“You see? This is what I want to do to you. I want you just like that: bound and trembling and weeping for release. If you were mine, this is how it would be between us. Your pretty little body would be my plaything. I would make you scream for me and beg for more of whatever I wanted to give you: pleasure or pain.
“That’s what it means to be mine. Absolute submission. I would own you.”
I shivered in his hold, and I felt his cock jerk in response to my tremor. Heat pooled between my legs, my desire rising to match his.
“This is who I am, Sofia,” he declared, low and fierce. “This is what you’re agreeing to when you say you want to be with me. Is this what you want?”
I squirmed in his restraining hold, my blood too hot in my veins. His hand firmed around my throat, and I stilled on a whimper. Wet arousal slipped down my inner thighs, my clit aching.
“I don’t know,” I squeaked, utterly confused by the intensity of what was happening.
He abruptly released me, only to grip my shoulders and spin me around to face him. He grasped my nape, pulling me close and trapping me beneath his black, maddened stare.
“It’s yes or no,” he seethed. “Either you want to be mine, or you don’t.”
“Mateo, I—”
“Is this Caesar’s sweet angel?” a new voice purred, masculine and far too close. “I’m shocked you chose to bring her here, Mateo. He won’t be happy if he finds out.”
Mateo grabbed me, and I found myself trapped in his possessive arms once again. He held me in front of his body, one hand splayed on my stomach while the other wrapped around my thigh. His touch was proprietary, but he didn’t tuck me behind him to shelter me from a threat. He held me on full display, showing the newcomer that I belonged to him.
I hadn’t agreed to be his. Not yet. Desire pulsed through my system in response to all these new stimuli, but my brain hadn’t caught up enough to process what was happening.
The man who had recognized me as Caesar’s daughter regarded us with keen interest. His eyes were black like Mateo’s, but they held a mean, conniving glint that reminded me of a shark.
Other than the shade of their eyes, the two men couldn’t be more different. Mateo was wild and untamed, whereas everything about the stranger was perfectly tailored, from his sharp suit to his designer stubble.
“What are you doing here, Duarte?” Mateo demanded.
“I’m in town for the wedding, of course.” The man shook his head ruefully, his perfect grin white and sharp. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Stefano? We’re good friends, aren’t we?”
“Play your bullshit games with Adrián,” Mateo said tersely. “I’m just the muscle.”
Stefano sighed, as though very put-upon. “I can’t, because Adrián refused to meet me here. He’s no fun now that he’s all loved up. But running into you is an unexpected pleasure. As is your lovely companion.”
Mateo’s fingers flexed into my tender flesh.
Stefano ignored his low growl and dared to address me directly. “You must be Sofia. I’ve heard so much about you.” His shark’s eyes roved over my face and down my body. “I can see what all the fuss is about.”
“If you want to lose an eye, keep looking at her like that,” Mateo threatened.
Stefano beamed at him. “No offense intended. I’m on your side, remember? No one is happier about your little romance than I am.”
I wasn’t certain if there was anything at all romantic about the way Mateo was snarling over me like I was his favorite toy that might be taken away.
I would own you.
My skin pebbled with a chill of fear, but my body still burned beneath his hands.
“If you didn’t come over here to tell me that Ronaldo is dead, then I’m not interested in anything you have to say,” Mateo ground out.
Stefano winked at me. “Your Neanderthal is very impatient, it seems.”
I had no idea who Stefano was, but it was abundantly clear that he was somehow part of the fucked-up negotiations surrounding the sale of my virginity.
My indignation must have been evident in my expression, because he offered an apology.
“I’m sorry. I can see that I’ve upset you by talking about such a delicate topic. Please know that while I’m very invested in your relationship, I think waiting for marriage is a laudable virtue. An innocent little lamb like you doesn’t belong in a place like this.” He cut his cold eyes to Mateo, all pretense of a smile disappearing. “Don’t fuck this up for me, Ignazio.”
Stefano walked away, leaving me staring at the bound woman who was still on display for the amusement of the crowd. The man who had been tormenting her was now winding a coil of rope around her, knotting it in complex patterns around her breasts. I didn’t understand why he would bind her when she was already immobilized by the cuffs around her wrists.