Adelina

I woke up that morning with the sun right in my face. The curtains were already open even though it was early, but it was a nice way to wake up. My hand moved across the sheet beside me but only came into contact with the bedding.

Cane was gone.

I opened my eyes and sat up. I stretched my arms over my head and released a yawn just as the door opened.

Cane walked inside with a breakfast tray in his hands. On the surface sat two plates of pancakes, bacon, and eggs with a shared side of toast and two coffees. “Just in time.”

I watched the steam rise to the ceiling in the morning light and felt my stomach tighten in hunger. I’d had plenty to eat the night before because Cane and I had a big dinner, but all the food looked delicious, and the fact that he was serving it to me made it better. “You made that for me?”

He set it on the bed then moved beside me. “For both of us.” Like he hadn’t just done something incredibly sweet and out of character, he opened the newspaper and took a bite of his bacon.

I watched him read before I helped myself to the buffet he’d just presented to me, unsure why he went out of his way to do something so thoughtful. No man had ever cooked for me before, let alone brought me breakfast in bed.

I eyed his newspaper and read the front. “The New York Times?” I didn’t think he would read something American when he didn’t even live there.

“I like to keep up-to-date with international events. This paper does a good job covering that. Locals newspapers usually focus on the capital and other cities. Most of my business takes place beyond our borders.”

I didn’t truly understand what he did, and I thought I’d ask. “So, what do you do, exactly?”

“I’m an arms dealer.” He didn’t stop reading. “I told you that.”

“So you make weapons and sell them?”

“In a nutshell.”

“How did you get into that business?”

He shut his paper because he realized this conversation wasn’t going to go anywhere. “Curious today, aren’t you?”

“You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to.” He always gave me the privilege of having a choice. I would do the same for him.

“I don’t have to do anything if I don’t want to.” He drank his coffee before he set it down again. His muscles tensed any time he moved, the chiseled lines of his physique protruding out like the lines from a statue. He had an incredible body, toned in the right places and lean in other places. “My father ran the business before us. We inherited it.”

“Didn’t realize you could inherit something criminal.”

“You can inherit anything, just like how I inherited my mother’s eyes.”

“They are pretty.” I blurted it out without thinking, but I was sure Cane knew all of his features were nice.

“Not as pretty as yours.” He took a few bites of his eggs, his eyes downcast. “My parents were killed from a blood war they had with a competitor. Crow and I inherited that as well. He was the one we stole Pearl from.”

The backstory kept getting thicker and thicker. “And he’s dead now, right?”

“Pearl killed him.”

“So now there’s no competitor?”

“Not currently. But other men are looking to take his place. It’s something Crow and I are concerned about.”

“Because?”

“Whoever takes Bones’s place will need to be even more ruthless. We killed one tyrant, but that may give birth to a worse enemy.”

Hearing all this made me miss my old life. It was much simpler. “Sounds like a lot of stress.”

He shrugged. “It can be.”

“Are you ever afraid someone is gonna take a shot at you?”

He opened his newspaper again like this conversation was boring. “I think about it. But no, I’m not afraid. Dying doesn’t scare me.”

I didn’t believe that. “Everyone is afraid to die.”

“It’s natural, so there’s no reason to be scared of it. Life is just a phase. It passes.”

I didn’t know if that was ignorant or extremely wise. “Do you ever think about doing something else?”

He closed his paper again, and this time, put it off to the side. If he was annoyed, he didn’t show it. “Do you think I’m interesting?”

I took a bite of my toast. “I think all my friends are interesting.”

He gave me a look I’d never seen before. “You see me as a friend?”

“What else are you?” We screwed several times a day, but there was nothing romantic between us. We weren’t strangers anymore. And I never thought of us as enemies.

He never answered. “No, I never think about doing anything else. I like being in charge, and I like money.”

I could tell he was loaded by looking at his house and all his cars. “There’s nothing else you’re passionate about?”

“It sounds like you’re judging me.”

I didn’t know what he was referring to. “I’m not. I’m just curious. People usually have three or four passions in life. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, but I’ve also wanted to be an artist. Obviously, neither one worked out…”

He kept eating like my words didn’t break his stride. “Actually, I like art too. Paintings, mainly.”

“Yeah?” I couldn’t help but smile because it suited him, oddly enough.

“Yeah. But don’t look at me like I’m some kind of pussy.”

I didn’t drop my smile. “I wasn’t.”

He finished half of his plate in a few bites and left his fork on the empty dish. “You’ve asked me a lot of questions. Now it’s my turn.”

“I’m really not that interesting…”

He finally turned my way so he could see my expression clearly. “Do you enjoy being with me?”

I knew exactly in what context he meant that. He wasn’t referring to our lunches and dinners or our conversations by the fire. He was referring to the nights between the sheets, the sex we had in front of the fireplace.

His eyes were glued to my face, watching every little reaction that I couldn’t control. His dark eyes stared at me without blinking, their intensity scorching.

It was a complicated question, and I’d never taken the time to think about it. When I sat around and thought about things, it usually made me depressed. It was easier to ignore my feelings about my current situation. But there were some innate emotions that were undeniable. I knew exactly how my body felt about Cane the first time he kissed me. Those passions had never gone away. In fact, they roared like the flames in his hearth. “Yes.”

He’d been expecting that answer based on his lack of reaction. “Did you enjoy being with Tristan?”

The question was so insulting I didn’t answer.

“Or anyone else?”

Again, I was silent.

“So I’m the only one?”

I wasn’t going to lie and pretend I didn’t come every time we had sex. As much as I tried to hide, it was always obvious. Even if I could keep quiet, he felt my body tighten around him as the emotion swept me away. “You know the answer.”

“I want to hear you say it anyway.”

“To boost your ego?”

“No. Just so I know for sure. Honestly, I didn’t care about making you feel good until I finally got my hands on you. Once I touched you, I wanted you to feel what I felt. There’s something about you…you’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever been with.”

The last thing I should do was blush, but that’s what I did. The words were sweet, even if they weren’t meant that way. “I’ve been beaten and raped—”

“That’s not what I see. I see a gorgeous woman with the softest lips in the world. I see my ultimate fantasy. I never think about what came before me. I only think about you.”

I lost my appetite altogether when I listened to his confession. He wanted me for my body, but he wasn’t sleazy about it. He made me feel beautiful, made me feel adored. With Tristan, I felt like a body with four limbs—nothing more.

Cane pulled my answer from my lips without repeating the question. “You’re the only man I’ve ever enjoyed. I didn’t think I could enjoy sex after everything Tristan put me through…but I like it with you.” I averted my gaze once I felt the embarrassment creep into my veins. I confessed that I enjoyed having sex with a man who traded me for a deal. There was something seriously wrong with me.

“What do you like the most?” He pried further, wanting details I’d never considered.

“I like it when you kiss me…” I’d never been kissed the way before. He could make me come from that alone.

The corner of his mouth rose in a smile. “I’ve never been a big kisser, but I really like kissing you. I noticed it right away.”

“What do you like the most about me?” What was it about me that he desired so much? Was it my chest? Was it my ass? Tristan preferred my ass because he usually took me from behind.

“I like your neck.”

I stared at him blankly, surprised by that answer.

“It’s so slender and soft. I love kissing the hollow of your throat, feeling your pulse against my lips. I love the curve of your face, the way your cheeks highlight your pretty eyes. I like your lips…I like your hair. When I’m inside you, you make this face…it’s so sexy. When I saw you in that airport, my gut told me to do something because I’d never seen another woman like you.”

My lips parted slightly, and I felt my breathing increase. I suddenly felt hot all over, my body aching for those lips to drag across my neck. I wanted to make the face he described, to be exactly what he described. “What were you trying to do that day?” He took me as a slave for thirty-one days. He didn’t seem like the type of man who went on dates.

“Honestly, I don’t know… I guess I would have asked you out.”

“You don’t seem like the kind of guy who asks for a date.”

“I’m not.”

“But you would have asked me?”

He shrugged. “We’ll never know because you didn’t speak to me.”

“I couldn’t…”

“It all made sense when I saw you at Tristan’s.”

If I hadn’t been trafficked that afternoon, how different would my life have been? If Cane made a pass at me at the airport, would I have said yes? Would we have dated and had amazing sex?

Cane stared at me, and I wondered if he was having the same thoughts.

After our conversation, only one thing was on my mind. My pussy ached for his large cock, and my nails wanted to dig into his powerful physique. I wanted those soft lips all over my body, worshiping me.

Cane’s eyes darkened like he was thinking the same thing.

I set the tray at the end of the bed before I straddled his hips. I was just in his t-shirt with no panties, so I was ready to go.

Cane lay back against the pillows and gripped my hips, a feral look in his eyes. His cock was instantly hard underneath me, thick and long and ready to enter my tightness. He squeezed my hips then my ass.

I pulled down his sweatpants and boxers until his cock was free. It was already oozing at the tip, ready to move inside me. I positioned him at my entrance and slowly sheathed him, aware that I’d never done anything like this before. Tristan always took control of the situation, and Cane usually did the same. I’d never climbed on top of a man and taken charge like this.

Cane guided my hips down and released a quiet moan once he was buried deep inside me. His fingertips dug into me possessively before he guided me up again then back down. “Play with your tits, Bellissima.”

It was a name I’d quickly adopted. Now I never heard him refer to me by my real name, and I liked it that way. I felt like a different woman with a new identity. It was almost like the past never happened at all.

My hands cupped my breasts, and I massaged them in the best way I could. I’d never played with myself in front of a man. I’d never tried to be sexy or seductive. I could look like a total idiot right now, and I wouldn’t know.

Cane seemed to like it because his breathing increased. His fingers dug into me harder, and his eyes darkened. Slowly, he moved his hips with me, thrusting his length inside me as I moved up and down. “Fuck…”

Watching him enjoy me gave me more confidence. I moved up and down harder, letting the arousal direct my movements.

He sat up and hooked his arms behind my knees, lifting me up and down his length as he gently rocked into me.

He’d never been this deep inside me before, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and moaned through the pleasure. He was deep and thick, and his impressive size felt so incredible. My clit rubbed against his body every time he lifted me, and I felt the heat flood my core. I had friends who told me their boyfriends hardly ever made them come, and it took forever to happen on the rare times it did occur. But that wasn’t the case with Cane. If he wanted to make me come, he could do it whenever he wanted.

And he did. “God…Cane.”

His eyes darkened and he pumped into me harder, ramming me right in my sweet spot. “Bellissima.”

I screamed right in his face, coming all over his dick and enjoying every second of it. My nails dug into his shoulders, and I pressed my face into the crook of his neck as I finished, my teeth nicking his skin slightly.

When I finished, Cane moved me to my back and pressed his heavy weight on top of me. He fucked me hard into the mattress, making the bed shake and the coffee mugs fall to the hardwood floor and shatter. He gripped my thigh around his waist as he gave it to me as deep and hard as possible.

Within a minute, he came with a loud moan, depositing all of his seed inside me. He shoved his entire length into my channel and gave me every drop, making sure I took it all.

I gripped his ass and pulled him deep into me, wanting his come as much as he wanted to give it.

That made his eyes darken more like he wasn’t satisfied at all. It seemed like he wanted me all over again even though we just finished. A sheen of sweat had formed on his upper lip, and when he kissed me, I could taste the salt.

I felt his cock soften inside me with disappointment. I wanted to keep going, to make this last longer, but we’d both reached our climax.

Cane stayed buried inside me like we weren’t finished. “I’m not going anywhere.”

* * *

Cane led me to the car and opened the door for me.

“Where are we going?” The only place we’d visited together was Crow’s estate in Tuscany. Other than that, I stayed home while he went to work during the day.

“Sightseeing. I thought we would start with Rome.”

“Sightseeing?” Why would Cane want to see the historical landmarks he’d experienced his entire life? “You don’t seem like the tourist type.”

“I know you didn’t get to see any of Greece. Thought I’d show you around. Unless you don’t want to?”

The words flew out of my mouth. “Of course, I do. Just doesn’t seem like something you’d be into.”

“I’m into getting laid.” He winked then guided me inside before he shut the door. He got into the driver’s side of his two-seater black car. The powerful engine came to life, purring like a mountain lion.

“Well, you’d get laid anyway.”

“But I’m sure you’ll step it up a notch.” He left the house and drove past Florence and headed for the capital of the country. The radio was on, and everything was in Italian, so I couldn’t understand a word of it. There was only one word I did understand—bellissima.

After yesterday, I wasn’t sure if that was possible. “I can try.”

Cane and I didn’t talk much on the drive, but we didn’t talk much as it was. Most of our relationship was based off physical communication more than anything else. He had a few phone calls that were all in Italian.

“Are you sure you don’t need to work today?”

He drove with one hand on the wheel and ignored my question altogether. “What did you want to see first?”

“I don’t know. All of it.”

He chuckled. “We have to start somewhere. How about the Colosseum?”

“Ooh…that sounds great.”

He moved his hand to my thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Perfect.”

We spent most of the afternoon in Rome, seeing the historical culture that Cane was immune to. But I saw the way his eyes soaked up the magnificent buildings that stood the test of time. The fact that most of these places were thousands of years old made me feel so insignificant. In a few weeks, my life would be over, but these buildings would still be standing tall.

After a few hours on foot, we grabbed some lunch at a restaurant nearby. I was starving after all the walking we did, and I didn’t bother trying to read the menu. I’d just point to the first selection and hope it was good.

Cane eyed me across the table and ignored the glass of wine he’d just gotten. “I can explain the menu to you.”

“I’m sure whatever I get will be delicious.”

“I don’t know…Americans have specific tastes.”

“As long as there isn’t raccoon or something on the menu, I’ll be fine.”

He tried to suppress his grin. “Raccoon? Did you grow up in the mountains or something?”

Thinking about home quickly made me sad, despite the incredible day we were having. I was enjoying the sights while my family was terrified. They probably knew what happened to me, that I’d been taken into slavery. It kept them up every night, worried about how I was being treated or if I was still alive.

It made me feel horrible.

Cane noticed my mood change instantly. Over the course of the past two weeks, we’d been together nearly all of the time. He understood my facial expressions and my moods even when I didn’t say anything. I understood his just as well. “What did I say?”

“Nothing…” I placed my menu on top of his. “You can pick something out.”

Cane didn’t blink as he stared me down. His expression hardly ever softened. He seemed displeased most of the time, seriously annoyed. Sometimes I wondered if it was a mask he put on due to his line of work because that wasn’t always the way it worked. When we screwed, that expression wasn’t so fierce. “Tell me, Bellissima.”

That nickname always hit me right in the chest. It stopped me in my tracks and chased away any negativity I felt. There was something about the way he said it. It was full of affection and possessiveness. It made me feel beautiful, desired in the kind of way I liked. “When I think about home, I think about my parents… They must be heartbroken. I’m probably all they can ever think about.” I averted my gaze because I didn’t expect Cane to care. He wasn’t close to anyone besides his brother and sister-in-law, and even then, his affection was still hidden deep inside his psyche. He already didn’t feel bad for me as it was. I’d asked him if I could call my parents, and he rejected my request.

His hand moved across the table until it rested on top of mine. His thumb stroked my knuckles gently as he stared at me with a pair of soft eyes.

I eyed his hand, surprised by the compassion. My fingers moved with his until our fingers were interlocked.

Cane didn’t speak. All he did was touch me and comfort me with his eyes. They were dark and foreboding, but sometimes they could make me feel like I was living in a different world. They made me feel safe.

Made me feel whole.

* * *

After a round of rough sex on his bed, he hopped into the shower then dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.

My eyes were heavy, and I was about to slip away into my dreams. The only reason I was still awake because my body was waiting for him to join me. I was used to that powerful physique keeping me warm and safe throughout the night. “Are you going somewhere?” I sat up and held the sheet to my chest so my breasts wouldn’t get cold.

“I just need to do some stuff at the office. I’ll be back before you wake up.”

I’d never seen him leave so late at night. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” He leaned over the bed and gave me a quick kiss on the lips, the kind of kiss a husband would give his wife. “I just need to catch up on a few things.”

“Why did we go sightseeing if you had stuff to do today?”

He shrugged. “It slipped my mind.” He grabbed his jacket on the way to the door. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He walked out and shut the door behind him.

The fire was still burning in the fireplace, but it would die out in the next hour or two. At least that would keep me warm until he returned. Something about his story still didn’t add up, and it took me a few minutes before I finally figured it out.

He felt bad for me.

He took me out to see the sights because he knew I would be dead in a few weeks. He was trying to make my remaining time enjoyable, making up for all the things I wouldn’t be able to do.

The thought brought me to tears.

I stared at the fire as I watched the flames burn away. My tears were just as hot as the burning fire, and I felt them drop from my chin and onto the sheets. I pulled my knees to my chest and tried to steady myself, tried not to pity myself.

Cane had much more compassion than I realized.

But somehow, that made me feel worse.