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The silence seems to go on and on. My nerve-endings stretch so tightly, I’m sure I am going to scream any moment. My mouth dries. My throat feels itchy. And still, he doesn’t speak. Damn it, why doesn’t he say something…anything?
"Axel," I burst out, "forget what I said. It was a moment of madness. It was a stupid suggest. It was—"
"Yes."
"Eh?" I blink rapidly, "What did you say?"
"I said, I’ll marry you."
My pulse rate ratchets up. The blood pounds at my temples. "Wh…what?"
"I’ll marry you, Sunshine," his eyes gleam, "on one condition."
I try to speak, but no words emerge. I open and shut my mouth, then settle for staring at him.
"Don’t you want to know what the condition is?" he murmurs.
I shake my head. Whatever it is, it can’t be good. Of course, a man like Axel wouldn’t just agree to something, not unless he gets something out of it. It wouldn’t be enough for him to simply marry me. He’d have to milk the situation for his benefit.
"Lost your courage?" His grin widens. "Doesn’t matter. I have enough for the both of us. I’ll marry you, so long as," he turns to Michael, "I get an equal stake in theCosa Nostrabusiness."
Luca makes a noise at the back of his throat. The rest of the men stare at him like he has lost his mind.
Only Michael doesn't react, then he tilts his head. "Each of the brothers, me included, gets a portion of the profits from theCosa Nostra. You, too, will receive yours."
"You'd share the profits with him?" Luca snaps. "Thisstronzohasn't done anything to warrant it."
"He's one of us," Michael says calmly, "he's entitled to a share of the proceeds."
"He hasn’t taken the risks we have." Luca leans forward on the balls of his feet. "He didn't help build the business. He hasn't earned his share."
"He will," Michael fixes Luca with a hard stare.
"There's one more thing," Axel drawls. "I want a seat on the board of the cryptocurrency venture."
"The board of Trinity only has three representatives, one each from the Cosa Nostra, the Bratva, and the Kane Company," Seb points out.
"Not my problem," Axel raises a shoulder. "That’s my price for marrying her."
A hot sensation stabs at my chest. Am I so repugnant that he needs to be paid to marry me? What was I thinking, asking him to be my husband, in the first place? I knew he wasn’t like Xander, but maybe somewhere, deep inside, I had hoped that he shared, at least, some of the tenderness that had attracted me to Xander. Perhaps my sub-conscience has been clinging to the hope that Axel really is Xander returned to me. Maybe I had hoped that he’d not only agree to marry me, but that he’d also confess he felt something more than lust for me. Had I mistaken how he’d touched me last night? Had I mistaken our chemistry for something more?
I lock my fingers together, "What makes you think you have the power to negotiate when, really, it doesn’t matter to them if you marry me or not?"
"You sure about that?" He shoots a glance at Michael, "The Don wants to see you happy, Theresa. You are under his protection, after all. And he, more than anyone, knows that both partners need to willingly enter matrimony for the other person in the marriage to be happy. So," he raises his shoulder, "you see, I very much hold the power in this negotiation."
"She’s not a commodity to be bargained over, you fucktard," Luca growls.
Axel grins. "Developing a conscience, are we?" He moves to stand by me, so he’s facing the rest of his brothers. "Let’s not forget how Michael kidnapped his bride and forced her to marry him, or how Christian held his bride-to-be captive until she agreed to be his. Seems I am only following in the footsteps of my older brothers by putting down a price for this transaction."
Michael opens his mouth to speak, but Axel raises his hand, "Before you ask, yes, more events from the past have filtered into my memory, though in this particular case, it was one of the household staff gossiping that cued me in to just how screwed up my blood family really is."
The tension in the room ratchets up.
"You're treading a dangerous line, little brother." Michael widens his stance. "My magnanimity with you will go only so far; don't push it. You won't like the consequences, just like the household staff are about to find out."
Axel and Michael engage in a staring match. I squeeze my eyes shut.
Transaction?He called me a transaction.
