Page 98 of The Fighter who Needed Me
Persephone
London, England June 1813
Coming to in the carriage was disorienting once again, and she did not like it. She wanted to call out for Brooks but knew deep inside he was not anywhere near.
She blinked open her eyes and saw Bruce, Kitty and Reginald sitting on the seat across from her.
Clearing her throat a few times, helped her to be able to talk, and she croaked out, “What am I doing here? Why would you take me?”
Kitty glared at her, “You know very well why we took you. That barbarian man you thought you could run away with is not the man for you. You have known this from the beginning. And you know you are promised to someone else. I am just hoping you are still pure for him. We promised that you would be a virgin bride Persephone.”
She scoffed at them, “I am not getting married to him. I will never wed him,” she glared at Reginald, “Ever.”
Kitty reached across the seat and slapped her across the face. “How dare you speak to me with such disrespect. You will marry him, and you will be doing it tomorrow.”
Persephone held her hand to her cheek, and glared at Kitty, “Do not touch me again. Either of you. I will not wed him, and you cannot make me. Not anymore. I do not need to bend to your wishes, and I refuse to do what you ask. You are not my parents and have never treated me as a daughter. I have always been the pebble in your shoe, the problem you never wanted, and now, you only want me to marry him because it will line your pockets. I will not be used like this any longer and I will not be afraid of your threats. Not anymore. You cannot scare me, and I told them all about your threats, so they are prepared for you. They will come after you for doing this.”
Bruce snarled at her, and threw his fist at her face, which she blocked. Just like Brooks showed her how.
He tried again and again, and she dodged each punch.
And he finally sat back, his lip curled up in a sneer and said, “If you believe anything you just said won’t happen, you are deranged and as soon as you are wed, Reginald should have you locked away.”
She fought to keep the hate off her face and said nothing.
Reginald sat forward, “I like her fighting spirit. It will be fun for me to break it.”
Bruce looked at the other man, and Reginald nodded, “Tie her up. She will be my wife tomorrow and I will break her if it is the last thing I do.”
She fought and kicked, screaming and trying to keep them from tying her up and gagging her.
She would fight the entire way down the aisle too.
* * *
When she got to Reginald’s home, she hated it. It was massive to be sure, but it was cold and lacking.
And the man himself was the same. He was cold and intimidating, and she hated the coldness that radiated from him.
He was tall, as tall as Brooks was, and wide. Just as wide as her husband.
Except where Brooks was light with his blonde hair and blue eyes, Reginald was dark. He had dark hair, streaked with grey and dark brown eyes. They were cold as ice.
He was not a classically handsome man, his nose was crooked on the bridge and with the ice in his eyes, it made her want to cringe away from him.
He pulled her from the carriage and carried her to a room she had never seen before but instantly hated.
Reginald put her on the bed and glared down at her, “Your little tantrum in the carriage makes me realize that my soon to be wife has been thoroughly debauched. Knowing that I do not have to worry about teaching you the art of pleasure and can take you as hard as I have wanted to only makes me want you more. Do not worry though, I will not tell Bruce and Kitty. They are blind in their thinking that you would have come to me as a virgin. I will see you in the morning and you will be dressed and ready for our wedding, or I will come in the morning and take you before our vows are said. And believe me, I would rather have that option. In fact, maybe I should come to you tonight. I do not believe you will do what I wish.”
She fought the shudder that ran through her and said nothing as he leaned in, and looked her dead in the eye, “You may have learned how to defend yourself a little, but when I want what I want, I will always find a way. You are to be my wife and that is the end. You can keep fighting your fate, but in the end, I will still marry you.”
He laughed and left her tied up and gagged on her bed, and she sagged against the bed.
She looked around and did her best to remove the gag in her mouth.
She looked around the room and hated it. It was nice, but it was her stolen freedom and because of that she refused to like the place at all. It was his place and made it worse.
There was a massive fireplace that had a fire crackling inside it, and huge windows flanked it that were partially covered in curtains made from dark blue velvet.
