Ruthless Devotion:His innocent captive

Chapter four: The Midnight demand

The heavy oak door creaked open, and the soft light from the hallway cut across the dark bedroom floor.

I bolted upright, my back slamming against the headboard as my hands gripped the silk sheet.

Dante stepped inside. He had taken off his suit jacket, and his white shirt was fully unbuttoned, hanging open to reveal the sharp lines of his abs and the dark, intricate ink covering his chest.

He looked tired, his jaw set in a tight, angry line, but his eyes were sharper than ever.

They locked onto me immediately in the dim room.

He closed the door behind him and locked it. The heavy click felt like a trap snapping shut.

"You're still awake," he said, his deep baritone bounced through the walls of the quiet room. He walked over to the side of the bed, trailing his fingers along walls as he came towards me.

"You told me your men found Leo," I said, my voice shaking but desperate.

I forced myself to sit up straighter, trying to mask the fear in my eyes. "Where is he? Is he okay?"

Dante stopped at the foot of the bed, looming over me. A cold, dark emotion crossed all over his face.

"Your brother is smarter than I thought. He missed our men by ten minutes at the docks. He boarded a ship heading out of the city."

A small gasp of relief left my lips before I could stop it. He was safe. He was out of Dante's immediate reach.

But my relief died the second Dante stepped closer, leaning his hands on the mattress and bringing his face level with mine. The rich scent of his cologne washed over me again, stealing the air from my lungs.

"Don't smile yet, piccola," Dante murmured, his voice drop-dead serious.

"Do you know what that means for you? It means he left you behind to take the fall. He took my five million dollars and left his little sister to pay the price."

"No, Leo wouldn't do that," I lied through gritted teeth, though a horrible sinking feeling settled deep in my chest. Deep down, I knew Leo was selfish enough to do exactly that.

"He did," Dante said softly, his gray eyes tracking the movement of my lips. "Which means your stay in this room just became permanent. Until I find him and get my money back, you are the only leverage I have."

"I told you, I don't know anything about his money!" I cried out, trying to scramble backward away from him.

But Dante was too fast. He crawled onto the mattress, his massive frame easily overtaking the space.

Before I could move away, his large hand clamped around my ankle, his grip warm and unyielding. With one effortless pull, he dragged me back down the bed until I was lying flat on my back, with him hovering directly over me.

"Let go of me!" I thrashed at him, bringing my hands up to push against his shoulders.

Dante grabbed both of my wrists in one of his massive hands, pinning them firmly above my head against the pillows. His other hand came down, resting flat on the mattress right next to my ear, trapping me completely under his weight.

He didn't crush me, but the sheer physical power of his body holding me down made me completely paralyzed. He brought his facloser to my ear sending butterflies to my belly.

"Stop fighting me, Clara," he breathed, his chest heaving against mine. His dark eyes raked down my face, taking in my flushed cheeks, my trembling lips, and the frantic pounding of the pulse in my neck.

"You're a monster," I whispered, tears of anger and frustration and perhaps something more burning in my eyes.

"I am," he agreed, his voice dropping into a low, husky whisper that sent a dangerous shiver straight down my spine. "But I’m the monster that keeps you alive. If my rivals knew you were here, they would take you just to hurt me. You are safe only as long as you are under me."

He leaned down lower, his lips brushing against my jawline, sending a sudden, electric shock of pure heat straight to my stomach. I hated how my body reacted to him. I hated how my breath hitched, and I hated how the treacherous warmth pooled between my thighs at his closeness.

I wanted to bite him, to scream, but as his lips moved slowly down to the sensitive skin of my neck, a soft, helpless moan nearly escaped my throat.

Dante paused, his lips resting against my pulse point. He could feel my heart racing like crazy under his skin. A dark, possessive satisfaction rolled off him.

"You pretend to hate this," he murmured against my skin, his grip on my wrists loosening just enough for his fingers to intertwine with mine. "But your body doesn't lie to me, Clara. You want this as much as I do."

He pulled back just enough to look down into my wide, breathless eyes.

His hand moved from my wrists down to my waist, his rough thumb sliding under the hem of my t-shirt, touching the bare skin of my stomach. The heat of his touch made my muscles contract. And all my hairs stand out.

"We are going to make a deal," Dante whispered, his face inches from mine, his stormy eyes locking onto my soul.

"You stop fighting me, and I make sure you don't lack in this house. But if you ever try to run..." He let the threat hang in the air, his hand gripping my waist tighter.

Before I could answer, a loud, piercing alarm suddenly started blaring through the mansion, the red emergency lights flashing through the glass balcony doors.