NO ONE'S POV
PREVIEW:
She reached for her phone and furrowed her brow in puzzled confusion as the message was depicted on her screen.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
"Lost in thoughts again. I hope they're about me, Amore Mio."
CONTINUE:
The kaleidoscopic eyes of Liliana widened in shock as flashbacks of a man with icy blue eyes ran inside her head. She looked around her office room with a dumbfounded look, staring at everything, wide-eyed, trying to figure out how he knew.
Various thoughts ran inside her head, still speechless. She held the phone very tight in her grasp while staring at the message it displayed on her screen. She looks startled.
Liliana wasn't so sure if it was him, but somehow her guts told her, it's him.
She replied back, still agape.
LILIANA:
"Who are you?"
There was a few seconds lag before she received another message from that unknown number.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
"Yet it hasn't even been a few days and you already forgot me. I am deeply hurt, Amore Mio."
That was the sealing of Liliana's doubts, the nickname did it, it sure was him. Her heart began to pound in her chest at the mere flash of his face before her eyes.
LILIANA:
"How did you get my number? And why are you messaging me?"
Liliana didn't know whether to be relieved that he knew her number or angry. Not before some seconds pass, the person on the other side replied again.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
"You should know by now, Liliana-there's nothing I can't get if I want it. Your number was a child's play. As for why, let's just say I couldn't resist checking in on what's mine. Miss me yet, Amore Mio?"
Just thinking about his deep voice, mesmerizing blue eyes, and sharp features had Liliana's heart racing. But she shouldn't give in to his charms; he is the Mafia Prince, the devil himself, she shouldn't feel this way about him, she couldn't.
LILIANA:
"What do you want?"
Liliana didn't have to wait for the person to respond.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
"I just wanted to know how my little Lily was doing. You have no idea about what you do to me, Amore Mio? Since that night at the party, I couldn't stop thinking about you, why are you so intoxicating?"
Liliana's heart was racing at the nicknames, she felt a whole whirl of emotions inside her, not knowing how to feel. Before she could respond, the person beat her to it.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
"Hey little lily, just thought you'd like to know, you will be in my control sooner or later. You are going to be in my hold no matter what it takes. Just a reminder who is going to corrupt you Amore Mio, and I hope you're prepared for what you are in for."
She could feel the domination and possessiveness behind his every word, making her want him more and want to be with him more.
LILIANA:
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Moretti. Your cocky behavior will be your own downfall."
Liliana replied back, a defiant fire burning inside of her. Eventhough her body and heart craved him, his touch, his control, his dominance, her mind thought otherwise.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
"Ah, I see you've caught on. It seems my name still carries weight in that pretty head of yours. You say 'downfall,' but all I hear is 'challenge.' And you know how much I enjoy a challenge, Amore Mio."
Her hand tightened around her phone. He was always so infuriatingly sure of himself. The kind of arrogance that made her want to scream and. do something else entirely. She couldn't deny the pull she felt toward him, the magnetic energy that simmered beneath every interaction. But she couldn't let him win. Not like this. Never.
She took a deep breath and composed herself before typing back.
LILIANA:
"What do you expect me to say, Dante? That I've been waiting for you to take me, make me yours? That I'm willing to be your little plaything whenever you snap your fingers?"
The reply came almost immediately, as if he'd been anticipating her words, he did knew her fierce amd defiant personality.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
"That would be honest of you, little lily. But I'm not that cruel, for you. You're not just a plaything to me. Much more than that. Deep down, you know that too. That's why you can't get me out of your mind either, isn't it? Feel it too. this pull between us. So why fight it?"
Liliana's breath caught as her heart pounded noisily in her chest. He was right, after all: he was playing with her; admitting it would be stupid-giving him an inch of power over her. Yet a part of her wanted to give in to him, lose control to his world of no rules, where danger became a perpetual thrill, and she just couldn't do that. Forbidden.
He is so good at playing around, but she won't fall into his trap. She won't fall for his bitter-sweet words.
Her cell phone buzzed once more in her thoughts.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
"Are you still tongue-tied? Or perhaps you think how lovely it would be to belong to me? Well, Liliana, once I grab you, I won't ever let you go. You can never be free from me, Amore Mio, but if you still find the way to escape me one day, I'll capture you, and then I'll give you a caning that you will think of never leaving me once and for all."
Anger and desire twisted inside Liliana, a very bad mix. And he was just that cocky. That had nerve to assume she'd be that easy to win. He may have been the Mafia Prince, but she wasn't a pawn to be claimed.
LILIANA:
"You think you you've already won, that you can take me, don't you, Dante? But you're forgetting one thing. I'm not someone you can control with a few manipulating, sweet words and a smoldering stare. You underestimate me."
This time, he had taken longer to reply. Liliana could almost picture him sitting back, his smirk spreading across his lips as he considered her words, the gilmer of excitement and desire in his cold eyes never fading.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
"Underestimate you? Never. That's why I am so attracted to you, my little lily. You're not like the others. You've got that fire in you, and I intend to either burn with it or extinguish it. But make no mistake-this is a game. One that I always win."
Liliana's mind was racing. Each word he wrote sent her skidding closer to a cliff she wasn't sure if she was prepared to plummet over. But the allure, the excitement of plunging into the unknown. it was all too alluring.
LILIANA:
"We'll see about that, Moretti. Just know, you're not the only one who knows how to play."
She tossed her phone onto the desk and sat back, heart still racing. Dante Moretti wasn't going to break her-not if she had anything to say about it. But, God, the way her body reacted to his words, the way her heart leapt into her throat, the way she felt nervous around him, the way her desire fueled around him, told her that resisting him might be the hardest thing she'd ever have to do.
Liliana looked out the window. Her eyes followed the sparkles of city lights a mile away, like firework explosions. Liliana was sure of one thing at least: her life was about to get a lot more complicated.
_____________________________________
Just as she worked to calm her breathing and regain composure, there came a sudden knock. She turned around, shocked. A shadow stood in the doorway along with a few more shadows.
Could it be.?
"Amore Mio," a deep voice purred from the shadows, the one that has been stuck in her mind ever since they met, the one she was all too familiar with.
The man she thought was miles away stood now in her office.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Dante Moretti had arrived.