Page 29

“If he cares for you, he'll do what we want.”

If Remo did pay to get me back it wouldn't be for love, it would be for his own benefit. I was just a line on his bucket list. He didn't give a fuck about me and he never would. To Remo I was disposable once he got what he wanted.

I needed Dante to know that.

A meddling smile crept up my face, lids half opened. “You really have no fucking clue about what I am to him, do you?”

Cocking his head a hair, a grin split across his cheeks. “You can't threaten me, it won't work.”

“It's not a threat. Maybe killing me is a better option.” Shrugging my shoulder, I picked nervously at my thumbs over my head. “Giving me back to him is just the same as pulling the trigger yourself.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Dante's brows dipped down, wrinkles rippling over his forehead. “Do you think I won't pull the trigger? That I'd shake and cry if I had to snuff your existence right here?”

Shaking my head no, I said, “You don't get it. I was never his, and he'll never be mine.”

My arms were starting to hurt, cramping and going numb. The blood had drained away, and I was left with pins and needles stapling their way through the muscles.

Adjusting my arms, I grimaced. “Can you at least cuff these lower? My arms are fucking killing me.”

“Don't change the subject. If you're not Remo's, then what are you? A hooker, a whore, a paid friend with benefits?”

Veering my stare, my nostrils flared in anger. “No. I'm none of those things. I'm not fucking him, and if you let me go, then maybe I can keep it that way.”

His laugh made my heart hammer inside my chest. “Wow, wow.” Drawing a hand through his hair, he gripped the base of his neck. “You're trying to work me. Lucky for you I'm not fucking stupid.”

“Obviously you are.” Calling a Pisani stupid wasn't the best decision, but I had nothing to lose. “Do you think I'd lie to you? Do you think I'd basically ask you to do me the favor of killing me, knowing you could without a fucking second thought?” Arching a brow, I eyed him through thin lids. “So yeah, stupid looks good on you.”

Freezing, I watched him closely.

As Dante's hand glided down my cheek, cupping my chin, and tickling across my collarbone, I felt my body breaking. His fingers gripped firmly around my throat, squeezing with just enough pressure to show me he could crush my esophagus with one snap.

And as sick as it sounds . . . It turned me on.

I liked the way it felt as he constricted, holding my impulse to breathe in his touch.

His eyes were solid, staying glued on my mine. “I'm far from stupid, Sweetheart. And I don't like when people try to control a situation that is mine to own.” Bringing his lips to the shell of my ear, he whispered. “I own you now.”

Desire was strangling my insides, holding me to him, making me want what I shouldn't ever crave. His chest was lifting rapidly, the space between us growing smaller and still it felt like he was so far away.

His eyes were piercing, drawing me in deeper.

I couldn't look away. I couldn't tell him no.

Want had taken over.

And I wanted Dante Pisani.