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My family would bear the burden.

He had warned me that first night. If I did anything to try and escape, to try and run, he'd kill them all. I couldn't risk that.

Dante thought that we weren't on the same playing field. He had no idea how wrong he was.

The safety of my family was more important to me than my own self-preservation. Dante had to understand that.He did understand that.

At least when the hands changed and I was given back to my owner, Remo wouldn't get the virgin Ivy. He could never take that from me.

Dante had claimed that part of me. He had me, and I chose to give myself to him.

I had taken back my choice and I would never forget Dante had given me that.

But Dante and me . . . We could never be.

“What are you doing, Dante? Is this what you want?” Pushing myself up, I rested my hands in my lap. “Don't feed me lines of how you wished this—or that—I don't fucking need it. Shit is fucked up enough without you filling my head with all these false dreams of what things could be.” Throwing my arm up, I dug my nails into my hair. “Things won't be, and that's it. You'll hand me over just like you're told to, and I'll go back to being a fucking slave, a sex slave. So just stop already with all this bullshit. I don't want to hear it.”

I could feel my heart starting to hurt. It was breaking and cracking, and filling with pain. I didn't want the pain.

During the first few weeks with Remo I let my mind race and wander to all the things that could have been in my life. And that hurt too fucking much to let it all in again.

All the dreams I had about finishing college, all the plans to move into the city and open my own veterinary clinic were stomped on and shattered into dust sized chunks.

My father had taken his money, he had allowed that man to steal me away, and for what?

That was an answer I didn't have. And I refused to speculate why.

“Ivy, I don't want to give you back to him. I want to fucking kill him for what he's done to you. I can see it all over your body and it makes me sick.” His hand captured my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. “I'll try and find a way out of this, I will.”

Licking my lips, they felt dry and cracked. My nerves were running wild with all the regret I had for not being smarter, for not being wiser when Remo first stepped foot through my door.

“Trust me, if there was a way out, I would've found it. But he'll kill my family if I don't do what he wants. Everything I've put up with was done to save them. I'm his, he owns me. He paid for me, and now I'm not even me anymore. I'm just . . .” Letting out a weighted breath, my eyes began to well with tears.“His.”

Dante sat quiet, his face scrunched in thought. Shaking his head with a stern, 'no,' his expression turned sour. “You're not his. You never were. From the first moment I saw you, you were mine.”

Crushing his lips onto mine, Dante slid his teeth over my bottom lip, plucking it with harsh demand. Finding my neck, he laid hard bites, nipping and breathing hot air over my throat. My body shook, nipples turning hard and stiff as his cock pushed into my thigh.

There was so much desire between us that I felt the room jump ten degrees. It went from cool to hot, the air turning stuffy and thick with lust.

His mouth found my lips again, tongue licking and riding the ridges as it danced around my tongue. We kissed with passion, the feeling purged my veins, hitting my chest with electric sparks.

His strong arms flipped me in his direction, our lips never parting to even take in air.

I didn't need to breathe, I didn't need air or water or food to survive.

I needed Dante.

Rolling to his back, Dante lifted me onto his waist. His cock slid between my ass cheeks as he raised his head to my chest and suckled my tender buds. Prickles broke over my skin as his tongue twirled around my nipples, teeth biting down with gentle force. Dropping my head back, a throaty moan fell from my lips as I closed my eyes tight.

He had no idea how much I wanted this, how much I needed him.

But I wanted him to know. Even if we were together by a twisted fate, I was bound to him now. And no matter what happened in the end, a piece of me would always belong to him.

Gripping my hips, Dante gyrated up, his thick dick slipping up and down my ass. The thick fuzzy patch of hair at the base of his cock tickled my clit, making me pulse and clench at just the idea of having him inside me again.

His hand climbed up my side, scooping into my hair and tugging my head back hard. “I said you're mine. That's all it takes, that's all that matters. You're no one else's.” My back arched, pushing my pussy into his waist. “Tell me you're mine, say it so I can hear you.”

“I'm yours, Dante, I'm yours.” Rolling my head in his hand, I felt his cock throbbing. His thumb circled my clit, the pad pushing down and dipping into my heat. “Fuck, Dante, I'm yours!”