Joanne’s throat clamped completely shut, her vocal cords paralyzed by a suffocating mixture of trauma and the terrifying pressure of Alfonso’s hands.
She tried to force a syllable out, any word to defend herself, but nothing came.
She could only shake her head in desperation, hot tears streaming down her pale, dust-caked cheeks, her frame vibrating with silent, helpless sobs.
Alfonso’s dark eyes narrowed into slits at her silence.
He didn’t waste another second waiting for her to find her voice.
With a swift, brutal movement, he bent down, threw his arm around her bare thighs, and hoisted her straight up onto his shoulder like a piece of captured contraband.
“Ah…!” Joanne gasped, her head hanging upside down against his back, her small hands instinctively clutching at his jacket for support as he turned on his heel.
“Griffin!” Alfonso barked over his shoulder, his voice echoing through the ruined corridor.
“Take care of everyone down here. Ensure Dorea treats every single wounded man immediately, and tell the captains to get the crews in. I want them to start renovating the house back to the exact way it used to be before sunset. I’ll be handling this stubborn, mute nurse myself.”
“On it, Boss,” Griffin replied smoothly, his eyes already assessing the damage as Alfonso strode away toward his room.
Alfonso carried her up to the top floor, his steps unbothered by her dead weight.
He pushed through the shattered, hanging doors of his master suite.
The massive sanctuary had been turned upside down; drawers were pulled out, curtains were ripped down, and his bed had been stripped, the thick, heavy mattress thrown carelessly to the side of the wooden frame.
Alfonso didn’t even slow down.
He marched right up to the bed, raised his leg, and delivered a powerful kick straight into the side of the displaced mattress.
With a dull thud, the heavy piece of furniture aligned perfectly back onto the frame.
In the next fluid motion, he unceremoniously threw Joanne right onto the center of it.
Joanne tumbled backward into the sheets, her legs splaying out as she tried to scramble away.
The sudden momentum caused the nightdress to shift against her smooth shoulders.
The delicate lace tore slightly, sliding down past her arm until one of her full breasts was exposed, the pink nipple thrust out into the cool air of the bedroom.
Alfonso froze.
He stood at the edge of the bed, his tall frame looming over her like a dark god, his eyes locking instantly onto the exposed, heaving mound of her flesh.
A suffocating silence fell over the room, charged with a sudden, intoxicating current of sexual tension.
His chest rose and fell slightly, his gaze lingering on her chest for a long, tense beat, looking as if he would crawl over the mattress and take her right there and then, punishing her body until she screamed his name.
Suddenly, Alfonso let out a low, mocking roar, shaking his head.
“Cover it up! It is absolutely not the time for some useless, pathetic seduction, Joanne!” He leaned in, his hand snatching the edge of the nightdress and dragging it back over her exposed breast, his knuckles grazing the hot, sensitive peak of her nipple as he did so, making her jump.
He pulled an armchair across the floor, the metal legs scraping loudly against the floor before he dropped his frame onto it, sitting directly in front of her.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his piercing gaze locking into her tear-filled eyes.
Joanne sat there huddled against the headboard, still trembling from head to toe.
“Why the hell are you so scared of a simple occasion like this?” Alfonso demanded, his voice dropping into a harsh, dry grunt.
Joanne swallowed a sob, a wave of bitter resentment mixing with her terror.
To a ruthless mafia king like him, an armed siege was just another Tuesday.
But to Joanne~a sheltered nurse who had spent her life inside quiet hospital wards and peaceful libraries~this was an unimaginable nightmare.
Being hunted by faceless, lethal gunmen was absolutely not a small deal to her at all.
“You better start talking to me right now before I execute the warning I gave you downstairs,” Alfonso threatened softly, his voice dripping with an icy promise of violence.
“I will throw you straight outside my gates without a single guard. You brought chaos into my household, Joanne. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t give those men exactly what they want.”
The terror of being thrown to the wolves outside finally gave Joanne the burst of courage she needed.
She shook her head, her hands clutching the sheets.
“No… no, please!” she begged, her voice cracking as the words finally poured out of her throat.
“Please, do not throw me outside! I am begging you, Sir! I sincerely do not know why those men were looking for me! I have no secrets, I have no money, I don’t know any criminals! I don’t know why they want me!”
Alfonso leaned closer, his shadow completely swallowing her up.
“Then why the hell would I keep you here? You are a dangerous, ticking time bomb sitting in my palace. You are a liability to my household.”
“I’ll do anything!” Joanne cried out desperately, the terror of the unknown driving her to absolute submission.
“I’ll do anything you want from me! Anything at all! Just… just please do not let me outside those gates! I don’t have anyone else to protect me against those people… please…”
Alfonso’s dark eyes flashed with a sudden, predatory gleam.
The sexual tension in the room spiked instantly, turning heavy enough to choke on.
He tilted his handsome head, a slow, wicked smirk spreading across his lips.
Joanne, completely cornered and desperate for shelter, nodded her head in acceptance.
“Yes… anything.”
Alfonso stood up from the armchair and moved closer, crawling onto the edge of the mattress until his frame was hovering directly over her knees.
He reached out, his fingers wrapping around her chin, forcing her to look up into his dark, hungry eyes.
“Does that ‘anything’ include me fucking your beautiful body every day?” Alfonso asked bluntly, his voice dripping with dominance.
“Does it mean you won’t be refusing a single one of my sexual advances from this moment forward?”
Joanne froze, her entire body locking up as his words sank in.
Her mind instantly flashed back to the agonizing pleasure of the previous night—recalling his crazy, relentless stamina and the massive, thick length of his cock that had driven so deeply inside her that it felt like it was reaching right into her stomach.
Being fucked by a man of his size daily meant she would be completely miserable.
She wouldn’t be able to sleep at night at all; he would only be taking her over and over again, draining her energy, stretching her walls, and leaving thoroughly undone.
But as she looked past his shoulder toward the shattered windows, the memory of the gunfire returned, and she realized she had no choice.
She lowered her eyes, her face flushing a deep, burning shade of crimson as she shyly, submissively nodded her head in agreement.
“Speak to me, Joanne,” Alfonso commanded huskily, his fingers tightening on her jaw.
“I want to hear it.”
“Y… yes,” Joanne whispered softly, her heart pounding against her ribs.
“Yes, Mr. Fareno.”
Alfonso let out a low chuckle, his thumb tracing the curve of her lower lip.
“I knew it. I knew you secretly liked my massive length inside you last night, sweet doctor. You are a very good girl.”
He let go of her chin and stood back up, walking over to the flipped walnut cabinets in the corner of the room.
He effortlessly hoisted the wood back upright and reached inside, pulling out a medical kit.
“From now on, things are changing around here,” Alfonso announced as he walked back toward the bed, unzipping the kit with a sharp hiss.
“You won’t be sleeping across the corridor anymore. You will be sleeping right next to me, in my bed, every single night. That way, whenever I feel like having your body, I won’t have to waste time crossing the hallway to find you. And besides… you’ll be mostly safe with me here. From now on, you stay close to my hip.”
He dropped the medical kit onto the mattress and looked down at her torn, dusty appearance, his expression turning into a strange mix of possessiveness and cold care.
“Since you are being hunted by who knows who out there, I am also going to personally train you myself alongside Sophie,” Alfonso stated, his voice echoing with an undeniable authority.
“I am the only man in this entire city who can offer you safety, Joanne. Now, get closer. Let me help treat these wounds of my sweet nurse…”