“I’ll explain everything later. But right now, you need to understand that I’m the only one who can protect you.”
I shake my head, unable to wrap my mind around his words. “I don't want your help.”
“I know. You want your freedom. However, you need my protection, even if you don’t want it. The Order has made you a person of interest, or else you wouldn’t be part of this ceremony for the recruits. The only way you’ll get your freedom is through me.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
He shrugs. “It will.”
“So, you’re saying I’m stuck with you?”
He nods, a smile curling his lips. “Until death do us part, bride.”
I lift my chin. “My contract is only for a year.”
“For now.”
Chapter 28
DELILAH
Xavier grips my arm and hauls me against him. I slam into his body, the contact jarring me. Before I can recover, he reaches down to retrieve his mask and shoves it in his back pocket.
Then he takes off.
My feet trip over each other as he drags me with him. I look back at the tree line, my eyes pricking with unshed tears. Part of me still wants to try to get away from Xavier, from this messed-up situation. But his threat to fuck me still rings in my ears.
I immediately push that image away. As well as what transpired between us. The only thing that matters now is figuring out how to get Xavier to release me from my contract. If I’m to be his bride, then he’s the only one who can help me now.
“Are you taking me to the frat house?” I ask.
He corrects me with a chilling finality. “The altar. It’s where the recruits take their brides to complete the ceremony.”
“Like a wedding?” I dig my heels in the dirt, but it’s useless. Xavier never breaks his stride. His determination is relentless, his grip unyielding. “I was told this wasn’t a real marriage.”
“It’s not.”
“Then what is this ceremony for exactly?” I ask.
He doesn’t respond immediately, and every ounce of nervousness in my stomach twists into a ball. From what I can tell, he’s been honest with me so far. Blunt and crude is more accurate. Then why is he hesitating?
He glances over at me, silver eyes glittering in the night. “The ritual symbolizes our commitment to the Order, in the same way the bride will be faithful to her recruit. It’s a binding ceremony, a pledge of loyalty witnessed by all. Once you’re mine, no one can touch you without my permission.”
“Without your…?” I scrunch my face in confusion and irritation. “Are you saying other men will touch me if youletthem? What aboutmyfucking permission?”
He slows his steps to turn and face me. I stare up at him, my chin lifted. His eyes darken and the expression on his face hardens, weakening my mental armor.
“No one will fucking touch you, with or without your permission,” he says, his tone cold yet heated at the same time. “Not if they want to live.”
My pulse quickens at the fury in voice and the threat of violence behind it. The blatant possessiveness has my body responding before I can stop it. My breath hitches, and my breasts rise as my nipples harden.
It pisses me off.
“Lucky for you, little raptor, I’m not the sharing kind.”
“I think you’ve made that clear.”
He tilts his head. “Have I? Good.”
