His name lingered in my thoughts, an unfamiliar presence that felt oddly significant. The way the other teachers had gone silent when the suited man arrived... the way Luca had smirked, as if I had missed something obvious.

Who was this Riccardo?

And why did the name make the air feel heavier?

I pushed the thoughts away as I locked up my classroom for the day. The sun had started to set, casting the city in warm golds and deep shadows. As I stepped outside, the cool evening air brushed against my skin, but something else followed-a prickle of awareness at the back of my neck.

I wasn't alone.

I turned my head slowly, scanning the area. People walked along the sidewalk, cars zipped by, but something felt... off.

Then I saw him.

Leaning against a sleek black car, dressed in an impossibly expensive suit, stood the most dangerously beautiful man I had ever seen.

Tall, commanding, his dark hair slightly tousled as if he hadn't bothered fixing it. His sharp jawline and piercing blue eyes gave him an air of effortless dominance, but it was his expression that made my breath catch-cool, unreadable, and yet... focused.

On me.

I didn't need to ask.

I already knew.

This was Riccardo Romano.

Luca's uncle.

The name that had haunted me all day now had a face. A devastating, terrifying face.

He straightened, his movement fluid and controlled, and before I could react, he was walking toward me.

Every step felt deliberate, predatory.

The air between us thickened as he stopped just inches away, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body.

"Signorina Aurora," he said, his voice like smooth velvet wrapped around steel. "I hear you've been spending time with Matteo."

I stiffened. The warning note in his tone wasn't subtle.

"Who-" My throat went dry, but I forced myself to meet his gaze. "Who are you to care?"

A slow, dark smile curved his lips, and my stomach twisted.

"Ah." His eyes flickered with something dangerous. "You really don't know who I am."

His fingers reached up, brushing a stray lock of hair from my face, the touch featherlight but commanding.

"I own this city, dolcezza," he murmured, his voice laced with something I couldn't decipher. "And that means I own you too."

A shiver ran down my spine.

I should have stepped back. I should have protested. But I couldn't.

I was frozen beneath his gaze, trapped in a storm I hadn't seen coming.

And something told me Riccardo Romano didn't let his possessions go easily.

---

(Riccardo's POV)

Up close, she was even more intoxicating.

Her wide brown eyes held defiance, but beneath that, I saw something else-uncertainty. A girl who didn't yet understand the rules of this world.

A girl who had no idea what kind of man had just set his sights on her.

I should have left it at the warning. I should have walked away.

But the moment she looked up at me, lips parted, breath unsteady... I knew there was no turning back.

I wanted her.

And when Riccardo Romano wanted something-he took it.

---

Chapter 6 The First Meeting

You might like