Page 119 of Captive Ruin

He barks a laugh. “I suppose that’s true… to a point. They do have some honor, but it’s more that they wouldn’t risk an escalation like that. They don’t want their own women as targets, do they?”

“No,” I say coldly. “And if they harm Amelia in any way, I’d have no compunction about exacting my revenge.”

“Exactly, but it won’t come to that.”

“Right…” I grimace. “My apologies that she’s not here to greet you. I did tell her.” She and I will be having words tonight. It’s good that the walls are thick enough to contain the sounds of spankings and the moans I intend to extract from her.

“I think she’s exactly what you need, my friend. Someone who doesn’t immediately come when you snap your fingers.”

Not from snapping, no.

“She’s stubborn.”

“And that’s my point. Maybe even enough to match your stubborn.” He grins at me, then sobers. “Juliette was an arranged marriage, and I always thought you were brave to stand by her to the end. But if you’ll excuse me for saying, your relationship lacked… fire.”

I can’t argue that. “There’s no lack of fire between Amelia and me. Or fight, for that matter.”

Bastien chuckles. “Yeah, that’s when I get bored. When they stop fighting.”

I think of nine years of watching Juliette become a shadow of herself before my eyes. She fought, in her own way, even though she lost in the end. Amelia fights every day, and I can’t see her ever giving up.

Heavy thoughts for this moment, and I cover them with a sardonic look. “Is that why you get bored so fast?”

He dismisses it with a laugh. “When there are so many of them, and all so keen to find me attractive for my money—”

“Plus your charisma,” I add dryly, “and your rugged good looks.”

“I won’t argue,” he grins. “But it’s mostly the money.”

There’s not even a hint of self-pity in Bastien’s honest appraisal.

“I can’t wait to meet the woman who makes you settle down,” I tell him as I lean back in my chair.

Bastien shakes his head. “That’ll never happen.”

Twenty-Eight

Lukas

Amelia is stunning in the dress I’ve chosen for her.

Sheer lace covers her arms without concealing her smooth skin, while the rest of the dress is a tight-fitting ivory that brings out the green of her eyes. It’s modest enough to suggest elegance, but with a plunging neckline that hints at indecency.

She descends the stairs, graceful and poised, her makeup perfect and her scowl only for me, and I can’t breathe. She’s exquisite, she’s fierce, and she’s mine.

“You’re a vision, Amelia,” Bastien says before I’ve found my words, and I hate him a little for that.

“Thank you, Bastien,” she replies, giving him the smile I didn’t get.

I step forward, offering her my arm. “If I’d seen you like this on the night of the gala, I might’ve skipped the terrace and gone straight to the proposal.”

“Cute,” she says dryly as she hooks her hand around my elbow, “except you still haven’t proposed.”

“True,” I admit, then pull out the jewelry box I’ve saved for this moment, cracking it open to present the diamond ring within. “Is it too late? Amelia Anderson, my beautiful Little Stray, I’ve lived so long without happiness before you came into my life, and you turned that around in one night. Will you marry me and make me the happiest I can ever be?”

“No,” she replies without hesitation, then plucks the ring from the box, pushing it onto her finger without even glancing at it. “But I’ll marry you to keep my sister safe, and me away from your dirty war.”

Bastien chuckles, heading outside to where the cars wait, along with a full contingent of bodyguards.