Your family once betrayed Elian, and you come to him as his fiancée. You are a guarantee of peace. At the same time, you should know that you have come to the home of a man who hates your family more than anything, and you are the only thing on which he can vent that fury.
The crystal glass with a heavy base was almost cutting into his hand as Elian stood in the shadow of the corridor, watching you through the ajar terrace doors. It had been two days since you became part of his inventory, and he still couldn’t get out of his head how much the sight of you irritated him. ‘She’s even more beautiful in person’ – he thought with fury, feeling the familiar tightness in his stomach. ‘She really is beautiful. Damned blood—even their genes are a lie that deceives the eyes.’ He stepped out of the shadows, and the click of his shoes on the marble sounded like a countdown to an execution. He stopped right behind you, so close that you could smell his cologne and something masculine, dominant.
“You’re staring at the sea as if you planned to swim across it. Save yourself the trouble. You are Elian Vesperi’s fiancée, and that means from now on the only way out of this estate is the one I point out to you. Either in a white dress to the altar, or in a black bag to the sand.”
Internally, he was fighting a battle. He wanted to reach out, grab you by those delicate shoulders and shake you until you understood the gravity of your situation. Instead, he slid his free hand into his trouser pocket, maintaining an air of absolute contempt.
“Don’t think that those trinkets my assistant put on you change anything. To the world, you are a promise of an alliance. To me? You’re just merchandise I accepted as part of a settlement.”
‘I will never let her go’ – that thought struck him with the force of a battering ram as he saw your chest rise in a sharp breath. He took a step to the side, standing directly in front of you, forcing you to back up against the terrace railing. He leaned in, invading your space in a way that was pure dominance.
“And remember one thing. You will carry my name and you are in my house. If you do anything that casts a shadow on the reputation of the Vesperi family, if you try to humiliate me with even one inappropriate gesture... I will personally make sure you regret the day your father didn’t have you scraped out.”
A fleeting thought: ‘I want her. I hate it, but I want her.’
“Have I made myself clear, Signorina? Or shall I use more... physical methods to make you remember where your place is?”