“Do you think you’re the only one affected by the heat between us, Emme? I can’t think about you without wanting you. I can barely take a breath without needing you. I may have been older than you, but I was in uncharted territory as well. So yes, I counted on the sexual attraction distracting you long enough for me to bind you to me. I had no intention of letting you get away from me. Not then. Not now. Not ever.”
Part of her wanted to pry his fingers from her ankle and then kick him right in the head and hope she knocked some sense into him. He sounded like the worst kind of stalker. Another part of her wanted to yank him down on the bed and make love to him. That was what was so terrifying about being close to Val. It was impossible to think straight.
Emmanuelle took a deep breath and let it out, forcing air through her lungs, needing to be clearheaded. Valentino couldn’t distract her. Her body was hot. Her breasts heavy. She was grateful for the bruises because the aching let her feel the soreness even more. She didn’t want hands on her. Especially Val’s. He could be rough at times, and right now, her body couldn’t accept rough.
“You implied you wanted out of your father’s world, but you were never going to leave it, were you?” She kept her eyes on his. Steady. Forcing him to give her the truth. “You had no intention of ever leaving, did you?”
He didn’t so much as blink, those dark green eyes looking so much like a predator’s she quaked inside, but she didn’t let her fear show on the outside. She was a Ferraro. She could protect herself if she had to.
Val shook his head slowly. He gave her the truth even though it shredded her. “I tried to lie to myself a couple of times, but I always knew I would be taking over for my father. Once I knew Miceli was up to no good, I didn’t hesitate. And I knew it very early on. Years earlier.”
“You wanted to take over,” she persisted.
He nodded. “That’s true. I was raised to stand in my father’s shoes. I don’t know another life. Even before he officially adopted me, we talked of it.”
She hated him almost as much as she loved him. Betrayal ran deep and hurt like hell. “You didn’t trap me because you loved me, Val. I heard what you said to Stefano about loving me, and it rang with truth. At the same time, it was a lie. The lie was as big as the truth. You had another reason. Trapping me even back then, when I was so young, it was never about me as a person, or even about the sex—all of that came with it, but there’s another reason, one much more compelling. The real reason you’re forcing me to be with you. It has nothing whatsoever to do with loving me. Tell me what that is.”
She glanced around her bedroom because now she couldn’t look at him, this man she loved more than life. More than her own life. For the first time, she realized that her soft night-light was glowing, throwing shadows on the wall. Her shadow. His shadow. She thought he’d moved the chair to face her, but he’d deliberately positioned himself so their shadows would merge. The ropes swarmed over her, weighing her down, thicker and tighter than ever. There was no hope of ever getting free, yet he was still adding to the bindings.
Emmanuelle gestured toward their shadows. “You’re still doing it. There’s no doubt in my mind there’s something else, Val. You can’t force me to stay. You know I can find a way to escape. Tell me what that reason is.”
He continued to look at her, his eyes heavy. Hooded. A chill went down her spine. Was there a way he could force her to stay with him? Force her to go into the shadows for him? She had all kinds of confidence in herself, knew she was lethal and yet just for a moment, she was afraid of him.
“You’re already afraid of me, Emme. You’re my heart. My soul. The one good thing in my life. Why would you be afraid of me? Why would you think I would ever hurt you? And don’t tell me I did anything your brothers haven’t done, because you’d be lying to yourself and to me. I’ve seen it in them. Killers know killers. I recognized them early on as well. Why do you think I made the decision to take you?”
She reached for her pillow and pressed it to her churning stomach. “I don’t know, Val. That’s what I’m asking you, and you keep avoiding the answer. What’s the real reason? Dario knows. You know. I think you’re the only two people in the world who do.”