The club fades out of view, replaced by a string of restaurants and small little shops. They're all clean and the upkeep is clearly good.
The car travels for another ten minutes before we're pulling up to steel gates. We roll to a stop and I expect for the guard to roll down his window and key something into the small box sitting to the side of the car or to speak to someone, but he doesn't. Instead, he sits, waiting.
And then the gates to hell are opening.
I glance up, looking around for any indicator as to how the man got in without doing anything. When my eyes pause on two cameras, tucked away by brick columns, I realize someone must have been watching and knows who the man is.
Or better yet, who he drives.
The car continues up the driveway until we're pulling in front of a mansion. My eyes bulge at how big the building is and I blink, taking it all in.
But don't say they're mafia, even though they have to be doing something illegal to live in a place like this.
The car stops, and the engine goes dead. The guard steps out of the car, slamming his door shut behind him. I wait for him to open mine, but it never happens.
Reaching for the handle myself, I'm stopped in my tracks with one word. "Stop."
My hand pauses and I turn, looking at Giovanni. His phone is gone now and he’s sitting up, his body tilted in my direction. His full focus is on me and I nearly recoil away under it.
Don't appear too strong, but don't appear too weak, either.
I manage to stay in place.
"There are rules that you must know before you step foot into my home." His voice is monotone and his gaze is blank. He doesn't wait for a response from me before continuing. "First off, what I say goes, and if you disobey, you will be punished. Second, you are not a guest in my home, you are a prisoner, a servant, a captive, and if you forget your place, you will quickly be put back into it without any hesitance or mercy."
My throat feels dry and my pulse thumps wildly.
"You will be shown to your living quarters and that is where you will remain unless you are told to be elsewhere, but never wander around my home without permission." His finger flexes slightly as his hand wraps around my knee, hot and heavy, the pressure just enough to make sure I’m paying attention. "You are not to speak to any of my men, unless you are given permission. You will not touch or interact with them in any way unless I order you to. You will keep yourself presentable at any given moment." His eyes move over my face as if to check that I am still listening to him.
Listening and feeling like I'm going to throw up everywhere.
"You are here for my pleasure," he enunciates every little syllable. His jaw is tight. "You will do what I say, whether you want to or not. Those are the rules if you want to be returned to your brother when the year ends. And if you become insubordinate, then you won't be around for much longer, let that be clear. If at any time we leave the premises, you are not to speak to anyone we may come in contact with unless I allow it. Nor will you allow them to touch you." His jaw clenches and his eyes dance over my face.
When he suddenly moves closer, erasing the space between, I can't tamper down my reaction as I recoil backwards. My head snaps against the door and pain ricochets through my skull.
"Do not pull away from me," Giovanni orders. His knee bumps against mine as he moves closer into my space until his body is heating mine. Any coldness that'd seeped into my body disappears.
His hand moves to my hip, his fingers digging in painfully. His eyes hold mine, forcing me not to look away. "Let there not be any doubt, when you signed that contract, you signed everything over to me, Winter Chastine. Your mind, your body, your soul. That means when I come near you, you will not move away." His opposite hand moves toward my face and he grips my chin roughly. "When I want to touch you, you will let me. When I want to use your body, you will let me." A dangerous glint dances in his eyes as he presses in closer. My heart goes wild in my chest and my head begins to spin. "Most importantly, when I want to fuck you, you will let me."