Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Dante

Fuck.

I’d always been the hard man, the one who never showed weakness, especially not for a woman. I’d built my empire on a foundation of strength and ruthless determination. Women came and went, leaving no lasting mark, and holding no sway over my decisions.

But Ellie Martinez was something else.

She was different from any other woman I’d ever met and that stirred something unmistakably primal within me. She’d dared to stand against me and that made my cock so hard that it felt like a rod of fucking steel.

I decided something right then and there.

She was going to be mine. She was an unexpected prize, but now that I’d found her, I wouldn’t let her slip away. I’d do whatever I had to do to have her. I didn’t care who lived and who died.

I’d just met her and already I knew I’d burn the world to the ground for her.

I was no stranger to danger, to the shadows that lurked around every corner, but in her I found something worth more than any empire—a fierce, burning need to protect, to own, to possess completely and utterly. It was more than desire; it was an all-encompassing obsession.

I needed her like I needed the very air I breathed.

She would be mine, not just in body, but in soul. No harm would come to her as long as I drew breath. She would be my queen in this dark kingdom, a light to soften the shadows, a reason to temper the brutality of my rule. In her, I found a purpose I hadn’t known I was seeking, and I was determined to keep her, whatever the cost.

She would fight me every step of the way and I’d love every second of it.

I could see that spark in her defiant green eyes even now as she stared back at me and I cocked my head, enjoying every bit of the sight of her.

Honestly, I fucking loved that she had a backbone.

Bathed in the moonlight, she stood before me, every inch of her striking beauty screaming with rebellion. Her dark hair, wild and untamed, fell down to the small of her back. In the ethereal glow of the moon, her radiant skin shone like an angel’s. But it was her eyes, those piercing green orbs, that really held me utterly captive. They were like glittering twin emeralds, gleaming with defiance and strength and mirroring the ferocity of her soul.

Her slender body was poised as if ready to take on the world. Her lips, full and defiant, were set in a firm line.

It was a clear challenge and I wanted to take it.

In that moment, under the soft glow of the moon, she looked like nothing less than a vision. Her hard gaze never wavered, meeting mine with a fire that promised she wouldn’t go down without a fight.

And that made my dick impossibly hard.

Rafael stood to the side, his posture tense and alert, a deadly viper coiled to pounce. His eyes, so much like mine, gleamed with dark promise, his mouth curling up in a wicked grin.

He was enjoying this just as much as I was.

I swallowed hard, sliding my gaze up and down her beautiful body.

Mine.

Forever mine.

I reached out for her, and she only raised her chin higher. She didn’t flinch and my dick surged with the need to sink into her wet heat.

Her pussy was fucking perfect, as was the delicious globes of her ass. My palm still stung from teaching her a lesson and there was a part of me that couldn’t wait for her to push me again so I could do exactly as I promised and take off my belt.

I wanted her to bear my mark on her body just like I felt her mark my soul.

I knew it was fast, but I didn’t care.

I’d found my queen and I wasn’t going to rest until she was crowned at my side.