Bianca's POV
The road into the city was quiet, the kind of silence that always made my skin crawl. My bike purred beneath me as I slowed, weaving through familiar streets until I finally pulled up outside my home.
I swung my leg over the seat, tugged off my helmet, and let my hair fall free. The air here smelled different, warm bread from the corner shop, faint traces of rain in the distance, and that unshakable scent of dust the city never seemed to lose.
I pushed the door open, and the first thing I saw was Mabel, my baby sister perched on her nanny's lap. Mabel was giggling, her tiny hands smearing mashed fruit across her cheeks while Mabel's nanny, Grace, tried to keep her steady.
"Mabel," I smiled, walking in and brushing my knuckles against her soft cheek. She babbled something incoherent back at me.
But my smile froze when I saw her.
Andreina.
She was leaning against the kitchen counter like she owned the place, a glass of wine in her hand, eyes tracking me with that smug, knowing grin she always wore.
"Finally," she said, setting the glass down and sauntering toward me. "You're back. And from the look on your face, you've got a whole damn story for me."
I dropped my helmet on the couch and exhaled. "Andrea…" I only called her by her full name when I was tired or rattled. Right now, I was both.
Her brows arched, but she didn't say anything, just motioned with her head toward the sitting room. We sat opposite each other, and she leaned in, eyes sharp.
"Talk," she said simply.
I let the words pour out.
Everything. From walking into the mafia's den, to the suffocating presence of Dante Moretti, to the way the deal had been laid bare like a blade at my throat. I spoke in a rush, my voice sharp with frustration.
Andreina listened without interrupting, just tracing lazy circles on her thigh with one finger. When I was done, she tilted her head.
"Bia, breathe. You're spiraling."
"How the hell am I supposed to stay calm?" I snapped. "Andrea, I want to help this city, I don't want to be like my father, running, hiding, pretending everything's fine but marrying Dante? That's the worst thing that could happen to me."
Her mouth curved into something between pity and amusement. "Did you even hear what I told you the last time?"
"No, enlighten me."
She smirked. "It's only a year, Bianca. One. Year. After that, it's over. The city gets stronger, Dante walks away, and we're left standing. You really think one year is worse than watching this place fall apart in five?"
I wanted to argue, but she was right in a way. Still…
"I don't care about being around him," I said, my voice low. "It's the sex. The physical part. I feel nothing for him, Andrea. And he..." I clenched my fists.."he doesn't see women as anything more than sex puppets. He doesn't know the meaning of respect."
Andreina's eyes glimmered. "Bia… you live in a city with only women. He knows that. He should understand you're not exactly going to melt over a man's touch."
I stared at her, my mind buzzing, then dropped my face into my hands. "This is all so..."
Andreina moved without hesitation, closing the gap between us. Her hands slid under my chin, lifting my face so I had to look at her. Her lips brushed mine before I even realized she'd leaned in. The kiss was soft, familiar, electric.
We had always had this...this unspoken ritual where touch and heat replaced words when things got too heavy.
I kissed her back. Hard.
Her mouth opened against mine, and my hands tangled in her hair. The taste of wine clung to her tongue as it slid against mine, deepening the kiss. She pulled me closer, her thigh slipping between mine, pressing up until my breath hitched.
Andreina paused just enough to whisper against my lips, "Why are you so damn horny right now?"
I ignored the question, crashing my mouth back onto hers. "Make love to me. Now," I breathed into her ear.
Her smirk was wicked. She stood, crossed the room to lock the door, then came back and straddled me on the couch. Our mouths met again, more urgent this time. Her hands slipped under my top, fingers tracing the curve of my waist, dragging upward until she found bare skin.
I moaned into her mouth as she pushed me back, her body pressing down against mine. Her lips trailed to my neck, biting lightly before soothing the sting with her tongue. My hips arched toward her as her hands roamed, teasing and testing, her fingers brushing the edge of my bra.
She pulled it down without hesitation, her mouth closing around one nipple, sucking slow and deliberate. My breath came in shaky bursts.
"Andrea…" I whispered, my nails digging into her back.
She hummed against me, her hand sliding between my thighs, fingers finding the heat through my jeans. She rubbed slow circles, making me whimper, then unbuttoned them with one flick and slipped her hand inside.
Her fingers moved with practiced skill, stroking me until my thighs trembled. I clung to her, biting my lip to keep from crying out too loudly.
When release came, it was sharp and shattering, my head falling back against the couch.
We slumped together afterward, breathing fast, laughter spilling between us like nothing in the world had changed.
The doorbell cut through the moment.
Andreina groaned, standing to answer it....then froze.
She glanced over her shoulder at me. "It's your father."
I cursed under my breath, quickly straightening my clothes as she slipped out of the room, leaving me to face him.
He walked in with the same storm in his eyes I'd grown up with.
"Where were you?" he demanded.
I forced my tone to stay even. "I went to check the farmlands."
He stormed toward me, voice rising. "Do you want to end up in the grave like your mother? Do you want to throw yourself at the animals? To the Mafias?"
My blood went cold. "How do you even know...."
He dropped a heavy box on the table. "Because they already sent this."
On the side, written in bold, it read:
DAY 1: ON WHY YOU SHOULD MARRY DANTE MORETTI
I opened my mouth, fury spilling out. "You have no right to lecture me! You get drunk every night, you've let this city rot, and you don't even care what happens to Mabel or me! I'm doing this for our future, because soon you'll be dead and..."
The slap cracked across my face before I could finish.
His voice was cold. "Whatever you're planning, stay away from Mabel."
He left.
I sat there, staring at the box before slowly opening it.
Inside: a set of lace underwear and a sleek, black vibrator.
A card rested on top:
I love my women experience.
"Bastard," I hissed.
Andreina returned, and I showed her. She sighed. "Dante's worse than ruthless...he's reckless. That's dangerous."
I took a deep breath. "Fine. One year. I'll carry that cross and come back with the news."
Andreina squeezed my hand. "Sleep on it before giving him an answer. And about your father…" she smirked, "…get him drunk enough, he'll sign anything."
Our eyes met, and the tension thickened again. She leaned in, kissed me slow this time, her hands sliding over my body as the heat reignited.
The second round was slower, deeper....her mouth lingering everywhere, her hands coaxing moans out of me until I couldn't think straight.
Without a word, she reached for me, her fingers brushing the back of my neck, pulling me closer until our breaths tangled. Her lips grazed mine...soft, barely there....before she deepened the kiss, her tongue sliding in with a slow, claiming stroke that made my knees weaken.
Her hands roamed deliberately, tracing my waist before dipping lower, fingertips slipping under my thin nightdress to explore heated skin. She pushed me gently toward the bed, pressing me down into the silk, the cool sheets contrasting the fire in her touch.
I felt her hair fall like a curtain around us as she climbed over me, straddling my hips. Her gaze was molten, hungry, and she leaned down to bite softly at my bottom lip before trailing her mouth along my jaw, down my neck, and further...her tongue and lips branding every inch they touched.
By the time her mouth reached my breasts, I was arching for more. She took her time, swirling her tongue around one nipple while her fingers teased the other, her slow rhythm making me shiver. When her lips traveled down my stomach, her breath ghosting over the most sensitive part of me, I let out a helpless sound I didn't recognize as my own.
She didn't rush. She teased, kissed, and tasted until every muscle in my body tightened, my hands gripping the sheets. Only then did she give me what I was desperate for, her mouth and tongue working in deep, steady motions that pushed me higher and higher until I shattered, her name spilling from my lips like a prayer.
She came up to kiss me again, tasting myself in her mouth, her hand still stroking lazily between my thighs.
"Not done with you yet," she whispered against my lips. "I'm going to make sure you don't forget tonight."