The Bastard's Betrayal (Scandalous Scions 1)

This man was not her ex. Not really. He was the fucking enemy. “Let me go.”

“No.”

No use pushing harder at that point. She changed gears without missing a beat. “Where are you taking me? Los Angeles?”

“No.” Dante’s eyes went flat. “My uncle would interfere, and he’s a blunt instrument. He would chop off your head and send it to your groom. It’s the kind of fun little joke he’s into, and it would piss off Romeo Capparelli, which is reason enough for him to do it.”

A sliver of true fear went through her. Ultimately, Dante was just the nephew of the head of the Verducci family, and cousin to the next. He wasn’t in charge of shit. If Lorenzo Verducci got involved, it wouldn’t matter what Dante thought of things. If his uncle wanted her dead, she was dead. Suddenly, being taken to LA didn’t sound like such a good idea, even if her father’s cousin Kirill had people there. Had he returned himself at this point? He was in New York for the wedding, but plans changed and none of her extended family would want to be gone from their home cities for long.

Rose swallowed hard. “So, if you’re not taking me home, then…”

Dante gave her a steady look. “I am taking you home.” He turned and stalked toward the bedroom door. “But only after you have my ring on your finger. Not even my uncle would dare touch you once you’re mine, Romanov or no.”

Chapter 7

When Dante realized that Rose didn’t follow him out of the bedroom, he only barely managed to fight down the desire to go back there to haul her into the main area of the plane with him. He was playing a slow game, and that required patience. If she needed time to stew after that phone call with her sister, then so be it. Rose was a smart woman. She’d quickly realize that her best bet lay in playing along with him. She had no way out.

On the other hand, she showed every evidence of being a prideful creature, and he’d undermined that pride by shoving her in a trunk. It stood to reason it would take her some time to get over it.

But how fucking long?

He was bored.

They had another hour in the air. Frankly, he’d like to fast-forward to landing, just to see what Rose would do once she had her feet on the ground again. She probably already had plans in place to run the second she got the chance. Dante smiled. His woman was in for one hell of a disappointment.

As much as he relished outplaying her, though, a part of him wondered if this would be one blow too many to her pride. She lived in the same world he did. Surely she understood they didn’t play by normal people’s rules, and that included the line of too far.

There was no such thing as too far.

Still… He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the closed bedroom door. He honestly didn’t know how she would react, and that sent a frisson of irritation through him.

Life was so much easier when he didn’t have to give a fuck about other people’s feelings. His uncle didn’t expect it of him, and so he’d never bothered. He worked better when he was cold and ruthless and Lorenzo knew it, even if it meant he hadn’t fully trusted Dante since Lorenzo brought him in as a teenager. A junkyard dog was useful in a number of situations, but there always stood the risk it would bite the hand that fed it.

Over the years, when his uncle sent him to take care of problems, Dante had started making examples of his targets. It earned him something of a reputation in the city, and it was the main reason Kirill hadn’t taken any meaningful steps to cause an all-out conflict.

It also had the happy side effect of unsettling Lorenzo. His uncle feared him, which was occasionally a challenging line to dance. Keep the old man off his back, but not threaten him so overtly that Lorenzo decided he was more trouble than he was worth.

It wouldn’t be a balance he had to worry about for long. Matteo would take care of Lorenzo soon enough. His cousin was too ambitious and too savvy to let his father run wild the way he was now. Matteo was just taking his sweet fucking time pulling the trigger. He had his reasons, but if Lorenzo tried to pull some bullshit with Rose, Dante would take the choice away from his cousin and put the old man down himself.

The door opened before he could change his mind about giving her space, and Rose stepped through it. She looked… Fuck, he didn’t have the words to describe how she looked in his shirt, her hair mussed and her tits threatening to pop a button or two despite the fact she’d obviously tried to make space for them. With every step she took toward him, she flashed a glimpse of red lace between her thighs.