Chapter 13
Chapter 13
"Come here, sweet girl," I cooed softly at the little foal in the empty stable. Her coat was shiny and a healthy coffee brown, with a
single white marking on her forehead. Excited feet, prancing with the newfound knowledge of being able to walk, but still a little clumsy and shaky on her legs.
"Come here, Plum," I called to her again, slowly working to earn her trust, her temperament sweet and playful. Nudging me with her head, eagerly looking for more pieces of melon.
Tucked away in the back where the younger horses were kept, I waited for Meroveo to finish prospecting Tio's collection of thoroughbreds.
"Come to the stables in an hour. I have something for you." Meroveo had made the request in front of my uncle. I was still shaking after what happened in the car. Tio Franco insisted that I show him the newborn foals.
I wish I could have refused, run home, and go back to pretending, but it would have made everything worse. I didn't want to give Meroveo any reason to hurt Aristeo in retaliation. He would have come looking for me at the house, upsetting Mami.
Time was moving against me. The day of my wedding was getting closer.
"She's cute," Meroveo said with a smooth tone of voice, chuckling at my blatant dismissal of him. "Your uncle sold me one of his prized mares. I have a stable back in Castillo. I enjoy training them." He paused, waiting to see if I would turn back, but I stubbornly refused to face him. My heart was obscenely beating in my chest.
His threats roared silently between us.
"More importantly, I came to give your birthday gift." The heavy fall of his footsteps was getting closer to me. His magnetizing power was not at my back.
"How thoughtful," I snapped, turning back to back at him. The smile on my face was biting and insincere. "But completely unnecessary." I quickly outmaneuvered him. Abandoning the melons in my hand, I walked slowly back to the front, where I knew someone was bound to pass by.
Someone close enough to hear me if I screamed.
He must have sensed and seen through my plan. He smirked and gestured for me to walk ahead of him. "On the contrary," he chuckled, amused. We began to move towards the front, and he let me lead. "It would be remiss of me not to give my fiancé a gift for her birthday."
The word fiancé struck me hard and bitter in the chest.
The authority in the way he said it was a declaration that left no room for questioning, no second thoughts.
"How generous of you, Meroveo," I said with false sweetness, looking over my shoulder. "You truly are a man of honor when you're not terrorizing me," I continued, walking ahead of him, happy with the thinly veiled baiting, doing my best to gather myself.
"That sweet mouth is sharp today." He stopped abruptly, pulling me into a corner hidden from view. His body blocked my only escape.
The look in his eyes was hungry and dark, filled with a subtle rage. The curve of his lips was dangerously menacing. I clutched my skirt for safety, something to ground me and hold me firm to the earth. Meroveo wielded his silent power over me mercilessly.
I wanted to escape from the insolent way his gaze flickered over my body. It was indecent, leaving me feeling feverish, naked, and open.
I should have known better than to be goading him, challenging a man who saw me as no more dangerous than a lamb under the clutches of a hungry wolf.
"You should never tempt a man when he's already on edge, Dove," he whispered. His powerful body inched slowly towards me, pushing me back onto the wall.
"I shouldn't be alone with you. I want to go," I pleaded in a whisper and pushed slightly forward, trying to assert that I needed space between us. "I'll scream," I hopelessly threatened him.
"Go ahead," he gestured calmly, watching me. "Who will stop me, Dove?" He slightly smiled, now amused at the sound of my trembling voice.
No one would hear me. If they did, none would be brave enough to get involved.
"Turn around," he commanded calmly but firmly, ignoring my plea.
"Meroveo, please," I tried again, my body now shaking with my voice.
"Dove," he answered gently. "I don't like to say things twice. Turn around," he ordered again.
I slowly followed his order, submitting to his demand.
He moved my braid to one side, exposing my neck. The smooth sensation of his rough and calloused fingers caused an unwanted warmth to spread low into my belly.
"Why are you shaking brujita?" He rasped dangerously in my ear, and his smirk was loud and clear in his deep voice.
I wanted to scream - to yell! To tell him I was so far out of my depths when it came to this. I was drowning, terrified. Terrified of the evil I knew he was capable of, but so much more afraid of the new sensation that was now moving up and down my body, his simple touch that felt almost brutalizing.
"Cálmate," he soothed me, slowly turning me back to face him. "I only want to give you your gift," he whispered. I felt something light settle on my finger. I looked down to find a ring, a cluster of diamonds glittering in the intricate shape of a flower.
He lifted my chin so that I was facing him. His finger followed the curve of my jaw and then gently dipped down to trace the slope of my collarbone.
"When it's time," he raised my chin until we stared into each other's eyes.
"You won't be able to say no to me," he vowed, gripping my chin more firmly.
My lips parted involuntarily as his fingers brushed above the very top of my chest. There was a dangerous sprout of thrilling goosebumps on my skin. If he noticed my reaction, he thankfully kept it to himself as he lifted my hand to kiss my palm.
His eyes swelled with territorial pride.
"You're cruel," I whispered to him, fighting to keep my voice even.
"No, Dove, I'm not cruel. I'm a man who knows what he wants and makes no apologies for it."
"I don't want to marry you," my voice broke as he wiped away the tears from my eyes.
His lip quirked up as if I had said something silly. His hand gently raised my chin again to look up at him. "You can lie to that boy and your mother, but you can't lie to me."
"I hate you," I whispered again, pulling myself away from his grip.
"Lie to yourself if that helps. Pretend that you don't feel it. It was there the day I put the flowers in your hair." His eyes gazed deeply into mine, words low and hypnotic. "I remember the taste of sweetness you gave to me in your dreams," he teased.
The wickedness of his words moved through me, and I felt my knees growing weaker and my cheeks burning.
"I won't marry you," I repeated adamantly.
"I'm a patient man, little Dove. You don't rush a flower to bloom. In time, she opens her petals to you." A horrifying darkness gleamed in his eyes.
"I won't marry you," I said again in desperation. "Why me?" The weight on my finger was unfamiliar and uncomfortable. It symbolized his mark, possession, and ownership over me.
"It could never be anyone else." His smile was anything but comforting. "I'm not a man who forgives, something you will soon understand." His words were cryptic. "You're mine."