HIS SECRET HEIRESS

AFTER MIDNIGHT

CHAPTER 2: AFTER MIDNIGHT

The first rule of being Lorenzo De Luca's wife: Never be alone with him after midnight.

I learned that rule at 12:01 AM.

The knock was soft. Three taps.

Too soft for a man who could order a hit with one phone call.

I wasn't asleep. I hadn't slept since I signed that paper 6 hours ago.

My new bedroom was bigger than my old apartment.

Cold. Black. And empty.

"Come in," I said.

The door opened.

Lorenzo De Luca stood in the doorway in black sweatpants and nothing else.

His chest was bare. Tattoos across his skin. Old scars. New power.

Water droplets still on his skin from a shower.

And his eyes... God, his eyes were only on me.

"Contract says 'in name only'," he said. His voice was rough. Like gravel. Like sin.

"It doesn't say anything about where my wife sleeps."

He closed the door behind him. The click was loud.

"So I thought we'd discuss the rules, Isabella."

My heart hit my throat. My name on his tongue sounded dangerous.

"There's nothing to discuss," I said. I pulled the blanket up. "You said no touching. No feelings."

Lorenzo laughed. Dark. Amused.

"Did I?" He crossed the room in two steps. "Funny. Because my wife is sleeping in the guest room. Down the hall. With a lock I could break in 3 seconds."

He stopped in front of my bed. Towering over me.

He smelled like expensive cologne and cigarettes and something darker.

His hand came up. Slow.

And he tilted my chin. Forcing me to look at him.

"Look at me," he commanded.

I did. I shouldn't have.

His eyes were black in the dim light. Hungry.

"You think this is a joke to me?" he asked. His thumb brushed my jaw.

"You think I married the daughter of my enemy for 'in name only'?"

I shook my head. Couldn't speak.

"Good," he whispered. His breath was warm on my lips. "Because I don't share, Isabella. And I don't let go. Of what's mine."

Mine.

The word shot through me like fire.

He leaned down further. His lips hovered over mine.

For one second I thought he was going to kiss me. Break the contract on night one.

Instead he pulled back. A cruel smile.

"Pack your things," he said. "You're moving to the master bedroom. Starting now."

"The contract—"

"The contract also says you obey me," he cut me off.

"Or do you need me to remind you what happens to people who disobey a De Luca?"

A shiver ran down my spine.

He turned to leave, then stopped at the door.

"Oh, and Isabella?" He looked over his shoulder.

"Don't wear that to the master bedroom. I prefer you in nothing at all."

Then he was gone.

Leaving me shaking. Leaving the smell of him in the air.

Leaving my heart racing like I'd run a mile.

The devil made his first move.

And I had no idea how to play.

But I knew one thing.

Sleeping in the same room as Lorenzo De Luca was going to be the most dangerous thing I'd ever done.

More dangerous than the debt. More dangerous than my father's enemies.

Because the most dangerous part wasn't that he was a monster.

It was that part of me wanted to be his.