Blood and Desire

Chapter Six: No Escape

Elena’s breath came fast and uneven, her back pressed to the door as she stared at Dante.

He was too calm.

Too composed for a man who had just killed two people.

The air between them was thick—with fear, with tension, with something else she didn’t dare name.

Dante flicked his wrist, his bloody knife disappearing into the holster at his side, as if the violence meant nothing. His green eyes burned as they locked onto hers.

"You’re shaking, little dove."

Elena forced her arms to still. "You just murdered two men in front of me. What do you expect?"

Dante stepped closer. Slow. Controlled.

Her breath hitched.

"You think they were the worst of it?" he murmured. "That they were the only ones coming for me?"

Her stomach twisted. Of course not.

"They knew your name, Elena." Dante’s voice was soft, but there was a dangerous edge beneath it. "That means you’re already marked."

The truth settled over her like a weight.

She had saved him, and now she was in this, whether she wanted to be or not.

Elena lifted her chin, forcing strength into her voice. "Then I’ll leave. I’ll pack a bag and disappear."

Dante laughed. Low and dark.

"You won’t make it past the block."

She stiffened. "You don’t know that."

Dante moved. Too fast.

One second, he was across the room. The next, he had her caged against the door, his body towering over hers.

Elena sucked in a breath, her heart hammering.

"You don’t get it, do you?" Dante whispered, his fingers brushing over her jaw, tilting her chin up. His touch was light, teasing, but his presence was overwhelming.

"You think you can just walk away from this?" His voice was velvet over steel. "From me?"

Elena’s stomach clenched. She should push him away. She should fight.

But his scent—**dark spice and something purely male—**was making her dizzy.

She swallowed hard. "Then what do you expect me to do?"

Dante’s lips tipped into a slow, wicked smirk.

"You’re coming with me, little dove."

Elena’s pulse skipped.

"Like hell I am."

Dante chuckled, but there was no amusement in his eyes.

"You don’t have a choice."

His fingers traced down her throat, slow and deliberate, feeling the frantic pulse beneath her skin.

Elena shuddered, hating how her body reacted to him.

She clenched her fists. "And if I refuse?"

Dante leaned in, his breath warm against her ear.

"Then I’ll throw you over my shoulder and take you anyway."

A challenge.

A promise.

Elena’s heart slammed against her ribs.

She should be terrified. She was.

But beneath the fear, beneath the danger…

There was something else.

Something she couldn’t name.

And it thrilled her.