Chapter 5 The Heat of Control

Breakfast was a lavish affair. The dining table stretched across the massive room, filled with fresh fruit, eggs, toast, and meats I barely recognized. A meal fit for a king.

And at the head of the table, Derek Moretti sat like one.

I hesitated in the doorway, gripping the silk robe I had found draped over the chair in my room. It wasn't mine. Nothing here was mine.

Derek leaned back in his chair, his sharp gaze cutting into me. "Sit."

I hated the way my body obeyed before my mind caught up. I ank into the seat across from him, my stomach twisting in knots.

"Eat." His voice was smooth but laced with authority.

I lifted a piece of toast, biting into it with deliberate slowness. His eyes never left me, dark and assessing. He enjoyed this-watching me squirm under his control.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me.

Derek set his fork down with a soft clink against the plate. "Your father was a fool. He owed me more than he could ever repay."

I clenched my jaw. "So, you took me instead."

He smirked. "That's right."

Heat surged throNothing is happeningation, and something I refused to name. Derek exuded raw power, the kind that made men kneel and women lose themselves.

I wouldn't be one of them.

---

The silence stretched between us as he sipped his coffee, completely at ease while I felt like I was unravelling. His confidence grated on me, his unwavering dominance an invisible chain around my throat.

I pushed my plate away. "I want to leave."

Derek chuckled, a dark sound that sent shivers down my spine. "That's not up to you."

Fury burned in my chest. "You can't keep me here forever."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "I don't have to."

My brows furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Derek smirked. "You'll stay because, eventually, you won't want to leave."

My stomach twisted at the certainty in his voice. I wouldn't let him be right.