Nino, entirely too drunk on his own ego and his padel victory, just grins and relaxes against the bench. "Relax, Alessandro. I was just giving your lovely wife a few tips to play padel better. Since your not the proper role model for that."
The insult hangs heavily in the air. The temperature on the patio plummets, and for a second, I’m certain Alessandro is going to draw a weapon. But to my absolute surprise, Alessandro controls himself. He tightens his jaw so hard I hear the bone click, staying cool instead of openly exploding.
“Careful, Nino.”
Just then, Giulia returns from the gardens, pocketing her phone and completely breaking the suffocating tension. "Sorry about that, everyone. The caterer had a massive—" She stops, sensing the absolute venom vibrating between the three of us.
I notice Alessandro's mood deteriorating the longer we stand there, his aura turning completely lethal. I know it’s time to leave before someone actually dies.
I walk over slightly toward Alessandro, touching his arm. "I’d like to leave now. The sun is getting a bit too harsh."
Without a single word, he nods, his movements stiff. "We're leaving," he announces flatly.
I offer a tight, polite smile to Giulia. "Thank you for the game, Giulia. It was wonderful meeting you."
"Goodbye, Sienna," she says quickly, looking incredibly nervous now.
We turn to walk away, but Nino just can't help himself. He raises his bottle, teasing us loudly as we head down the stone path toward the car. "Don't forget to practice that backhand, Alessandro! And remember, I'll be expecting that apology in front of the council next week!"
Alessandro doesn't look back, but his stride is heavy enough to crack the pavement, and I know the ride home is going to be a completely different kind of dangerous.
The second the heavy car doors slam shut, cutting us off from the rest of Melvitto Garden, Alessandro explodes.
"What the hell was that back there, Sienna?" he roars, slamming his palm against the steering wheel. "You were sitting on the bench with him. You were touching his arm. Why the fuck were you flirting with him?"
I stare at him, my own temper flaring up at his sheer hypocrisy. "I was doing exactly what you told me to do! You looked me dead in the eyes and whispered 'distract him.' He was about to get up and hunt you down, Alessandro!"
"I told you to keep him talking, not throw yourself at him!" Alessandro fires back, his knuckles white as he grips the wheel.
His chest heaves, his dark eyes flashing with a raw, unhinged fury. "I do not want any man looking at you the way Nino was looking at you. I don't want another man's hands near you, and I damn well won't watch my wife stroke some traitor's ego on a bench!"
"Well, next time don’t tell me to distract anyone!" I snap, crossing my arms and glaring out the windshield. "Figure out your own damn reconnaissance if you can't handle how I get the job done."
Before the last word can fully leave my mouth, his large hand wraps firmly around the front of my throat. It’s not enough to choke me, but the sheer power behind it pins me completely in place.
With one fluid, deceptively powerful jerk, he pulls me entirely out of the passenger seat and drags me right across the center console onto his lap in the driver's seat.
I yelp, the sudden loss of gravity catching me completely off guard as my hands scramble to grab his broad shoulders for balance. My breath hitches, my heart hammering against my ribs as I find myself straddling his lap, forced to look directly down into the dark, possessive storm in his eyes.
"You think this is a game, Sienna?" he growls, his voice a rough register that vibrates straight through my chest. He leans in closer, his lips brushing against my ear as his grip on my neck tightens just enough to make me gasp. "You are mine. Every look, every touch belongs to me. If I ever see another man look at you like he’s allowed to taste what's mine, I'll take his eyes out before I make him bleed."
Before I can even formulate a sharp reply, his large hand slides down my waist, deliberately bunching up the pleated fabric of my white tennis skirt. He pushes it up past my thighs, his knuckles burning against my bare skin. With a swift, possessive movement, his fingers hook into the edge of my panties, pushing the fabric completely to the side.
Without a word of warning, he sinks a long, thick finger deep inside me.
An involuntary groan tears from my throat, and my head instantly falls back, my spine arching as the sudden, overwhelming wave of heat crashes through my core. I amalready completely slick for him, my body betraying exactly how much his intensity turns me on.
Alessandro doesn't let me escape the sensation. His other hand wraps firmly around the front of my throat, applying a heavy, commanding pressure that completely grounds me.
"Look at me," he commands, his voice a lethal, breathless order.
My gaze snaps right back down to him, my eyes wide and heavy with sudden arousal as I lock onto his fiercely possessive stare, completely trapped under his weight in the front seat of the car.
I chance a glance outside the tinted window, and far off down the long driveway, I can still see the distant figures of Nino and Giulia standing near the court. A sharp gasp escapes my lips as Alessandro's thumb ruthlessly brushes against my clit, sending a jolt of pure electricity straight to my core.
"Alessandro, wait," I breathe, my hands tightening on his shoulders. "We’re in public. Nino and Giulia are still back there, they might be wondering why we haven’t moved..."
He freezes, his thumb pressing down hard enough to make me arch against him, his eyes turning entirely black with fury. "I don’t want to hear that fucking name from your lips, Sienna. Don’t piss me off."
