Gabriella was promised to me.
She was mine.
If she or her don thought they could manipulate a different ending, they had another think coming. I might not have wanted this marriage, this alliance, any more than she clearly did, but that didn’t change where we currently were.
Taking charge, I strode across the park. I angled my path to come at her from behind. Gabriella was too lost in her private heartache to notice my approach.
The harsh bite of my voice was at odds with the pleasant afternoon. “You’re a long way from home, little bird.”
Gabriella jumped. A muted scream stuck in her throat. She rounded on me, fingers gripping the back of the bench. The small book fell to the ground, lying open near her shoe. Her full chest heaved. Noticing that sent another throb straight through my shaft.
“Liam! What are you doing here?” she gasped.
The most dangerous thing happened. That whiskey gaze collided with mine. It didn’t waver, didn’t drop. It stayed fixed.
I stopped a few paces away. This was close enough to act if I needed to, but far enough away to resist the temptation to touch.
“I should be asking you the same question, cailín.”Where’s lover boy?
Her lips pressed tight in a silent refusal to answer.
That spiked the anger fresh in my veins. Had her secret prince tasted those lips? Had he spread those strong, silky legs? I ground my molars.
“Say something,” I demanded.
Her brow flicked. Annoyance.Defiance.That was what was so fucking intoxicating about this woman. She dared to meet my eye. She possessed a fierce streak, I’d grant her that.
Good.Maybe she wouldn’t wilt when I dragged her to my bed and took what I’d been promised.
“Saysomething?” she repeated, mocking the words with a roll of her tongue. “Okay, what about the fact that you keep stabbing people every time we meet?”
Humor barked up my throat. Feisty. I liked that. Liked that a lot. “Technically, I didn’t stab James.”
Gabriella rolled her eyes. What kind of a life had she lived that she was so jaded and calloused toward violence? The kind that forged her into a worthy opponent. I wasn’t going to break her with threats or violence.
It was time to try a different tactic. “What kind of a ring do you want?”
“What?” she stuttered, rearing back. “A ring? What are you talking about?”
I closed the distance and peeled her left hand off the back of the bench. “A ring, little bird. One that you will wear so the world knows you belong to me.”
She didn’t tug her hand free. Only looked at it in confusion, where it was caught in mine. Whereas my skin was ghostly, hers was naturally olive, blessed by the sunlight. Heat licked my veins to see if the rest of her was that pretty, golden shade. From the bits I had seen when she wore a dress the other night, my bet was that she was tan all over.
“Oh, you mean an engagement ring,” she breathed, flexing her finger.
“I do, cailín, that.” I stroked my thumb over the spot I intended to mark. “What’s it to be? An emerald? A blood red ruby?”
She tipped her head up, giving it a little toss to keep the hair off her face. “It doesn’t matter.”
I clenched my teeth, lip peeling back in warning.
“Just so long as it’s big enough to gouge your eye out,” she added.
The snarl on my lips morphed into a smile. I chuckled. Maybe she didn’t fear the violence of our world because shewasviolent. Which would be cute as hell if it was true.
No one else will ever touch you, I decided. The silent promise radiated between us.
Gabriella felt the menacing threat and swallowed hard. “Well, it’s been fun, mobster, but I have to get going.”
