Chapter 4 #2
Gaven leaned forward and steepled his fingers together, resting his elbows on the edge of the table as he considered me.
“Far older than you, Angel,” he said. “Although you shouldn’t worry, I won’t let you be completely deprived of your freedom.
Once you’ve got my son in your belly, you’ll be free to make your own choices.
You can even attend college if you want to.
Your father told me that’s what you were planning before he made his offer.
Though, I recommend you do so from the comfort and safety of our home. ”
A mixture of horror and an unwanted tightness in my stomach rolled through me. Not only was this man planning to marry me against my will, but he also wanted to impregnate me. “No.”
Gaven shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He leaned away from the table and reached for the glass of red wine the waiter had set before him. Something that I couldn’t drink because I wasn’t even twenty-one yet. Too young to drink, only not too young to have his child, apparently.
“I’m not going to have a child,” I snapped.
Gaven carefully sipped his wine and waited until he’d savored the singular gulp he’d taken before he replied. “You will.” Those two words were spoken so boldly, so matter-of-factly.
How the fuck could he say something so awful?
“Why not Jackie?” I asked. Despite my earlier thought that I didn’t want to throw my sister onto this path, the words spilled out.
She was far more agreeable and knowledgeable.
She was made for this role. I was not. Perhaps my father hadn’t offered Jackie …
No, even as the thought occurred to me, I knew the truth.
This man had definitely chosen me on purpose.
It was there in his heated gaze, in the way he stalked me with his eyes.
The look he gave me sent chills down my spine.
Gaven eyed me, his cool deep blue gaze analyzing me from my head down to where my lower half disappeared beneath the table. All at once, I felt pinned in place. As if a giant predator had found me and was debating on whether to devour me whole or piece by piece.
“You’re a beautiful prize, Angel,” he said quietly. “You need not fear the things I can give you. Your future is secured with me. I assure you, I will never hurt you.”
“You are hurting me,” I snapped back. “You’re destroying my future, not securing it.
Why the hell would you choose me?” Fear surfaces.
It washes over me, a tiny whispering thrill weaving through my body.
I swallowed nervously as Gaven leaned forward, one elbow resting on the table as he lifted his hand toward my face.
I held perfectly still as that hand of his neared closer and closer.
When his fingers touched my cheek, grazing down to my jawline, it felt like a bolt of electricity had shot through me.
Awareness, keen and so very fucking there, lifted me out of the fog of confusion and catapulted me straight into unfamiliar territory.
Fuck. No. I cannot be attracted to this man.
It isn’t possible. He’s the enemy. As if making fun of my thoughts, the place between my legs throbbed.
My thighs clenched, and my chest swelled as I unintentionally leaned into his touch.
“Normally, in a situation such as this, I’d simply tell you that the why doesn’t matter,” Gaven said, his voice low and deep.
“The fact is, you are my fiancée, and you will be my wife.” His hand shifted as he stood, leaning more fully across the tiny table.
Why is the table so fucking small? He practically dwarfed it, hovering over both it and me.
His hand clenched briefly before grasping my throat and pulling me forward until my face was tilted to meet his impenetrable gaze.
My heart thudded rapidly, my pulse speeding up under his palm.
“It doesn’t matter to me if you’re inexperienced,” he said, his voice dropping another octave.
Whatever frequency he was speaking seemed to have a direct link to my core.
The lower his voice went, the more I couldn’t help but feel a wetness forming inside my panties.
When I’d told him I was inexperienced, I meant that I was a virgin.
I’d touched myself before, and I’d watched porn, sure.
About as much as I’d read it, however I’d never even been this close to a man who was looking at me as though he wanted to eat me alive.
Their focus had always been on my sister.
I blended into the background, forgettable.
Exactly where I’d hoped to stay until my wishes came crashing down.
“In fact,” he continued, “that makes this easier.”
“E-easier?” I repeated.
“Yes,” he said as his thumb stroked over my thumping pulse. “Because it means I can teach you, shape you, mold you to my specifications and my desires.”
That rankled. “What about my desires?”
His close-lipped smile widened, parting his lips as he leaned even closer until I could smell the mint on his breath. “Oh, I promise you, my soon-to-be wife, your desires will be well cared for, but if you’re worried, perhaps a demonstration is in order.”
Demonstration? “No.” I shook my head, pulling my face away from his grasp.
“No?” Gaven chuckled. “Then perhaps a bet?”
I froze at that. “A bet?” I repeated. “What kind of bet?”
“If you can resist me, then perhaps I’ll free you from our deal.” Gaven’s words were all I wanted to hear, although the underlying reality warned me that this was too good to be true and he was, after all, a criminal. Could he really be trusted?
Even as I acknowledged that, I couldn’t help but respond. “What are the terms?”
Picking up the chair, Gaven set it next to me so that our thighs would be touching when he sat down again. “The terms are simple,” he replied. “I ask a question, you answer. You ask a question, I answer. If we can’t or won’t answer, then we’ll receive a penalty chosen by the other person.”
My chest ached. I pressed my thighs together even harder.
Glaring up at the crystal blue eyes that looked down on me, I had to think that this man wasn’t even bothering to disguise the devil inside.
He was as wicked as they came. If I agreed to this little bet of his, would I even have a chance of winning?
But if I didn’t do anything … then, would I just give in and agree to be his wife and broodmare?
It was a simple enough decision. No. I wouldn’t give in. Not that easily.
“Fine,” I said, my voice sounding odd even to myself, breathless, uneven. “Are there any other rules?”
Gaven took his seat again, his knee brushing mine beneath the table.
“Rule number one.” He picked up the glass of wine and held it out to me.
“You can’t refuse anything I give you for the next hour.
” I took the wine and tipped it back, draining half the glass before setting it down.
“Rule two,” he continued. “You’ll answer every question I ask truthfully. ”
“Only if you’ll do the same,” I replied.
He tipped his head to the side. “Of course,” he acquiesced after a beat of silence.
“Then, onto the game.” Heat stole over my body as his hand slid to my thigh, the warmth of his palm burning past the fabric of my dress.
“Answer my questions, and I’ll answer yours.
Each of us gets one per turn. If you take too long to answer, then a penalty is in order. ”
“Penalty?” My body was winding tighter and tighter with each word he spoke. “What kind of penalty?”
Those full, masculine lips of his twitched again. One corner tipped up, making him seem more boyish than before. “I’ll leave that up to each party. You choose your penalties, and I’ll choose mine.”
I gritted my teeth. “Fine.” Reaching down, I gripped his hand and removed it from my thigh.
He didn’t respond save for the soft raise of his brow and that twitch of his lips again. Gaven reached for the wine once more and took a sip. “Let’s begin then.”