Chapter 28

Dominic POV

Dominic knew it was a mistake.

Fucking her in the bathroom during the rehearsal dinner? Stupid. Reckless. He could already hear Romero’s voice in his head, cold and clipped: “You’ve officially lost your mind.”

Maybe he had.

But the second she kissed him—dragged him down into the storm she’d been holding in her chest—he couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t, actually. Not when her body arched against him like she needed him just to breathe. Or when her voice broke as she told him what his own father had whispered in her ear while their second course was being served.

He’d followed her because he knew something had happened between them. Aurora rarely ever looked that terrified and when she did, those eyes were usually directed at him.

Somewhere between planning his father’s assassination and navigating the bloodthirsty alliances of their world, he’d started caring.

He hated that.

However, he hated the idea of Leonardo putting his hands on her even more.

It had taken everything Dominic had not to storm out of that bathroom and end the old man right then. Dominic had sworn it right then, whispering it into her skin as he drove into her like he was claiming what was his.

No one else gets to have you. Only I do.

The heir, the name, the legacy—that was all meant for Dominic. He wouldn’t be replaced by some bastard child his father created in a twisted bid for some fantasy he cooked up in his head because he was getting himself a younger wife.

Dominic wouldn’t allow it.

He’d burn the whole damn house of cards down before letting that happen.

As soon as Aurora scooted out of the bathroom, Dominic turned to the mirror to fix his tie, his button up and wash the sweat from the back of his neck.

He let a few minutes pass before leaving the bathroom and heading back to the banquet hall. No one seemed to notice his absence as he slipped back into his chair and replaced the napkin on his lap.

Back at the other side of their table, Aurora had rejoined her seat beside Leonardo who barely blinked before slinging his arm possessively over the back of her chair.

His eyes stayed on her. Every time Leonardo leaned in too close, touched her arm, whispered something low and vile in her ear—Dominic saw her flinch.

Tiny. Subtle.

She tried to hide it. She smiled when spoken to, nodded when her step-sister and step-mother threw her passive-aggressive barbs. She even managed to eat a little of the risotto that had been laid in front of her.

He could tell every second she spent sitting beside Leonardo made her stomach twist tighter.

Dominic pulled out his phone beneath the table and typed a quick message. If he tries anything with you again, I’ll drug him. Don’t worry about it.

He watched her glance down at her phone, her mouth twitching. Not quite a smile but something close.

She shifted subtly in her seat, finally leaning away from Leonardo’s grasp just enough that he had to adjust his position and drop his arm from behind her chair.

Good girl.

During the rest of the dinner, Dominic didn’t stop watching her.

He would never stop watching her.

Not now.

Not ever.

Aurora POV

The second we walk into the Caruso family estate, Gianna grabs my wrist and tugs me with her as she heads for the stairs.

“We need to talk. Now.”

I don’t argue.

My heels click uselessly as she drags me up to her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind us before turning to face me with arms crossed and fire in her eyes.

“Well? What happened?”

I hesitate.

I was hoping for time to figure out how to soften, or twist, the fact that I didn’t get to do anything more than suck Dominic’s face as he fucked me. The look on her face tells me there’s no way around it. Whether I like it or not, I have to come clean.

“I didn’t go through with it,” I admit.

Gianna frowns. “Wait, what? Why?”

“I…” There’s nothing I can possibly say that will justify what I did. I had the perfect opportunity to threaten Dominic and I didn’t take it.

Instead, I did quite the opposite.

She takes a breath, closes her eyes. “Please tell me you at least tried, Aurora. Did something get in the way? He didn’t threaten you, right?”

“I slept with him.” The words tumble out of my mouth before I can stop them.

The words are barely above a whisper but they hit the room like a bomb.

Gianna stares at me for a second. “You what?”

“I didn’t mean to!” I say quickly, palms up. “I—I was going to tell him. I swear. By the time he showed up, I was already falling apart over something Leonardo said to me. I was a total mess and I couldn’t get any of my words out. I just… broke.”

“Broke?” She stares at me in disbelief. “Aurora, we had a plan. And you slept with him?”

“I’m sorry,” I say, the words tumbling from my mouth. “I swear I didn’t mean to. It just… happened. It wasn’t supposed to.”

Gianna lets out a dry, bitter laugh. “Yeah, well, apparently a lot of things weren’t supposed to happen. Like my best friend running off to get fucked by the man we’re trying to blackmail into not murdering her entire family!”

Her words gut me. She’s completely right. I did ruin everything and for what? A few moments of pleasure and safety wrapped up in his arms? A promise whispered through breathless moans that Leonardo would never touch me?

I press my hands to my face, humiliated. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to screw this up. I was just so overwhelmed.”

“I’m overwhelmed, too!” she shouts. “Do you think I’m not terrified? That I’m not worried about what’s going to happen to my dad and everyone else if this plan goes sideways? But you don’t see me crawling into bed with the enemy, Aurora!”

“I know,” I say again, even softer this time. “I know I messed up. But Gianna, please, you have to believe me—I didn’t want to feel this way about him. Since the first night we slept together, I haven’t been able to get him out of my head. I know it’s toxic .”

Her eyes narrow at me immediately. “What do you mean ‘the first night’? Was there another time?”

Oh fuck. Me and my big fat mouth.