Forced To Be The Mafia King's Bride novel Chapter 27

Gia’s POV

I stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped snugly around me, another clutched in my hand as I rubbed the damp from my hair. My head was tilted to the side, half-lost in the simple rhythm, until I saw him.

Dante sat in the chair facing the bed, broad shoulders relaxed, owning the space with that effortless authority that always sent a chill down my spine. His gaze pinned me in place, as if he’d been waiting for this exact moment.

My heart lurched in fear the moment I saw him. The towel slipped from my hand and dropped soundlessly to the floor as I instinctively stepped back, only for his voice to cut through the air, deep and commanding.

“Gia, don’t run.”

I stopped dead, goosebumps racing over my skin.

“Come here,” he ordered, the edge in his tone making it impossible to mistake the difference between a request and a command.

My legs felt like lead, but I forced myself forward, his gaze burning into me with every step until I stood before him.

The memory of his office flashed hot across my mind, the biting sting of his palm on my backside, the way my body betrayed me by responding. And now, with him so close, that same current ran through me, unwanted but undeniable.

I tried to glance away, but his voice snapped me back.

“Look at me.”

Slowly, my eyes lifted, reluctant yet obeying. The jitter in my chest made me furious with myself. I wanted to shove past that weakness, to call him out for the cruel, humiliating way he’d handled me earlier, but right now I didn’t have the strength for another fight. Maybe it was smarter to play it safe.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

The question caught me off guard. I hadn’t expected even the faintest trace of concern from him. The words, how do you think? hovered on my tongue, but I swallowed them back and kept my voice steady.

“Fine.”

His mouth curved, the barest hint of a smirk, and his next words sent a hot tingle across my skin.

“How does your backside feel? Does it still hurt?”

I rolled my eyes before I could stop myself, heat rising in my cheeks.

“What do you expect? After you nearly beat the life out of me?”

For a moment, amusement flickered in his eyes.

“I didn’t beat you,” he said, his voice dropping low, threaded with something dark and sultry. “I simply spanked you… maybe more than a few times.”

There was a spark of excitement in the way he said it, as if the memory pleased him.

He rose from his seat, towering over me, and suddenly the air in my lungs felt heavy, as though he was stealing it just by standing so close. His presence always seemed to swallow the room, leaving me caught between fear and desire.

His thumb brushed over my bottom lip, slow and tender.

“You can’t blame me now, can you…” he murmured. “With your… infuriatingly beautiful lips that never seem to stop hurling insults at me.”

He rolled the soft flesh between his fingers, parting them slightly. Heat shot through me, layer by layer, my body betraying me with its response. A traitorous part of me wanted him to close the space, to press his mouth to mine.

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