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Julian curls his lip and presses his fists into the mattress as he leers toward me.
“Don’t tempt me, Elena. I’m not a good man, and if you give me an inch, I will take a fucking mile. I want you, and it doesn’t matter to me how I obtain you. But mark my words, next time you taunt me, I’ll take what I want, and I won’t stop.”
All I can do is nod, telling him that I understand. The warning is clear, blinking a bright neon sign. He won’t let me get away again if I can’t keep my mouth shut.
Curling up, I pull the comforter over me and wait for him to join me in the bed. The only thing I don’t understand is why he wants me in the first place? He says he wants rough sex, but also that I can’t give him what he wants. If that’s so, then why am I here at all? Why does he want to marry me?14JulianThoughts of last night swirl around inside my head like fish in a fishbowl. I shouldn’t have touched her, taunted her, or let her get under my skin, but there was no way around it. She is too naive for her own good. All but telling me to take her, reminding me that I paid for her—like I could forget.
Too much pent-up need combined with the alcohol in my system made it hard for me to control myself, and that’s why I snapped.
I wanted her, wanted her so bad, and yet I talked myself off the cliff’s edge.
All I could see was her fear reflecting back at me. It hit me right in the chest and made it hard for me to breathe. I couldn’t bring myself to continue, to hurt her, even though I knew soon enough, I would do just that. But a selfish part of me wanted to continue, wanted to take a taste, even against her wishes.
Sex would come soon enough, and me fingering her, will be the least of her worries.
As if she could hear my thoughts, Elena stirs beside me. Her eyes flutter open, and her head turns to see if I’m here or not. Apart from last night, I’ve held her every night since she got here. I couldn’t bring myself to do so yesterday.
Turning away, I disappear into the closet to get dressed. When I return, she is still in bed, the blanket pulled up to her chest, and her big blue eyes watching me like I’m a predator who is about to jump her.
She’s not wrong.
“Get dressed, we’ll have breakfast together on the terrace.”
That makes her perk up a little. She throws the blanket off her delicate body and scurries passed me and into the closet. A few moments later, she returns dressed in a casual outfit of jeans and a T-shirt. I’m half-tempted to tell her to put a dress on just so I can see her in one, but that will happen soon enough.
Plus, I don’t know that I can handle an argument with her this early in the day.
Taking her hand into mine, I walk at a more even pace so that she can keep up. She walks beside me silently, and when we reach the terrace, she lets out a low sigh. I hear her intake of breath and look over at her, watching as she sucks fresh air into her lungs and smiles.
She wasn’t made to be caged, it’s obvious, but letting her be free isn’t an option in our world. Not right now and maybe not ever.
We sit down, and I can already see her eyeing the fresh papaya I had ordered just for her. I know it’s her favorite. My spies kept me well informed about all her likes and dislikes. I wonder if she has noticed that there is always something on the menu that she is fond of.
As I expected, she reaches for the fruit first, then adds some yogurt and granola to her plate. I fill my own up with an omelet before I pour both of us a glass a fresh-pressed orange juice. I watch her take a few small bites, then decide it’s time to fill her in on our weekend plans.
“There is an event this Saturday. You will accompany me to it.”
The fork slips out of her hand and lands against the plate with a loud clunk. Her eyes go wide as she looks up at me.
“Y-you’re taking me out?” I don’t miss the excitement and hopefulness in her voice. Something about it pleases me. Knowing she is happy to go out with me means everything is going according to plan.
“Yes, it’s an auction. Your father and all of our business associates will be there. Everyone will see you by my side.”
Her face falls, the twinkle in her eyes that was there a moment ago vanishes faster than it appeared.
