Forbidden lessons with my mafia brother -in-law

Julianna's POV

"Rule number one." Dante's voice was a low, lethal purr that ran straight to my core.

I stared at him the way a doe stares at a wolf circling close enough to smell - defenseless, and yet not running.

He rolled his sleeves up slowly, one fold at a time, forearms corded with muscle and dark ink, looking into my eyes like a meal he was preparing to ravish. Under the dim light of his private office, he looked less like a man and more like a sin I hadn't committed yet. One I already knew I would.

"With me, there is no romance." Another step. "No kissing. No nice words." Another. "And definitely no love."

My pulse climbed with every step he took, my skin rising in goosebumps that had nothing to do with the cold weather. My body was reacting to him, anticipating his next move.

"I am going to teach you how to ruin my brother in bed, Julianna." He stopped close enough that I had to tip my chin to hold his gaze. "But don't you dare catch feelings."

I swallowed. Why was he so certain I would be the one to fall - and not him?

The thought of loving Dante again sent terror down my spine. I wasn't the girl he'd broken three years ago. Not anymore. Never again.

But some small, traitorous part of me still believed he'd never breathe a word of this to his brother. That whatever happened in this room would stay buried between us, the way everything else between us always had.

"Are you even listening to me, little virgin?"

Dante's commanding voice snapped me back to the present. He was now right in front of me, towering over me, so close, too close. The scent of cedarwood and expensive whiskey rolled off him. I swallowed again.

"I'm listening," I whispered, gathering composure as my knuckles turned white while I gripped the edges of the armchair.

"Good. Now if we are going to do this, you will have to abide by my six rules," he growled, leaning down until his lips brushed my ear, making me shiver beneath him. This closeness brought back too many memories, memories that had to remain in the past. Even though Dante's eyes made it clear that he had no intention of leaving them there. I nodded obediently.

"Rule One, no love. Your heart stays outside that door. Rule two, absolute secrecy. If Alistair ever finds out I touched you, I will personally ruin you and you know he will too." I shuddered. At this point, Alistair was the least of my concern.

Dante would ruin me.

Fear coursed through me.

"Rule three, complete obedience. You will submit to me completely and totally Julianna, within and outside these walls as long as this deal is on.

Rule four, no modesty. I don't train prudes, you're a slut for me. Rule five, you're available whenever I want you to. Whenever Julianna. And rule number six, I can add more rules."

I gasped, my eyes widening. "What? That wasn't..."

Before I could finish the protest, Dante's hand wrapped firmly around the back of my neck, his thumb forcing my chin up. This was intense, the heat and the closeness. He didn't kiss me.

Even though his closeness made that tempting. Instead, he slipped his other hand beneath my skirt, his fingers sliding up the bare skin of my thigh with a burning heat.

I gasped.

Why did it feel so good?

Air left my lungs as his gaze held mine, pinning me with a look that hid too many thoughts. My breathing hitched and my mind screamed for comfort but I remained at his mercy.

"Dante...please..." My breathing was so unsteady as I begged Dante with my eyes and my mouth.

"Please? Oh Julianna, if you're begging over nothing, what's going to happen when we go deep?"

Over nothing? This was nothing?

A chill coursed through me and I felt my stomach knot painfully.

"This is going to be a lot of fun."

A knowing smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. I felt my throat dry. With one lasting glance, he stepped back.breaking the tension. The sudden distance made me feel like an addict rid of her favorite drug but at the same time it felt like good relief. He turned away with an indifference that made me look like a fool, like I hadn't just witnessed him do forbidden things to me.

Adjusting his shirt, he moved toward the door, every step of his firm and swift. I remained in the seat, shaken and catching my breath.

"We begin tomorrow at midnight, Onyx lounge." he said, not looking back. "Don't be late."

The door clicked shut at once.

I placed my hand on my chest and shut my eyes as I steadied my breathing and held back tears.

If only I didn't have to be here.

My mind spiralled back to the reason I was sitting in my future brother -in-law's private office as I listened to him lay down the rules for our six-month arrangement.

I sat in Alistair's office on invitation about three weeks ago. Dressed in a high-neck, fitted, silk dress with an open back that Alistair obviously didn't care about when he gave me the biggest shock of my life.

He didn't look up from the financial ledgers on his desk when he poured two glasses of scotch and slid one across his desk towards me.

Did he expect me to drink?

But that was what this engagement had reduced my life to. Expectations.

"Six months," Alistair said, his voice flat. "The date is set. In half a year, you will become my wife, Julianna."

I took a small sip of the amber liquid. Just that reminder was enough reason to drink. I had known it for a year now but hearing him say it like that, God I felt doomed.

"Six months is a long time to wait for a wedding night, Alistair."

He finally raised his eyes and that smirk I hated appeared. "I like anticipation. But most importantly, six months gives you plenty of time to prepare yourself for what I expect of you."

He leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers.

What is expected of me? What could be expected of me other than saying 'I do' to New York's future capo?

"I am a man with very specific tastes. I have neither the time, nor the patience, to teach a girl how to breathe in my bed when the time comes. Sex for me is an aggressive release. That's why you're perfect for this alliance. I believe you didn't go to school all the way in Las Vegas only to remain a useless virgin," he straightened on his seat, eyes narrowing, "You are experienced, right?"

It took every ounce of courage not to shudder, not to let my facial expression reveal my fear. For a sheltered girl like me, the mere thought of the marital act still made me blush, still made me fidget. But Alistair couldn't know that, he wouldn't.

I raised my chin, forcing a seductive confidence into my voice.

"You don't need to worry," I began my lie smoothly, setting my glass down with a steady hand. "Las Vegas taught me more than you think."

But all Las Vegas taught me was how to perfect my pretense and lying skills when my parents called, nothing more.

Alistair's eyes were dark and satisfied. "Perfect. Then we wait the full six months as expected. Don't disappoint me, Julianna. If I find out you lied to me, the consequences will be severe."

Colour drained from my face even as I laughed that evening. I was stiff with panic and my heart slammed against my chest but he didn't notice. He never did.

I was twenty-four, sheltered, and a complete virgin.

All my life, I had preserved my virginity like an important, delicate vessel that couldn't be broken no matter the cost, hoping I would find the perfect man who'd cherish me. But there I sat, staring at my future husband who thought it was pathetic. I was mortified.

The grand wedding was in exactly six months. Six months before our wedding night, when my total lack of experience would expose me as a dirty liar and destroy everything. And if I told him now, he would cancel the wedding and my family would still be at the receiving end.

I was in a dilemma and desperation had led me to the black sheep of the family. Dante.

Alistair's brilliant, dangerous elder brother, who owned the city's most exclusive, underground pleasure clubs and was condemned as a traitor by his own father. This had to be the craziest thing I had ever done.

Six months. Six months of sin.