Chapter 2 The Contract of Shame

The sound of Julian's voice screaming in the hallway sent a jolt of pure ice through Sienna's veins.

She tried to sit up, but the weight of Dante's body and the cold bite of the steel around her wrists pinned her to the mattress.

"Dante, please," she hissed, her eyes wide with panic. "You have to hide me. If he sees me like this, he'll kill you. Or himself."

Dante didn't flinch. He stayed hovered over her, his bare chest inches from hers, watching the bedroom door with the calm of a man who held every single card in the deck.

The banging on the outer door grew louder, rhythmic and violent.

"Moretti! Open this damn door! I know she's here!" Julian roared.

Dante looked down at Sienna. A slow, cruel smirk spread across his face. He reached up and toyed with a strand of her hair, winding it tightly around his finger.

"He sounds upset," Dante whispered. "Maybe I should let him in. We can all have a chat about your new job description."

"You wouldn't," she gasped, her heart hammering against her ribs so hard it hurt. "The deal. You said the deal was for seven nights of silence."

"I said surrender, Sienna. Part of surrender is trusting that I won't let your idiot brother ruin my evening."

Dante rolled off the bed. He didn't bother putting on a shirt. He just tightened the silk belt of his robe and walked toward the bedroom door.

Sienna struggled against the cuffs, the metal clicking loudly in the quiet room.

The silk sheets felt like slippery water beneath her, offering no leverage.

"Stay still," Dante commanded over his shoulder. It wasn't a suggestion. It was a cold order that made her freeze.

He cracked the bedroom door just an inch, then walked out into the main living area. Sienna held her breath, straining to hear over the blood rushing in her ears.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up at my home, Julian," Dante's voice boomed from the other room. It was smooth, dangerous, and completely devoid of the heat he had just shown her.

"Where is she?" Julian's voice was closer now. "She left a note saying she was working for you. I'm not stupid, Dante. I know how you look at her. If you've touched her, I'll burn this whole building down."

Sienna winced. Julian was always a better talker than a fighter. He was blustering because he was scared, and Dante knew it.

"She's working," Dante replied. Sienna could almost hear the shrug in his voice. "We're going over the ledgers.

The ones you cooked so badly even a child could spot the fraud. She's in the office downstairs with my legal team.

Why? Did you want to join them? I'm sure the DA would love to hear your side of the story tonight."

The silence that followed was thick. Julian was a coward at heart. Mentioning the law was the fastest way to shut him up.

"I don't believe you," Julian muttered, though the fire was gone from his tone.

"Then go downstairs and check. Or leave. Because if you bang on my door one more time, I won't call the police. I'll call the debt collectors I bought your markers from.

You owe me more than just ten million, Julian. I own your car, your house, and the very air you're breathing."

Sienna felt a wave of nausea. Dante wasn't just a rival. He was a predator who had been circling her family for years, snapping up their debts like scraps of meat.

He hadn't just waited for this moment; he had engineered it.

A few seconds later, she heard the heavy thud of the front door closing.

The silence returned, heavier than before.

Dante walked back into the bedroom. He didn't look triumphant. He looked bored, as if dealing with her brother was a chore he had finally finished.

He walked to the edge of the bed and looked down at her. Sienna was still trapped, her arms beginning to ache from the awkward position behind her back.

"He's gone," Dante said.

"Thank you," she whispered, her eyes stinging.

"Don't thank me yet." He reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a small, folded piece of paper and a key.

He didn't unlock the cuffs. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed and unfolded the paper. It was the contract she had signed earlier, but there were handwritten notes in the margins that she hadn't noticed before.

"We missed a few clauses in the office," he said. "The technicalities of your stay."

"I already signed it, Dante. What more do you want?"

"I want you to understand the stakes." He leaned over her, the scent of him filling her senses again. He held the paper in front of her face. "Read Clause Four. Aloud."

Sienna blinked, trying to focus on the elegant, sharp handwriting. Her voice trembled as she read.

"During the term of the seven nights, the subject, that's me shall not wear any clothing unless specifically permitted by the Master of the House.

Any breach of this rule results in an additional night added to the sentence."

She looked at him, horrified. "You can't be serious. I have to stay... like this? For a week?"

"Clothing is a shield, Sienna. It's a way to hide. I don't want you hiding. I want you exposed. I want you to remember exactly why you're here every second of the day."

He moved the paper lower. "Read Clause Seven."

Sienna swallowed hard. The room felt ten degrees hotter. "The subject shall attend to all physical needs of the Master, including but not limited to meals, grooming, and... and intimate requirements, regardless of the time or location within the residence."

"In simpler terms," Dante whispered, his lips grazing her earlobe, "you are my shadow. If I'm in the shower, you're there. If I'm eating, you're serving.

And if I wake up in the middle of the night wanting to feel you scream my name, you will be ready."

He finally reached around and unlocked the handcuffs. The relief was instant, but as Sienna rubbed her sore wrists, she realized she wasn't free. She was just on a longer leash.

"Go to the bathroom," Dante said, standing up. "Wash the scent of the city off you. There's a robe in there. Use it for now. We start Night One properly in ten minutes."

Sienna didn't argue. She scrambled off the bed, her legs feeling like jelly, and bolted for the ensuite bathroom. It was a palace of marble and gold. She locked the door and leaned against it, gasping for air.

She caught her reflection in the massive mirror. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were wide and dark with a mix of terror and something else.

Something shameful. She looked at her wrists. The red marks from the cuffs were already fading, but the feeling of being owned was sinking into her skin.

She turned on the shower, letting the steam fill the room. She scrubbed her skin until it was pink, trying to wash away the feeling of Dante's eyes.

But every time she closed her eyes, she saw him. She saw the way he looked at her, not like a businessman, but like a man who had been starving and finally found a feast.

She put on the robe he had mentioned. It was black silk, far too big for her, and it smelled exactly like him. It felt like a brand.

When she walked back into the bedroom, the lights were even lower. Dante was sitting in a leather armchair by the window, a glass of whiskey in his hand.

He watched her cross the room, his gaze heavy and intentional.

"Come here," he said.

She walked over, stopping a few feet away.

"Closer."

She moved until her knees were brushing his. He reached out and pulled her between his legs, his hands resting heavily on her hips.

"You're shaking," he noted.

"I've never done anything like this, Dante. I'm not... I'm not a professional."

"I know what you are, Sienna. You're a girl who has spent her life being protected by a father who didn't know his own son was a snake.

You're a girl who thinks she can sacrifice herself and walk away with her heart intact."

He stood up, forcing her to take a step back. He was so much larger than her, a wall of muscle and intent.

"But you won't walk away the same," he promised. "By the time I'm done with you, you won't even remember Julian's name. You'll only remember how it felt to belong to me."

He reached for the belt of her robe, his fingers nimble and quick. Before she could protest, the silk fell open. The cool air hit her skin, making her shiver.

"Tonight is about discovery," he whispered. He picked up a silk tie from the dresser, a deep, blood red. "I want to see how much you can handle before you beg me to stop. Or beg me to continue."

He moved her toward the bed again, but this time, he didn't use the cuffs. He sat her down on the edge and knelt between her legs.

The position was so intimate, so raw, that Sienna felt a sob catch in her throat.

"Look at me," he commanded.

She looked down at him. In the dim light, he looked like a fallen angel. Beautiful, dark, and utterly ruinous.

"You have a choice, Sienna. You can fight me for the next seven nights and make this a misery for both of us. Or you can let go.

You can admit that you've wanted this since the night of your twenty-first birthday gala, when I caught you staring at me in the garden."

Sienna's heart stopped. She remembered that night. She had been hiding from a boring suitor, and she had seen Dante standing by the fountain. He had looked so lonely and so powerful all at once.

Their eyes had met for a split second, and she had felt a pull so strong it had terrified her. She had run away.

"I didn't," she lied, her voice cracking.

"Liar."

He leaned forward, his mouth inches from hers. "I'm going to make you admit it. Before the sun comes up, you're going to tell me exactly what you want me to do to you."

He started to move, his hands exploring her with a slow, agonizing precision that made her head light. Every touch was a question. Every gasp she let out was an answer.

But just as the tension reached a breaking point, just as Sienna was about to lose herself in the sensation, a loud electronic chirp echoed through the room.

Dante froze. He looked at his phone on the nightstand. It was a secure line. Only three people had the number.

He cursed under his breath and reached for it. He swiped the screen, his face turning from heat to ice in a fraction of a second.

"What?" he snapped into the phone.

He listened for a moment, his grip tightening on the device until his knuckles turned white. He looked at Sienna, but he wasn't seeing her anymore. He was seeing a ghost.

"Where?" Dante asked, his voice a low hiss. "Ensure the perimeter is locked down. Don't let him leave the city. If he breathes a word to the press, kill the deal."

He hung up and stood, the erotic tension in the room evaporating instantly, replaced by a thick, suffocating dread.

"What is it?" Sienna asked, pulling the robe shut. "Is it Julian?"

Dante didn't answer. He was already crossing the room, throwing on a shirt with frantic energy.

"Stay here," he said, his voice sounding like a blade. "Don't leave this room. Don't answer the door. If you step foot outside this penthouse, the deal is dead and your brother is a marked man."

"Dante, wait! Tell me what's happening!"

He stopped at the door, looking back at her. For the first time, she saw a crack in the Ice King's mask. He looked haunted.

"The man who killed my father just got out of prison," he said. "And he's heading straight for your brother's office."

Before she could process the words, he was gone, the heavy bedroom door clicking shut and locking from the outside.

Sienna sat in the middle of the massive bed, shivering in the dark. She was a prisoner in a golden cage, and the war outside was just beginning.