shook my head. “Fuck no. You’ll call me Sani. And the only game I’m interested in is how many times I can make you moan it.”
Anger darkened her gaze, but her hips still shifted subtly, rubbing herself against my thigh. “Then I’ll never call you that again. There are plenty of other names I have for a man like you.”
“Let’s hear them as you keep grinding that needy pussy against me,Bella Ribelle.”
