CHAPTER SIX

Bella woke to warmth against her back—solid, steady, unyielding. Strong arms wrapped around her, holding her close, his body molded to hers. For a moment, she simply lay there, breathing in the scent of him—dark, heady, laced with the musk of last night.

Then it hit her.  She had stayed the night in a man’s house.

She never stayed the night.

Never let a man hold her like this.

A sharp jolt of awareness shot through her, and she stiffened. The room showed evidence of last night's events: twisted sheets, the faint bite of sweat, and sex clinging to the air. Her body ached, her neck was sore from where he had gripped her, soreness blooming between her thighs, a deep pulsing reminder of just how thoroughly he had taken her.

Memories crashed into her mind, his mouth devouring her, the way he had coaxed every last shred of resistance from her body until she was begging, trembling, and breaking apart beneath him. He had somehow unraveled her completely. He had made her surrender, and worse, she had liked it.

Her breath caught.

What the hell had she done?

The soft buzz of her phone shattered the silence, jerking her back to reality. She reached blindly for it, her fingers unsteady as she turned it over.

Enzo: Come to my crib ASAP. I have an important job for you.

Bella exhaled sharply, the moment cracking like glass around her. Reality had found her again, pulling her back into the world she belonged to, a world where men like Alexandro D’Soto were nothing but distractions.

Whatever last night had been, it was over.

Carefully, she untangled herself from his embrace, her body instinctively resisting the loss of his warmth. His grip tightened slightly in his sleep, as if even unconscious, he wasn’t ready to let her go.

For one fleeting second, she almost gave in.

But then she remembered who she was.

She wasn’t the kind of woman who let herself be held. Who let herself be controlled by a man.