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‘I am not angry,’ I said through gritted teeth, determined to believe it. Her virginity meant nothing to me. Nor did her anguish at my decision to keep my fluency in her language from her.

She nodded, but I could see in her gaze she did not believe me. ‘Would it be OK if I took a shower?’ she asked, so carefully my anger rose again in my chest.

Did she think me a brute? A man who abused women, the way my father had done…

‘Sì,’ I said, and she scrambled off the bed and dashed into the bathroom, the sheet wrapped around her, the spots of her virgin blood visible against the white linen.

I lay back on the bed and cursed under my breath as I listened to her shower in the adjoining room. And imagined joining her, to soap those lush breasts, to wash away the blood, to make her eyes go fierce with need for me again.

I threw the sheet off, tugged my boxers on, determined not to give in to the urge. Sex was one thing, intimacy another. One I needed, the other I despised.

I walked through the salon and headed past the guards to shower in an adjoining suite. Passing one of the household staff in the corridor, I ordered them to go in and strip the bed, then speak to my housekeeper and have her supply the girl with clothing. And contact Dr Romano to put her on contraceptives. Because I knew I would want to keep her in my bed now, until my negotiations with Vito were settled.

But later, as my cock rose to attention again while I soaped away the evidence of our lovemaking, I wondered if it was possible to become addicted to a woman after one fuck.

CHAPTER TEN

Evie

I sat on the suite’s enormous terrace, tugging a blanket around my shoulders. The sun had dropped into the sea hours ago, but I stared at the moonlight shimmering on the blue water, as boredom and confusion and the familiar anxiety tied my stomach in knots.

The guards on the door had refused to let me leave the suite after Dante had disappeared ten hours ago while I was in the shower. And with way too much time to think, I was more than a little stir-crazy.

I hadn’t seen Dante since we’d had sex, and no one would tell me where he was.

Whatever had happened between us, though, I knew I was still just a pawn in his war with my brother-in-law. He’d seemed surprised and even annoyed by my virginity, but ultimately not particularly interested. And while the sex had changed me in fundamental ways, I doubted it had meant much to him.

I swallowed down the tears scouring my throat. Frankly, I needed to keep my emotions out of my dealings with him. Confusing amazing sex with true love had been one of my mum’s favourite party tricks. That was how she’d ended up a single mother with two daughters by two different deadbeats.

My confusion had only increased with the parade of people who had visited me during the day, referring to me as ‘la donna di Dante’—something I could no longer deny.

The housekeeper Livia had brought my meals—freshly baked pastries and fruit for breakfast, a hearty pasta dish for lunch and a delicately spiced platter of fish and roasted potatoes for supper. The food had been delicious, but I’d been too stressed to eat more than a mouthful of any of it. Once Livia had taken my lunch tray away, a wardrobe of extremely expensive designer clothes had been delivered. I’d been relieved to see that none of the clothing was as revealing as the red dress I’d had to wear the night before. In fact, there had even been some casualwear—sweats, T-shirts, jeans and underwear—all of which I’d been grateful for, especially now as I tucked my legs under my butt and stared into the night in the cozy brushed cotton sweatpants and sweatshirt. Although I couldn’t help worrying about what the clothes meant. Exactly how long was Dante planning to keep me here?

I hadn’t been allowed to contact my sister to tell her I was OK. I knew she would be frantic, and she was about to have a baby, which only made me more concerned about my captivity here. I couldn’t believe Dante would hurt me, after the way he’d held me all through the night. But I had no idea either when or if he planned to let me go. Had he even contacted Vito?

The last person to arrive in the suite, just before my supper was delivered, had been Dr Romano, the island’s medic, who had taken my blood pressure and then informed me of the real reason for his visit.

‘Il Capo has requested you be prescribed birth control pills.’

I could still feel the heat in my face now, just remembering the conversation that had followed.

‘But what if I don’t want to take them?’ I’d asked.

The doctor had stared at me, then shrugged. ‘Don Dante will not be pleased if you refuse. He wishes for you to remain in his bed and he does not wish to use condoms, as they are not always reliable…’ he paused ‘…in avoiding pregnancy.’

When he said it like that, Dante’s demand almost sounded reasonable.

‘You must take these each day,’ the doctor said, producing the pills. ‘I will inform Don Dante to continue to use condoms for a few days.’

‘But… I…’ My cheeks blazed, my objections to Dante’s high-handed order getting stuck in my throat. Because however stir-crazy I was, I did not want to leave his bed.

I’d loved having his arms around me last night because it had made me feel safe. Secure. And whatever the circumstances of my captivity, I had become fascinated with Dante… And despite discovering he had concealed his ability to speak English, I’d been bitterly disappointed this morning when I’d finished my shower and found myself alone. Because I still yearned for his touch.

Maybe it was an addiction. An obsession, brought on by stress and fear and anxiety and all those insecurities that had haunted me as a kid… But it was there nonetheless.

Before I could figure out how to respond, though, because I still felt overwhelmed, the doctor had continued.

‘Il Capo will not take you by force, it is not his way, after the way his mother was treated.’