The storm outside had softened to a whisper, but inside the villa, the air was a different kind of thunder—quiet, thick, charged with something dangerous.
Something inevitable.
Elena stood pressed against the wall where I'd cornered her moments ago, her breathing still uneven, her pulse still racing beneath the delicate skin of her throat. I could see the confusion warring inside her—heart pulling one way, logic dragging her another.
She didn't understand her effect on me.
How could she?
No one had ever been able to unravel me like this. Not enemies. Not allies. Not even blood.
Only her.
"Elena," I said slowly, carefully, as though her name alone might break me, "look at me."
She lifted her chin, defiance sparking even now. "I am."
God help me, she was beautiful when she fought me.
But tonight wasn't about defiance.
Tonight was about truth.
I stepped closer, closing the few inches of space left between us. She sucked in a breath but didn't move away this time.
Her eyes locked on mine.Challenging.Frightened.Wanting.
"You're trembling again," I murmured.
"I'm cold," she lied.
I brushed my hand along her waist, feeling her shiver."No. You're not."
She swallowed hard.
"Elena, do you know what possessiveness means in my world?"
"I don't want—"
"Do you know?" I pressed, voice lower, darker.
She shook her head slowly.
So I stepped closer, lowering my voice to a dangerous whisper.
"It means no one touches you."My hand slid to her hip."No one looks at you the wrong way."My thumb brushed the edge of her coat."No one stands close enough to hear you breathe."Her breath hitched."And absolutely no one…"I leaned so close my lips brushed her ear."…gets to pretend they have a claim on you."
She exhaled shakily, her fingers curling into the front of my shirt as if they had a mind of their own.
"Luca…" she whispered.
I wasn't done.
"Possessiveness means I protect what's mine, even from my own world."My hand slid up her spine, drawing a soft gasp from her lips."It means I'll burn down any man stupid enough to stand where I'm standing right now."
Her heart pounded against my chest, too wild to hide.
"Marcus," I said, voice sharp.
She flinched at the name.
"Did he touch you?"
Her eyes widened. "Luca—"
"Did he?" I repeated, my tone leaving no room for escape.
She hesitated.And that hesitation was enough.
My jaw clenched so tightly it hurt.
"Elena."
Her voice trembled."He… held the umbrella. And—he took my arm when the shot was fired."
The room tilted with the force of the rage that hit me.
I ran a hand through my hair, fighting the urge to put a bullet between that man's eyes, not because he was a threat…
…but because he'd laid a finger on her.
She saw it—the storm rising behind my eyes.She stepped forward, placing a hand on my chest.
"Luca," she whispered, "stop. Please."
Her touch soothed something violent inside me.Her pleading softened the razor edges of my breath.
"Elena," I said, voice low, "he touched you with hands that aren't his to use."
Her cheeks flushed."That's not how the world works."
"That's how my world works," I corrected.
"And I'm not part of your world anymore."
I stepped forward and she backed up—one step, two steps—until her back hit the balcony door, the cool glass a stark contrast to the heat between us.
I leaned in, my voice a dark, velvet promise.
"You never left my world," I murmured."You just stopped admitting it."
Her breath trembled, her fingers clutching the fabric of my shirt.
"Elena," I whispered, "tell me to stop."
She opened her mouth—but no words came out.
Not stop.Never stop.
She couldn't say it because she didn't want distance.She wanted this.The heat.The danger.The truth.
Her silence was permission.
I slid my hand to the back of her neck, gently tilting her face toward mine. Her breath brushed my lips—warm, uneven, wanting.
The tension crackled like fire between us, pulling her to me as strongly as gravity itself.
But I didn't kiss her.
Not yet.
I wanted her desperate for it.I wanted her to feel every second of the restraint I was battling.
Her eyes flicked to my mouth and back up again.
"Luca…" she whispered, voice breaking in a way that undid me.
I exhaled slowly, shakily.
"You think I don't notice?" I murmured."How you react to me?"I dipped my head, lips brushing her cheek—not a kiss, but something even more dangerous."How your breathing changes?"My fingers trailed down her side, making her tremble again."How your pulse races when I'm near?"
Her voice was barely audible."You're imagining it."
A dark smile touched my lips.
"Am I?"
My hand slid lower, curving around her waist, dragging her gently but firmly against me.
Her breath caught, sharp and helpless.
"That feel like imagination to you?" I whispered in her ear.
She trembled so violently I had to steady her hips.
"Luca…"
"Say the truth," I breathed."You feel me."
Her fingers curled into my shoulders."Stop."
I smiled against her jaw."You don't want me to."
Her eyes fluttered shut.
"Elena," I murmured, "I'm possessive because I have a reason."I lowered my forehead to hers."You are the only person I want in a world full of things I could lose."
Her breath broke in her throat.
"You're dangerous," she whispered.
"To everyone but you," I replied.
A soft knock echoed from the hallway.
"Boss?" Enzo called.
Elena jolted away from me as if waking from a spell, breath uneven, cheeks flushed, lips parted with heat she tried to hide.
I hated the interruption.
I opened the door a fraction, blocking Enzo's view of her.
"What?"
Enzo's eyes sharpened."A message from Moretti. Urgent."
Of course.
I clenched my jaw. "Speak."
"They want to negotiate."
My laugh was humorless, dangerous."They shot at her. They don't negotiate."
"That's not all," Enzo added, glancing past me as though sensing Elena's presence behind the door."They want her."
A deathly silence filled the air.
My blood went cold.
And then hot.
Burning hot.
I turned slowly, eyes locking on Elena.She stepped back instinctively, her breath hitching at the look in mine.
Possessiveness flared like wildfire—dark, consuming, absolute.
"They want you," I repeated softly.
She shook her head. "Luca—"
"No," I growled, stalking toward her."They don't get to want you."
She backed up until she hit the wall again.
"Luca—"
My voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.
"They cannot have you."A step closer."They will not touch you."Another step."They will not speak your name."My hand braced beside her head."And they will not make a claim on what is mine."
Her breath trembled."What are you saying?"
My eyes burned into hers.
"Elena," I murmured, voice dripping with possessiveness,"I am saying that if the Moretti family wants you… then the entire city needs to understand something."
Her eyes widened."What?"
I leaned in, lips brushing her ear, my voice a dark vow.
"You belong to me."