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“You better fuckingnotsay that,” I say, mortified.
“They’d have my head.” He smirks and I want to slap that look off his face. “Which means you need to be more than a mistress. You have to be something serious, something worth the fight. You have to be mywife. That’s the only way you can stay here until we can solve the problem of your ex-husband.”
“So what, we just tell everyone we’re married? I can sleep in one of these rooms, I’m sure you have like fifty spares, and we’ll play the game?”
He shakes his head slowly. “That won’t work.”
“Why not?” Frustration bubbles up in my chest. “Why do you have to make this harder than it needs to be?”
“Because my enemies arehere, in my house, in my family. If anyone realizes what we’re doing is fake, all of this crumbles to the ground. Not only do we have to get married, but we have to play the part. If you think they won’t start digging into everything about us—” He comes toward me, walking slowly, eyes burning into mine with bottomless passion. “Which means you stay in my room. You sleep in my bed. You kiss me in the morning and act like you like it. You moan when I grab your ass—”
“You’renotgrabbing anything,” I say, blinking at him rapidly, the truth of my situation becoming extremely clear.
“We’re making this as real as we can, asteraki mu. There will be paperwork. There might be a small ceremony. You are not a good enough actress to do it for pretend.”
“But I’m not divorced from Christopher.”
I wave a that away. “I have a friend name Gareth. He’ll take care of the legalities.”
“This is insane.” I turn away from him and stomp inside. He follows at a distance. “I can’t marry you. I don’t even know you. I don’t evenlikeyou.”
“You like it when my mouth is between your legs. What else do you need?”
“Don’t be an asshole.” I turn on him, anger flaring again. “Do you have any idea how hard this is for me? I ran from one abusive relationship only to end up in the mansion of some rich Greek gangster and I’m supposed to suck it up and marry you? And oh, yeah, you have all these enemies, and I have to be your wife or my fucking ex-husband is going to hunt me down, becauseyou punched him in the faceand told him I’m yours, which I didnotagree to, and—”
“Camille,” he says, coming toward me.
I click my teeth closed, breathing hard, hands clenched. I feel dizzy, overwhelmed, and it occurs to me dimly that I’m freaking out as the weight of my situation falls down on my shoulders like anvils.
I stagger away from him, over toward the couches, and manage to catch myself on the arm of a chair before I collapse.
He’s at my side in an instant, sitting me down, murmuring calming words in Greek. I have no clue what he’s saying, and I don’t want him to touch me, but sweat breaks out across my body and my heart’s hammering so hard I can hear it trying to break out through my ears, and oh my god, I’m trapped in this place with a man I barely know, and I don’t know how I’m going to get away.
“Camille,” he says softly, kneeling by my side. “Asteraki mu, it’s going to be okay. Everything will be okay. We will marry, but it doesn’t have to be forever. You’re safe here.”
“That’s the problem,” I say, squeezing my eyes shut. “I don’t want to be trapped here.”
He strokes my cheek gently. “You have no other choice.” Which is not exactly the best thing to say, but he stands and moves away. “Take your time and gather your thoughts. I have some calls to make.”
“Where are you going?”
“Into my office. It’s only across the hall.”
“And what am I supposed to do?”
“Stay put. Donotleave this room. Nobody will bother you so long as you’re in here, but if you step outside—” He shakes his head. “For now, please stay here. Once we have everything straightened out, the grounds will be yours to explore as you see fit, and I will assign a guard and a car to take you anywhere you need to go. Only please, follow my instructions until then.”
“Great, so not only am I trapped in this place, but it’s like shark-infested water if I go out that door.” I lean forward, face in my hands. “How did I end up here?”
“You ran into the wrong man at the right time.” The door opens and he pauses before leaving. “Soon, you will be my wife, and then everything will be okay.”
And the door closes, leaving me alone.
Chapter18
Evander
Ilean back in my leather chair and watch Lycus pace back and forth in front of my desk. “You lost your mind,” he says, shaking his head. “Seriously, bro, you lost your fucking mind.”
