Marked by The Devil Don

CHAPTER FOUR

Dante's POV

Inside my private lounge, the music was slow but heavy as it vibrated through the marble floor. The air smelled heavily of whiskey and smoke and the atmosphere appeared dangerously in sight.

Gold light scattered around the floor from the ceiling as each strike revolved around the two ladies curled up on a pole situated a few feet from where I sat.

I sat like the king I was, my eyes watching the strippers as they performed sexily. Their oiled bodies moving around the polished chrome pole as they served as an entertainment to me.

One of them slid down the pole and approached me. I did not move as she knelt near the leather couch, pouring amber-coloured liquid in the glass.

Suddenly, the door opened, disrupting my gaze briefly. A guard came up to him and whispered something into my ear.

My expression did not shift.

“Bring her in,” I ordered.

For a moment, there was silence. Everything stood still. Then the music continued.

The lady before me rose up with the glass in her hand, her hips positioned near my legs, I could feel her v****a pressing towards my thigh and her fingers trailing up my arm.

I was still.

The lady had dared to lay her body and a finger on me.

However, when her fingers approached my bulging d**k begging to be freed from my pants, I caught her by the wrist and flung it away.

Her smile faltered.

Just then, the door opened again. This time, it wasn't the guards. But Elena. With her clothes stained, she looked dirty and tired. Then the music took a pause again as I averted their attention to her.

I smirked with my eyes filled with interest. It was surprising to see Elena standing before me.

She was alive.

And breathing.

“Out.” I said.

No raised voice. No anger. Just command.

At once, the ladies got to their feet and scampered away, leaving me and Elena.

***

Elena's POV

After everyone has left the room. I was alone with Dante and the guard that had brought me. All of a sudden, I felt a force jerk me forward into the room with my head bent.

“Bow!” I heard a husky voice behind me say.

I watched as Dante leaned back in his chair, studying me like a rare object delivered late.

“You breathe.” he commented after a while.

I clenched my jaws in anger.

Then he rose slowly from the couch and walked towards me. Even in his casual shirt and pants, he radiated controlled violence.

“The dogs,” he said in a calm tone, “they are not easily impressed.”

I swallowed hard.

“They did not attack.” I told him, still remembering how I had managed to run out before the fierce attack.

“I can see that already.” Dante agreed as he stopped before me.

“They sense fear and weakness,” he told me, “but you displayed neither.”

There was a pause.

I could feel my pulse racing faster at the memory of what had happened inside the den.

“However, you trembled–”

I glanced up immediately at him with my heart thudding and my gaze interrupting him briefly.

“–I was told. But you did not break. You controlled your emotions.”

I let out a breath. For a moment I thought he had caught me.

Then he inched closer to me and crouched down to my level, tilting his head sideways as he examined my face. I maintained my gaze at him.

And for the first time since I met him, I took note of his sharp facial features, his icy blue eyes and his dark hair which as usual was slicked back in style.

“I don't let go of useful things.” Dante said to me, bringing me back to reality.

“I am not yours to use.” I shot back in a steady tone.

My loyalty belongs to Salazar. Who the hell did he think he is?

Dante's lips curled into a smile.

“And who are you to say that?” he asked, then chuckled lightly, “everyone is mine to use. I choose whoever I want.”

He stood up and headed back to his seat.

“You will work for me.” he announced with open hands.

My heart skipped a beat. That was surely not a question or a request.

“I never agreed to that.” I protested.

“You survived my test. That is enough to prove your worth.”

I clenched my fists.

“Being thrown to a pair of wild dogs was a test?” I dared to question.

Dante picked the crystal glass from the table and sipped from it.

“You possess something others don't. The ability to control emotions. And your survival just confirmed that, making you valuable to me.” he said, nonchalantly.

“I will never work for you.” I spat.

Never will I do such a thing!

Dante raised a brow.

“I don't think you understand,” he said and gestured to the room, “you are already within my territory, you have no right to decide anything.”

My grip around my fingers tightened.

That was true. There is no way I'm escaping this.

“You start tomorrow.”

I raised my gaze to him.

“And if I refuse?”

It was worth asking since I was bent on my decision of sticking to loyalty.

I noticed his gaze sharpened.

“I bet you won't.”

Just then, I felt my heart shatter. There was definitely no way out. Once his decision had been made, no one dared to refute.

That was final.

With a gesture of hands, I saw him motion to one of his guards.

“Bring the artist.”

Suddenly, I felt a knot tighten in my stomach.

“What for?” I asked out of curiosity.

Dante stared hard at me.

“For protection.”

***

A few minutes later, a man carrying a small metal case entered. He greeted Dante with a bow and approached me who sat in the centre of the room.

I immediately looked to Dante, wanting him to give an explanation as to why the man was walking towards me.

“What is this?” I asked him when no explanation was forthcoming.

“Insurance.” Dante replied.

I watched as the man opened his case, bringing out sterile instruments and a mini tattoo machine. That was when I knew he was the artist, and he was about to–

“–no.” I said, shaking my head quickly in refusal.

Dante clenched his jaws as he walked towards me. With his fingers, he brushed my hair backwards.

I let my body stiffened at his contact. His touch was in the middle between gentleness and roughness.

“You will bear my mark,” he told me, “whoever sees you will know you answer to me.”

“I answer to no one.” I said, trying to defend myself.

“You have no right to make any decision.” Dante told me, then turning to the artist, he instructed, “behind her ear.”

My heart pounded as I felt the artist's hand touch my ears. Then I felt the cold swipe of antiseptic brush past my skin. The first sting of the needle was sharp and hot, but I did not flinch. Now was not the right time to showcase any hint of vulnerability.

The buzzing sound continued behind my ear, carving a small letter that belonged to my new owner.

It was a V.

The initial belonging to Vescari.

And now I was his.

The thought alone made me weak but I could not exhibit such because Dante was watching me keenly until the machine stopped and the artist announced an end to the carving. I felt Dante's hand behind my ear as he examined the mark, before letting out a slight evil smirk.

“With this mark, no one dares to lay a hand on you.”

I gulped hard.

My new boss sounded protective, but I knew it was not what I was thinking.

“You think this will make me loyal to you?” I asked him.

Dante stared hard at me.

“Loyalty is earned,” he started, “but ownership is declared.”

With that he began to walk towards the door.

Get yourself cleaned up and report to me,” Dante said to me. Then he paused abruptly and turned to my still figure, “if you ever try to escape, I will make sure the dogs grind your bones into ashes.”

As I watched him leave, I touched the new mark on her neck. A mark that branded me to the most deadly man.

This was not what I wanted, but somehow I found myself in his empire. And empires cannot be easily escaped.

I swallowed hard again. A bitter taste reforming in my mouth.

Suddenly, I felt a hand behind me and when I turned, I locked my gaze with a man bearing a pair of cold dark eyes.

“Let's get going.” I heard the man say.