Tempting Mr. Salvatore

Tempting Mr. Salvatore

Liah Oliver

5.0
Comment(s)
6
View
78
Chapters

"I'm good at many things, Olivia..." Dante's voice was low, almost dangerous. "...and if you let me, I'll show you every single one." Her breath caught. "Then show me," she whispered, daring to trail her fingers up his arms, tracing every hard vein until she reached his sculpted biceps. Then higher. Her nails dug into his neck as she pulled him closer, craving the heat of his breath. "Show me all of you, Dante." --- The night Olivia plans to confess her feelings to Lucas - her best friend - everything falls apart. Heartbroken and humiliated, she walks alone under the rain, desperate to disappear. That's when she crosses paths with Dante Salvatore - the man who will ruin her carefully planned future. Older. Forbidden. Dangerous. Dante is twice her age and the father of her best friend. Falling for him could destroy her. And maybe... That's exactly why she wants him so badly.

Chapter 1 Party

Olivia Fernandes

I woke up with a start. I sat up in bed, breathless, rubbing my hands over my face in a desperate attempt to shake off the tormenting thoughts that haunted me.

For seven days straight, I'd been waking up like this. Dazed, disoriented, sweating, and ashamed.

Whenever I closed my eyes, the vivid, lifelike dream that had been plaguing me all week came rushing back. I could recall every detail-the intensity of his touch, his scent, the overwhelming sensations that took over me when I allowed myself a taste of what could be... if I weren't so damn scared.

That's exactly how I felt every time I saw him.

Lucas. My best friend from college. The popular guy every girl in high school dreams but unlike all the boys I'd known back then, he was different. Handsome, smart, kind.

Which is why I always believed it had to be some sort of trap. There had to be something lurking beneath the surface. Something Lucas was hiding behind all that charm and perfection. Some toxic trait, an annoying habit, poor hygiene- anything to prove he wasn't so... flawless.

But after a year of being around him, I'd found nothing. Nothing to kill the butterflies that fluttered in my stomach every time he smiled at me. Nothing to stop the sharp, aching pull in my chest when he was near.

And that infuriated me. Not because I wanted to find something wrong with him, but because I wanted to stop feeling this way. I wanted to get rid of the helplessness that came with being too afraid to admit how I felt.

It wasn't just cowardice. It was this gut-deep fear that telling him would ruin everything. That he'd laugh, or worse, pity me.

It was hard not to believe my looks would get in the way again.

My brother had done a pretty good job convincing me no one would ever find me remotely attractive. And even though people constantly told me otherwise-even though I was often considered one of the prettiest girls in class despite not being a size zero-I still doubted it.

I always wore dresses that flattered my curves, mostly pastel shades, adorned with bows and lace, romantic and vintage all at once. I turned heads, sure.

But emotional scars from abuse don't fade so easily.

And throughout the day, while I got ready for Lucas's 24th birthday party, all those thoughts clung to me like fog.

Love, insecurity, courage-they tangled in my mind like a web I couldn't escape from. And as I stared at myself in the mirror, I knew the choice to untangle it all rested entirely in my hands.

The door creaked open, and I jumped slightly. My roommate stepped in, eyes widening as she took in my appearance.

"Damn, Liv!" Natália whistled. "If I were single, I'd hit on you." She winked, and I gave her a shy, sheepish smile.

Compliments were always hard for me to take, even though I heard them often.

"Do you think I overdid it?" I smoothed down a wrinkle in the black velvet dress. It had a slit on the right thigh and a plunging neckline that showed just enough.

"With the Salvatores? Honestly, you might be underdressed." Nat pulled a worn-out pack of cigarettes from her bag and tossed it onto the bed, leaning by the window to light one.

I frowned, worried at her words, but she just shrugged and went on, "You look amazing, seriously. They're just over the top. I mean, people say Lucas's mom is weird."

"Everyone says that. I still think it might be an exaggeration," I said, slipping on a pair of black heels and placing a matching headband delicately on my head.

The truth is, I didn't know what to think about Lucas's family. Unlike most wealthy families, they were very private.

No tabloid drama, no scandals, not even a single juicy rumor. They would be completely anonymous-if they didn't practically fund the entire university.

That was part of what made me so nervous about tonight. That, and the fact that I'd chosen this party as the moment I would finally tell Lucas how I felt.

So, I spent the whole day getting ready. I put on my best outfit and mentally rehearsed every word of my carefully planned confession.

On the ride there, I kept reciting my speech in my head, trying not to forget anything important. But the moment the driver pulled up to the Salvatore estate's front gate, it was like my brain went numb.

Security checked my name on the list and pointed me toward the path leading to the house. For a second, I genuinely thought I'd arrived at a second university campus- it was that massive.

It took a few minutes to walk the stone path, and let me tell you, walking in stilettos was not helping.

As soon as I heard the thump of bass-heavy music, I knew I was close.

I entered through a side entrance-far from the main doors of the mansion-where a few staff members were welcoming guests. And then I understood what Nat had meant.

Everything was... extravagant. Loud colors, ornate chandeliers, bold and even bizarre decor. Irregular geometric shapes, provocative art hanging on the walls.

Yet the paintings stood out. They were beautiful in a way that clashed with everything else- subtle colors dulled by harsh lighting, yet they pulsed with emotion, each brushstroke soaked in a kind of raw, passionate energy.

I stood there, transfixed, completely absorbed by the naked honesty in the images, one depicting love in its most vulnerable, unfiltered form.

The room grew warmer and more crowded with every passing second. I felt out of place, surrounded by strangers, my nerves prickling.

And then I saw him.

Continue Reading

You'll also like

One Night With My Billionaire Boss

One Night With My Billionaire Boss

Nathaniel Stone
5.0

I woke up on silk sheets that smelled of expensive cedar and cold sandalwood, a world away from my cramped apartment in Brooklyn. Beside me lay Ezra Gardner—my boss, the billionaire CEO of Gardner Holdings, and the man who could end my career with a snap of his fingers. He didn’t offer an apology for the night before; instead, he looked at me with terrifying clarity and proposed a cold, calculated business arrangement. "Marriage. It stabilizes the board and solves the PR crisis before it begins." He dressed me in archival Chanel and sent me home in his Maybach, but my life was already falling apart. My boyfriend, Irving, claimed he had passed out early, yet his location data placed him at my best friend’s apartment until three in the morning. When I tried to run, I realized Ezra was already ten steps ahead, tracking my movements and uncovering the secret I’d spent twenty years hiding: my connection to the powerful Senator Grimes. I was trapped between a CEO who treated me like a line item on a quarterly report and a boyfriend who had been using me while sleeping with my closest friend. I felt like a pawn in a game I didn't understand, wondering why a man like Ezra would walk up forty flights of stairs on a broken leg just to make sure I was safe. "Showtime, Mrs. Gardner." Standing on the red carpet in a gown that cost more than my life, I watched my cheating ex-boyfriend’s face turn pale as Ezra claimed me in front of the world. I wasn't just an assistant anymore; I was a weapon, and it was time to burn their world down.

Revealing My Secret Identities! My Bros Are Speechless!

Revealing My Secret Identities! My Bros Are Speechless!

Zhen Xiang
5.0

For seventeen years, I was the crown jewel of the Kensington empire, the perfect daughter groomed for a royal future. Then, a cream-colored envelope landed in my lap, bearing a gold crest and a truth that turned my world into ice. The DNA test result was a cold, hard zero percent-I wasn't a Kensington. Before the ink could even dry, my parents invited my replacement, a girl named Alleen, into the drawing room and treated me like a trespasser in my own home. My mother, who once hosted galas in my honor, wouldn't even look me in the eye as she stroked Alleen's arm, whispering that she was finally "safe." My father handed me a one-million-dollar check-a mere tip for a billionaire-and told me to leave immediately to avoid tanking the company's stock price. "You're a thief! You lived my life, you spent my money, and you don't get to keep the loot!" Alleen shrieked, trying to claw the designer jacket off my shoulders while my "parents" watched with clinical detachment. I was dumped on a gritty sidewalk in Queens with nothing but three trunks and the address of a struggling laborer I was now supposed to call "Dad." I traded a marble mansion for a crumbling walk-up where the air smelled of exhaust and my new bedroom was a literal storage closet. My biological family thought I was a broken princess, and the Kensingtons thought they had successfully erased me with a payoff and a non-disclosure agreement. They had no idea that while I was hauling trunks up four flights of stairs, my secret media empire was already preparing to move against them. As I sat on a thin mattress in the dark, I opened my encrypted laptop and sent a single command that would cost my former father ten million dollars by breakfast. They thought they were throwing me to the wolves, but they forgot one thing: I'm the one who leads the pack.

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book