More Than a Deal

Sienna stood in the quiet of the study, the weight of Dante’s words still lingering in the air. His presence had left a mark on her, something sharp and undeniable. She hadn’t expected to feel so… affected. She thought she could remain untouched, play the role she was assigned, but the way his eyes had lingered on her, the way his voice had softened—there was something about him that called to her in ways she couldn’t fully explain.

She knew the stakes. She knew the consequences of giving in, of letting herself feel anything beyond the necessary distance. But something inside her had already crossed a line, and it wasn’t just Dante who had shifted. It was her too.

As she stared out the window, the moon casting a pale light across the room, Sienna could feel the invisible thread between them pulling taut, stretching as if ready to snap. She longed for clarity, for a way to make sense of it all, but it eluded her.

Her thoughts drifted back to Ethan, to the life she thought she would have. His kindness, the plans they’d made, the future she believed in. He had been her anchor in a world that now seemed foreign, distant. She had loved him—she still loved him—but with every passing moment in Dante’s world, with every word, every touch that seemed to strip away her resistance, she could feel herself drifting further from him.

A part of her screamed that she should fight, that she should hold onto what she knew, to the comfort of a life without danger, without the constant tension of the mafia world. But another part of her, a darker part, was beginning to understand what Dante had meant when he said she wasn’t as innocent as she thought.

She wasn’t sure what she was becoming in his presence, but the more she fought it, the more it seemed to consume her.

Dante’s mind was equally consumed by thoughts of her. He had seen the way Sienna had withdrawn from him, the guarded look in her eyes whenever he got too close, too near. She was resisting, clinging to whatever remnants of her old life she could salvage. But he knew better. He could feel the pull between them, the chemistry that couldn’t be ignored.

He had never intended for her to fall into this world so fully, never thought he would care enough to be anything but a contract to her. But now, with every glance, every challenge she threw at him, he found himself wanting more than he ever expected. And the worst part? He knew she was fighting it too.

The battle within her was clear. Dante could see it in the way she stiffened when he touched her, the way her lips parted as if she was about to speak but couldn’t bring herself to. He wasn’t sure if it was fear, resistance, or something else that held her back, but he was determined to break through it. He had all the time in the world to make her see that they weren’t so different, that her world and his could merge if only she let go of the past.

But would she ever let herself? Or would she continue to be torn between what she thought she should want and what he knew they could have?

Sienna’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Dante.

For a moment, she froze. She wasn’t ready to face him again, not yet. But there was no escaping it. She opened the door, her heart racing in anticipation of what came next.

Dante stood there, his expression unreadable, but his eyes held a certain intensity. She couldn’t help but feel like they were playing a dangerous game, both of them hiding behind masks, pretending to be something they weren’t.

“I told you before,” he began, his voice low and almost a whisper, “you don’t have to pretend with me.”

Sienna swallowed hard, her mind racing. “I’m not pretending,” she said, but even she could hear the lie in her own voice.

He didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he stepped closer, his presence overwhelming, filling the space between them. The tension crackled again, thick and charged. His hand reached out, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me,” Dante said softly. “I won’t hurt you, Sienna. But you have to stop running from what’s between us. You can’t keep pretending it’s not there.”

His words hit her like a punch to the gut. She had been running, hadn’t she? Running from the attraction she couldn’t deny, from the pull that seemed to draw her to him despite herself.

Sienna’s breath caught in her throat. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with uncertainty. “What do you want from me, Dante?”

He stared at her, the intensity in his gaze never wavering. “I want you to be honest with yourself. To stop pretending you don’t feel it. To stop pretending you don’t want me.”

For a moment, the world seemed to stand still, the weight of his words pressing down on her. She had no answer, no way to explain the tangled mess of emotions swirling inside her. The truth was, she did feel it—the pull, the desire, the need. But she also felt guilt, confusion, and the crushing weight of the choice she had to make.

But Dante wasn’t finished. His voice softened, a flicker of something genuine behind the intensity. “I’m not asking you to forget Ethan. I’m asking you to stop pretending that I don’t matter. Stop pretending that what we have doesn’t mean something.”

Sienna felt the walls she had carefully built begin to crumble. She had fought so hard to keep her emotions in check, to protect herself from the undeniable truth that Dante had been breaking through her defenses. But it was getting harder to ignore.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” she whispered, the weight of her confession hanging heavy between them.

Dante didn’t respond with words. Instead, he reached out, his hand resting gently on her cheek. His touch was tender, almost too gentle, and it caught her off guard. He wasn’t just the ruthless mafia boss anymore. He was something else—something more complicated, more human.

“You don’t have to figure it out all at once,” he said quietly. “But you can’t keep pretending you don’t feel this, Sienna. You can’t keep pretending you don’t feel me.”

Sienna’s breath caught, her chest tightening at his words. She wanted to push him away, wanted to deny everything he was saying. But deep down, she knew he was right. She wasn’t ready to admit it. But she wasn’t ready to walk away either.

And in that moment, she realized something. The choice wasn’t as simple as choosing between Ethan and Dante. It was about choosing herself, and what kind of person she wanted to be in a world that had taken everything she thought she knew and turned it upside down.

Dante’s gaze softened, his thumb gently brushing across her skin. "No more pretending," he whispered.

Sienna’s heart raced. She wasn’t sure what would happen next. But for the first time in a long while, she was beginning to understand that the lines between what she wanted and what she needed weren’t as clear as she once thought.