His Rose in the Dark

AUCTION HOUSE – UNDERGROUND, NEW YORK CITY “Item number forty-five. Unmarked. Virgin. No name on record. We’ll start the bidding at two million.” My heart didn't beat. It thundered. I stood barefoot under the single spotlight, a white silk slip barely covering my bruised body. The collar around my neck hummed coldly—metallic and heavy—like chains worn by ghosts. My wrists shook, but not from fear. No. From rage. The gavel slammed once. "Two million," someone bellowed. "Three," another followed up, laughing. "Four." I kept my eyes down. I needed to look weak. Powerless. Helpless. Let them think i was a lamb. I was a snake in silk, fangs at the ready. And then—his voice. "Five." Silence filled the room. It was that voice. Cold. Final. Godlike. Someone exhaled. "Moretti…" Dominic Moretti. I'd only ever known him in photos. Always in black. Always expressionless. His name blown over syndicates like a tornado that devoured cities. Most feared mafia boss in the States. Brutish. Unpardonable. Fixated. And I needed him. The gavel pounded down again. "Sold. To Mr. Moretti." The collar tightened. My legs jerked out into darkness, towards the man who now controlled me. BLACK SUV – MOMENTS LATER "You don't speak unless you're spoken to," the guy beside me advised me. Dominic. Smooth, detached voice with a warning trace that kept me from pushing his buttons. I gazed out the window. "I wasn't going to." His head whipped around. "What?" "Nothing," I answered hurriedly, struggling to maintain an even tone. He didn't say anything. Just glared. Unblinking. Unnerving. Eventually, he spoke once more. "You volunteered, didn't you?" My heart caught. "Excuse me?" "You glared at me before the bid. You weren't scared. You were gazing at me like you were choosing me." I met his gaze. A mistake. They were black. Cold. Starving. "I don't have a death wish" I lied. "You should," he growled. DOMINIC'S PENTHOUSE – NIGHT I was bracing myself for chains. A cage. Screamings from the basement. What I got was silence. A warm bath. Clean clothes. A bed softer than clouds. And a man who disappeared the moment he got me in. "Eat," the maid who serves me supper says. I don't. Can't. Not until I'm by myself. Not until I turn the latch on that locked door behind me and collapse, trembling, jaws locked to my knees onto the chilly porcelain of the bathroom floor. "You're in, Rose. You did it. Phase one. Now just make it to the end. Let's finish. NEXT DAY-DINING ROOM Dominic sat alone at the head of a ten-foot-long marble table, reading a file. When i walked in, he didn't look up. "You're late" "It's seven in the morning," I said gingerly. "You belong to me. That means i get to choose when your day starts" I stepped to the chair beside him. Not across. Beside. Close enough to be cheeky. But close enough to be arrogant. He set the file aside. Glanced up at me for the first time. "You're not what I expected." "Sorry to disappoint you." "I didn't say I'd been disappointed by you." My chest tightened. He poured me a glass of water. His hand brushed against mine. "You don't respond when I touch you," he noted. "I don't respond to corpses, either." His brow arched. Interesting, it said. Dominic leaned back. "What is your name?" "Whatever you'd prefer it to be." "I don't want lies." I looked at him firm this time. "Then don't ask questions you don't want to answer" He sneered. The first display of emotion i'd witnessed. "Eat. You'll need your strength." "For what?" "For surviving me." DOMINIC'S PENTHOUSE – GYM LEVEL "Keep your arms up," Dominic barked. I ducked under his punch, my lungs ragged. Sweat clung to me, the silk tank top sticking to every curve. He'd dragged me to the private gym at dawn, flung gloves in my direction and said, "Let's see what you're worth" I didn't flinch when he launched the first jab. He grinned at that. "You've had training," he said, circling me like an animal. "My father believed a girl ought to know how to defend herself." "Wise guy. Unfortunately, he's deceased." I jabbed at him, punching. He caught my wrist in the mid-air and whirled me onto my knees. "Don't begin with your emotions cara mia" he snarled against my ear. "You'll always lose" "You think you've already won...don't you?" I breathed. He hesitated. "What makes you say that?" "Because men like you always think a pretty girl can't hurt anyone" He glared at me for what felt like eternity. Then suddenly, he let me go. LATER – MASTER OFFICE His office was bookshelves from floor to ceiling and arms. One entire wall was glass with the skyline of the city outside. He sat behind his desk like a king on a cold throne. I stood. Waiting. He didn't even give me a chair. "Rules," Dominic began, shuffling through a folder. "You don't leave here without my permission. You don't speak to my men unless you absolutely have to. You don't lie to me." "Too late for that" I growled. His eyes snapped up. I bristled. He continued, not catching the jab. "You will obey my commands. You'll go with me to functions at my side, if i need you to. You'll be the part." "What part?" He stood in front of me. "You're my property now, Rose. That means you're mine. Every inch. Every breath." "You bought my body," I retorted and my heart pounding. "Not my soul." He leaned in close, his mouth inches from my ear. "I always seem to end up owning both." EVENING – DINING ROOM We sat in silence again. This time, he poured our glasses full of wine. I stared at the red wine. "You don't seem like a Pinot Noir kind of man." He chuckled. "I'm not. But it suits you. Sweet, slightly bitter, and lethal in the wrong hands." "You don't know what you're talking about" "I know enough. I know that you didn't cry at the auction. You didn't beg. That suggests to me that you've lost more than pride. You've lost everything." I kept a neutral expression. He continued, "And individuals with nothing left? They are the most deadly kind." "So why do you keep me in here?" "Because I like dangerous things. Especially when they are lovely." LATER – ROSE'S ROOM I locked the door and extracted the burner phone from my shoe. I tapped out a message hastily. R: Inside. Close. His office employs digital passkeys. Files stored on cloud, biometric secured. Need access. ???: In progress. You're playing with fire, Rose. R: That's the plan. I stared at the screen. A part of me wanted to believe this could still work. That I could complete what I started and leave with my soul intact. But his voice rang in my head— "I always end up owning both." I wasn't prepared for what he might already own. DOMINIC'S BEDROOM – SAME TIME Mara's name flashed on Dominic's phone. He ignored it. He drank himself full of whiskey, looking out at the city lights. He ought to have sent Rose away. Ought to have let another person win the bid. But there was something in her eyes. Not fear. Not submission. Fire. Like the sort that burns down houses. He didn't believe it. But he couldn't keep away either. He picked up the black folder on his desk. Her fake ID. Her history. What little they could find. Except there was something different, a detail that wasn't there before. He furrowed his brows. "Varela?" He took out his phone. "Matteo," he barked. "Run a deep trace on Rose. Begin with the name Varela. Get me some information on who the hell she is." NEXT DAY – GUEST HALLWAY I was on my way to the library when I heard him on the phone. ".she's not who she says she is. I need eyes on her every second. If she breathes wrong, I need to know." I came to a stop against the wall. My blood chilled. He knew. Or at least—he was guessing. I took a step back too fast. The back of my boot scraped against the marble. The door swung open. Dominic entered the hallway, eyes dark. "Is that where you're going?" I grinned. "Just looking around." He didn't return the smile. "Next time, knock. This house holds secrets." "So do I," I whispered. He stepped forward. "Beware, bella. You may drown in them." That night, i awoke to whispers beyond my door. I pressed against it, pounding heart. "Mistress Mara is here," one of the guards whispered. "She's looking for Dominic." My gut dropped. Mara. The infamous ex. The one who tried to murder the last girl who got too close to him. I crawled back into bed, my heart racing. She was here. And she'd be able to smell me on him.