Sterl
just red-it was the c
my bed with a handwritten note from D
a black-tie masquerade of power where the city's e
vast, undulating sea of black tuxedos and glittering gowns. Crystal chandeliers cast fractu
nd unyielding. He scanned the room with predatory precision, offerin
d. The ambient chatter didn
grand entrance like the
that looked lethal. She wore gold, shimmering like a deity who had descended to judge the mortals. She walked wi
, Dante w
asked, my voice
rinding through his clenched teeth.
lips-a sharp, surgical expression that didn't reach her eyes. Sh
slight, smoky Italian accent. She looke
ged, his tone flat. "I t
on his chest, claiming the space right over his
s, my simple jewelry, and my face. She looked at me not with curiosity,
asked, arching a scul
g slightly in front of me, shieldin
e flutes shattering. "Is that the polite term we are using now? In Chicag
he air leav
waist, his fingers digging in
ensuring I caught every syllable. "You know the arrangement. The Vitiellos and the Morettis. You and me.
aze back to me, h
e girl," she said. "Try
ed away, leaving a trail of he
h twisting into a knot
I asked, my v
he crowd, his jaw clenched so hard a muscle feathered violen
iness, Aria," h
ds cut deeper than Sof
way from his as i
ir," I ch
stung my eyes. I wasn't his biographer. I wasn't his mistress. I was a paw
wrapping around me, I realized something else. Sofia Moretti hadn't just looked at me
e a pawn. She
e Mafia Princess saw me as a threat, it meant Dante Vitiello
he balcony opened behind
said to the city skyline.
was right behind my ear, low and vibrating with
back. His hands slammed onto the railing on either
I whispered to the glit
y. I felt his lips brush my skin, hot branding iron against
t to ash," he growled against my pu
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