After he came inside me, we lay together in his bed, panting. My lashes fluttered open and closed as the events of the past few hours replayed in my head.

I couldn't believe it. He'd done it. Fucked me, just like I dreamed he would. And it was even better than the first time.

I turned to my side, drinking him in. He smirked at me, joining me on his side with his arm supporting his head.

"What are you looking at, tesoro?" he asked in a low growl. "Like what you see?"

"Always have," I admitted. "Always will."

He'd done something to me that night. Enchanted me. I was now firmly under his spell, and I wanted nothing more than for him to take me again and again, every night for the rest of my life.

But did he want the same thing?

"You're going to stay with me," His thumb caressed my cheek and he grinned when I leaned into his touch. I was needy, desperate for it. I wanted him to have his way with me, to keep me forever.

"Did you think about me?" I whispered. "All these years, did you think about me, Ryker?"

"Every fucking day. I couldn't get you out of my head, tesoro. You're a fucking permanent fixture inside my mind, as much as I hate it. Can't get the thought of you out. You're stuck on replay in my head."

His words were soothing, pleasant, but I wanted so much more.

I moved closer to him, straddling him. My hair hung around us like a thick golden curtain, and my eyes connected with his. 

"Kiss me," I whispered, and he gently gripped my throat, forcing my mouth against his and taking it in a deep, needy kiss.

I moaned when his tongue probed my mouth. I was so wet for him, so eager to relive every second of the time we'd spent together seven years ago.

"You want me to stay in Venice?" I asked, remembering what he'd said a few moments ago. "Where would I live?"

I was hoping for a specific answer, and he knew it.

"With me, of course," he said huskily. "Your place is by my side, isn't it, little treasure?"

"Yes, Daddy," I whispered.

He took my hands in his, his fingers intertwining with mine as I sat on his lap.

"Then tell me you'll stay. I want you here every fucking night when I fall asleep. I want you on top of me like this all the time. I need you. Say you'll stay. For me, Ginger? For Daddy?"

I looked into his eyes. I wanted to say no, knew I should wait at least a little bit longer, but I couldn't bring myself to turn him down.

"Okay. I'll stay here. With you?"

"With me," he confirmed with a wide grin, and my heart fluttered when he lowered me against his lips again.

That time, his kiss didn't leave anything to the imagination. It was clear what he was doing—kissing what belonged to him, taking his property back. As if he'd misplaced it all those years ago and had only now recovered it.

"Come with me," he said. "I want to show you something."

"Now?" The surprise was evident in my voice. "But it's the middle of the night."

I giggled when he lifted me off his lap and into his arms, setting me on my feet.

"Come on, pretty girl."

He took my hand and we padded out of the bedroom with nothing on. I was nervous and couldn't stop giggling as he led me through the hallways and into his office. I could barely believe it had been just a few hours since I'd first stepped in there. It seemed like a century ago.

I sat on his desk, and after a moment's thought, Ryker made me spread my legs, grinning lewdly at me on display.

"Such a little slut," he said approvingly. "I fucking love it."

He turned around to a painting on the wall, and my eyes widened when he pressed a button and the painting slid aside. Ryker used his key card and then a key to open the safe it revealed.

He took a small velvet pouch from the safe and approached me.

"Hold out your hands," he said, and I cupped my palms like he wanted me to.

He shook the bag and diamonds started falling out. Tiny, beautiful, glittering stones that took my breath away. And then came the pièce de résistance: an enormous midnight blue stone.

"It's incredible! It's the biggest sapphire I've ever seen."

"Glorious, isn't it?" Ryker asked with a grin. "It's actually a blue diamond. You like it?"

I nodded.

"Want to know what it's called?"

"What?" I giggled.

"La Bellezza Maledetta. It has belonged to my family for generations. My father sold it when I was a kid, and I tracked it down again. My ancestors believed the stone was cursed."

"This one?" I picked the diamond up, weighing it between my fingertips. "Doesn't look dangerous to me."

He smiled at me, as if I'd passed some sort of test.

"I don't believe in curses," he told me. "They can only hurt you if you give them the power to do it."

"What do you believe in, then?"

His eyes turned to mine. I was curious, genuinely interested in his answer, though I wasn't going to pry.

He took a step toward me, his hands going to my cheeks. "This."

He kissed me again, a kiss filled with more emotion than he'd ever shown me. It told me everything I needed to know, and at that moment, it was clear that I really was going to stay in Italy.

I would uproot my life for him.

Move to a different continent for him.

Belong to him.

It was all both of us wanted.

We migrated to his office chair and I sat on his lap while he kissed me, whispering sweet nothings in my ear. I was giddy with excitement and high on the thrill of being with him after all that time.

The sun rose outside the window and yet we wouldn't stop, kissing and kissing until there was a knock on the door.

Everything that had happened crashed into my mind at the same time.

My sister was at the forefront. Soon we'd have to deal with the real world.

Ryker seemed to have the same realization, groaning when reality literally came knocking again.

"Coming," he called out, gently placing me on the armchair before slipping on the boxers and shirt he'd discarded there earlier.

I followed suit, blushing lightly as I put on my outfit from the previous night. It made me feel really dirty, but at the same time it was exciting as hell.

"Scusi, Signore," the maid who'd brought me snacks the night before said apologetically, peeking into the room over Ryker's shoulder.

Her eyes met mine, and I could see her smiling. 

I wasn't even self-conscious about my impromptu adult sleepover. I belonged by Ryker's side. I knew that now, relished in it.

"A package arrive," she said. "Box for you."

She handed him something, and after Ryker told her to go, she left us alone in the office and he softly closed the door. I knew what she'd given him before he turned around, but at the sight of one of Astor's signature "gifts," I groaned.

"What's this?" he asked. "Looks like one of the company's boxes."

"Astor's been sending me creepy notes in those. It's how I find you."

I walked over, showing him the embossed company name in the cardboard.

"I'm opening it," he told me.

"Let me."

"No." His voice was stern. "I don't want anything to happen to you. Let me do it."

Carefully, he opened the box, and I gave him a know-it-all look when he opened it.

Once again, there was a tarot card inside, the Emperor, along with a scribbled note. I glanced at Ryker before pulling out the piece of paper.

Looks like you found my secret weapon, sister dearest. Soon you'll pay the price for your betrayal.

I let out a little gasp, and Ryker came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me.

"Look at that," I murmured, my voice shaking. "Look at those fucking hearts above the i's."

"What about them?" he asked gently.

"Allegra used to write them like that," I admitted miserably. "She's playing with my head. She's fucking trying to hurt me."

"I'm not going to let her hurt you. This place is guarded like a fortress, and I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"I know."

"So why are you shaking, tesoro? I'll take care of you, I swear."

"I know," I repeated. "I'm just afraid of seeing her again. Of facing her after what I did."

"Ginger," he said patiently. "You didn't do anything wrong. She burned down the house. You did what you had to do."

"But I really thought she was innocent," I whispered. "I really thought she was until that last day before the trial."

"What happened?" His voice soft, caring, he kissed my cheek and made me sit next to him on the cognac leather sofa in the office.

"I just… I had to testify the way I did."

"Why? Did somebody force you?"

"No, but…." I swallowed thickly. "They told me if I didn't say she was mentally unstable, she would be sent to prison."

"Prison?" he asked with raised eyebrows. "But she was only a kid when it happened, wasn't she? She couldn't have been over twelve."

"She wasn't," I admitted, my voice breaking over the words. "And I know now that they'd lied to me. I could've said she was perfectly normal, like any other kid, until that night. But they made me say she was crazy, made me believe I had to or she'd rot in some prison."

"Oh, Ginger," he muttered. "You were just a kid as well. You didn't know any better."

"Well, I ruined her life. She ended up in an asylum because of me."

"And it could've been worse," Ryker reminded me. "They could've put her in juvie or transferred her to jail when she turned eighteen."

I stayed stubbornly quiet, and he smoothed my hair down.

"I think you need to talk it through," he told me gently. "Just you and Astor, talk things though."

"Maybe," I muttered.

"You aren't really afraid of her, are you?"

I shrugged. "I don't know anymore. The memories, they're all warped, twisted by now. I don't know what's true anymore."

"Have you ever talked about it?" Ryker asked, and I shook my head. "Well, tesoro, maybe you should. It might help you to work through these emotions, you know?"

I just nodded in response.

"Come on," he encouraged me. "Why don't you tell me about your childhood? I want to know everything."

"Until that night, it seemed normal to me," I said, trying hard to remember something out of the ordinary and coming up completely empty. "I suppose every childhood has tragic moments, I was lucky that our parents were kind and loving, and I got along with my sisters."

"Why would Astor hurt them, then?"

"That's what's been bothering me this whole time. Why would she try to hurt our parents when they'd been nothing but good to us?"