Page 13 of Theirs to Possess: The Marriage Claim
Before I can flee toward the door, Dorian takes my left hand in his. Even though I try to yank away, he traces the wedding ring now circling my finger. A possessive gesture. A warning.
“This—and everything we just did—means you belong to me.” His thumb presses against the cool metal, his voice softer now but no less dangerous. “Any questions?”
I have a thousand, but he doesn’t wait for an answer.
Instead, he takes my arm and casually leads me out of theroom as if we are merely a couple who can’t get enough of each other.
The last twenty minutes have changed my life forever, and now I’m bound to a man who will stop at nothing to possess me, body and soul.
Heaven help me. As much as I hate to admit it, a part of me is drawn to him, to the frightening promise in his eyes, to the way he makes me feel alive in a way I never have before. And that, more than anything, terrifies me.
Dorian unlocks the door and opens it.
Brennan turns to face us. He rakes his gaze down my body but keeps his expression neutral as he steps aside.
Without saying a word, he leads the way back down the hallway.
Before we arrive, we’re ambushed by the photographer, Marcella, snapping dozens of frames of us.
That had to be who Brennan had been talking to a few minutes ago. Planning this whole thing?
I look at Dorian.
Next to Brennan, Marcella is walking backward, her finger constantly on the shutter.
“Smile.” Dorian’s whispered word is cold against my ear. “These pictures will be on the internet within ten minutes. If you want to get away with this farce, we have to be able to show we were desperately in love.”
In love?
That’s the last thing I will ever be with him.
In this moment, realizing he’d staged that whole thing for the sake of some scandalous pictures, I hate him.
As she had earlier, Marcella reviews the screen before nodding. Then she sprints off, ahead of us.
“Was that really necessary?”
“To protect you? Yes.”
The moment the sound of voices reaches us, Dorian takesmy hand again, and he holds it ridiculously tight, as if determined not to let me escape.
“It’s time I showed the world my bride. And you’d better damn well behave, Mrs. Vale.” His eyes glint with threat. “Or I promise you; you will not like the consequences. Understand?”
CHAPTER FOUR
Isla
Through clenched teeth, I smile up at him. “Has anyone ever told you that you can catch more bees with honey than with vinegar?”
“Not familiar with the concept,” Dorian replies easily with a casual shrug, his smile equally as fake.
The man I don’t want to be married to has a few things to learn about me. I enjoy my independence as much as I despise being bossed around.
Despite the way I reacted to him a few minutes ago, I’m resolved to keep my emotional distance from him.
In fact, if he has any hope of this relationship working and me doing what he wants, he’s going to have to stop being a world-class asshole. “I’m happy to teach you.”
“You’re welcome to try, little one.”
