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It was easy to see by the hard expression remaining on her face what she was thinking. Maybe hating me was in her best interest.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you need to understand that often the consequences are too late. In the case with my brother, he was found. You have no idea how many family members aren’t. I don’t want you to ever face the kind of terror my brother did because of ignoring the rules because you hate me. I’m not a good man, Maria, something you already know. However, I’d hoped to make your life at least tolerable if not more. I can see other methods will need to be used.”
“What does that mean?”
“It simply means you’re going to learn to obey me. Now, we are going home. You can either walk out of here with me or I’ll take you out. It’s entirely up to you.” I could see the flash of hatred in her eyes just as I’d seen several times before, but it meant bringing and keeping her in a safe place, then she could hate me all she wanted.
“You’re such a bastard.”
“I am but I have a perfectly good reason to be and that includes the need to protect my wife. If you need more proof as to the reason why, other than the fact I was almost killed, here it is.” I pulled out the photograph, lifting it in front of her.
There was no reaction this time, no sense of any emotion whatsoever. But I could feel her angst increasing, the hatred of the life she’d obviously fought hard to escape. Well, there would be no chance for that now.
“Take a good look at this, my lovely bride. Someone wants to take you away from me and that will not happen. I will do everything in my power to protect you but won’t be able to do that if you dare attempt to leave again. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
“Yes. You’re trying to scare me.”
The laugh erupting from my chest was a telling of the man hiding behind the mask of civility for far too long. “You will not escape me, Maria. Where you run, I will follow. Those who try and take you away will face harsh punishment.”
She glared at me with such defiance and determination that I only wanted her that much more. Her scent was intoxicating but it was her unbridled need to break free from the ugliness of her personal dungeon she’d placed herself in that was such a tremendous draw. And dear God, I wanted to consume every inch of her.
“You’ll never break me,” she whispered as if reading my mind.
“I’m not trying to break you, my beautiful pet. I’m simply telling you the truth. This is our reality. It’s not going to change. The best I can do is promise to protect you, and I will, but that comes with a price: the loss of some freedom. For you, it means until I can trust that you fully comprehend you now belong to me, you will be secured inside my home.”
“As your prisoner.”
“Call it what you will.”
“A prison,” she snarked.
“You might not choose to believe me, Maria, but running away placed both our lives in further danger. They will stop at nothing to get to me through you.”
“Who are they?”
I half laughed. “While it’s yet to be confirmed, an enemy that decided to invade my family’s territory.”
“Why? Because of your charming personality I would assume.”
“Because I refused to allow my sister to be forced into a marriage with a barbarian.”
Her features softened but only briefly. “Unlike me.”
“You agreed to this. You signed the contract. Yes?” When she tried to look away, I grabbed her jaw, jerking it forward. “Do you know how horrible I would have felt if I’d lost you?”
Her jaw remained clenched and she pressed her hand against my chest, doing her best to break the connection. “Why?”
“Because I actually give a damn about you.”
“That changes nothing.”
The crack between us was widening. Maybe that’s the way it needed to be, although she would learn that she had no choice but to follow my rules or she’d face daily punishment. “Do you also understand that you will be punished for your actions?”
She eased from her chair, very slowly lifting her head. “Yes. But I would and will do it again.”
“And you’ll be punished after every. Single. Time. It’s time to take you home.”
