Page 215 of Ewan

I get all that, and I know I asked for it, but his words make me shudder.

“Do you understand what I’m talking about?” he asks point blank.

“Yes, I do.”

“And you still want to walk into that room?”

“Yes,” I say, my voice trembling. “I want to walk into that room.”

He studies me for a few moments as I hold his gaze with conviction before he pushes the door open, and whatever dialogue has taken place in the room suddenly stops.

Chairs are pushed back, and people rise to their feet.

Men. They’re all men. Some of them have kept him company before, while others are strangers to me.

They stand around a large oval table with food and drinks in front of them. They’re all beefed up and scary-looking.

“You can all sit,” Ewan says, not cracking a smile.

I notice a couple of chairs at one end of the table but I freeze next to the door.

He lets it fall shut and walks toward the men in the room while I remain standing.

“This is Scarlett,” he says, and there’s no reaction around the table. “Some of you might’ve seen her before,” Ewan goes on, no inflection in his voice. “Scarlett is my future wife,” he says in the same neutral tone, and I need a chair to sit on.

He doesn’t look at me as he walks around the table.

“She’s here with us today because she’s made a commitment to me.”

Again, no looking at me.

“If we getmarried, you’ll have to protect her with your lives when I’m not around. Understood?”

The men swiftly agree around the table like it’s nothing for them to sacrifice their lives for me.

“She’s also made a pledge of secrecy. And if she ever breaks our trust… You know the rules,” he adds in a quieter voice. “Questions?”

He looks around the table before moving his eyes to me.

“Scarlett?”

I shake my head in silence like one of my pupils.

“Good. Then, let’s order another round of drinks. It’s time to celebrate,” he says in a more relaxed voice before someone next to me pushes to their feet and pulls the chair for me to sit at the table.

SCARLETT

Later at thehotel

“How does it feel?”he asks, dipping a juicy strawberry in a bowl of melted chocolate and then lowering it into my mouth.

Naked, I lie next to him, my head propped on his arm, my eyes trained on his face, my attention split.

He pushes it past my lips, a playful smile on his face, and I barely mumble around the fruit.

“Messy?” I say, chocolate dripping down my chin.

Laughing, he lowers his head, runs his lips over my skin, and collects the chocolate before locking my mouth.

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