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My skin feels like there are thousands of ants crawling on it, making it hard not to nervously shift around as I sit across the candlelit table from Enzo in a private room at a restaurant he chose.
“Tell me, what are you hoping to get out of this, Briar?” he asks, stabbing a piece of steak with his fork. “Money? Power? Both?”
“Excuse me?” I whisper, cocking my head to the side. “I’m sorry. But … I’m not quite sure I understand what you’re asking me.”
Truth be told, I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I’m an excellent actress. I know what he’s asking me. I just need to play dumb—oh, and gaining a few extra seconds to form an answer couldn’t hurt either.
“You’re playing along with your uncle, giving him exactly what he wants.” He chews his steak, washing it down with a sip—no, gulp—of red wine. “For my family, you’re nothing but a connection to the States. Something that would take us years to build, but just like that”—he snaps his fingers—“we have it. I’m asking you, what are you getting out of this?”
He’s testing me. That much I know. He doesn’t give a shit about what I want. Just like, at the end of the day, I don’t really care about his wants either. In fact, if he walked outside right now and got hit by a truck, I’d probably jump with excitement. So, instead, I do the only thing I know will work.
I play the ignorant, obedient, love-seeking girl who falls at her man’s feet.
“Well, marriage, I guess,” I answer softly. “To stand beside a real man. Who is strong. Someone who is feared by all. And to bring children into the world, watching them take over everything our families have built.” I reach for my wine, raising it. “To our two families joining forces.”
He eyes me over before finally giving me a subtle nod. “Just know that you are here to serve me and only me, Briar James. I am going to continue doing what I want with who I want. And you are going to be okay with it. And when what I want is you, you will be willing to give me that.”
I know exactly what he means—he’s going to sleep with whoever he feels like, and I cannot. But honestly, as long as he’s busy getting his rocks off with other women, hopefully, that means he’ll leave me alone. Because the last thing I want to do is get naked with this evil human being and risk bringing another evil person into this world.
“Yes, I know,” I utter.
“Yes?” He raises an eyebrow.
“Yes, sir,” I say, making sure not to roll my eyes, but to smile sweetly at him.
He sits back in his seat, smirking smugly at my answer. He thinks he’s won. And he believes I actually look at him like he’s my master.
I’d set him on fire if I was allowed to.
We finish our meals in mere silence. And once he polishes off his drink, his eyes roam over my chest, moving upward to my neck and then my face.
“I would like for you to come back to my place tonight, Briar.”
His cold, dead eyes bore into mine, and a shiver runs down my spine. My core trembles with fear, and I’m not even sure I can hide it.
“Y-yes.” I barely register myself choking the word out. My head spins, knowing there is no getting out of this. “Yes, sir.”
“Good answer, baby girl,” he coos. “You’re beginning to understand. Before long, you will be bowing at my feet, among other things.”
The biggest struggle is not getting out of this chair and walking—no, running—out of this room and hiding somewhere he won’t find me. Because I’d one thousand percent rather take a cactus right up my vagina than ever let this man touch me.
As we leave our table and make our way to the car waiting outside, I fight back the tears that so desperately want to fall from my eyes. I must stay strong. But if he gets me alone … how will I push him away? If I tell him I’m not ready, he won’t care. And if I tell him no, he’ll punish me.
This is one of those times I ask myself, What the hell was I thinking?
I slide across the leather seat, and Enzo follows. A driver I’ve never seen keeps his eyes focused on the road in front of him as he slowly pulls away from the restaurant. Enzo moves closer. His fingertips touch my thigh, dragging upward, and my stomach lurches into my throat.
Every minute we drive, I know we’re closer to his place, which only makes me feel sicker.
As his fingertips rest on the top of my thigh, my heart pounds inside my ears. There’s a weird buzzing sound in my brain as panic and fear stretch their way to every part of my body. Every few seconds, he moves his fingers further up, until his hand is less than an inch away from being right between my legs.
I’m somewhere between wanting to hurry up and get out of this car and wanting to stay in here forever so that I don’t have to go inside—alone—with this man.
We’re almost passing the driveway to the house I’ve been staying at when his phone rings. Pulling his hand away from my leg, he rips the phone out of his pocket.
“What?” he barks into the phone. “Fuck, Hercules. I told you not to bother me tonight. Can you do nothing without me fucking babysitting you?”
There’s a short pause.
