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“Valentine and I have a longstanding agreement. I’m not allowed to set foot in his house let alone deal with him, unless he breaks it. That’s why I needyouto find out if he has.”
“And I’m guessing your men can’t do it either.”
“Yes.”
“Why is he allowed in your penthouse then?”
Dante lets out a bitter laugh at this question.
“Because he owns it.”
“Why do you stay there then? Isn’t that your headquarters?”
“It’s part of our arrangement,” he answers. “Trust me, I dislike the situation more than you might believe.”
“What is your agreement?”
“I’m afraid I cannot tell you that.”
“Then how am I supposed to know if he’s breaking it?”
“Oh, trust me, you’ll know. He’ll make sure you know.”
A shiver runs down my spine at the way he says this.
“Do you think I’m ready?”
“No,” he says, and my heart sinks in my chest, “but I don’t think anyone is ever ready to deal with Valentine. At least you will be walking in more prepared than most.”
“Oh.”
Dante’s jaw hardens before he turns to look at me.
“Evi, I need you to know that I wouldn’t ask this of you unless I had no other choice.”
“Okay.”
“I mean it,” Dante says, reaching to cup my face in his hand as he forces me to meet his gaze. “I tried to hide you from him, but obviously, I failed. Now that my father has set his sights on you, he’ll stop at nothing to take you from me.”
I blink at him in shock.
“Why me? I thought we were safe here?”
“Safe is a relative term. He cannot set foot on this property, for the time being, but even the safety measures we’ve taken won’t hold forever. Even if I were to keep you here until our own deal was fulfilled, the moment you step out of our protection, he’d take you.”
“So, why not keep me here until as long as possible to give me more time to train?”
For the first time since I’ve met him, Dante looks lost for words. He clears his throat a few times before dropping his hand from my face and looking away.
“Because … if we keep you here, I cannot guarantee that we won’t be able to keep ourselves from you.”
It takes me a minute to understand what he’s trying to say. He’safraidof having sex with me … but why?
Oh my god, does that mean my theory was right?
“Why does that matter?” I ask, trying to keep my voice level.
“Because Valentine is far less likely to leave you untouched and alive if he thinks we’ve already … used you, for lack of a better term,” he says, clearing his throat again.
