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“Good. Now you have a fitting for your wedding gown tomorrow. I've arranged for the dressmakers to come here instead of allowing you out since you seem to have an issue with that. You will act accordingly.” I nod my head as I feel Tarek’s eyes burning through me. Suddenly they’re gone, and when I look at him, I see they are directed at my dad instead.
“Where do you need me today?” Tarek finally asks.
“We’ll discuss the issues with Dodger, and then you’ll be with her,” he says, nodding toward me. Tarek nods, never looking back at me before following my dad toward his office. My heart hammers in my chest as I watch them go. This shouldn’t be happening. Tarek shouldn’t be here, and yet he is.
I finish walking down the stairs and head for the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. When I step inside, Issac is there. I ignore him and grab a bottle from the refrigerator before heading to my room again; only I don’t make it that far. Issac steps in front of me, blocking the only exit from the kitchen with his large frame.
“I hear you’re getting new security,” he says as he gazes down at me.
“That’s what I’m told.”
“You don’t like it?” he asks, tilting his head slightly to look at me.
“It’s fine. I just don’t think I need security to have a wedding dress fitted.” He smiles, and it almost seems genuine, although I know the monster below the surface.
“It isn’t just for that purpose, Pierson. It’s more than that. You’re to be married to me, and that alone poses threats. Not to mention the threats already out there due to your father.”
“And the one that stands in front of me?” I question him. I shouldn’t have said it, but something about having Tarek so close makes me want to talk back and be my true self. I shouldn’t be so stupid, and that thought hits me harder when Issac wraps his hand around my throat and pushes me back against the wall, just as he did earlier.
“Why do you like to push me, Pierson?” he asks, his lips brushing over mine. Vomit burns the back of my throat as I look him in the eye.
“You’re all evil. You don’t want a wife; you want a punching bag,” I say firmly.
“Is that what you think?”
“That’s exactly what I think.”
“Then you’d be wrong, Pierson. So very wrong. What I want is someone to spend my life with. Someone who can have my children, raise my family and empire.”
“A pawn,” I tell him. His lips curl into a half smile when I hear Tarek clearing his throat. Issac releases his hold on me and steps back, adjusting his jacket before looking over at Tarek.
“She’s all yours. She’s a little on the wild side, so watch her carefully,” Issac instructs him. Tarek nods his head as I grasp my bottle in my hand tighter. Then I turn and leave the kitchen with Tarek behind me.
“Do you have to follow so closely?” I snap at him, putting on a show for my father. I know he’s watching to see how I will react to the new security he put in place.
“I have my orders,” he says in return. We climb the stairs, and I head to my room, where he follows me inside. I slam the door for good measure as Tarek tracks the room with his eyes.
“There are no cameras in here,” I tell him. That’s all he needed to hear. He spins around and grabs my neck, kissing me like he might never see me again. His lips take what they want from me, and I gladly let them.
When he pulls away, we’re both breathless, and I’m yearning for more.
“You were stupid, Pierson. How could you do this?” he hisses at me.
“I had no other choice, Tarek. I didn’t want you here,” I tell him.
“And yet here I am. You shouldn’t have done this,” Tarek murmurs as he raises his hand to my face and runs his fingers over the bruises that decorate my cheeks.
“I didn’t want you to do this either,” I argue.
“It wasn’t your choice. I needed to handle this, but now it’s become more complicated,” Tarek explains, and I feel like shit for not listening to him. I hate I made this harder on him.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’ll handle it. Just stay out of their way, darlin’. Let me do what I need to do,” he says. I nod my head before he pulls my lips back to his. His kiss is calm this time, taking his time to enjoy every breath he steals from my body, and I gladly let him.
“I really am sorry, Tarek.”
“I know you are. We’ll get out of this,” he whispers against my lips before pecking one last kiss.
