Chapter 3
644 Words
Dante's POV
I stared down at the frightened little thing trapped between my arms.
God, she was even more beautiful in person.
Emma was my best friend's girl. When she first showed me Selene’s picture, begging me to run a background check on her, I’d been intrigued. Curious. She looked soft. Sweet. But seeing her in person? That was something else entirely.
She wasn’t just beautiful.
She was mine.
She just didn’t know it yet.
I had asked Emma to introduce us, but she’d hesitated. Said Selene was too innocent. Too kind for someone like me.
So I did what I had to.
She thought I was bluffing when I threatened to break Lucas’s leg. Thought I wouldn’t touch my own best friend. Until I did. Lucas hasn’t forgiven me—and probably never will—but I got what I wanted.
Selene.
Here.
In my club.
Earlier this week, Emma had even sent me a photo of her sleeping. Said she was nervous about going out tonight. She looked adorable with her cheek squished against the pillow, completely unaware of how wrecked I already was over her.
But when she walked into the club—dressed like temptation wrapped in innocence—f**k, I nearly lost control. Her wide, uncertain eyes, that sweet blush when she clung to Emma… She didn’t belong in my world, and that only made me want her more.
When I approached, the entire counter had gone silent. The men who had been eyeing her like prey looked away the second I made my claim—placing a kiss to her neck.
Mine.
The message was clear.
I watched her now, refusing to look at me, her body tense with nerves. She had no idea the effect she had on me.
I gently tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet my gaze. She bit her lip—and I groaned under my breath.
“f**k, don’t do that, mia,” I muttered, tugging her bottom lip free with my thumb. Her breath hitched, and I swiped my thumb across her mouth, relishing the way she shivered. I wanted to know how she’d sound beneath me—whimpering, begging, trembling with need.
“I... I want to leave,” she whispered, so soft I almost missed it.
I shook my head slowly. “Not yet, amore.”
Taking her delicate hand in mine, I pulled her gently toward the dance floor.
“Dance with me.”
She looked terrified. “I... I can’t dance,” she said, eyes wide.
I didn’t let her go. I turned her so her back pressed to my chest, careful not to let her feel how hard she made me. Not yet. Instead, I wrapped an arm around her waist and began a slow, swaying rhythm. Gentle. Protective. I wanted her to feel safe in my arms. Safe with me.
Bit by bit, I felt her loosen. Her muscles relaxed. Her breathing evened out.
I smiled to myself, burying my face in her hair and inhaling her scent—sweet, clean, intoxicating.
But then she jolted. Pulled away from me.
“I...” she began, but the words died in her throat.
I didn’t need her to finish. I understood.
She was overwhelmed.
She was scared.
So I led her back to Emma, who stood watching us with a guilty look in her eyes.
“I’ll take you girls home,” I said firmly. It wasn’t a question.
Selene stayed quiet the entire ride, biting her lip now and then—and every time she noticed I was watching, she’d stop and look away.
When the car stopped in front of the dorm building, she was the first to jump out, practically fleeing toward the open doors.
Silly, beautiful girl.
She thought she could run.
She had no idea—
She was already mine.
- Writer
