Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
I took a breath and suppressed the lust that’d been threatening to overwhelm me ever since I’d taken her over my knee in the car. Now wasn’t the time to ravage my pretty new wife. That could come after the ceremony and then we could seal our union.
Elenora would be mine. For the rest of our lives. Neither of us had a choice.
A pulse of rage seared my veins, burning away some of my arousal. Dante had tried to steal my birthright from me, so I’d been forced to steal his bride. His alliance with Giuseppe Ricci wouldn’t go forward. I would’ve preferred to kill them both, but I wouldn’t start a war. Too many of our men respected Giuseppe, my father’s most trusted advisor. I wouldn’t tear apart my organization before I even took control. My father was on his deathbed, and the Russians were already circling like vultures, waiting to pick away at our territory if we showed any signs of weakness.
So, I found myself in this clusterfuck of a situation: forced into marriage years before I would’ve considered taking a bride. I’d always known I would have to secure my legacy one day, but that’d been at least a decade in the future. I was barely twenty-eight; too young to be shackled to one woman.
I gritted my teeth and glanced over at Elenora. Her cheeks were pale and her posture was stiff, but she was still beautiful: willowy and graceful, with a lush mouth that begged for a kiss.
I resented the fact that I’d never fuck another woman ever again, but I valued loyalty above everything else. During my youth, I’d watched my father cheat on my mother half a dozen times, and it’d broken her heart. She’d been so distraught that she’d turned to another man for comfort, and that choice had condemned her.
Ultimately, infidelity was the reason I no longer had a mother. I wouldn’t do the same thing to Elenora, who’d done nothing to deserve any of this.
You’re a brute. Her hissed accusation snaked through my mind.
Yes, I could be brutal. I had plenty of blood on my hands, and I wouldn’t hesitate to defend what was mine.
Elenora was mine, whether she liked it or not. I would never harm her, but I would do what was necessary to keep her in line. It was for her own good. I would protect my fragile young wife, no matter how defiant she might be.
I glanced over at her again. Her spine was straight, her chin lifted. She walked by my side with graceful, sure strides that matched my own as we made our way down the long corridor to the ballroom in my family home. Her slight body might be utterly breakable, but I got the impression that Elenora wasn’t fragile. Another woman might’ve dissolved into sobs after being kidnapped and spanked. My bride held her head high and faced her fate with dignity.
Despite everything, a satisfied smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. Yes, she would make a good wife for me. She would be my queen, a woman I could be proud to have at my side. She was lovely and poised, and she hadn’t broken beneath my hand, even if she had bent to my will.
We reached the ballroom doors, and I gently gripped her elbow to remind her not to try anything foolish. In a moment, we would be before the officiant. There was no time for tears or arguing.
She jerked slightly beneath my touch, and I firmed my fingers around her arm. She sucked in a breath, and her lovely hazel eyes flicked to mine. The rich brown of her irises was brightened with striations of soft green, a fascinating pattern that I would study at my leisure when I had her bound to my bed. Her thick, dark lashes swept her brows as she stared up at me, eyes wide with shock. She was still struggling to process her new reality.
I understood. I hadn’t planned to marry until I’d discovered Giuseppe and Dante’s treachery only a few hours ago.
My thumb brushed the bare skin of her upper arm, and her flesh pebbled beneath my touch. I wasn’t sure if her shiver was one of revulsion or a primal feminine response.
I shook my head and looked forward once again, breaking away from the puzzle that was my pretty bride. I had a lifetime to learn every nuance of her expressions. There was no time to linger now, no hesitation.
“You’ll be fine, Elenora,” I rumbled. “I’ll take care of you.”
Her slender arm stiffened in my gentle grip. She didn’t believe me.
I would just have to prove my intentions to her after the ceremony. Once I had her in my bed, I would show her how good it could be between us.