Page 11 of Saint Valentine

Her breathing was becoming stable, the drug still holding her, keeping her under. But it wouldn’t be much longer. My eyes lingered on the bruises circling her neck, dark even against her brown skin. I wanted to trace them with my fingers, to feel the heat of her flesh beneath my touch, to follow the path of those marks with my tongue. I wanted to taste her, to claim her in a way that went beyond the violence and the threats. It was a raw, animalistic urge, one that clawed at the edges of my control.

But I couldn’t.

So I stayed where I was, my hands clenched at my sides. I wouldn’t touch her. Not like that. Not yet. I wanted her to want me to touch her. To beg me to touch her.

Not ten minutes later, her eyes flickered open.

She blinked, squinting at the unfamiliar space around her. Slowly, she sat up, her eyes half-masked, her head seeming heavy, like her mind was trying to catch up to what had happened. I imagined her memory was fuzzy, that she wassorting through it all. I could see the struggle as she pieced it together.

“Aria,” I decided to help her along. “You’re awake.”

Her head snapped toward me. The fire in her eyes was still there from earlier. She rubbed her forehead, like she was trying to rub away the haze.

I could see the moment she remembered. She darted her eyes around the room, frantic, searching for an escape. But I’d already made sure there was none. She was trapped.

“Relax. You’re safe,” I said, keeping my voice low and calm.

“Safe? You drugged me. What the fuck do you mean I’m safe?” she shot back, her tone full of anger and disgust, her words slightly slurred.

The tension in the air was palpable, thick as smoke. She wasn’t going to make this easy. Fine. I didn’t need it to be easy; she just needed to do what I said.

I took a step closer to the bed, my eyes on hers. She wasn’t getting away from me. Not now.

“Listen, princess,” I said, my voice low. “I didn’t want to drug you, but I didn’t exactly have a choice. You weren’t going to make this easy, and I sure as hell wasn’t gonna wait around for you to make it harder.”

“Why in the fuck are you doing this, Saint?” she spat.

I couldn’t stop the smirk that crept across my face. There was something about watching her seethe, trying to hold onto control, that made me want to push more.

“Because I want to,” I told the truth. “I thought about us. Imagined us in so many scenarios. Together. Me making loveto you. What our children would look like. I couldn’t miss this chance.”

Her eyes were narrowed, posture tight, like she was going to leap across the room and fight me. She was still groggy, but she was planning her next move. She wasn’t afraid of me, not in the way she should be.

“You can’t want to marry me because of two days we shared in our childhood,” she said, her voice trembling with disbelief. “That would make you insane. You don’t even know me.”

“I know you better than you think,” I said, my voice low. “I know enough,” I added, stepping closer. “I know you’re strong. Defiant. Loyal to a fault. I know you’d do anything for the people you love. And I know you’re mine. You always have been. Those two days were the only time in my life I felt like I mattered. Like I wasn’t just my father’s broken son.”

She cut me off.

“That sounds crazy and pathetic,” she shot back, her voice dripping with venom. “I thought you were going to say some shit like because of who I was, I’d help you secure power. That you were being made to marry and I just happened to be the unwilling victim. But no, it’s because you’ve created some fucking crazy fantasy in your head. You’re out of your damn mind, just like people say you are.” She shook her head. “This shit’s wild. If I knew your daddy had beat the sense out of you, I would’ve taken my chances at shooting it out with your men.”

I wanted to finish my declaration, but she already thought I was crazy. I couldn’t tell her the full truth. That she was the only person that truly mattered to me. Even as a little girl, she had this fire in her, this unshakable strength that pulled me in and never let me loose. She had been a part of making me who I was today. She fought for me when no one else would, and in doingso, she gave me a reason to survive when I wanted to give up. Now I could protect her.

I was willing to maim and kill for her, to even walk all over her free will to keep her.

“Stop staring at me like that, with those crazy eyes,” she snapped, her voice breaking me out of my thoughts. She was glaring at me, her eyes narrowed, her hands clenched into fists. “Where are my friends?” she demanded.

“They’re safe. I haven’t done anything to them and won’t as long as you keep your part of the bargain.” I paused, considering how much information I should give her, but there wasn’t really any need to hold back. She couldn’t escape. “They’re in another house on the compound. But don’t worry. They’ll be taken care of.”

She looked at me like I just grew another head. “You’re a fucking liar. I want to see them. You promised me no bullshit, but then you drugged me and took them.”

I could feel my patience slipping. I didn’t like people questioning me, but I kept myself in check.

I took a step forward. “I’m not a liar, Aria. I said you marry me, and they’ll go free. We aren’t married yet, and you’ll see them at the wedding.”

Before I could react, she was on her feet with her hand raised. The slap came fast. A sting that spread across my cheek, burning hot. My head snapped to the side on impact.

For a second, all I heard was the echo of it in my ears.

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