Page 6 of Possessed (Darker Steamy Shorts #2)

ISLA

I t's been two and a half months. That's how long I've been living in Dante's world. Two months of penthouse views, luxury, and the best sex of my entire life. Time is running out on the contract, and I have no idea what the heck I'm going to do.

For the first few weeks, I kept a secret calendar in one of my notebooks, marking down the days until my contract was up. Even after we were fucking almost every night and behaving as a couple, I would mark down the days when I remembered.

But then, eventually, I just stopped. Other parts of my life with Dante were consuming me. It should feel like imprisonment, but instead, it feels like … love. Possessive, sometimes infuriating, sometimes terrifying love.

There's romance in Dante's intensity. The way he keeps his hand at the small of my back when we're in public, and how he knows just how I take my coffee in the morning. He even cooks for me sometimes, my own private billionaire chef, his sleeves rolled up as he chops vegetables.

Then there's how obsessive he is about other men speaking to me, which should be annoying, but makes my blood run hot for him instead. Once, I smiled at a server when he handed me a drink, and Dante's arm was around my waist in an instant, whispering, 'You don't smile like that for anyone but me.'

I should be angry when he does that stuff. Instead, it turns me on. I'm growing addicted to the feeling of being wanted to the point of obsession.

We travel, but never too far. My favorite moments are stargazing with him on the rooftop, my head on his chest as we lie on the oversized outdoor couch, his chin resting on the top of my head. Dante is dangerous, but when I'm with him, I've never felt safer.

I should be ready to leave in a few weeks.

Part of me is, I guess. My father found out about the contract just a few days ago, and when we spoke on the phone, he was equal parts horrified about what I’d done for him and relieved that the debt would be washed away soon enough.

It made me think about what life will look like post-Dante, and the thought leaves a pit in my stomach.

I can't picture my life without Dante anymore. I love him. It's terrifying. And I only have two weeks to figure it out.

When Dante leaves for a business meeting, I take my chance.

I want to look at the contract I signed one more time before the two weeks are up, just to see if there are any hints of what my life will be like once this is all over.

Will he want me to still work for him, even though I'm well aware it's just busy work?

Will he want to date me for real, or will he want to cut contact completely once it's all done?

He always locks his office, but I know where he keeps the key. It's betrayal, plain and simple, when I slip the key into the lock and turn it, but there's no going back. This is my life. I have to know.

I've been in here a few times, and while everything is clearly expensive and well-made, there's a minimalist feeling to it all that I didn't expect. Dante is single-minded when he's working, and he's made it so he has no distractions. Other than me.

My hands are shaky as I paw through the desk drawers as silently as possible.

At first, all I find are invoices, various papers, and dozens of carefully labeled files.

But then I see it, tucked behind everything else—a manila folder with my name scrawled on it in Dante's handwriting.

My stomach drops to the floor, but I don't hesitate, plucking the file out.

My heart races as I open it, and the first thing I see isn't my contact. Instead, it's a copy of my lease for my old apartment. No, wait. When I look closer, I realize it's not the lease at all. It's actually a notice of lease termination.

Dante paid my rent for the month I moved in with him and then paid the fee to break the lease in the middle of it. My apartment is long gone, so even if I want to leave...I have no home to go back to.

Behind it is an address change form. Dante changed my address the day before I even signed the contract. He was going to move me in with him no matter what, even if I resisted signing.

I feel nauseous, but I keep going.

Next is a background check on me, which isn't that odd for someone as wealthy as Dante. What doesn't make sense, though, is the fact that it's dated two years ago. I cover my mouth to stifle a gasp. He's had eyes on me for two years, watching, waiting until he had a chance to catch me.

It all comes together with the last document in the file.

All this time, I've been under the impression that one department of Dante's firm was debt acquisition, and that was how he came into possession of my father's debt.

He'd never elaborated about how he knew my father even had a daughter, but I chalked it up to him simply seeing us out somewhere and coming up with the idea of our contract.

But if he's been following me for two years, that's long before my father even tried to invest in the company that nearly bankrupted him.

Dante had just been watching and waiting for an opportunity to have me at his mercy, and my dad's mistake was the perfect setup. He waited until I had nowhere to run, no choice but to go to him if I wanted to help my only living parent.

I feel the room tilting around me, my head spinning. Dante has pulled every single string to bring me into his orbit. I've never even had a chance at freedom, at least not for the last two years. I've been destined to be his all this time, and I didn't even know it.

I sink into the leather office chair behind me, clutching the folder to my chest. I don't even need to read the contract anymore. I have all the proof I'll ever need to prove that I've been living in a cage this entire time.

Of course I'm angry. I feel furious, helpless, but my chest aches. Not just from betrayal, but the knowledge that even knowing how relentless Dante was in his quest to possess me, I still love him.

I wish I had never found the damn envelope. Blissful ignorance was so much better than the truth.

Dante comes home a few hours later. I've been waiting in our bedroom— his bedroom—and my pulse is racing as I hear him shut the door and move through the house. The envelope is creased from where I've been gripping it so tightly, and I try to keep my courage up to face him.

His steps are slow and unhurried. Dante never rushes. He expects the world to move faster for him when he needs it, not the other way around. Then the door opens, and he stands there, loosening his tie as he fills the doorway.

"You've been waiting for me."

I hold up the envelope in a barely steady hand. My throat is so tight it's hard to force the words out. "I found this."

Dante takes his tie off, sitting on the dresser as he approaches me. His eyes narrow, and he looks at me, really looks, and there's zero shame in his gaze. "So you know everything, then."

I swallow, trying to make my bone-dry mouth work.

"I knew you bought my father's debt, but you've been following me for years!

You, you—" my voice breaks as I fling the folder at him.

He makes no move to catch it, letting the papers fly everywhere.

"You orchestrated all of this! Even before the contract, you changed my address, you cancelled my lease. You stole my life, Dante!"

He finally reaches me, undoing the first four buttons of his crisp white shirt while he speaks. "I didn't steal your life, Isla. I gave you a new one. The right one. A life where you belong to me."

I grab fistfuls of the blanket next to me, "So you admit you trapped me?"

His hand darts out, fast as a snake strikes, seizing my chin and making me look up at him.

"Yes. If I hadn't, you could have slipped through my fingers like smoke.

I saw you at a charity dinner two years ago.

Do you remember it? I heard you laugh, saw you through the crowd, and I knew right at that moment that you were mine.

I wasn't going to risk getting just a glimpse of you before you disappeared.

I moved the pieces on the chessboard to bring you to me.

It's what I do, Isla. It's how I get what I want. "

"Y-you're crazy," I want to scream, but my voice is only a whisper.

Dante releases me, but leans down, bracing one hand on the mattress beside me, our faces almost touching.

Even now, after finding out what he's done, I'm not afraid of him.

"Yeah, I am crazy, but do you know what else?

" He leans even closer, so when he speaks again, I can feel his lips moving against my ear. "I'm in love with you."

The words rip through me, and I almost laugh. Oh, how I wanted those words so badly, only to get them at the worst possible time. "Why? Why me?"

His other hand hits the mattress, and we're almost nose-to-nose. "Because you're mine. You think I'd let anyone else touch what belongs to me? Fuck no. I did what I needed to do so I could have you. It was well worth it."

Sobs tear through me. I hate him. I love him. I don't want to leave. "Dante..."

Dante Vale, so rarely gently, brushes my tears away with his thumbs, even as his eyes continue to burn just as intensely. "Say it, Isla. Tell me that you feel the same."

As always, it's a demand. I sob harder, but they're broken up with nearly hysterical laughter. Of course, I love him. I've loved him for months now. What the hell is wrong with me? "I love you, you bastard," I choke out between sobs.

Dante closes his eyes, face filled with relief. "Thank fuck."

Then his mouth is on mine, and I taste my tears on his lips, and then his tongue. His hands are in my hair, and I'm gripping the front of his shirt so tightly I hear seams pop. I don't want to need him, but I do. So bad that it hurts.

"I'm still angry," I pant out when we break apart, even though I'm already pulling at his clothes. "I'll probably be angry for a while."