I’d be more than happy to show you around, tesoro.”
“My…host?” I asked in a baffled voice.
“Yes, your host,” he asserted. “What else would you call it? You are my guest, are you not?”
His words were sprinkled with just the right amount of charm, and he resembled the version of himself I had met in the restaurant, but I couldn’t pretend he was that same man nor could I forget he was holding me in this house against my will.
“A guest is free to leave at any time,” I retorted against my better judgement.
His lips twisted into a mysterious smile. “All you talk about is leaving when I’ve been nothing but kind and showered you with hospitality. Has staying here with me already proven to be such a burden, Olivia?”
“I don’t mean to be rude, but…” I stopped myself at the last moment, weighing my words.
“But what?” he asked, and gave me a knowing look. “You don't like it here? Is that it?”
My eyes filled with tears, and I nodded, unable to lie.
He exhaled, wiping his mouth. I could tell he was upset, but he remained calm. “It will come. Give it time.”
I couldn't take it any longer. I couldn't play along and pretend everything was okay.
“I want to go home,” I requested in near despair.
“I believe we have already discussed this, Olivia,” Alessandro interjected, sounding calm and composed. “Going home is not an option.”
Hearing him say it again made me more upset, but I fought to hide the true extent of my turmoil.
“Please. I’m truly grateful you saved me—”
“That's nice, but it’s not your gratitude I want,” he interrupted in a terse tone.
I puffed out a harsh breath. “What do you want, then?”
His gaze turned heated, and he took another sip of wine. “You’ll find out in due time. All you need to know for now is that I have your best interest at heart.”
“You're keeping me here against my will,” I accused him. “How could that have anything to do with what’s best for me?”
He sneered with a hint of contempt. “You seem to have forgotten the alternative quite quickly, Olivia. Spending time being pampered in my mansion shouldn't be such a big deal when you think about what you could have been facing at the moment if things turned out just a bit different.”
“But they didn't,” I reminded him. “I know it's thanks to you, but that doesn't mean you have the right to take away my freedom as a means of payment.”
He shrugged. "I guess, we have a different perspective on that matter. Given your age and experience, I cannot fault you for feeling worsened in this situation, but make no mistake—I have yet to take something from you, Olivia."
A powerful shiver of awareness rushed through my system, and I wrapped my arms around my middle.
“Please,” I attempted one more time. “I have a little sister and she needs me to take care of her.”
His eyes narrowed on my face, but he was unmoved by my request. "Once you get to know me better, you’ll realize pleading with me is futile. The life you left behind is not something I intend to discuss in great length. I mean you no harm, but I will not let you go. The sooner you come to terms with this, the better."
I gazed at him in naked disbelief. “You cannot keep me here forever.”
“At this point in time I can do whatever I want, piccola,” he pointed out. “Nobody is looking for you. Nobody is alerted to your disappearance. As far as the world is concerned, you have vanished into thin air. A scary thought, isn't it?”
Real fear coursed through my veins, and I couldn’t contain my restlessness. “Are you going to kill me as well?”
His face settled into a somber expression, eyebrows arched in ominous curiosity. “As well?”
I nodded, keeping my eyes trained on his. “Like you…like you killed that man who took me.”
A flash of lightning appeared in those dark condemning eyes, and I could taste the dangerous shift in the atmosphere. The air around us became heavier and heavier as the darkness in his gaze threatened to unleash whatever demons lay beneath. Then, the pitch blackness suddenly disappeared and Alessandro’s unpredictable mood lightened.
“You insult me, Olivia,” he murmured in a rich drawl. “Didn't I tell you I have your best interest at heart?”
“I think you can understand your word means very little to me right now,” I argued with caution.
“Why?” he asked, his lips twitching with amusement. “Have