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His features hardened. “That about sums it up, yes.”
So, great. Not only was he stealing her entire future, he was demanding that she be happy and respectful about it. Righteous indignation flowed through her veins and it only pissed her off more that she couldn’t allow it to show. On top of that, she didn’t trust him, and that was a worry that was digging at her. Ignoring the voice in her head to shut it up, she asked, “Can you answer one last question—simply to make me feel better? Do you promise, do you swear right now while looking me in the eye that if I made the decision to go home right now, you’d put me on a plane?”
A glimmer of something hit his eyes and he seemed to stall—almost imperceptibly—before answering. “Absolutely, love.”
His answer only made her tense. Why had he paused? There was no question—that pause had been telling—shit. Would he let her go or not? Some part of her needed to know that he’d let her go if she made that choice. It would calm her down while she was here—allow her to feel she had some control. But she didn’t believe him, not really. But she also didn’t want to know the truth, not if she had no way out. She wanted to hide behind the word choice. What did it matter anyway? She wouldn’t allow her family to be hurt if she had the means to stop it. All at once, refusing to put off the inevitable, she flattened her lips and held out her hand as if to seal a deal.
When he glanced down at her outstretched palm, Erin realized her fingers were shaking. Slowly, his grip engulfed hers, swallowing her palm in his much larger one. “There’s no reason to look so alarmed, love. I mean you no harm.”
God, she didn’t trust him, so how could she still want to go to bed with him so badly? “You’re the enemy of my family.”
His thumb began rubbing the palm of her hand in a slow, circular pattern. “That is true—but I’m not your enemy—and that is a distinction you will soon learn to appreciate.”
“Can you blame me for feeling apprehensive?” she questioned. “I’m in a foreign country, married to a man who despises my family, being held here by coercion.”
“That is all true—but you are here now, with me. I am your family now—not your enemy. The path ahead is what you make of it, your choice. The sooner you come to terms with your future—our future, together—the better it will be for both of us.”
So, that was it. This man, practically a stranger, was going to be the center of her life now whether she agreed or not? “Why for both of us? You seem to have what you want.”
“Do I?” His eyes dropped and landed on her lips before coming back to search hers once again. “Revenge isn’t uppermost in my mind at present and I certainly don’t intend to dwell on it.”
His gaze dropped briefly to her breasts before lifting to her eyes again. “Now, I want you. Without that hint of fear I see in your eyes . . . I want you to acknowledge that the chemistry we have is enough to rock the Richter scale. I want you to melt hot and wet around me every time I touch you.” His thumb began caressing her palm, the heat in his eyes messing with her insides. “Nothing else needs to concern you—you certainly don’t need to be afraid—as long as you don’t purposely antagonize me. I want you to concede that you’re mine and more than that—I want you to understand that I’ll take care of you, in every possible way, and I’ll annihilate anything that stands in the way of your happiness.”
She was in danger of hyperventilating, thinking things through. He thought it was that simple to be happy? But how could she be? She blew out a breath and said, “I can tell you now—making my brothers suffer is going to screw with my happiness.”
His lips twisted as if that small fact were inevitable.
As he remained silent, she slowly took a ragged breath. He wasn’t asking for much, was he? “So that’s the deal? I surrender my life to you and in return you’ll slay my dragons?”
His eyes glinted with appreciation of her understanding—or was it another hint of warning? “Yes, sweetness, that’s it entirely,” he shot back, his fingers tightening around hers. “Your life is mine. I want you to understand that I’m your family now—I’m the one in control of your happiness. And trust me, love, you will be happy. And in return I’ll stand in the way of anything or anyone who tries to hurt you.”
Erin watched closely as his thumb traced the lifeline on the palm of her hand. Listening to his speech, she felt a wave of longing mix with the angst she was feeling. She was feminine enough to feel a shower of sparks crackle through her veins. Wasn’t that every woman’s dream? For a man to want to take care of her? To have her back against the rest of the world? It all sounded pretty freaking wonderful—totally tempting—if only his motivation wasn’t to make her family suffer. If her siblings’ emotions and welfare didn’t come into play, she’d probably be crawling on Max’s lap even now, asking where to sign.
