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“No, I get it, Vic. Little ol’ me intimidated you.” Her eyes glisten with unshed tears.
I fork my lip through my teeth to deter a smile.That’s the truth.I’d never feared death in my occupation. But for Luxury to fall into such a permanent snare. It would eat the last shred of my humanity, but the part of me who was molded into an arsehole doesn’t care. I simply must have the girl.
“Vic, I could try to rationalize my sudden obsession with you, saying that Russian asshole shook up my world. That I had my friggen life flash before my eyes, so I was swayed by emotion. But—”
I sweep Luxury off her feet, holding her to eye level and give her petite frame a slight shake. “But what?”
“I’m fucking in love with you, Vic!” Twin rivulets flow from the amber eyes of the beauty I can’t console.
I can’t return the favor.
“Victor, how can you stand there and not respond to me? I know we’ve only known each other twenty-eight days. You’ve catapulted my life into this overwhelming thing where I fear and desire you. I’m an indecisive person, but on dayeighty-two,I see myself proposing to you.” Passion bleeds into her tone. “The girl who lacked self-esteem opened her dummy mouth, and said, I love you.”
“Luxury, I can give you everything butthat.” The taboo word settles at the tip of my tongue. “I’m not the marriable kind, Little One.”
“I’m not the one then. Throughout my life, I’ve watched people. Men will care for other men’s children while neglecting their own. They’ll settle down, marry after stealing every single good year of the woman they just broke up with. Mendowhat they want. The other day, I fucked up.”
A hasty hand glides over a river. “I could’ve waited a while when it’s deemed appropriate to share affections. But I felt something between us. Or . . . I thought I did. Then I saw something in your eyes. You won’t love me whether I give you every year of my life until I was at my last breath.”
My shoulders echo the fall of the Ottoman Empire. “I can’t.”
Fire flashes in her eyes. There’s no saving this moment. No placing her pussy on my chin and having her ride out her aggression. For a moment, I try, clasping her in my hands. Fuming, Luxury bristles between my palms. “I said put me down and leave me the fuck alone, Victor!”
“As you wish.” My jewel slips from my fingers. As I reach to toss her hair, she flinches. It bloody hurts that I’m the bloke who can’t reciprocate her affections.Won’t.
“Alright.”I’ll give you a day or two. Appease my duchy and other requirements. Then I’ll return and fix this.
Jaw stiff, I add, “But know this, Luxury, you’re the most beautiful sight I’ve ever laid eyes on. When God created you, every one of those fucking world wonders went bloody obsolete. Trust me. I've seen them all.”
“Stop, Victor.” Eyes downcast, Luxury treads her fingers over the foot of the bedpost. “When you’re not snarling or snapping, you’ve a knack for declaring the craziest—”
“What?You don't believe me?” I pose the question under the assumption that it will strike up a conversation. That Luxury will overlook her quest for me to leave.
“Listen, I brought you up here because, unlike you, I’ve got a fucking heart.” Luxury pauses to place a hand on her chest. “I wouldn’t cuss you out from a window.Weare so over, but I feel sorry for the next woman who crosses paths with you.”
“You don’t mean that.” I gesture with my hands, sighing heavily, though the royal in me is astounded by Luxury’s words. Having rarely been confronted, I observe her through a lens of reverence.Brilliant, Vic, she’s riling herself up. Jump in at your leisure, wanka!
“You’re a danger to my sanity,” she says. “I get the picture. You’ve spent years wrapping women around your finger. It’s not me; it’s you.”
“Yes, Luxury. It is me,” I reply through gritted teeth. “I’ve offered you the only part of me that I—”
“You’re a master of manipulation. Stop telling me anything because, right now, your very presence makes me believe roses are peonies.” She scoffs at the absurdity. “I need to stop believing in you, Vic.”
I rub a hand across my face then sneeze. “Fuck!”
“You're cold?” Kindness stitches Luxury’s brows together. All too soon, Luxury recalls a giving heart will be her downfall. A serious expression pulls onto her face.
Affronted by her brisk demeanor, I deadpan, “I feel nothing, Lux, because I’ve been . . . honest. You’ve denied me.”
“Stop saying that. You manipulated me last time, saying Idenied you.Don't get all romantic. Who denied whose calls?” She punctuates a stiff hand at the door. “Now, shut up, so I canhurry upand get over you.”
“We're bloody through, then? You’ll settle for a lackluster life without me.”
“Yes, Victor! When I’m horny, maybe I’ll text you verbatim,Come fuck me, Vic.So, you won’t assume I’m still obsessing over you.”
My hands fall to the top of my head. What a dire mistake. Luxury’s as unshakable as the Queen’s guards. My fleet of risk assessors at Tudor Enterprise could outline an entire proposal of how Luxury’shigh-risk.
Give me a bloody smile, Little One. Look at me like you bloody care with the same light in your eyes. I’ll defy my Queen, keep you.
