Chapter 81: Rags and Ritches 22

Dante

Everything was going according to my well laid plan. Every single thing.

Even the look on Arias face when she had seen the Judge and his new bride had been exactly how I imagined it.

And I knew, because I knew the judge that he would go back to Gio and they would be at my door before the week was out. Maybe sooner so that meant I had to put the next part of my plan into action. And sooner rather than later.

And it was the next part of my  plan that I was going to have the most problem with. So far Aria had been easy to manipulate. One or two orgasms and I had her eating out the palm of my hand but I needed her more than coming for me now.

I needed her to love me. Unconditionally. Unequivocally.

Maybe earlier, had been a mistake. I didn’t want to push her so far that she reverted back to her old self.

“You’re very quiet.” I said from next to her, in the back of the car.

This time I had made sure I had ridden with her. Her “betrothed” had been taken in the car in front.

She didn’t even look at me. Reaching out I tried to touch her knee with my knuckles and she angled her legs away daintily crossing them at the ankle and continued to stare out of the window into the rain splattered street.

“Aria?” Lowering my voice I turned fully into her. Adamantly she kept staring away from me.

Sighing, I reached for her again. “What is on your mind?”

More silence.

Yeah I had definitely pushed her too far.

“Don’t touch me Dante.” She hissed when my hand squeezed her thigh. “I will chop off every finger you have and feed them to you if you ever touch me again.”

Finally she turned to me. Her eyes were wild in her face. I kept my hand exactly where it was but my grip loosened just a tad. “You’re angry with me.”

Slowly she let her eyes drop. And the look she gave me was so much like the one she had given me when I had stepped in front of her in the cemetery.

Like I was beneath her.

“No I’m not angry with you Dante.” She lowered her voice but her eyes kept darting to the front of the car where the driver was staring just a little too hard at the road.

He was listening. I knew that. But I also knew he was loyal. Anything that was said and done in this car would not go any further.

I let out a sigh of relief.

“I am furious.”

My relief was short lived.

“I know what I did-“

She cut me off with a little adorable snarl. “You humiliated me. You put a target on my back. If the judge or my brother don’t kill you. Then I will.”

For a second I stared at her. “They will try Aria but I’m not so easy to kill. Just ask anyone. That’s something you should know about me.”

She stared at me, her teeth scraping against her bottom lip. “Then there’s something you should know about me as well, Dante.” Leaning forward she dropped her voice to a whisper I had to lean into her space to hear.

“And what’s that?”

“I never fail to take out a target.”

I couldn’t even speak for a second and then a low chuckle left my throat which just made her angrier. Her pretty eyes flashed.

“What’s so funny?”

“You say you never fail but you did. You missed your shot.”

A slow knowing smile spread across her face. Shrugging she grinned at me. “Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t. Maybe I am exactly where I need to be. I haven’t quite worked out who you are Dante or how you hold so much power in this family but,”

Taking me completely by surprise she reached up and ran her fingers down my cheek. Drawing my face towards hers. Her lips brushed against mine, and I felt the now familiar surge of lust zap through my veins.

“But I am going to find out.” She whispered, her lips moving against mine. “I just don’t know whether it will be before or after I kill you.”

Startled, I sat back. Searching her face for any tell that she was lying.

She wasn’t. There was nothing but determination in her face and eyes.

“Could you really kill me?” I asked and my voice was unusually unsteady. I had been counting on all that anger being directed elsewhere and maybe that made me a fool because I’d assumed she was like all other women. Easily manipulated

Now I was beginning to see my mistake. Sex alone was not going to get her to play her part in my little game.

Moving her body into the corner of the seat she turned her face away from me but I could see her staring at my face in the window reflection.

“Without hesitation.” She muttered. “You’re nothing to me Dante.”

Even as she said the words, her eyes shifted away. And I had to hide my grin. Aria was good but she wasn’t that good. Her face gave her away ninety nine percent of the time and it was doing so now.

She might say I was nothing to her but I was.

She cared about me.

Which was all sorts of stupid but I could definitely use it to my advantage.

“Ok.” Theatrically I let my shoulders sag. “That's a shame though because-“ shaking my head I fell silent. “Never mind.”

“What do you mean never mind?”

Stoically I moved to the other side of the car. Ignoring her like she was ignoring me. “I guess we are back to being enemies now Aria. As you want me dead. I can’t -“ I let out a ragged sigh. Running my hand through my hair. “I can’t help my enemies so it looks like you will be getting married in the morning.”

“What?” She mumbled turning back towards me. Her face slack with shock. “In the morning?”

“Yeah. I can’t say I’m happy about it but you said it yourself. I am nothing to you. Which is a shame because I’m so in love with you.”

Her pretty painted mouth fell open in a sigh. “You’re in love with me?”

And just like that I knew I had her.