Collateral To A Mafia King

Chapter 3. Control

CHAPTER 3 — My Room

Sebastian Vitale POV

The drive to my estate is quiet. Only the engine's hum, my driver's soft radio, city lights blurring past.

I don't need to look at her to know she's there. I feel her presence. Alert. Sharp. Coiled tight like a knife waiting to cut.

Most women I bring into my world are different by now. Excited. Eager. They want to be seen with me, close to power, touching a man who owns half this city.

I've seen it a thousand times. Women look at me when I enter a room. Conversations stop. Heads turn. Bodies lean closer than necessary. They touch my arm uninvited. Laugh too loud at nothing funny. Eyes hungry. Breath quick. Lips bitten.

Their bodies always give them away. They want me before I speak.

But not this one.

Rhee sits perfectly straight, hands folded, staring out the window like this is a normal evening drive. Like her father didn't just sell her. Like she isn't beside a man who could end her life with one word.

The calm unsettles me. I don't trust it.

Beautiful women are dangerous. I learned that young. But calm beautiful women? They're deadly.

The iron gates open. My estate spreads before us. Wide lawns. Clean fountains. Guards everywhere. The mansion sits at the center. Glass and stone. Cold. Strong. Untouchable.

Exactly how I like it.

The car stops. I step out, adjust my jacket, scan the perimeter. Everything's in order.

"Sebastian!" Enzo's voice cuts through the night.

My brother approaches, grinning. "Back so early?" He slaps my shoulder, then his eyes find Rhee stepping from the car.

His grin widens. "Dio mio... Sebastian, your taste is different."

"Very different," I agree.

Rhee walks away. Straight past us both, heading for the front door. No hesitation. No looking back.

Enzo freezes mid-sentence. My jaw tightens.

Every woman who comes here waits for me. They cling to my arm. Follow my lead.

Not her. She walks like she owns this place.

One of my men moves to stop her. She stops, turns, looks directly at me. No fear. No pleading. Just a look that says: call him off.

I lift my hand. My man steps aside. She walks inside.

Enzo whistles low. "Fratello... that one's fire."

I can't answer. Can't look away from where she disappeared.

"The deal. Did Marcello pay?" Enzo asks.

"Later," I say, moving toward the house.

"Sebastian...."

"Later."

Inside, the house smells like leather and cigars. Voices echo from nearby rooms. My men working. Phone calls in different languages. This is how empires run.

I spot a guard near the stairs. "Where is she?"

He hesitates. "Upstairs, sir."

"Where upstairs?"

He swallows. "Your... your room, sir."

My room. Not a guest room. My room.

I take the stairs two at a time, heartbeat pounding. I reach my door. Hesitate. Then open it.

And stop completely.

She stands in the middle of my room. Naked. Completely naked.

Time stops.

Her clothes are folded neatly on a chair....meticulous control in small things. But there's nothing controlled about what I'm seeing now.

Her blonde hair falls loose over her shoulders. Wild. Free. The light catches golden strands, making them glow.

Her skin is flawless. Smooth. Cream and honey mixed. I want to touch it. Taste it. Mark it.

My eyes move down without permission. Her neck is long, elegant. Her collarbone delicate. Her shoulders soft. And her breasts.....

Cristo.

Full. Perfect. They'd fill my hands exactly right. Her n*****s tight from cool air. Pink.

My mouth goes dry.

Her waist curves sharply, then flares to hips made for gripping. For pulling her against me.

My hands clench into fists..

I want her.

I want to cross this room in two strides. Want to kiss her until she can't breathe. Want to lay her on my bed and spend hours learning every inch of her.

Take her, my body screams. She's offering. She's yours.

But then I look at her face. Really look.

Her chin is lifted. Her grey eyes locked on mine. But her body is too still. Too prepared. Like she's bracing for pain. Like she's already resigned to being used.

Suddenly, all that burning desire crashes into something else. Something cold and sharp and angry.

Not at her. At whoever taught her this is what she should expect from men like me.

She doesn't want this. She's not offering herself because she desires me. She's surrendering because she thinks she has to.

That realization kills the moment completely.

I step back. Her eyes widen. Confusion flickers across her face.

"Get dressed," I say. My voice comes out rougher than intended.

She doesn't move. Just stares.

"I said get dressed." I force my tone calmer. "Dinner is in an hour. Don't be late."

I turn and walk out. Close the door. Lean against the hallway wall.

My heart pounds. My body screams at me to go back.

But I don't. I can't.

I push off the wall. Head downstairs.

Enzo waits in the hallway. One look at my face and his eyebrows rise.

"You didn't," he says.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not an animal."

He studies me carefully. Shakes his head. "I know you, fratello. When you've had a woman, you come down relaxed. Satisfied." He gestures at me. "Right now you look ready to punch through a wall."

He's right. I am.

"So what happened up there?"

I don't answer. Just walk past toward my office.

"Sebastian," Enzo calls. "Be careful with this one. She's different. And different makes you do stupid things."

"Like what?"

"Like fall."

I shake my head. "I just met her."

"Exactly. Which is why this is dangerous."

I turn and keep walking. Close myself in my office. Sit behind my desk.

And try to figure out what the hell just happened.

Because here's the truth: I've had beautiful women throw themselves at me my entire adult life. I've taken what I wanted. Enjoyed it. Moved on. No attachments. No complications.

But tonight....tonight I walked away from the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. A woman standing naked in my bedroom, offering herself.

And I said no.

Why?

I lean back. Close my eyes. See her face again. That resigned expression. That empty look.

And I realize what bothered me.

Every other woman who's wanted me has wanted me. Their eyes burned with desire. Their bodies trembled with need. They came because they craved what I could give.

But Rhee? Rhee came because she thought she had no choice.

And that makes all the difference.

Because I don't want a woman who endures me. I want a woman who chooses me. Who looks at me with fire instead of resignation. Who trembles because she wants me, not because she fears me.

Until Rhee Rossini looks at me that way...until her soul says yes as loudly as her body.... won't touch her.Because somehow, in hours, Rhee Rossini has become more than collateral.

She's become the one thing I never thought I'd want.

A challenge.

But as I sit here in the dark, one question burns through my mind:

What happens when I finally break through that wall she's built around herself? When those grey eyes stop looking at me with resignation and start burning with desire instead?

Will I still be the man in control?

Or will I be the one on my knees, begging her to choose me?

And the most terrifying question of all ....the one that makes my blood run cold even as heat still courses through my veins:

What if she never chooses me at all?

What if I've finally met the one woman I can't have, can't break, can't win?

The one woman who could destroy me without ever laying a finger on my empire?

I always win my challenges.

But what if this time... I've already lost?

Even if it kills me. Even if every instinct screams at me to claim what's mine.