ping out of the bed and landing hard o

he door, his large hands clamped aroun

urt you," he said, chuckling sof

anic took over. "You're ruthless. You rule the Southern syndicate, you'r

ed, but he didn't let go. "I have nothing against you. My war is with your ex-husband. If I wanted yo

panicked mind, and my racing

Your abusive, blind ex-husband... or me?" He released my arms and gestured to t

obedient as a child. "What do you want fr

e a man buys a beautiful, rare doll. He breaks it, abuses it, and abandons it in the dirt. But then, someone else picks it up, d

cing to catch up. "I d

d Xavier have been having an affair behind you

ntly boil. The suffocating humiliation and betra

ly in his chair. "And if he finds out that I have you-that you belong to me now-he will lose hi

want to use

g from this too, l

through my lashes. "When you said...

ces, behave like a couple, and let the und

in carrying a large tray laden with steaming, delicious food. The moment

eone who hadn't seen a meal in days. Alexander just sat there, wa

my mouth, cleared my throat, a

ound coldness settling deep into my chest. "I want them to p

I'll let you rest then. It's almost midnight." He stood up, towerin

ss, staring blankly at the ceiling. I clenched my fists, pro

bare feet skidding on the marble as

ce boomed behind me, his footsteps heavy

old hands grabbed my shoulders,

s open, gasping f

ghtmare. But I was shaking so violently that I knew sleep was gone for the night.

ally stumbled upon the massive, modern kitchen. I poured a glass of

e you no

e was still wearing his tailored trousers, his button-down shirt slight

tammered, holding the empty gl

a flash of genuine emotion flickering in his dark eye

ut I remained frozen in place, still visibly s

ck at me, then extended his lar

he led me down a different wing of the house, eventually guiding me into a master bedroo

here tonight," he said, climbing onto

d to him. But the adrenaline from the nightmare was still pumping through m

love," Alexander's deep voic

ercing intensity of his eyes. Right then, an invisible, magnetic pull dragged me toward him. I did

ng the distance between us, I leaned up

, Alexander's eyes had gone com

d for it,"

rd chest. He came down on my lips, kissing me passionately, taking total control. A soft moan escaped my

over me, his muscular frame blocking out the rest of the world. He to

nishing pace. At that moment, I didn't care about the consequences. I didn't care about ri

l into a deep, dreamless sleep wrapped tightly in his stron

p. I rolled over, but the other side of th

y sat on his pillow. I picked it up. Written in e

opping

o stand by the side of a mafia king and tear Xavier's empire d