Chapter 3 3

Cassandra's POV

What is this place? I thought as I glanced from the tinted windows of the black SUV. I saw a Mansion in the middle of nowhere. It's surrounded by the woods, how far is this place from the city? I thought.

"That's it. We are here". We are here Alex's words came ringing through my ears. But where is it here? "What's this place?" I asked looking at the mansion when one of two Alex's men who accompanied us dragged me out of the SUV. The other one stayed in the van. Yes and as weird as it sounds Alex drove me there. Generally, buyers collect the girls from the auction house or at least that is what I was being told before I was sent to Mabel to dress up. But I guess this is Dom's power that Alex has driven me here, wherever the hell "here" is.

I was admiring the house while taking steps towards it. It's so beautiful and big and aloof and..." it's Dom's home" Alex broke my train of thought and just in a moment my feet refused to move ahead. It wasn't a surprise, I mean I knew I was being taken to Dom but still hearing it made me immobile in shock

Every step was becoming impossible. Every breath was becoming impossible. It seems like I am hyperventilating I am breathing too fast and yet it isn't enough. It felt like my every step was taking me to hell. Then I felt another push on my back probably a sign to move fast and sooner than I thought the doors of my new hell opened.

I Don't know what I was expecting. A gunfire or a gunman or an old ruthless arrogant suited man, I mean what's with these criminals and suits, I had never seen Alex wearing anything but a suit all I know is I wasn't expecting a girl's voice greeting us. "Benvenuto a casa, Signore, Signorina [Welcome home, Sir and Miss]," she said something before moving from the door to let us pass. I guess she greeted us in Italian.

"Dom must be expecting us, would you please take us to him," Alex said to the girl. Sì, da questa parte Signore she replied. [Yes, this way sir]

We entered a vintage décor home, yes home. To my surprise, it does give you a vibe of "a home" which I did not expect with a mansion with so many suited gunmen roaming around.

They were all dressed in black trousers and shirts with black ties and black waistcoats, maybe some sort of bodyguard uniform. They all carried guns and had a Bluetooth earpieces inserted in their ears.

For a moment I forgot that my fate is doomed and this warmth is not of my home. "Hurry up, can't keep the Dom waiting" and Alex's words were enough to bring me back to the harsh reality. It is Dom's home and I am a "gift" to him which I am pretty sure means that I am here just to be one of his 100 whores, that too if he didn't kill me by losing his temper. One thing he is known for is his short temper.

Sooner than I realized I was standing in a living room and there they were again. Those intoxicating blue eyes.

Eyes that I saw at the auction house. It brought the same rush back. It felt like they were draining me of oxygen. They were on me like they could look right through my soul. Those eyes were daring me to look away. They had some sort of control over me. I was trapped again just like that I couldn't look away. It's like everything else is a blur. I couldn't see anything, not the vintage furniture, not the fire building, nor did I notice that there was more than one person in the room, that there was a woman in a deep red baby doll outfit kneeling beside a man's foot. There were voices, they were talking, but what, I could hear voices but couldn't make out the words.

He was sitting right in front of me. He is the most beautiful man I ever saw. He was so devastatingly handsome. He screams of danger. And I was drawn to him like a moth is drawn to the flame. He had dark hair, and an angular face with an ideal jawline. His tanned skin only complimented his eyes. In a casual white shirt and rugged blue jeans, he was looking like perfection.

I didn't even feel the tug on my arm when Alex's man who accompanied us inside pushed me in front. It's like I was floating in another dimension. Then a ringing gunshot brought me back to my senses and I saw blood on my foot and the man who pushed me was dead. I was shocked my jaw dropped as I was contemplating how he died when Alex's words had my attention "Why did you kill him, Dom, he was one of my good men" and I saw to whom he is addressing. No!!!! He is the Dom.

How can someone so young rule the Mafia, I mean he looked even younger than Alex, and to my surprise, he wasn't even wearing a suit, that's the first. I was still holding my thoughts when Dom stood up with a gun in his hand and replied in a husky voice "Your 'good man' has touched what's mine". My eyes widened and my jaw dropped as I kept looking at him, that was the most psychotic thing I thought anyone could hear. He killed him because he touched me, is he kidding? He just saw me moments ago. Is he crazy?

"But he was trying to bring her closer to you, you could have given a warning at least," Alex said looking at his now so-dead man. And then I saw Dom raise his gun and there was another shot, instinctively I brought my hands to my ears, and in a matter of seconds Alex was on the floor tackling his leg where Dom shot him. "That was your warning, no one speaks to me like that," Dom said with gritted teeth as he put his foot on Alex's wound until he cried out "Yes Dom!"

"Alex!!!"

I Don't know why but I screamed Alex's name. Bad decision. Dom looked at me and I knew it was a bad decision. I was terrified and took a step backward as he came towards me. In the blink of an eye, I felt a stinging sensation on my left cheek and I fell on the floor. My hand went up to the pain spot and I realized he slapped me.

No one has ever slapped me that hard. I am sure that I lost consciousness for a second and came back only when I felt a pain in my scalp. He pulled my hair in his fist so hard that I was looking right into his cold eyes as he crouched in front of me and said in his deep husky voice "Don't ever do that again" Do what? I didn't understand but I dare not ask whatever psychotic reasoning he has. I was too shocked and terrified to reason anyway. Dom looked at me for a moment, it seemed his anger fading just a little but then I felt cold metal against my skin. My eyes moved with his hand as Dom trailed his gun along my forehead to my chin. I was dead, wow I couldn't make a night even, I thought as I felt the hot barrel against my lips and he said "Open". One word but it had so much dominance in it that I couldn't defy him and I opened my lips "Wider" he said as he pushed the gun inside past my teeth. I could feel the metal taste on my tongue. He pulled my hair tilting my head a little backward as he pushed the gun slightly more it felt like it touched my throat. "Wider," he said again. I open my mouth even wider. "Roll your tongue on the length of the gun and stick it out" I tried to do what he said but I couldn't. He tilted his gun a bit and "Do it now". I tried and a whimper escaped me as I barely got my tongue to do what he wanted. My eyes closed in the attempt. "Look at me" he commanded and my eyes flew open. My teary eyes looked into his cold ones "Cry" he said. My eyes go wide at his demand. How can someone ask you to cry at command? Yet he did. Maybe because he can see my tears on the verge of escaping my eyes. He repeated in a stern tone like losing patience "Cry. Now" and as the words left his lips my tears left my eyes strolling down my cheeks. I did cry. He took out the gun, I sighed in relief but that was short-lived as he pulled me closer to him with my hair, if that's even possible, and whispered in my ears something that I couldn't have expected "Beautiful". He lifted me up with his hand wrapped around my waist and another still holding my hair. He took a step back and I stumbled getting my footing. "Sandra!" He called and the same girl who opened the door came inside the living room "Take her to my room, I will be there in a moment," he said. "Sì Dom," she said and then she asked me to come with her " Come, Signorina". Not that I have to be told twice, I followed her. Though I know she is taking me to his room and that couldn't do any good to me right now I would do anything to escape him even if that escape would be for a moment. I needed to breathe.

We took a flight of stairs when I noticed her for the first time. She is a young girl around my age or even younger. She wore a long cream crochet dress and had long blonde curly hair that was tied in a side braid with these dove eyes. She sure is an Italian and the only thing about this place that hasn't given me chills in my spine. She opened a door at the end of the stairwell and motioned me to enter saying "This is his room, no one is allowed in his room except his brother and now I guess you Signorina. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, Dom will come to you" she said with a smile. A genuine smile. Does she not know who Dom is? How can she use comfortable and Dom in the same sentence? She had this sweet smile and sparkle in her eyes whenever she said Dom like she was referring to someone she admired. How can a girl who reeks of innocence like her can admire a Devil like him? What is she even doing here?

I drove that thought away and stepped inside the room and she closed the door behind me.