“Radev?” I stammer, not meaning to say it out loud.
“What was that, Pixie?” he says, setting me down with a thump onto the large sofa-like seat. I try to stand up, but he pushes me back down, and in the blink of an eye, he's snapped a handcuff over my wrist.
“Anton Radev!” I blurt out, giving up on holding back my surprise.
“In the flesh,” he says, but I can see he’s not too pleased that I caught his real name.
“Now I know what’s going on!” I snap.
“And what is it that’s going on?” he asks, casually leaning over me to check that the cuff is on tight enough.
“You tried to kidnap my friend. You’re the Belovs' number-one enemy, and now that you can’t get to Kayla anymore, you think you can use me as leverage against Josiah! That’s your plan. To use me to negotiate something from Josiah,” I blurt out, knowing I’m right.
Except, when he laughs, I doubt myself.
He sits opposite me and lets his eyes drag slowly over me. I become very self-aware under his intense gaze and wrap my free arm around my stomach self-consciously.
“Actually, no. My plan is taking you back home, tomyhome, and make you my wife,” he says with a glimmer ofamusement in his eyes. I can see by the way his expression changes that he’s intrigued to see my reaction.
I try to speak, but the words trip up in my mouth.
“You’re, what, for how, excuse me, when?” I stammer knowing full well that I’m not making the least bit of sense.
Thatdoesn’tmake sense at all. Marry me? Why? What will that help? It won’t help anything! Why in the world would that be his plan?
He’s just studying me now. Maybe even savoring my shock. Anger quickly replaces all other emotions. The audacity of this man is too much to bear. I can’t believe he would even think of doing something so completely ridiculous.
A slow, dark smile touches his lips as his eyes half-close, studying me even closer.
The anger surges.
“What do you want!” I demand, glaring at him.
“You—as my wife,” he says casually.
“I’m not marrying you,” I scoff, half laughing, half shouting, still in total disbelief.
“Yes, actually, you will marry me, Izabel.”
“No,actually, I won’t marry you, Anton.”
His eyes flare. Something devilish and dangerous fires up in him. For a moment, I feel fear. Intense fear, wondering what this man is capable of just from the expression on his face.
But I refuse to back down. He can’t make me do this.
I’ve been battling against my brother’s control all my life, and I won’t escape that to be thrown straight into the control of this man!
Chapter 5 - Anton
Fuck's sake, she was not supposed to find out who I actually am until after signing the damn marriage certificate. It only makes it more complicated, and now she’s in full rage mode, arguing with me about how this is never going to happen.
Sure, the plan wasn’t ever to force her to marry me. Why the hell would I have wanted that? It has nothing to do with anything regarding Josiah.
But after watching her for this past week and after seeing her untamed, wild, and ferocious spirit,I want her, and I will have her.
That’s the bottom line. There is no negotiation here.
She will be mine.
