Page 33 of Vicious Souls

“Mr Accardi requests your presence at dinner,” she advises. I wave her away, telling her I’m not hungry, before I continue to pace around the room, my thoughts a jumble as I replay the past few weeks in reverse.

When the second knock comes a few short minutes later, I don’t break my stride as I continue to pace, ignoring the sound of the persistent knocking.

Dante strides into the room and leans his back against the edge of the bench seat, spreading his legs as he watches me pace around the room. I stop walking and give him an irritated look, then turn around and resume my pacing. I’m happy to have him waste his time standing there while I continue to roam around in my mind.

We maintain the routine until there is another knock on the door and Helga brings in a tray of food. I roll my eyes as she sets it down on the small table without saying a word. Dante stands, goes to the tray and starts uncovering dishes until the aroma of food wafts through the room and I am salivating over the rich, decadent smells.

“Sit,” Dante commands, holding out a chair for me. His voice is so forceful, I pause for only a moment before I throw myself into the chair and look down at the food. There is enough for two, and I realize as he takes the chair across from me that we will be eating together. It is obvious that if I don’t join him in the dining room, he’ll dine with me in my room.

“I thought a nice romantic dinner was in order,” Dante says, trying to break the ice as he cuts into his steak. I shoot him an annoyed look and bite into my own.

“So that’s your angle? Wine and dine me into submission?”

“You wish.”

“How long will I stay here?” I ask, after endless minutes of silence pass between us. I take a healthy gulp of my water and put my cutlery down.

“Wewill stay here as long as it takes, although I don’t think that will be much longer.”

“Meaning?” My irritation doubles when he emphasizes that we will remain here together, chained to one another.

“I have a meeting with a contact tomorrow – he may have some useful information that could end this sooner rather than later.”

“Can I come with?”

The heavy clank of cutlery falls against the porcelain, and a deathly silence shrouds the room.

“No, you cannot,” he says, directing a curt look my way as he swallows down the remainder of his food. He takes a napkin to his mouth, his focus on me with every move he makes. I can’t look away from the spear of his dark gaze on me as he sits quietly, head cocked curiously in my direction.

“Give me one good reason,” I challenge him.

“I’ll give you three,” he counters, his words rolling off his tongue as he throws one two three fingers upward. “Attempted rape. Attempted murder. Attempted murder.”

“You’re not responsible for me.”

“You’re not dying on my watch.”

“Careful, or I might think you give a shit.”

I throw back my chair and walk to the window, looking out at the twilight of the darkened night. The angry scrape of his chair alerts me to Dante leaving his station at the table. But he surprises me by coming to stand beside me instead of leaving the room as I’d expected he would.

“I don’t know why you fight me at every turn, Moneybags. I am not the enemy here.”

“And nor are you my friend. If I recall correctly, you’re my captor. You kidnapped me from my own father’s funeral.”

“If I hadn’t, someone else would have, Moneybags. I thought I made that clear.”

His breath floats across my skin, coating my bare shoulders in goosebumps. He’s a head taller than me, towering over me like an imposing leader. I close my eyes, sucking in a deep breath, trying to retain control of my senses. It is not a good thing to be in such close proximity to a man of his caliber. I have spent my whole life – practically – in the company of males. At school, and all through college, I had been surrounded by boys and men as I passed myself off as something I wasn't. At home, I was also surrounded by men – Tate and my father, and all the soldiers they commanded. But I had never, in all my years, become as undone as I did whenever I was in the same room with Dante Accardi. The man has a dangerous effect on me. And for the first time in my life, I long for a man to put his hands on me. To smooth his hands down my arms. To wrap his arm around my waist and pull me to him. To wind his limbs through mine like a crawling grapevine. But not just any man. This man. I am coming dangerously close to melting into him.

“And what happens after you find out who’s ordering these attacks on me? We deal with it and everyone goes on their merry way and gets on with their life like nothing ever happened?”

“You’re thinking too far ahead, Moneybags. For now, your job is to stay alive.”

30

DANTE

“Girl giving you grief again?”

---