Page 31 of The Red Queen

He leaned toward her, hesitated, then kissed her temple. Her hair felt soft against his lips and smelled clean, like fruit scented shampoo.

“Goodnight, Desiree.”

He stood and walked to the door, opened it, and left without looking back.

Chapter Fourteen

“Goodnight, Giovanni,” Desi whispered, watching him leave her bedroom.

She suspected he’d been there for sex. He certainly hadn’t come to watch her sleep. Yet, he hadn’t touched her, except to move the hair off her face and kiss her head.

She’d held her breath, waiting to see what he’d do.

He was a good-looking man. Very good-looking. The more she got to know him, got to experience the power that drove him, the sexier he became to her.

She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

Should she be fighting him? She didn’t want to fight him, yet she was his captive. If she allowed it, they would soon be married.

Perhaps the fight had drained out of her, or maybe Nico had beaten it out of her. She didn’t have the desire to fight Giovanni or the life he was pressing on her. She was comfortable, warm, well-fed. Did she need more? Something felt like it was missing, but she didn’t know what.

She closed her eyes on her thoughts and drifted into sleep.

The next morning, she showered in the gorgeous glass-surrounded shower stall that could have easily fit six grown men. She rifled through the closet, surprised at how fashionable the clothes were. There were outfits in rich colours by high-end brands for every occasion and more shoes than she could possibly wear in a lifetime.

She favoured dark dramatic clothing, and while there were a few outfits of the sort, most of the clothing was more modest than she was used to wearing. She supposed Giovanni needed his future wife to project a certain image.

Desi was happy to play along. For now.

She chose a pair of high-waisted denim leggings paired with a cherry red bustier that tied up the front with a red ribbon that ended in a bow between her cleavage. It was cute but also edgy.

She wondered who’d chosen the clothing. She couldn’t imagine the big bad mafia boss poring over clothing choices, trying to choose the precise items he wanted his enslaved girlfriend to wear. She also couldn’t picture the staid housekeeper choosing something like the bustier.

Desi decided it was a problem for another day and sat on the edge of her bed to pull on a pair of black calf boots with three-inch heels that she’d found among the racks of shoes.

Standing, she tossed her long, dark hair over her shoulder and approached the door, placing her hand on the knob. She didn’t know if she was locked in. She held her breath as she turned the knob. It gave easily in her hand, and she pushed the door open.

“Good morning, Signora Amada.”

“Good…” Desi started to return his greeting but stopped when she realized what Vitto had said.

He’d called her Amada. Her birth name. Her mother’s name.

She’d been using Garza since she was brought into the cartel.

“Where is he?” she asked sharply, her cheeks flushing. “Where is Signore Savino?”

“He is in his study.”

“Take me to him,” she demanded, striding past him and down the hall toward the staircase.

“Of course.” Vitto hurried to catch up.

Desi was surprised at how easily she got into Giovanni’s office. As the boss of a large, well-established organization, he had to be quite busy. Yet, Vitto knocked on the door, opened it, told Giovanni she wanted to see him, then stood back, allowing her to walk past.

Giovanni must’ve given his men orders that if she asked for him, she should be taken to him straight away. She had free access to the boss. The ground felt like it was shifting beneath her feet. The knowledge that she could see Giovanni freely any time she wanted was heady. But by asking for him, was she also playing into his plans for her? Did she care?

When faced with the man himself, sitting behind his desk in a large leather chair, one hand resting on the top, his ornate rings gleaming in the sun streaming through the French doors behind her, the reason she’d come to see him fled.

---