AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I took several deep breaths, reminding myself that I’d planned on telling Raven about Zoe tonight. Now, with what had occurred, there could be few secrets between us. It was vital Raven fully understood what was at stake.
I’d made a quick call to Landry, ensuring there were no breaches in security. Thankfully, there’d been no additional warnings, nothing to be concerned about, yet the edge remained.
I’d make a call to Francois and my pops as well. They were ensuring that Louie had additional men posted at his work, with the kids at all times and at his house. Whether he liked it or not. Maddox had yet to hear anything, not that I expected the responsible party to announce who he was and what he was planning. Maybe I’d hoped stopping the madness would be easier. I was a fool. That had to stop.
Finding her in Zoe’s room had completely unnerved me, the last straw in a long day and difficult few weeks. But I knew what I felt about her, and it had crossed over from being a game, into something else entirely.
Tonight, I wouldn’t be able to fight it.
I’d opened up to her. I’d shared a portion of me only my daughter knew. I’d make a mistake by not telling Raven about her, yet I sensed the woman was continuing to push my buttons on purpose. Hell, I would too, given my mysterious actions, not telling her details of what was going on. I had to admit I continued to admire her spunk.
However, she would need to learn that rules had been established for a reason. Her boundaries would need to be established right now. Even though I knew in the back of my mind she’d eventually shatter every one of them.
“I asked you a question, princess. I was explicit in my instructions. You were not to enter into rooms where the door was closed.” I jerked her around to face me, enjoying the flush of embarrassment crawling up both sides of her luscious face.
Raven yanked her arm free, rubbing it as if I’d used too much pressure. “I didn’t disobey you. The door was open. I thought I was walking into an office.”
“You’re inside a closet, princess. You seem to have a need to snoop in them.”
Her eyes flashed with anger from the reminder. “How dare you. You know what happened. Who is this? Is this a mistress you have on the side? Are we living here together? If you expect me to do something like that, you’re insane.” The goading was her method of discovering information.
I glared at her, the mixture of fury and amusement setting a fire deep within. “This is my daughter’s suite. It’s her closet that you’re standing in. She is my world right now, Raven. You had no right to invade her space. But I should have told you about her.”
“Daughter,” she repeated, her eyes opening wide. “You have a daughter. Oh, wow. The Nancy Drew books. What’s her name?”
“Zoe.”
“Then S was your wife.”
Another wave of anger swept through me, enough so I grabbed both her forearms, yanking her onto her toes. “You listen to me. Sophia is off limits to you. Period. I don’t want to hear her name. Zoe doesn’t need to go through that again.” I shook her with enough vehemence, her eyes opened wide, her shock at my actions, not my statement. “You are my possession and nothing more. That’s it. Nothing else. You made a deal, now you’re going to live with it my way. My rules. My house. This isn’t about love. Now, I’m going to punish you for this.”
Raven managed to pull away from me, her reaction quicker than my own. She cracked her hand across my face, her entire body shaking from anger and righteous hatred.
What the fuck was wrong with me?
“I hate you. I thought for a microsecond you would be different after everything that had occurred and the confidences you allowed me to hear. You shared part of yourself, but it was to continue luring me into submitting to you and nothing more. Even after you risked your own life. I just can’t handle this.”
“Stop, Raven. Just stop. Now.”
“I can’t. Just let me go.” She rushed around me and I allowed her to, confused and furious at my response and my actions. “Don’t worry, Arman. You’re not the kind of man I could fall in love with because you refuse to allow yourself to be loved. And you’re not punishing me. I did nothing wrong. I’m sorry about Sophia. I’m sorry it hurts Zoe. I’m sorry you can’t feel anything any longer. Maybe Sophia left you because of your personality. Maybe she grew tired of being afraid all the time and the brutal lifestyle you forced her to endure. I don’t know but I feel sorry for you. So very sorry.”
She stormed away and I knew in the back of my mind I should allow time for us both to cool down. Unfortunately, she’d opened Pandora’s Box and all I could think about was fucking her in my bed all over again. Only this time would be different.
Because I’d taken her as mine.
I jerked around, racing after her. She sensed my presence and shrieked, running toward the stairs. She was too quick, easily getting away from me and onto the first-floor landing.
I lunged forward, catching her by the arm, spinning her around in a circle. I snapped my hand around hers before she could connect her palm to my face once again, our combined heavy and heated breathing already creating a fog around us.
“Not so fast, sweetheart. I’m the one in charge. Remember. My house. My rules.”
“The hostility is beneath you, especially after today.”
“Soon, you’ll be beneath me, begging me to fuck you just like you did only hours before.”
“I’m not playing by your rules and I can’t care about you. I refuse to.”
“You can tell yourself as many lies as you want but I know the truth.”
