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“Clearly something illegal,” she mutters, looking out the window as we leave the casino behind.
“Clearly,” I agree, amused by her attitude. I promised Mr. Thompson I wasn’t going to break her, but I lied. She needs to be put in her place, and I know just the way to bend her to my will.
“So, what’s your deal, anyway?” she asks, turning back to me and crossing her arms over her small chest.
“I’m a businessman,” I reply. “As simple as that.”
A dry laugh escapes her mouth. “Sure, you’re a businessman. That’s laughable. Shouldn’t you be a little more specific if you intend on having me as your wife?”
“All in due time,” I assure her, placing my hand on her thigh. She’s wearing small jean shorts, not much to cover her pale skin. I feel goosebumps on her leg as I touch her, but she tries to act disgusted by me.
I can only imagine what’s going on in her pretty head as she wrinkles her nose at me. “Don’t touch me.”
“I can touch my wife,” I reply, rubbing her thigh. “You’re so soft. So delicate. Have you ever been with a man before?”
She jerks her leg away. “No, and that’s not part of the arrangement. You said I was to marry you to save my dad, and that’s all I’m going to be doing.”
“A marriage means nothing without a proper consummation,” I say, holding up a finger. “You’ll do that for me, at least.”
“Not a chance,” she snarls.
I’m surprised by how quick she is to defy me, and how hot her eyes burn when she looks at me. She’s clearly steeping in hatred,but that won’t last long once I show her the delightful things I can do with my tongue.
I settle back down in the seat beside her, opening a cooler that holds a bottle of champagne. “I don’t have an engagement ring for you yet, darling, but I think a bottle will do in a pinch. Ice cold, too.”
“Just like your heart,” she grumbles.
I laugh. “Nice try, Sage, but I have no heart. Do you care for a drink?” I pop the top on the champagne bottle, watching the fizz overflow onto the thick red carpeted floor. It reminds me of something that will be happening right after our wedding.
“I don’t want to drink,” Sage says, shaking her head. “I want to go home and forget this ever happened.”
“Not possible,” I say, taking a sip straight from the bottle. “But you’ll learn to enjoy your new life. Once you start behaving yourself, I’ll show you how exciting this lifestyle can be. Money, cars, clothes… whatever you want, you’re going to have. You won’t want to go back.”
She looks at me for a moment, her eyes guilty of showing a hint of interest in what I’m saying. They say everything. Her words don’t mean anything at this point because I know I have her hooked.
Still, she tries to defy me again. “I doubt I’ll ever like you, or your messed up lifestyle. I don’t care about money. I care about my family, and you’ve ruined it.”
“You barely had a family,” I reply, taking another sip from the bottle. “Your father was a gambling addict who sold you to a Bratva boss. Get over it.”
“So that’s what you do,” she says, leaning in with a smirk on her face. “You’re running some kind of criminal organization.”
“Gambling rings,” I admit. “Seven of them, but I’ll take you to one of the nicer ones tomorrow night. I want to show you a little slice of my life.”
“I don’t like gambling,” she replies, leaning back and crossing her arms again.
“I don’t care,” I reply.
There’s a moment of silence as we move along the ever darkening road, but I feel her eyes on me as I drink. She’s curious more than she is angry. She knows she has nothing to go back to. Her father is a broken man, and I’m her only hope for a good life.
Things certainly could be good for her, if she chooses to submit, but I’m not going to force her to do that. I’m going to give her a choice, and she can decide whether she really wants to dive into this new world headfirst.
“Where are we going now?” she asks, breaking the silence after only a minute. That curiosity is getting better of her again.
I lean back, studying her. “Where do you think?”
She shrugs. “How should I know.”
“Okay, so we’re going to the ocean to feed you to the sharks,” I say sarcastically.
