★JANIE★

"Ouch!"

I groaned as my eyelids fluttered open. Instantly, a splitting headache created a throbbing sensation in my skull. I tried to move my body, but I felt too weak and sore, so I remained there, trying to gain momentum.

Once I had managed to garner a little strength, I pulled myself to a sitting position. However, my headache worsened. It was as if someone was striking me continuously with a sledgehammer for trying to sit up.

Damn! What the hell happened?

Another groan escaped my lips as I looked around the pitch-dark room. My eyes had not adjusted to the darkness of the room, so I couldn't make out a single thing.

Clutching my head with one hand, I scrambled to the edge of the bed and my feet touched down on the cold, tiled floor.

I propped my other elbow on my thighs, still trying to catch a grip on myself. Right now, it seemed as though my body and mind were far apart, and it was taking forever to reconnect to each other.

Seconds later, memories of everything that occurred before I passed out, flooded my brain all at once, knocking me off like a tidal wave does to a surfer.

I remember tagging along with Sandra to a birthday party at a club, then I took some shots of alcohol. Thereafter..........my brain numbed for a second, but I retraced my thoughts and what happened after, surfaced.

Some men holding guns showed up, they knocked Noel out, and then whisked me away. Almost at once, panic engulfed me.

A fit of trepidation coursed through my veins as I pictured that scrawny-looking man on my date with Luciano. Images of his face made a shiver run down my spine and then I looked around in fright.

Was he the one that kidnapped me? What did I do wrong? Why would he take me in the first place?

Tears instantly welled up in my eyes as I recollected the fact that I had no one coming to save me. Luciano doesn't give a crap, and now no one would know where they've taken me to.

Instinctively, I jolted to my feet, hoping to escape. But my knees wobbled, propelling me to crash back down on the bed.

A disgruntled sound emanated from the back of my throat. Why was I this weak? Was it because of the alcohol? Or did they intoxicate me with something else?

As much as I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, every part of me knew that would be stupid. If I wanted to get out of here alive, I needed to stay calm and act very smart without being noticed.

Taking in a deep, long breath, I schooled myself. Breathe, Janie. In and out, in. You can do this.

Yet, amid my dilemma, the light in the room switched on. I jumped in fright and let out a startled yelp, but my eyes widened in shock when I saw a figure seated on a chair, with his legs crossed out in front of him.

Squinting, I still couldn't see properly. Alas, it was until my eyes adjusted to the light, that a loud gasp escaped my lips.

"Luciano?" His name rolled off the tip of my tongue in a more questionable tone than a statement.

Meanwhile, Luciano remained seated, his heated gaze bore into mine, almost as if he was aiming to rip my soul out of my body.

For some reason, I shivered at the way he was glaring at me, but at the same time, relief flooded my veins, knowing it was just him and not that scrawny-looking man.

Moreso, he doesn't seem pleased.

The deafening silence between us was unsettling, so much so that it had me contemplating what I was doing here in the first place. Recognizing the room as Luciano's, Deja Vu of the first time I'd awoken in his room after being betrayed by my father, struck me immediately.

Luciano's continuously heated gaze created a deep pit in my stomach, and there was no way to figure out what was going through his head.

Nevertheless, I rose to my feet. "What am I even doing here?"

"Sit back down!" Luciano roared and I flinched from the impact of his voice, prompting me to plop my ass on the bed instantly.

"What the fuck is wrong with your brain, Janie?" He yelled, his loud voice echoing across the wall of the room. "Why are you acting like a fucking child? Didn't I tell you to be wary of your surroundings? And yet, you went to a club? A club, Janie?" His tone was filled with distaste and rage.

However, I looked around the room. "where is the camera? Because I don't know who appointed you to play the role of my fucking Uncle!" I fired back at him.

His eyes narrowed. "What did you just say?"

I could feel the intensity of his warning glares, coupled with the way his fingers were now drumming the arm of the chair ferociously.

Waving off the fear his reaction was building up inside me, I spat. "For your information, I'm a twenty-year-old girl, who is in college, has a brain, and has the right to do whatever I want in my life."

"Oh really?" Luciano chuckled then wore a scowl in a short span of five seconds. "Does having a brain explain why you almost got kidnapped? Miss twenty-year-old college student, what would have become your fate if I didn't show up at the time I did?" He blurted in a sarcastic tone.

On hearing that, my heart plummeted into my guts.

What?

It wasn't Luciano that took me in the first place.

But I thought....... I thought seeing him here, convinced me otherwise.

"I—"

"Shut it, Janie!" He commanded and I obliged this time. "Now as long as you belong to me, as long as you are my girlfriend, and as long as I have feelings for you, not only will you bridle your tongue but you will also learn to caution yourself!" He roared.

I was not done recovering from the first revelation when Luciano dropped another bombshell on me. Luciano has feelings for me? I thought to myself and my lips parted open in disbelief.

But I–

My chest rose and fell as I tried to couple my thoughts together, but Luciano's rapid thumps of his fingers made it pretty difficult for me to concentrate.

"Now tell me......why didn't you let the man I assigned, deliver you to your hostel yesterday?" He asked.

Drifting my eyes to his, I uttered. "Maybe because I have legs and I didn't forget how to use them."

I watched his jaw twitched.

"Why did you go to that party?" He queried further.

Because I thought you used and jilted me, I was hoping to wash away the sorrows of being abandoned.

"Because I was invited and I have the right to do whatever pleases me," I replied instead.

It was at this moment Luciano rose from the chair. His muscles flexed as he made a slow, dominant stride towards me while I gulped down, hard.

"Your body belongs to me, Janie." He stated.

"Your heart belongs to me and you play strictly by my rules."

Not wanting to seem intimidated by him, I jolted to my feet. Momentarily, I felt wobbly, but I got a quick grip on myself so I wouldn't look stupid. "You can't keep treating me as if I'm your possession, Luciano. Like I'm sort of thing you can use and discard anytime you please." I raved.

Luciano quirked his brows. "When have I ever used and discarded you, Janie Braxton?"

Opening my mouth to speak, I immediately closed it back as words eluded me. It was only then I felt so stupid because Luciano clearly didn't abandon me like I made myself believe. Infact, he confessed to having feelings for me some minutes ago. So where did I cook up all this notion from?

"Was it because I left before you came out of the bathroom yesterday?" He questioned again.

Suddenly, I felt like a big fool. My heart clenched painfully and I almost broke into tears because of my stupidity.

"What do you expect me to think, Luciano?" I brought myself to say. "I have never been in a relationship before. This is the first time I realized I like someone so much, but what will you suggest I do, when I feel the person doesn't care enough about me? Like the person doesn't want me?" I threw at him.

Before I could comprehend what was going on next, Luciano swiftly pulled me to him then he slammed his lips on mine. Kissing me hungrily and towering above me like he wanted to devour me, whole.

A small moan emanated from the back of my throat.

Pulling away from the kiss, Luciano brought his lips to my ear and whispered. "Does this feel like I don't care?" His fingers slipped into my bum short, cupping my butt cheeks possessively. Like he owned it. "Does this feel like I don't want you?" And I shivered in response.

Grazing my face with gentle kisses, his husky voice filled my ears. "How do you want me to show that I care about you, Janie Braxton? Will fucking you so hard until you cum, and your legs are no longer useful, solve that?"

Oh fuck! My knees buckled but thankfully, Luciano's arms around my waist prevented me from falling.

My thighs heated up and I trembled beneath his touch, unable to speak. I couldn't believe I just spent the last hours convincing myself that I was done with this man, yet here I was reacting to every one of his little touches.

"For going against my rules yesterday, I intend to punish you again." His voice came off in a low growl. "Now strip."