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“Is there a reason you’re disturbing me?” I ask her, scowling.
“And I’m here to ask you when I can serve ourguestsomething to eat. I’m sure she’s starving,” Sofia says calmly, though I don’t miss the sneer in her words at the termguest.
I narrow my eyes at her in warning. She’s been pushing her boundaries, and I’m about ready to shove her right back down to the bottom if she’s not careful. “Our guest is no concern to you.”
“Oh, and how are you proposing on getting her food and things then?” Sofia demands, unconcerned. “Because I’m the one who instructs people to prepare the food, and it’s my job to make sure it’s served. Unless you plan on cooking and serving it yourself?”
I clench my jaw, despising that she’s right and grit out, “Fine, send up food, but not you. Make sure whoever sends it up doesn’t speak with her. And send a guard.”
“I’ll go,” Dante offers.
I want to tell him no, but that would be foolish. After all, Dante is the only man I trust. “Fine.” Then, deciding that it’s about time to remind them that I know everything, I add, “And if you two go off to fuck in a random corner again, I suggest not. I’m liable to kick your ass out, Sofia, and Dante, I’d just cut out your tongue to keep you from whining all the time.”
Neither react to my news, other than to glance at each other. “Who knew you were such a voyeur?” Sofia taunts, smirking at me. “What, you have a problem with the help sleeping with your main man?”
“I have a problem with women that don’t know their place,” I snap.
She scoffs. “And we have this same argument a few times a week. You like that someone talks back to you and stands up to you. Otherwise you’d find it boring. Not to mention, unlike your father, you have some respect for women, which means you won’t fire me, and you won’t hurt me. Now, I’m going to go and get this meal ready for our guest and then I’m going to bed. And when you finally let my man come to bed, try not to sneak in to watch, huh? I’d hate for you to see what a real woman sounds like when she’s actually enjoying herself instead of pretending so she can get access to your money.” Then she turns and sashays out, hips swinging.
I turn my head to see Dante trying to hide a smile. “I wonder what she would say if I killed you now and was done with it?” I ask him tightly. “One less headache to deal with.”
“She’d probably find a gun and shoot you.” Dante smirks. “Seems that someone around here likes me.”
“No accounting for why,” I huff. I glance back at the screen and see my little mouse is slowly and carefully going through each book in the hallway portion of the library. At this rate, it will be tomorrow before she gets through them all. I look back at Dante. “And just so we’re clear, you work for me, and I don’t give a damn about your relationship with Sofia, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your job. Think with your cock once, and I’ll make sure it’s the last thought you ever have. Got it?”
“Got it,” he replies seriously, but I notice the way his eyes glint with humor. That ass beating is sounding better and better. Has everyone forgotten who I am around here? “Now I better go and get ready to see our guest. Want me to ask her anything?”
“No one is to say a word to her. Just leave the food and go.” I want the first words she speaks to be to me, no one else. And I want to be the one who hears her name. But not before I’m ready. I hand him the key to the door and try not to be angry that he’s going to see her.
What the hell is wrong with me? What kind of man obsesses over a woman this way? Especially when I don’t know her name. Or the fact that she is the daughter of my enemy? I have lost my goddamn mind. I now understand why my father always told me to never let a woman get to me, or I would fall just like the rest of the idiots before us.
Well, there is no danger of me falling in love. Eventually I’ll find a suitable woman to marry and have a few heirs with, but for the most part, I’ll have nothing to do with her outside of public appearances and the odd fuck. Cold, detached, and exactly the way my father was with my mother. The way I need to be if I want to grow my empire. Which is exactly why I need to keep my eyes on the prize and figure out a way to get rid of this obsession with my little mouse. No distractions.
I head out to the west wing, which is my area of the house. I never wanted to leave it, even after my parents died. It’s mine, and it’s exactly how I want it to be. I glance at stairs that lead to the east wing before continuing on to my room, determined to keep her out of my mind.
When I reach my bedroom doors, I quickly throw them open, slam them shut and lock them behind me. I don’t want any interruptions. I glance around my room, seeing that Sofia at least had someone come in and clean today. The bed is freshly made, and any of the clothes I left on the floor are gone. I glance around the room, taking it in and comparing it to where my little mouse is currently trying to escape.
My mother decorated it in the same gothic style, but where hers was dark, mine is a mixture of dark and light. An amusing comparison if you ask me, because I’m about as good and light as they were, but I suppose my mother may at one time hoped I would be a better man than my father. And it’s easy to see how well that worked.
The bedroom is large, with tall intricately carved ceilings, with a circular, almost medieval chandelier above the ornate bed that is close to the large floor to ceiling window much like in my parents’ room. The headboard and footboards of the bed are intricately carved with a mixture of lions and dragons, a battle of sorts that I’ve never really paid much attention to. On either side of the bed are matching nightstands, and another table by the window with some fresh flowers that was Sofia’s idea to give the room a little freshness. Personally I don’t give a shit, but today she put in some red roses. I have a feeling there’s a message with that choice, but I ignore them and head for the walk-in closet, passing my sitting area complete with a large screen TV and desk area in case I work in here. A rare thing, but I have the option.
When I walk into the closet, it’s completely different from the bedroom itself. I boast a lot of clothing, and when I took over, I had this entire room, and the bathroom redone to meet my tastes. While the bedroom itself is darker and ornate, the closet and bathroom are modern. The closet has multiple sections, with perfectly divided racks and shelves so that I can easily find anything I want. In the center is where I keep any watches or jewelry I have with clear cases along the top, and then closed drawers on the bottom.
I quickly strip down and pull on a pair of black sweatpants and a black t-shirt, before moving to the back of the closet to the door that opens into my bathroom. Stepping in, I glance around and see that Sofia also had this cleaned because the damn glass shower looks like it’s sparkling. At least it’s nice to know that Sofia is still doing her job when she isn’t fucking Dante all over my house. The bathroom is also modern, with luxurious natural stone floors, a double vanity, and a separate deep soaker tub.
I make my way over to the vanity and splash some water on my face, giving me a quick jolt before I turn around and head back to the closet.
The other benefit of this house is that my father was a control freak and he planned for every possibility. Meaning the house has many secret passages, hidden doors, and even a couple of escape routes and bunkers should they ever be needed. When I took over the house, I had some adjustments made, so now, I can get to any room in the entire house just by the secret door in my room. The only person who knows about it is Dante, and considering how heavily secured it is and full of cameras, I know he’s never used it outside of the few rare times with me.
I head to one of the smaller shelves along the inner wall at the front of the closet. A clever thing suggested to me by my contractor, most people would look at the back of the closet or in the bedroom for any secret doors. This one, however, is only accessible by the scanner seamlessly built into the wood. It makes no noise as I press my hand to the shelf second from the top, it pops open and lets me push it far enough so I can squeeze through, before it shuts silently behind me, clicking into place. Not a sliver of light comes through before the hallway lights up with the sensor lights that fill these passageways. I know them all like the back of my hand now, so I immediately head for the door that will take me outside the gym. But just before I reach it, my phone buzzes, and I immediately pull it out to look, despite knowing that I shouldn’t.
I grit my teeth as I watch Dante enter the room with Sofia and her tray of food. Neither of them speak, just walk in and place the tray down on the bed, before turning toward the door. I’ll be having a word with Sofia about going against my orders as soon as I can. Still, I watch and wait for another minute, waiting for my little mouse to come down and demand to be freed, or try to escape. Only, there’s nothing.
I frown and switch the camera view to the last place I saw her in the upper library, and arch a brow when I don’t see here there. Well, now, that’s interesting. Where did my little mouse go? I switch to another camera, one that shows me the hallway and the sitting area, but again, nothing. I narrow my eyes as I move through each view, still unable to see her. What the hell? Where the hell could she have gone?
I’m just about to turn around and head over there to find out for myself, when I see a small, very small, flash of movement on the camera in the bedroom. So quick that if I hadn’t been staring at the screen so carefully I’d have probably missed it. As the bedroom door goes to fully shut behind Dante, I watch as her little body tries to squeeze out.
Of course, Dante seems to have expected that she’d try to escape, because he immediately blocks her way and stares down at her. I can’t see his expression, but based on her face and the uncertainty, as well as fear, that flashes over it before she tries to lash out at him to get past, I’d say that it wasn’t a kind one. Dante merely grabs her by the upper arms, kicks the door open, sets her down inside, and slams the door shut, locking it behind him.
