Chapter 10:A Line Crossed

The moment Isla's lips moved against his, she knew she had made a mistake.

A dangerous, intoxicating, unforgivable mistake.

Alessandro kissed like he did everything else—with purpose, control, and a slow-burning intensity that sent a shockwave through her system. His hand slid to the back of her neck, tilting her head just enough to deepen the kiss, his body pressing closer, as if he had every right to claim her.

And worse?

A traitorous part of her wanted to let him.

She should stop this. Push him away. Remind him that this was an arrangement, nothing more. But the heat of his mouth, the sheer dominance in the way he touched her—it made her forget.

Forget the contract.

Forget the consequences.

Forget that Alessandro Romano was the last man she should ever let in.

A soft sound escaped her lips, and it was that—her own betrayal—that snapped her back to reality.

She wrenched herself away, breathless, her heart hammering against her ribs.

Alessandro remained close, his dark eyes heavy-lidded with something unreadable. Hunger? Amusement? Possession?

She hated that she didn't know.

"That," she said, her voice rough, "shouldn't have happened."

Alessandro tilted his head slightly, the corner of his mouth curving upward. "And yet, it did."

Isla clenched her fists, forcing herself to step back. "This is exactly what I didn't want. You're using this contract as an excuse to—"

"To what?" he interrupted smoothly, closing the distance between them again. "To touch what's already mine?"

Her breath caught. "I am not yours."

His gaze darkened. "A wife belongs to her husband, cara mia."

Heat flared in her chest—anger, frustration, something else she refused to name. "We are not real husband and wife."

Alessandro exhaled a quiet chuckle, the sound infuriatingly calm. "No?" He reached out, his fingers grazing the side of her neck, where her pulse thundered beneath his touch. "Then why are you shaking?"

She slapped his hand away, ignoring the way her skin tingled where he had touched her. "Because you don't play fair."

He smirked. "I never claimed to."

Silence stretched between them, thick with everything unspoken. Isla's mind raced, trying to regain control, trying to push away the heat that still lingered in her veins.

This couldn't happen again. She wouldn't let it.

"I'm going to bed," she said stiffly, turning toward the staircase.

Alessandro didn't stop her. But as she reached the first step, his voice reached her, low and laced with something dangerous.

"This changes things, Isla."

She paused, gripping the railing. "No. It doesn't."

He let out a hum of amusement. "Keep telling yourself that."

She didn't look back.

She couldn't.

Because deep down, she already knew—

She had just crossed a line she could never uncross.