Protecting The Principessa (Complete)

~ Chapter 45 ~

She wasn't sure how or what she felt and thought about that. She could understand it. And maybe her dad was right, maybe he needed to push them. It was questionable if they could come together on their own, more so than just a random fuck. Especially given at the time of their first time, he was still engaged to another woman. Of course, she couldn't help but wonder if everything she had experienced and felt here recently with this man was because of the contract or because he really wanted to. It was hard to buy, even when he said that nothing made him do it, he just wanted to.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"Why me? You hated me, so when the change of heart?" He sighed as he looked down at the hand he held, his thumb rubbing the back of it, and she looked down at it as well.

"No, not hated." He shook his head and slowly smiled. "You were what I wanted in a woman; do you know that? Strong, smart, independent, stunning, and wholesome. Your size was never an issue. But from the start, I couldn't have you. Having other lovers while I was tied to Sara was fine, having her sister who I liked, not fine. And Sara knew all that and she would have destroyed you, or at least tried. I'm starting to think you might have knocked her down a few pegs. However, I couldn't stand to see that, so I did the best thing I could, I pulled back, I went into dick mood."

"You were very good at it, you know?" He chuckled before he looked back up at her.

"I know. But then I saw someone else touching you and that shit didn't fly well. And I was at a serious crossroads. I couldn't get myself out of the contract, I wanted my men. But I no longer saw Sara at my side. Not that she really was actually." She stared at him; her eyes boring into his. He was a hell of a smooth talker.

"I won't allow lovers, Adriano." He moved closer still and cupped her cheek, his lips touching hers.

"Believe me, Ignazia, I don't think I could handle anyone else. You drive me crazy with desire in enough ways and you make me happy."

"So, what, I sign and it's all okay? We treat it like a normal engagement?"

"It is. We don't need to announce anything, and no one knows about the contract but the three of us. Okay, maybe Sara will get it and his wife, but that's it," he told her.

"Does Sara lose anything?"

"Power, but it wasn't like she was going to have a lot anyway. I wasn't going to let her. Her dad let her get away with a lot of stuff, but I never was." He pulled her against him, and she wrapped her arms around him. "Tell me what happened years ago." She sighed and closed her eyes, thinking back to that time.

"I was eleven and my class trip worked hard to win the grand prize for this fundraiser; the trip was to New York, what kid wouldn't love that right? I knew my dad lived there and I figured I could manage to escape the confines of the room long enough to slip out to see him. After all, to a kid, how big is New York? Besides, De Santis was a huge name, it commanded respect, and someone had to know him. I thought I could ask around if it wasn't possible to find him.

"It was such crazy thinking, and I never told my mom about my plans, she would have killed me. But, looking back, maybe it would have been for the better. Mom never spoiled me, but she did give in to a lot of my wants and wishes. Had I told her I wanted to see my father, she probably would have made things happen. She probably would have called him to tell him I was coming and would have arranged something. My being headstrong hasn't changed over the years, I'm still as stubborn as I was then.

"I'm still not sure how I managed to slip out of a room with three other girls, but I did. I called a cab company and met them out front. You would think it would be strange for a child to meet a cab, right?"