Chapter 15 Real Power
Isabella POV
He wiped his mouth with the back of his forearm. “I was thinking about how beautiful you look like that…with that jet-black hair and olive skin.
You don’t.have a drop of makeup on, but your features are still phenomenal. You’re stunning.
So fucking stunning that I’m not sure if I can wait until after dinner to fuck you.” He finished the scotch in his glass then set it down with a loud thud. “What were you thinking, baby?”
“Stop calling me that.”
“I can call you whatever I want. Now answer the question.”
His answer wasn’t as sick as he forecasted, and I was annoyed with myself for actually appreciating his response. “I was thinking it’s a shame you’ve decided to live your life this way.”
“In what way?” he countered. “I live in a mansion and I own several more of them. I have a butler. I’m rich. I have.”
“Wealth isn’t everything. It’ll never buy you happiness.” I lived a life of.luxury, but when I reflected on the happiest moments of my life, they had nothing to do with money. They were times when I was surrounded by friends
and family, enjoying the Tuscan sun with a bottle of wine and a good cheese.
He cocked his head slightly, his eyes narrowing. “Don’t interrupt me again.”
I wanted to fire back with something rude, but my gut told me to listen to him.
“I’m not ashamed of what I do for a living. I didn’t have the resources you did. I didn’t go to a private school or have a father to pay for university. My mother was a whore to make sure I had food every night. Is it also a shame
that she lived her life that way?”
“I never said that.”
“And now I’m asking.” Without raising his voice, he increased the tension in the room. He turned hostile without a single movement, becoming silently.deadly. “Because I’m not ashamed of her. I’m not ashamed of what she did to.provide for me. Like any other mother, she did whatever was necessary to make sure I had clothes, shoes, and supplies so the other kids wouldn’t make fun of me.” He leaned over the table, his elbows resting on the wood. “You
think less of her?”
It didn’t matter how much he threatened me. I wouldn’t cave. So I answered honestly. “Never.”
His intense gaze remained, his blue eyes burning into mine..“Never underestimate what a mother will do for her child…” My own mother
never told me the horrible truth of her past.
She did it to protect me, to make sure I wouldn’t have to carry the grief that now sat in the pit of my stomach. “But I judge you for killing people in alleyways and capturing a young woman for revenge. I judge you for demanding sex in exchange for my freedom.”
“Like you didn’t want to fuck me.” My eyes narrowed. “No, I”
“I made you come in less than two minutes. You enjoyed every fucking second of it. Let’s not rewrite history and paint you in a fictional light. I kissed you against my van, and you kissed me back. I kissed you on the floor
just seconds after I held a knife to your throat. I fucked you in my bed and listened to you moan for me, felt your nails slice into my skin. I listened to your screams when my fat dick hit you in the right place. I may not be a good
man, but you’ll always have my honesty. I deserve the same from you."
It was the first time a man shut me up. He didn’t tell me to be quiet, but his argument left me speechless. There was no way I could contradict any of those things, not when we both witnessed them. “Whether I wanted to fuck you or not, I want my freedom.”
“Freedom is a privilege, not a right.”
“Not according to the law.”
“In the underworld, there is no law. There are only rules, my rules.” I crossed my arms over my chest, my appetite suppressed now that this conversation took a deadly turn. I refused to give in to the fear, but I couldn’t deny how lethal this guy was. He didn’t kill me, but he was definitely temperamental. “When are you going to let me go?”
He grabbed the bottle and refilled his glass. “I’ll let you leave the house in a few days.” He worded it the same way as last time and that was unsettling.
“My mother will call soon.”
“She hasn’t yet.”
“You’re keeping an eye on my phone?”
“Yes.”
“Can I have it back?”
He laughed into his glass before he took a drink. Michael entered the dining room with our entrees. Two steaks with mashed potatoes and asparagus. He set the dishes in front of us, topped off my glass with wine, and then set a basket of bread on the table before he walked out.
Once the succulent food was placed in front of me, my appetite came back. I grabbed my fork and knife and dug in. Dante watched me for a few seconds before he started eating.
“What am I supposed to do for the next few days?”
“Don’t be stupid.” He cut into his steak then placed a large piece of meat in his mouth. “I prefer it when you’re smart, even when you won’t shut your mouth. You know your only job is to lie in whatever position I ask while I fill
you with my endless loads.” He cut into his steak again and took another bite, like this was an appropriate conversation to have over dinner.
A tiny chill ran down my spine, and that made me despise myself. “I was under the impression this was just a one-night thing.”
“You’re the one who told me I wouldn’t just want you once but I wouldn’t stop wanting you.
Looks like you made good on your word.” He put another piece of steak into his mouth and chewed, his hard jaw working while his eyes focused on my face.
“And you think that’s going to change in a few days?”
He kept chewing, the tension escalating between us. “There’s a good chance it won’t.”
“But you promised you would let me go.”
“I promised I would let you leave the house.”
“Is that not the same thing?”
He didn’t answer. “I told you I would never let you go, whether you’re in my captivity or not.”
“The second I’m out of here, you’ll have no power over me.”
“That’s what you think. But you’ve never been in the presence of real power.”
He spoke with such confidence that I didn’t want to challenge him. I was the daughter of a very powerful man. My uncle had the same influence, and I knew my mother didn’t take shit from anybody. But my family had walked away from a life of crime and danger. Their power was enforced by respect, not fear. Dante was different, a type of enemy I didn’t know how to combat.