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I toyed with my hair and then checked my earrings, anything to avoid his question.
His hand snaked underneath my hair, gripped hard, and pulled my head back. His lips grazed across my cheek. In the shell of my ear, he growled, “So much pride. You won’t admit it.”
I quickly suppressed the moan trying to claw its way out of my throat.
“No,” I hissed. “You don’t deserve it.”
“I could slip my fingers between your luscious thighs and find out for myself just how much you missed me,” he threatened. Instantly, my thighs clamped shut.
He yanked at my hair.
“Yield,” he demanded.
“Never!” I sneered back at him. “You may have saved Cristo, but I’m still forced to marry you, and I resent it.”
He brought my face closer to his and snarled, “Who’s forcing you to marry me? Your parents?”
Shoving my face closer, I gritted out, “You. My parents are acting like it’s a done deal.”
“Oh, baby, I had to tell Alex that I’d marry you to give Nelu the money to pay off his debt for Cristo, but I gave you my word. I won’t marry you until you beg me to.”
I stopped breathing. He’d completed every one of the tasks I’d set out for him and given me complete power over my future. No one had ever done that for me.
“You lied to your brother for me? He’ll be furious,” I observed.
He shrugged. “It’s nothing I can’t handle. Anyway, I have one more thing for you…”
He released my hair. Leaning back, I eyed him speculatively and asked, “Oh, and what is that?”
“I got you into Barnard for the fall,” he stated succinctly.
My pulse pounded hard. “I’m sorry, I thought I heard you say you got me into Barnard.”
“That’s right. I have an associate who knows someone who knows someone…” He waved his hand. “You’d be surprised what money can buy. Long story short, I got you on the top of the waiting list when, lo and behold, a student withdrew and now you’re in.”
I shook my head slightly. “I-I didn’t even apply,” I stammered out.
“I got your SAT scores, which were impressive by the way, and your grades. The rest…well, I may have written your essays and completed the application for you. Oh, and you have an interview next week. It’s a requirement for your attendance, but I’m confident you’ll pass with flying colors. I’ve received the list of questions the interviewer uses off her computer.”
My jaw dropped as he nonchalantly pulled out his phone and poked at it.
“You hacked into the school computers?”
Without responding to my question, he replied, “I emailed them to you.”
My brain was reeling, trying to process everything. He’d given me everything I asked for and then some. It didn’t have to do with my family or our marriage or our relationship. It was solely for me and my happiness.
Stunned, I blinked my eyes.
I licked my dry lips. His eyes snapped to them again.
“How much money?” I croaked out.
“That’s none of your concern. You’re not indebted to me. Consider it a wedding gift, if you like,” he teased with a wink. “You wanted me to prove that I love you, that I see you, that I know what makes you tick, that I’ll go to any length for you? There it is. I want you to be happy, with or without me.” He lifted his index finger. “That was by no means an admission of defeat. I’ll do anything for you, kitten. I’ll lavish you with my love. Oh, and I also have this,” he pulled out a black velvet box. “To request your hand the right way.”
I was already shaking my head in denial when he dropped to one knee and propped it open. It was a gorgeous, and huge, solitaire in a delicate four-prong setting with a tapered platinum band.
“I thought you said you’d wait until I begged you.”
