VOWS OF FIRE AND BLOOD

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving me pressed against the wood, my lips still tingling from his kiss. My chest rose and fell too quickly, my palms clammy where I clenched them at my sides.

I hated him. God, I hated him.

And yet...

The echo of his mouth on mine, the dangerous promise in his words, refused to fade. It was as if he'd branded me from the inside out.

"Pull yourself together," I whispered under my breath, straightening my dress, smoothing my hair. My reflection in a nearby gilt mirror looked like a stranger, eyes too wide, lips swollen, a flush painting my cheekbones.

By the time I stepped back into the main hall, Dante was already there, immaculate as ever. Not a hair out of place, his suit pristine, his expression a perfect mask of control. If not for the taste of him still lingering on my lips, I would have thought I'd imagined everything.

His eyes found me instantly. Something flickered there, heat, possession, maybe satisfaction but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. He extended his hand like a man playing the perfect host.

"Isabella," he said smoothly, as though we were nothing but a polished couple leaving an evening soirée. "It's time."

I placed my hand in his, my pulse a steady drumbeat in my ears. His grip was firm, unyielding, his thumb brushing the back of my hand in a silent reminder: you're mine.

We walked out under the watchful eyes of the men still lingering in the mansion. Dante's presence swallowed the space around him, but I felt their stares like hot needles against my skin. I lifted my chin, refusing to cower.

The night air was cool against my overheated body when we stepped outside. The black SUV waited, headlights cutting through the darkness. A guard opened the door, and Dante guided me inside first.

The leather seat was cold, the air thick with silence as the vehicle pulled away. For several minutes, neither of us spoke. The city lights blurred past, neon against shadow, but all I could feel was the weight of him beside me.

Finally, I couldn't stand it. "You humiliated me back there," I said, my voice sharper than I intended.

His gaze slid to me, calm, unreadable. "No. I protected you."

"Protected me?" I snapped. "By claiming me like property? By threatening to kill me?"

His jaw ticked, just once. "You'd prefer I let him strip you with his eyes?"

"I'd prefer you let me handle myself."

The SUV hit a bump, jolting me forward. His hand shot out, steadying me against his chest before I could catch myself. For a moment, I was surrounded by his warmth, his scent, the steady thud of his heartbeat.

Our eyes met.

Something dangerous and unspoken stretched between us, tighter than a drawn bowstring.

He released me slowly, his voice lower this time. "You have no idea the kind of men we sat across from tonight, Isabella. They don't see you as a woman. They see you as leverage. A weakness they can use against me."

"And what am I to you?" I demanded, heat rushing to my face. "A wife? A pawn? Or just a body to warm your bed when it suits you?"

For the first time, his mask cracked. A shadow crossed his expression, fleeting but sharp, before the walls slammed back into place.

"You're mine," he said simply.

The words hung in the air, infuriating and intoxicating all at once.

The SUV slowed as the wrought-iron gates of Dante's villa loomed into view, massive and foreboding against the night sky. The guards waved us through, and soon we were winding up the long gravel drive.

My pulse picked up. I wasn't sure if it was anticipation or dread.

When the car stopped, Dante stepped out first, as though this were just another ordinary night. He extended his hand, that same effortless command in the gesture.

For a moment, I considered refusing, leaving him standing there in front of his men with his hand hanging in the air. But their eyes were on us, always on us. And I couldn't bear the thought of giving them something to smirk about.

So I placed my hand in his, ignoring the shiver that ran through me when his fingers closed around mine.

Inside, the villa glowed with warm light, but I felt none of its comfort. Dante dismissed the guards with a flick of his wrist, his presence filling the grand entry hall. Once the echo of footsteps faded, the silence between us returned, thick, suffocating.

He shrugged off his jacket, tossed it carelessly over a chair, and began unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt. The simple act shouldn't have been intimate, but my throat tightened as I watched.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked suddenly, his eyes snapping to mine.

"I'm not," I said quickly, turning away.

He was in front of me in two strides, one finger under my chin, tilting my face up. His gaze burned into mine, sharp and searching.

"Yes, you are."

I swallowed hard, my pulse skittering. "You think everything revolves around you, don't you?"

A corner of his mouth lifted, not quite a smile. "It does. At least for you."

My breath caught, fury and something far more dangerous colliding inside me. "You're insufferable."

"And yet..." his hand slid down, resting lightly against my waist, pulling me closer until I could feel the heat of his body through the thin fabric of my dress "you don't move away."

I should have. God help me, I should have shoved him back, screamed at him, reminded him that I wasn't his to command.

But I didn't.

I stood frozen, my body betraying me as his thumb brushed slow circles over my hip, as his eyes dipped to my lips.

"Dante..." I whispered, my voice unsteady, a plea and a warning all at once.

His mouth was at my ear in an instant, his breath hot against my skin. "Say my name like that again," he murmured, "and I won't stop."

The world tilted, my knees weakening. Every line of his body radiated control, but I could feel the storm under his skin, the same storm raging inside me.

For one dizzying second, I wanted to give in.

And that terrified me more than anything else.

My pulse thundered as his words coiled around me, thick with promise and threat. I could feel the weight of them in the pit of my stomach, in the way my body leaned instinctively into his.

But I forced myself to find my voice. "You think you can just command me, Dante. That if you push hard enough, I'll break."

His grip at my waist tightened, pulling me flush against him. His gaze burned, dark and consuming. "No," he said softly, dangerously. "Not break. Bend."

The air between us sizzled. My pride wanted to slap him, to shove him away. But another part, one I didn't want to name, ached to close the last inch of space between us.

"You don't own me," I whispered, though the words shook.

His lips brushed the corner of my jaw, his voice a low rasp. "Then why do you tremble every time I touch you?"

I gasped, shoving against his chest, but he barely moved, steady as stone. "Because you make me furious," I snapped.

"Liar," he murmured, capturing my wrist and pressing my palm flat against his chest. His heart thudded, strong and steady beneath my hand. "You feel this too."

His mouth found mine then, hard and claiming. It wasn't gentle, wasn't coaxing, it was a collision of fire and steel. I should have pushed him away, but the heat of him burned through my resistance. My fingers curled into his shirt, dragging him closer instead of shoving him back.

A groan rumbled low in his chest as his hands slid into my hair, tugging me deeper into the kiss. My head spun, knees weakening until his arm locked around me, holding me upright as though he knew I'd fall without him.

I tore my mouth away, breathless. "This, this doesn't mean anything," I whispered, though my lips ached for more.

His eyes burned into mine, dark and feral. "It means everything."

Before I could argue, his mouth was on mine again, fiercer this time, leaving me gasping, desperate. My back hit the wall, his body caging me in, every line of him pressed to mine.

The world dissolved, anger, fear, reason, until there was only Dante. His taste, his heat, his impossible dominance.

I hated him.

The wall was cold at my back, but Dante's body was fire against mine. Every kiss seared me deeper, every drag of his mouth against mine unraveling the fragile threads of resistance I still clung to.

I pushed at him, not to stop him, but because I needed air, needed space to remember who I was. "Dante"

He caught my wrists and pinned them above my head, his mouth trailing fire along my jaw. "Don't fight me, Isabella. You don't want to."

My chest rose and fell too fast, my pulse a frantic drumbeat. "You're arrogant enough to believe you know what I want?"

His teeth grazed the curve of my neck, pulling a sound from my throat I didn't recognize. He stilled, savoring it like a man who'd won. "I don't need to believe. I know."

My head tipped back against the wall, betraying me. I hated myself for the way I melted under him, for the way his touch ignited something raw and reckless inside me.

"Tell me to stop," he whispered against my skin, his voice a dark caress. "Say the word, and I will."

The challenge hung between us, heavy as smoke.

I opened my mouth, whether to tell him yes or no, I couldn't even decide but the words died on my tongue. My silence was all the permission he needed.

His mouth claimed mine again, devouring, demanding. My wrists ached where he held them, but it only fueled the dizzying rush of surrender. For one dangerous heartbeat, I let myself drown.

And then he pulled back.

Just like that, the spell shattered.

His grip loosened, releasing me. His expression was unreadable, his breathing steady, as though the storm hadn't touched him at all.

I blinked, dazed. "What... what are you doing?"

He straightened his shirt, his movements sharp, deliberate. "Reminding you of your place," he said coldly. "And mine."

The whiplash left me reeling. Heat still licked at my skin, but now it burned with humiliation.

My voice cracked when I found it. "You think you can toy with me? Use me like some..."

"Like my wife," he cut in, his tone clipped, final. His gaze was ice, even as his lips, still swollen from our kiss betrayed the lie of his indifference.

He stepped back, distance yawning between us like a blade. "Get some rest, Isabella. Tomorrow, you'll need it."

And then he was gone, the echo of his footsteps fading into silence.

I slid down the wall, my knees weak, my heart breaking and raging all at once.

For the first time, I realized the truth: Dante Bellanti might destroy me.

And the worst part was... a part of me wanted him to.