Page 33 of The Don's Prisoner

“You’re so sure of yourself then?” I teased, moving towards him just a little bit. I liked playing with him. “You know that if you follow me upstairs, I’ll want to fuck you? Because I don't think so. I think I would say “no” and you would go home, sad, lonely, and horny.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” he insisted, leaning a little further towards me, his smirk set firmly on his face. “You want me. You wanted me before I ate you on the hood of your car. Now you crave me.”

I could feel my face burn.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” I denied it, turning my head from his and putting my hand on the door handle. I pulled it and was about to get out of the car when his hand reached out and turned my face back to him. When I turned, he shifted forward and his lips met mine. He pressed them to me as if he were trying to convince me that I wanted him. As if his lips and tongue could get me to admit the truth.

Because it was the truth. I wanted him with every fiber of my being. He kissed me and my skin lit up like fireworks whenever we connected. It was impossible, the connection was insane, and yet it didn’t matter. My body reacted to his lips like he was waking me up down to my toes.

“Come upstairs with me,” I whispered, pulling away from him just long enough to speak.

“Okay,” was all he said, all he needed to say.

We got out of the car and headed over to the elevator to take us up to my floor. When the doors closed, Gio pulled me to him, rubbing his hands up and down my body, running his fingers up my thighs and under my skirt. He buried his face in my neck and began biting and licking, which created the oddest sensation along my skin. I wanted more, and if the elevator door hadn’t opened when it did, I might have jumped him right then and there.

Giggling, I took his hand and pulled him down the hallway to my condo’s front door, but there was something on the floor in front of it. As I got closer, I saw that it was a rose—a single long-stemmed rose with a note attached.

Curious, I let go of Gio’s hand and picked up the rose. When I did, only the stem came with the note. The head of the rose remained on the floor.

“What the hell?” Gio asked from behind me, and I read the note.

Vicky,

I meant it when I said I’m not done with you. You are mine and I will take care of Giovanni De Carlo if I have to. Your choice, Princess. What will it be? I can live with someone else’s blood on my hands. Can you?

XOXO

After reading it, I handed that note to Gio and opened the front door to my place before Gio could tell me not to. Inside was vase after vase of red roses. They lined the walls, sat on the couches, and rested on the countertop. They were everywhere.

“What the fuck is all this, Victoria?” Gio demanded, and I honestly didn’t know what to say. My jaw had dropped at some point, and I hadn’t bothered to close it when I turned around to Gio.

My mouth ran dry, and I could feel myself shaking. He had been in my place. He could get into my house. What if he was still there? What if he was waiting there to shoot Gio? Shoot me? I had no idea Rex would be so persistent. I figured since he was a good-looking guy and had money, there was no reason why he couldn’t just have gone out and gotten another girl.

“Victoria?” Gio asked, taking my shoulders into his hands and holding me at arm’s length so he could see my face.

“I’m sorry, Gio. I think we have a bigger problem than I realized.”

Chapter ten

Giovanni

She didn’t want to talk to me there. She just wanted to leave, so I brought her back down to my car. We got in, and I drove to the only other place that made sense—my place.

Unlike my office, my residence wasn’t anything big or grand, certainly not like Nonna’s place, because all I really did there was sleep and store things. I had never even fucked anyone in my house because I made a point never to let any of the chicks I banged know where I lived. It was safer for everyone that way.

I pulled into the driveway of my modest four-bedroom home and hit the button to open the garage.

Victoria still hadn’t said a word, which was starting to worry me. I was used to quiet rides with her, but usually they were comfortable and full of ease. Tonight, I could feel the tension radiating off her in waves. The roses had really shaken her up, and it was starting to worry me.

Who were they from? Why did they worry her so much? Was there another guy? I knew she had said that she had a boyfriend, but I assumed that she had gotten rid of him already. Maybe she hadn’t, and she was worried about telling me?

Question after question raced through my head, each one more ridiculous than the last.

After I had driven into the garage, shut the car off, and hit the button to close the garage door, Victoria and I continued to sit in the car, in the dark. I waited for her to move, but she didn’t. Sick of the silence and the tension, I sighed.

“We are going to go inside, and I’m going to have a beer while we discuss whatever the fuck is going on. Would you like one?” I asked and she shook her head.

“I’m not a fan of beer, but thank you.”

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