She was mine now. And I would mold her into whatever I needed her to be.
I satat the head of the long, ornate dining table, tapping my fingers impatiently against the dark mahogany surface. The chandeliers cast a harsh light over the room, their crystals refracting shards of brilliance onto the black marble floors. Dinner was laid out before me, untouched and growing cold. I was a man of discipline, and tonight, my patience was wearing thin.
Where the hell was she?
Just as I was about to summon one of the guards to drag her ass down here, the double doors creaked open. I looked up, andfor a moment, I nearly choked on nothing at all. Vivian walked in, two of my men flanking her.
She was wearing a deep crimson dress that hugged every curve and flowed down her body like liquid fire. The neckline dipped low, exposing just enough to taunt but not enough to satisfy. Fucking Eldora had outdone herself. She must have gone through my entire wardrobe collection to find the sexiest, most sinful dress in my territory just to torment me.
I swallowed hard, the words I’d prepared vanishing into thin air as Vivian walked toward the table. The fabric clung to her hips, flaring just slightly at the bottom, a perfect balance of elegance and seduction. She looked like a queen preparing for battle. A siren ready to drag me to the depths.
When she reached the table, she tried to slide into a seat farthest from me, but my guards steered her to the chair directly across as I had ordered them. Everyone but Eldora were illusioned into thinking she was a prisoner of mine, serving her sentence by serving me in ways I had not clarified.
She settled down, fiery defiance dancing in her gaze, and didn’t say a word. She just sat there, glaring at me with a hatred so palpable it could have cut through the atmosphere between us.
Why was she so fucking gorgeous? This would be a hell of a lot easier if she were like most of the women I surrounded myself with—pretty, compliant, and easily discarded once they’d served their purpose. But Vivian? She had a certain raw, untamed energy that made my blood simmer.
I tried to shake off the distraction and cleared my throat. “I see they found a dress that fits you,” I said, aiming for casual indifference, though the strain in my voice was obvious even to me.
Vivian’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “Yes, your personal assistant felt me up and down until she got every singlemeasurement from my body. I bet you’re jealous she had her hands on me, aren’t you?”
The fuck? I almost dropped my glass. Where the hell had that sass come from? The last time I saw her, she looked like she’d been crying for an hour straight and had nothing to say to me. Now, she was trying to provoke me? Unacceptable.
My eyes narrowed, and I leaned forward, letting the shadows creep in around the room, darkening the corners. “I’d shut that fucking beautiful mouth of yours before it gets closed for you,” I said in a low, deadly tone. “Don’t forget who you’re sitting across from, little girl. Your life is in my hands. If you won’t be compliant, I’ll kill you and find some whore to fulfill my marital duties. You are absolutely replaceable.”
Even as I said the words, I knew they weren’t true, but maybe if I said them enough I would eventually believe them.
Her unblinking gaze remained locked on mine. But I caught the slight twitch in her left eye. Fear. It was subtle, but it was there. She was trying so hard to play her game, to appear unbreakable, but I knew I had gotten through to her. Perfect. Let her think she could play with fire. In the end, she’d only burn herself.
The tension hung thick between us, the silence only broken as my staff served our meal. Neither of us spoke. We ate in strained, angry silence, the sound of her knife slicing through her steak the only acknowledgment of my existence.
I watched her every bite, every movement. She kept her eyes on her plate, ignoring me as if I were nothing more than a shadow in the room.
Just as I was about to say something to cut through the suffocating quiet, the dining room door swung open. One of my guards stepped in, his face pale, his posture stiff with urgency.
I shot him a murderous glare. “What the fuck do you want?”
The guard hesitated, clearly unsure whether to speak or turn and run. He cleared his throat, bowing his head slightly. “Apologies, boss, but there’s a situation that requires your attention.”
My fist clenched around the handle of my knife. I was so close to slamming it into the table. “Can’t you see I’m fucking eating?”
The guard swallowed hard, eyes darting nervously between me and Vivian. “I understand, boss, but there’s been a breach in security. Someone tried to break into the estate.”
The rage that had been simmering beneath my skin erupted. I shoved my chair back with enough force to send it skidding across the marble. “A breach? On my estate?” Heads would roll for this. “I’ll disembowel whoever dared set foot on my land without my permission. What do people think this is? A fucking amusement park?”
I turned to leave, my jacket billowing behind me. As I stormed toward the exit, I shot one last glance at Vivian. She was staring at me, wide-eyed, genuine fear on her face.
The timing couldn’t have been any more perfect. She would see what happened when people crossed me.
I didn’t spare her another look as I strode out of the dining hall, shadows trailing in my wake. Whoever had dared breach my domain would soon wish they had never been born.
The doorbell rang,an ominous, echoing chime that vibrated through the fortress like a warning. I froze mid-stride. For a moment, I thought I’d imagined it. I hadn’t heard that sound in decades. No one in their right mind would dare touse it. My estate had an energy of unapproachability that was carefully cultivated.
Pushing the heavy curtain aside just enough to peer through, I immediately regretted looking. The motherfucking magistrates.
Eldric stood in the center, his sharp, calculating gaze fixed squarely on the door, as if daring me to ignore them. To his right, Caladorn looked almost amused, his arms loosely crossed, the faint glimmer of gold in his amber eyes betraying his enjoyment of the moment. Vaelen, on Eldric’s left, was eerily still, his ethereal features so unnervingly perfect they seemed almost unreal in the pale light.
I clenched my jaw.
