Unlike what Samuel expected when he led Lena to his room, the princess didn't make the first move to enter. Instead, she stood to the side with her tightly at her sides as she stared down the fall they had just came from. A short nod indicated her expectation that he would enter the space ahead of her.

Not seeing as reason to rebuff this silent expecation, Samuel opened the door and entered the room. The cool air that greeted him instantly made him feel like he could breathe. Tugging the tie around his neck, he loosened it as he turned to face Lena.Now that they were alone, he no longer needed to worry about keeping up his professional appearance. At least not until he had to go back out and face the room full of his now official family later.

The princess had silently closed the door behind them. One foot rested against the sold wood of the door as she leaned back against it. Arms crossed as she assessed Samuel. Lust clouded the corners of her eyes but she made no move to act on it.

"You were the one who said that you wanted to talk." Lena broke the silence first. Her voice was still rough from their intense makeout session mere moments ago.

"Or did you suddenly change your mind now that we're alone and decide you're still going to stare at me?" The sharp, unwelcoming edge to the tone of her voice broke whatever spelling she'd put on Samuel earlier. Blinking, the newly inducted Mafia boss stared at Lena for a moment longer. Turning to sit at the edge of the bed, he used the few seconds to try and collect his thoughts.

"You say I'm yours but you sent me away." If Samuel's words fazed her, Lena didn't show it. She only fixed him with her piercing stare as though she expected him to say more.

"In any normal relationship-"

"There's nothing normal about our relationship, Sammy." Lena cut in.

"You were thrown not only into an arranged but one that lead into a dark world you know nothing about. You chatter on about normal this and normal that because you don't know anything else." Pushing away from the door, Lena closed the space between them as she continued talking."It's only by some fucked up twist of fate your mother was a Vedova Nera. That alone isn't enough to protect you from getting killed. Even by someone who claims."

"And would you have actually shot me?" Samuel challenged as he sat up straighter on the bed.

The cold, unreadable look returned to Lena's eyes as she stared Samuel down.

"I think I already showed what the answer to that question would be." Samuel shook his head in obvious disagreement.

"No, I think you would have come to your senses." Samuel grabbed for Lena's arm.

Although he would've liked to believe he had the strength to pull her over on his own, he knew better.

Still, he didn't waste the opportunity to pin her underneath him.

"What I believe..." Samuel trailed off, his voice dropping to a low husky whisper.

"Is that you couldn't bring yourself to shoot me and that scared you even more." Samuel's words caused something dark to pass through the princess's eyes. Had he hit the nail on the head?

"I said it once before and I'll say it again - your naive approach will get you killed." It didn't take Lena much if any effort to flip them over.

Samuel had pinned her more as an act than with the intent to keep her down. A touch of disappointment coursed through him however at not getting the chance to take advantage of the prior position.

Lena wasn't quite as gentle when it came to holding Samuel down. There was a point to be proven that left no room for gentleness.

The small voice at the back of Lena's head started to chide her before she even opened her mouth.

The princess ignored it as she kept her hard gaze focused on Samuel.

"Sam, I think you forget that I didn't want anything to do with you from the start. There is no room for fearing for someone else's safety when you didn't care about them in the first place." With each passing word, the warning voice got louder.

"Even without a gun, it wouldn't take much for me to hurt you. In fact, you couldn't even stop me if you wanted to."

This was not the Conversation she was supposed to be having. These words were not the ones she'd rehearsed saying only hours before.

Yet, she as usual, her mouth ran before her mind could catch up to it. Except unlike usual, the stakes were much higher in this situation.

The mental clutter took so much of Lena's attention that she almost missed Samuel speaking until she caught his lips moving.

"You say all of those things but they don't match your actions, Lena." The way her name rolled of his lips and the smug expression on his face ignited a dark fire inside the princess.

She would be going to hell for what she did next but she had no fucks left to give.

lightsΝοvel "When are you going to acknowledge that you're lying to even yourself at this point?" Samuel continued, unaware or uncaring about the change in Lena.

"Is it to such a point you can't even-" Samuel's words were cut off as Lena's lips crashed down on his in a searing kiss. Lust took over taunts but couldn't distract from punishing harshness of Lena's assault on his mouth.

"I think when we are done tonight, you will be the one to realize you're lying to yourself." Lena's words came low and in a breathless harsh tone. Her eyes glowed once more with a darkness that promised pain.

Rather than pushing away however, Samuel found himself eager to see if Lena would follow through on her promise. He certainly had no plan for making that easy for her.