I smile, slipping my hands around her waist. She reacts instantly, trying to pull away, but I’m quicker. I draw her into me.
I release a satisfied groan. Finally, I’m holding her after a week of the torture of staying away from her. I had to keep my fists clenched in my pocket every morning when she looked at me with her ocean-blue eyes full of curiosity—to stop my hands from moving.
“I tried, Angel, but the results don’t satisfy me.”
She tries to push me away. “You don’t know how to court someone, Matleon. You are so full of yourself, you don’t care what the other person is feeling.”
I let her go. She moves far away from me, glaring the entire time.
“I care what you feel. I want to see you happy, but happy with me. You can’t understand how desperately I need to make you mine. So whether you like it or not, you are going to marry me.”
“Why are you so desperate about it?” she snaps.
I take a step toward her. She takes one back. I chuckle and stop. “I have my reasons.”
She can leave me anytime she wants and return to Vladivostok, out of my reach. Stalking her from that far is impossible. I have already suffered enough because of the distance. Once I stopped convincing myself that I wasn’t obsessed with her, the miles between us started killing me evenmore. And when she came here, I had only one month. Far too little to win her heart. I knew it from the start—that’s why I have plan B ready.
Marrying her will erase the distance. She’ll live in my house. I’ll see her whenever I want. I’ll touch her whenever I want. She’ll be mine forever. Once she marries me, I will never let her go. She will learn to love me again. I won’t leave her any choice.
“Let’s eat,” I say, turning toward the restaurant.
She doesn’t move. I raise a brow. She rolls her eyes and walks past me, inside the restaurant. I follow her to the table and sit across from her.
Watching her without glass separating us is far better.
chapter 15
Iselyn
Matleon is back. The real, uncivilized Matleon. And I’m so thankful for it because now my head and heart are not at war. They both hate him in equal measures, in fact, the hatred in my heart is stronger, as this bastard has played with it.
He ogled me the whole time I was eating, leaving me frustrated through and through, and now he’s not letting go of my hand. I’ve tried to yank it away so many times, but all he does is smile and hold it tighter. My hand is aching at this point.
The closer we get to the penthouse, the faster my pulse jumps. No, I’m not anticipating him to manhandle me or do things without my consent, I’mnotexcited about it. I’m angry. The new kind of anger that only comes in life when Matleon becomes a total jerk.
The penthouse door opens, and he pulls me into him, closing it behind us. My hands land on his chest, my head spinning even though he hasn’t done anything yet. The fear of what he might do is doing this to my head, yes, it’s fear,notthat stupid anticipation. And I’mnotfrustrated with myself. At all.
“Leave me, Matleon,” I say harshly.
“Why?” he drawls, lifting me up. My hands go around his neck to keep myself from falling.
He carries me to my room and sits on the bed with me in his lap. I try to push his chest to get away, but he grabs my wrists and pins them behind me. Now my front is pressed against him.
“You want me to let you go?” he smiles.
I nod, frowning. If I keep staying this close to him for a few more days, a permanent crease will form on my forehead.
“I’ll let you go if you kiss me,” he says, his eyes locked on my lips.
My heart hammers, my head reels, nerves sparking like fire, and my lungs betray me completely—all because of his inescapable, damnable dominance.
He caresses my cheeks beneath my eyes with his thumb. “I know you want to do it.”
“This is called being delusional,” I breathe.
He smiles, his palm now resting on my cheek. The coolness is soothing against my heated skin. I want to feel more of this rough, cool touch,onlybecause my cheeks are burning, and it’s not a good feeling.
His fingers press below my ear and along my neck, the sensitive nerves there disrupting my breathing further.
