The city hummed softly in the distance, the neon glow of streetlights reflecting off wet pavement. It was a quiet night, the kind Sophia Moretti usually enjoyed-cool air, the faint scent of rain, and the gentle solitude of walking home after a long shift at the bookstore.
But tonight, the darkness felt different.
She pulled her cardigan tighter around her body, a faint shiver crawling down her spine. Maybe it was just exhaustion. Or maybe it was the way the streets were unusually empty, the silence pressing in like a suffocating force.
Sophia wasn’t the type to be paranoid. She had walked this route a hundred times. But as she turned the corner onto a dimly lit street, an uneasy feeling curled in her stomach.
Someone was watching her.
She glanced over her shoulder, but there was nothing. Just shadows stretching along the sidewalk, flickering beneath the dull glow of streetlamps. Still, the feeling wouldn’t leave.
Across the street, inside a black SUV, Rafael watched.
She was everything he had imagined-and more.
Long, dark hair cascaded over her slender shoulders, her pale skin glowing beneath the soft light. Her lips, slightly parted as she breathed in the night air, looked inviting. Tempting. But it was her eyes that had always drawn him in. Big, expressive, filled with innocence. Too innocent.
Rafael’s grip tightened on the leather of his gloves. She didn’t belong to this world. Not yet. But she would.
She would belong to him.
“She’s right there, boss,” Dante murmured, shifting in the driver’s seat.
“I see her,” Rafael said, his voice controlled, though his body thrummed with anticipation.
Sophia Moretti. The girl who had unknowingly held his attention for years. The girl who would soon learn what it meant to belong to Rafael De Luca.
Sophia quickened her pace.
The feeling of being watched hadn’t disappeared. If anything, it had grown stronger.
She was only a few blocks from her apartment now. She could already see the warm glow of her building’s entrance up ahead. Just a little farther.
Then-the footsteps.
Heavy. Measured. Not rushed, but deliberate.
Sophia’s pulse spiked. She glanced behind her again. Nothing.
But she wasn’t imagining it.
Her breath hitched as she turned onto the last stretch of her street. The feeling of unease morphed into full-fledged panic. She clutched the strap of her bag, her fingers tightening.
And then it happened.
A strong arm wrapped around her waist, yanking her back against a hard, unyielding chest. A large, gloved hand clamped over her mouth before she could scream.
She thrashed instinctively, her body twisting in a desperate attempt to break free, but the grip was ironclad. Her heels scraped against the pavement, her muffled cries going unheard in the empty street.
“Shh, bella,” a deep voice murmured, right against her ear. The sound of it sent a violent shiver down her spine. Dark. Amused. Dangerous.
She struggled harder, her hands clawing at the arm wrapped around her. Too strong. Too powerful.
“You’re fighting a losing battle,” the voice continued, smooth and teasing. “But I admire the effort.”
Sophia’s panic turned to full-blown terror. Who was he? What did he want?
How did he know her name?
“Such a wild little thing,” he mused, tightening his grip. “I’ve been waiting for this moment.”
The realization hit her like a punch to the gut. This wasn’t some random abduction. This man knew who she was. This was planned.
She let out another muffled scream, her nails digging into his wrist.
Rafael only chuckled.
He loved it when they fought.
Her fear. Her panic. It thrilled him.
She had no idea how long he had been watching her. How many nights he had imagined this exact moment. Her softness against his hardness. Her helplessness in his grasp.
He leaned in, his lips brushing the shell of her ear. “You’re mine now, Sophia.”
She kicked out wildly, her bag slipping from her shoulder and hitting the ground. It didn’t matter. She was already being lifted off her feet, carried toward the waiting car like she weighed nothing at all.
The door to the SUV swung open, and she was shoved inside.
Darkness swallowed her whole as the door slammed shut.
The last thing Sophia saw was the cold, unyielding emerald eyes of the man who had just stolen her freedom.