Page 46 of The Enforcer's Possession
I couldn’t breathe.Couldn’t think.My entire body felt hypersensitive, every nerve ending firing at once.I watched Dante’s profile -- his calm expression, his measured movements, the complete absence of remorse or concern -- and felt something fundamental shift inside me.
This was my husband.This was the man I’d chosen because I’d thought he was the safer option.The man who controlled my wardrobe and my schedule and my life.
The man who would break someone’s hand at a formal dinner for threatening me.
My thighs were pressed together so tightly it almost hurt, trying to manage the arousal flooding through me.This was wrong, and disturbing.I should be horrified, disgusted, afraid.
Instead, I wanted Dante to touch me again.Wanted his hand back on my thigh, wanted him to grip me hard enough to leave marks, wanted him to prove his ownership the way he’d just proven his capacity for violence.
Marco pushed back from the table with his good hand, standing on legs that shook visibly.His face was blotchy with tears and rage and humiliation.“You’ll regret this,” he managed, his voice breaking.“My family --”
“Will do nothing.”Dante didn’t even look at him.“Because if they retaliate, I’ll do to them what I just did to you.Only slower.More thoroughly.With an audience.”
Marco’s associate -- the bland man whose name I still didn’t know -- hurried to his side, helping him toward the door.Marco’s good hand clutched his ruined one, blood dripping from where bones had broken through skin.
The dining room doors closed behind them with a soft click.
For several heartbeats, no one moved.Then Papa lowered himself back into his chair with a heavy exhale.
“That was…” Mama couldn’t seem to finish the sentence.Her hands trembled as she reached for her water glass.
“Necessary,” Dante finished for her.He turned to Papa, his expression pleasant.“You wanted to smooth tensions.I’ve smoothed them.Marco now understands exactly where the boundaries lie.”
“You’ve made an enemy,” Papa said, his voice tight.“The Vitale family won’t let this stand.”
“Let them try.”Dante’s hand found my thigh again under the table, his grip possessive and warm.“If they’re stupid enough to retaliate, they’ll save me the trouble of manufacturing justification.”
Luca made a strangled sound.“You’re talking about starting a war.You really would go that far for her?”
“Yes.I’m talking about protecting mywife.”Dante’s fingers tightened on my leg.“Which I’ll do by any means necessary.If that starts a war, so be it.”
I felt his words vibrate through me, felt the absolute certainty in his tone, felt my body responding in ways that should have ashamed me but didn’t.
Mama was watching me now, her expression a mixture of concern and something else.Understanding, maybe.Or recognition.Like she saw exactly what I was feeling and remembered feeling it herself once.“I think,” she said carefully, “we should perhaps conclude dinner early.Given the… circumstances.”
Papa nodded, still looking shaken.“Yes.Perhaps that’s best.”
Dante stood, pulling me up with him.His hand never left my body -- moving from my thigh to my waist, keeping me close.Claiming me in front of my family the same way he’d claimed me in every other way that mattered.
“Thank you for dinner,” he said with perfect courtesy, like the last fifteen minutes hadn’t happened.“The veal really was exceptional.”
We moved toward the door, Dante guiding me with that possessive grip.I caught Francesca’s eye as we passed.She raised her wine glass in a small salute, her smile knowing.
She’d seen my reaction.Knew exactly what her brother had awakened in me.
The thought should have been mortifying.Instead, it felt like validation.
Papa caught us in the foyer before we could make our escape.He stood under the massive chandelier, his shadow stretching long across the marble.The same marble I’d walked across as a child, believing my father was powerful enough to protect me from anything.
Now I knew better.Now I knew Dante was the more dangerous one.
“A word.”Papa’s voice carried the authority he’d wielded my entire life, but something had shifted.His posture was different.More careful.Like he was addressing an equal instead of a subordinate.“Before you leave.”
Dante’s hand remained at my waist, but he nodded once.“Of course.”
Mama appeared behind Papa, her face still pale from what we’d witnessed.Behind her, Luca hovered in the dining room doorway, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.
Papa studied him for a long moment.I watched my father’s expression, watched him recalibrate how he saw the man who’d married his daughter.This wasn’t the negotiating partner who’d agreed to alliance terms.This was someone more dangerous.Someone willing to start wars over perceived threats.
