“No,” Alina replies pointedly. “Why let me get made up and everything?”
“You were going to sit in a room full of my men. I wouldn’t allow you to do that while in lingerie. That pleasure is all mine,” I assure her, feeling a flare of anger just at the thought. Their eyes would be all over her, and then I would have to pluck them out of their heads.
“I’m not yours,” she says, steady and unafraid.
“You’re certainly not theirs,” I say, and the certainty in my voice surprises even me.
Every man in this house knows touching her would be a death sentence.
They’ve been warned not to lay a finger on her. If anyone violates that, they’ll face consequences.
Severeconsequences.
Dominik doesn’t play around when it comes to Alina, and in another way, neither do I. Only my brother has let things go too far with her, though. I won’t fall into that same trap despite what he thinks about her already being too distracting.
Alina chews on her bottom lip as she peers up at me, looking conflicted.
My eyes drift down to her mouth, my mind trailing in a direction that it often does. A path that I want to go down but haven’t found the opportunity to do so yet.
I could try now, but exhaustion weighs on me, and this isn’t the time. The right situation.
When she becomesmine, it’ll be because she chooses it.
“Sleep,” I tell her.
“Were you this bossy as a child too?” Alina asks me as she backs away from the bars.
I smirk as I turn away from her. “I wasn’t bossy. I just knew what I wanted, and I wasn’t afraid to say it.”
“Bossy,” Alina mutters.
A small smile lingers on my face as I pull back the covers. When I get into bed and roll onto my side to face her, I lose the smile, my face returning to its normal, straight expression.
Alina fluffs my pillow before setting it down on her mattress. She rests her head on it, letting out a pleased sigh as she finally gets comfortable.
I watch her eyes flutter shut, but I don’t try to sleep just yet, even as tired as I am. I just want to keep my eyes on her just for a little longer.
Alina quickly falls asleep, her lips slightly parting like they usually do when she dozes off, something I’ve noticed.
As I listen to her steady breathing, I feel an unfamiliar tug deep in my chest. That magnetic pull that constantly urges me closer to her.
There’s a part of me that wants to unlock the cage and pull her into my bed again, but sex isn’t even the first thing on my mind. I remember how good it felt to hold her in my arms after how badly she scared me that night, and I want to do that all over again when she’s healthy. I want to feel her melt into me like there’s nowhere else she wants to be.
I want her tosuccumb.
But not the way the others did.
They willingly fell at my feet out of a complicated concoction of lust, fear, and of course lots of money for their…inconvenience, but none of those things will work on Alina.
She may desire me, but she doesn’t want my money. And she certainly isn’t scared of me like the others.
That’s exactly why she’s dangerous.
I should want her to tremble at the mention of my name, but I like that she’s a little bit fearless. It turns me on like nothing else.
I know I don’t deserve adoration or affection.
That’s why, if she ends up wanting me,trulywanting me, it’ll feel even more rewarding.
