His Body Craved Mine, His Heart Chose Me

My marriage to Dante Moretti shocked everyone.

I’ve got a fiery temper and I don’t back down. Three years into our marriage, the entire Chicago underworld knew we were at each other's throats.

Except in bed.

There, our bodies just fit. The only time we weren't at war was when we were tangled in the sheets, lost in a storm of desperate kisses and raw pleasure.

Countless times, he’d tell me he was obsessed with my body, always right as he was sinking into me.

I thought it was his way of saying he was falling for me.

That all came crashing down at an auction, when he snatched my mother's heirloom from me, only to give it to her—a fragile-looking girl named Ava.

That’s when he showed me a cruelty I’d never seen.

"It's time for a reality check, Elara," he’d said, his voice cold as ice. "Marrying you, fucking you… it was all just to keep the peace between our families. Ava is the one I want to protect."

But the day I finally left Chicago, the day I announced our divorce to the world…

That cold, calculating Mafia Don hunted for me like a man possessed.

Three years of marriage. We fought constantly, and we fucked like our lives depended on it. I thought that was just our thing. Until he told me his heart had belonged to someone else all along.

"Is that all you've got?"

I gasped for air, sweat slicking my back as the man beneath me gave one last, final thrust. Dante’s hands dug into my hips, hard enough to leave bruises.

This was us. Even in bed, it was a battle.

A low chuckle vibrated through his chest. He pushed deeper, his lips brushing against my ear. "You always talk a big game, Elara—but your body never lies."

I bit my lip, refusing to let a moan escape. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

But Dante knew my body like the back of his hand. He knew every sensitive spot.

He trailed soft kisses along my neck, a stark contrast to the brutal, perfect rhythm of his hips slamming into me.

Until we both shattered.

I couldn't stop myself from digging my nails into his broad, powerful back.

"Satisfied, Elara?" Dante pulled away and slipped on his shirt. As usual, he grabbed a damp towel to clean me up.

It was the only time he was ever tender.

I forced the blush from my cheeks and shot him a defiant smirk. "Barely. You were adequate."

His movements paused. A dangerous glint flashed in his eyes.

"Guess I'll have to try harder next time."

"I'm going to the underground auction tonight," I said, getting up to dress. I made my voice sound casual, bored. "There's something I have to get."

"What is it?"

"My mother's brooch." My voice trembled slightly, but I hid it. "The diamond one."

It was the last thing she left me. Lost three years ago during a family clash,