Reign of a Billionaire : A Dark Mafia Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

She let out an amused chuckle. “Want me to hold a pillow over your head?”

I rolled my eyes, not at all amused. I was terribly claustrophobic, and she knew that. “Want me to break your face?”

She shut her laptop, staring at me as silence stretched, before we collapsed into a fit of giggles. That night, we slept holding each other and dreaming of a better tomorrow.

My eyes welled with tears as I whirled around, rushing out of there and into the bathroom. The face that greeted me in the mirror was pale, eyes hollow and terrified. The face that was familiar yet all wrong.

“Why can’t I remember him?” I rasped to my reflection.

There were clearly gaps in my memory that were alarming. The more I tried to remember, the worse my headaches were. I struggled to find bits and pieces of me that were missing, and I didn’t know how to get them back.

Wiping my tears from my cheeks, my muscles quaked with silent sobs. I wrapped my arms around myself in comfort, holding myself together as I headed back into the bedroom and crawled underneath the covers. I closed my eyes, and for the first time in a very long time, I let myself weep.

For the girl I used to be and the girl that I’d become but no longer recognized.

The scent of vanilla teased my senses, slowly pulling me from sleep.

I lay still, my eyes blinking in the dark until a figure sitting in the corner registered. I sat up on the bed suddenly, pulling the covers to my chin and staring at the shadow.

“Why are you so creepy?” I rasped. I didn’t have the energy to argue with him.

The silver hue of the moon projected the only light through the windows, throwing shadows across his sculpted jaw. Something about him seemed scarier now. Like he’d unleashed the full spectrum of his fury after our little battle of power yesterday.

“What did you dream about?” he asked, and I blinked at him, confusion taking center stage. I remained silent, our staredown stretching for seconds, minutes, until he broke it again. “I asked you a question, ice princess.”

There was a harshness to him that could easily suck the essence from my soul. Everything about him was honed for danger, and it had everything to do with my last name. Some of my memories were hazy, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that part out.

“I don’t remember,” I answered truthfully. And suddenly, I realized. For the first time in years, I’d slept without waking up drenched in sweat.

“Interesting,” he commented ever so casually, but there was that tension you couldn’t miss. It was in the strain of his long fingers resting on the armrests. It was in the way his legs were crossed stiffly at his ankles. His jeans should have made him appear casual, but failed. The top buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing the ink on his collarbone and up his neck.

“You didn’t answer my question,” I retorted. How long had he been sitting here? “Why are you so creepy?”

“Technically you’re in my home, so you’re creepy for sleeping in my bed.” I opened my mouth but then closed it, appalled at his ridiculous answer, but you couldn’t reason with lunatics, so I let it go. “Are you hungry?”

“No.”

“You have to eat.”

“Well, I don’t want to,” I snapped. “I lost my appetite waking up to a creep in my room.” Everything about this man rattled me so much that my knee-jerk reaction was to fight him. “In fact, it’s best if you get used to it. I plan on making you regret ever bidding on me. And if you were hoping for sex… Well, don’t. Touch me, and I’ll slice your dick off.”

He didn’t seem concerned about his dick. Instead, he placed his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, steepling his fingers. His dark eyes bore into me, unspoken messages in them leaving a sharp tang on my tongue.

“It appears you might be delusional.” Was this fucker purposely provoking me? “You’re my property now. That means you have to do everything I say.”

I scoffed. “Hold your breath on that one.”

“It’s my job to keep you safe now.” The fierceness of the words was a juxtaposition to the cool threat in his voice. “And I’ll do it by any means necessary.” I remained silent, glaring at him, and a small smirk tugged on his lips. Fucker found this amusing. “Now you’re going to join me downstairs for dinner and tell me why you insisted on being taken to Perez.”

My eyes darted to the window and he followed my gaze.

“It’s too late for dinner,” I retorted wryly.