Page 102 of Drawn Together

“Sit down,” he said, trying to hide his fury.

I did as he said because I knew that my father was about to return, and I needed to understand what the hell made this son of a bitch think he had the right to treat me as if I were a fucking piece of meat.

He released me and took another sip of his drink.

“I’m going to be very clear,” he said, setting the glass back on the table. “I want you to be mine.”

I would’ve laughed out loud if I hadn’t seen how serious he was. Did this man have mental problems?

“That’s great that you have things you want, asshole, but welcome to the twenty-first century. Women are no longer goods to be purchased, understand?”

He didn’t seem offended by my insult. Just the opposite, in fact. I got the feeling he was amused by me standing up to him, as if no woman had ever dared to do so before.

“Anything can be bought for the right price, Marfil.”

“Do you think I want or need your stupid money?”

“Maybe you don’t, but your father does.”

I stared at him, trying to understand what he was saying. Just then, the waiter brought the food, and I had to swallow back bile. I looked around for Sebastian, my father, anyone. I needed to get out of there, to erase that conversation from my mind, but another part of me wanted to know more.

“Do you know who my father is, how much he’s worth? He would never use me to get anything. You’re being ridiculous.”

“Doyoueven know whoIam?”

“A sexist asshole who thinks he’s king of the world?” I would’ve been proud of my response if it hadn’t been for the consequences.

He grabbed my hand and tugged it under the table.

“If you insult me again,” he said, twisting my hand so hard I gasped in pain, “you’ll have eight fingers instead of ten for the rest of your life.”

“Let go of me,” I said as tears sprang to my eyes. I don’t know why the hell I didn’t scream, why I didn’t shout for help, why I didn’t take off running.

Sebastian would kill him… Sebastian, where the hell was he?

“There’s no one here to save you. I’ll be the one in charge of you from now on, do you understand?” He dug his fingernails into my wrist with so much force that I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming.

“You can’t—”

“A person with a lot of money usually also has a lot of debts. And that can create dangerous enemies,” he continued, smiling as if telling an amusing anecdote over brunch with friends. “It’s like a house of cards: one card falls, it all collapses. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”

“I want you to stop hurting me,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Oh, I’m sorry. All you had to do was ask.”

I let out the breath I had been holding in, cradling my hand against my body.

“Your life, your father’s life, your adorable little sister’s life, all depend on me now,” he calmly explained. “I’m lending a hand out of the kindness of my heart. Your father and mine are old friends—they’ve been doing business together for I don’t even know how many years, and you know the best part? I’ve only asked for one thing in return,” he went on, turning to me. “You.”

“My father would never…”

“Oh, please! Let’s not talk about the things your father would do, princess. We’d be here for centuries.”

“What does that mean?”

Before he could answer, my father returned, smiling as if he’d come to close the best deal of his life. “You didn’t need to wait for me to start eating.”

“Dad…” I said in a trembling voice, turning to face him.