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Gustave broke the tense silence by clearing his throat. “Mr. Drakos, may I present my daughter, Talia.” Gustave waved a hand toward the female, as if she hadn’t just walked in here like a piece of meat for a starving predator. The gloat on his face was enough to snap me out of my silence.
“My answer is no.” I made to move to the door. I needed to get out of here, away from the divine manifestation in the silky blue dress.
“She’s the perfect wife. Anyone in our circles would be honored to wed her,” Gustave said testily.
Yes, Talia was temptation incarnate, and her father knew it. Just as he was also aware that he was taunting me with her, exploiting her for his gains.Fucking disgusting.I turned away, but I made the mistake of meeting her dark gaze again. The intensity of it jolted my resolve. Time slowed. In that shared look, I caught the flash of something in her eyes. Something I knew all too well. This wasn’t a dutiful daughter, no matter how she appeared. It was defiance that danced in those midnight irises.
My gaze dropped to her lips. So full and sweet, daring me to taste. To lose myself to their sweet touch.
She’s the daughter of your enemy.
The reminder caused me to clamp down on the raging lust threatening to consume my body. There was a simple explanation for my reaction. I’d not had release in weeks, far too long for someone in my position. That was the problem, not this woman. It was the lack of sexual pleasure that was making me reckless.
Except...what would it be like to reach out and touch her?
Talia was exquisite. There was no denying it. I forced myself to break eye contact and moved toward the door, but as I reached for the knob, a thought struck me as the calculating side of my brain finally pushed through the pent-up desire this woman had fanned:Why is Gustave Beaumont reaching out for peace?
There had to be a reason, there just had to be. And if I opened this door and walked away from my enemy right now, I might miss something. The fucker was shrewd; there had to be a damn good reason he’d sell his only daughter for some real estate.
Maybe I should consider his offer. Yet, the thought of marrying someone fromthatfamily churned my gut. The sordid things the Beaumont family did in their little mob kingdom—it was fucking sick. I had standards, and Beaumont’s business broke that code. I wanted to end the trafficking. It was one of the reasons I preyed on his businesses. But could marrying his daughter lead to ending the Beaumont kingdom?
I released the doorknob and stepped back to face them. “Have you drawn up a contract?”
“I have.” There was a spark of triumph in Gustave’s brown eyes. But it was the smug smirk on his son’s face that caught my attention.
As Gustave reached into his inner jacket pocket, I tensed and instinctually reached for my own weapon.
“Relax, butcher,” Gustave sneered. “I’m many things, but stupid is not one of them.”
My fingers curled around my gun, but it wasn’t until Gustave brought out a tri-folded piece of legal parchment that I let go of my weapon.
He unfolded the paper and glanced over it before extending it to me.
I crossed the room, taking the square handkerchief from my breast pocket as I moved. Cloth double folded, I took the contract.
Gustave frowned. “It’s not poisoned.”
“Can’t be too careful,” I jibed.
My eyes scanned the contract. Standard, nothing fishy. It laid out the terms for the marriage and the declaration of immediate cessation of all hostilities for the extent of our union.
While my mind ran through the variety of chess moves this established on the metaphorical playing board Gustave and I battled on, the thought that Talia Beaumont would be mine sparked a tangent in my mind. Talia Drakos. It had a lovely ring to it. Of course, I’d immediately set the expectations of what it meant to be my wife. There would be zero room for machination. I would demand complete and utter obedience, and for that, she’d be rewarded.
I covertly watched her out of the corner of my eye, and the longer I stalled over the contract, the more my fascination with her grew. Those ruby lips would look good sliding up and down my cock. In response, the appendage jerked, and my balls ached with need. I wanted her to fondle them with her fingers, with her tongue.Fuck.I was in deep already.
I cut my gaze to hers. “Talia, what do you have to say about this?”
My abrupt focus caught her off guard, something she clearly didn’t like going by the tight pull of her lips.Good. Keep her on her toes.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Making me repeat myself? That’s a poor quality in a bride,” I growled, enjoying the flush of wrath that tinged her throat. “I said: What do you have to say about this?”
Surprise flashed across her face. Had she never been asked what she thought before? Not only was I a renowned, legal businessman with more money than Croesus, but the underworld saw me as an unstoppable smuggler. I was known as ‘the butcher,’ but few knew my true calling as one of the best assassins in the world. It was a carefully guarded secret. Talia, no doubt, had heard all kinds of malicious stories about me, many holding shreds of truth.
Talia tipped her chin up, a queen both regal and ethereal. “This is in the best interests of everyone. I’m prepared to be your wife.”
Hmm, an answer bound in duty.We’ll see, my queen, we’ll see.My blood simmered with desire as delicious thoughts stirred in my mind.
