Chapter 9 - Ivan
I meant every word I said to Daria before.
If she had been with someone else, she probably would've been dead already.
She was trying my patience. After fighting my plans, throwing an absolute fit, and then trying to sneak out of the house, she was pushing it.
While Daria certainly was giving me a headache in some aspects, I couldn't bring myself to just put an end to her and to the irritating situation as a whole.
It certainly would be easier, but I couldn't bring myself to harm her physically. No...I wouldn't get anything out of it.
But, if I kept her alive and made her suffer day in and day out, the satisfaction gained would be endless.
That was it...the reason why I was going through all of that effort in the first place. Tying her to me when I would've been done with it in any other situation.
In all honesty, she should've considered herself lucky, regardless of how she tried to resist that idea.
I could've raised a hand against her just from catching her in the middle of trying to slip away during the grocery delivery, but I didn't. I'd rather wait and watch as everything culminated to our elopement, where I'd get the greatest reward for my patience.
Daria had been nothing but a wild cat since I brought her home. Fighting and resisting whenever possible, regardless of her being under my complete control.
And yet, I was enjoying how easily I riled her up. How quickly she reacted to everything I did and said. It made her insolence worthwhile.
Her Zoey persona had been sweet and relaxed, and while I had no idea what the real Daria was like unprovoked and left to her own devices, I was savoring the current version of her while I could.
She was at my mercy, forced to brace herself for whatever I threw at her. Whether it was a harmless flirtation or an all-out taunt, she always gave me the reactions I wanted, and that fact alone reminded me of not only the power I had over her, but also all the ways she couldn't wholly resist me despite her efforts.
But at that moment, I seemed to have a completely different version of her.
Standing in that tiny chapel, dressed in somewhat regular clothes, the quick ceremony was underway, and Daria didn't utter a word. That wild cat from before seemed completely tame in comparison, speaking volumes of just how terrified she was.
While the officiant said the words, Dom stood as our silent witness, signing what needed to be signed before the time finally arrived.
Looking down at her, I couldn't help but take in her features. Regardless of the fear and subtle panic staining her face, she still looked beautiful. If anything, the slight widening of her eyes made them even more appealing.
Perhaps that suggested something about me, but I didn't care.
When we were pronounced husband and wife, cementing my attempt to secure her to me and extend that torment for as long as possible, I reached a hand out to cup her cheek as I moved in.
My eyes flickered down to those soft-looking lips at first, guiding my path until I felt them beneath mine.
I had been pining for that moment in Mexico ever since I met her, and while the circumstances were much different than I once imagined, I was seizing the opportunity as it came.
It should've been just a simple kiss—a light touch to make it all official. And the slight tension in her lips through her initial resistance should've turned me completely off from it.
But when Daria slowly eased into it as if losing her resolve, I did the same and gently melded our lips together.
For a flickering moment, I lost myself in it, allowing myself to drink it all in after wanting nothing more than exactly that for too long.
Even if our point of contact was minimal through my hand against her cheek and my mouth on hers, I could feel the warm, frantic heat that came from her body, and it was enough to make me want more despite myself.
As much as I wanted to prolong that kiss even longer, desires getting away from me, I snapped back to reality and broke the kiss to find her cheeks faintly dusted with color.
Everything seemed to freeze at that moment while I looked her over, letting it sink into what I had just done. What we had done.
She was my wife.
Something about it felt so strange—so absurd to even consider, given how badly I wanted her before.
But before I could dwell on any of it for too long, I forced myself to push it down and remember what I was doing it for.
As incredible as it felt to kiss her, and as much as I felt the urge to keep going, I couldn't let myself get caught up in it.
Marrying Daria had nothing to do with my fixation on her and everything to do with getting my revenge. That was all. It had to be it.
She was silent all the way back to the house. Her eyes never left the window while she sat in her quiet fury, surely considering all of the ways she was thoroughly screwed.
If she had been banking on getting away from me before I could do anything as drastic as marrying her, then she was out of luck. In fact, all of the luck seemed to be on my side, and I did my best to soak up that triumph.
Even if I didn't comment on it, I was sure she could feel how smug I was about it.
If things had been different, then I would've wanted her to be excited...happy, at least. Picturing that alternate outcome in my head made my heart clench for some reason, but I didn't sit with that notion for too long.
The reality was that Daria was officially mine regardless of what that meant; my plan was moving smoothly, and I was getting everything I wanted.
Even when we got out of the vehicle, Daria still didn't say a word, and I guided her back into the house. She didn't resist or pull away while I opened the door and let her through.
Instead, she just looked ahead of herself, either too numb to realize how compliant she was, or she finally understood how useless it was to fight my will. No matter what she did, my wants were always bound to crush hers. And that was how I intended to keep it.
Without me needing to prompt her, she went right up the stairs and down the hall. But my brows furrowed when I realized she was continuing towards the spare bedroom.
"Hold on," I muttered, grabbing at her arm before she could get too far. "Where are you going?"
She scowled at me incredulously. "To my room—"
"No, you aren't," I returned, adjusting her slightly to reaffirm my words. "My wife will sleep in the same bed as me."
I watched as every thought raced through her eyes while she tried to grapple with my demand.
She blinked back at me before murmuring, "What?"
"You heard me...so get used to it."
A scoff left her then as she pulled her arm out of my grasp and looked up at me sharply. "Why would I do that?"
I bristled at her defiance but resisted the urge to grab her again. I had to keep myself under wraps before I did something I'd regret.
"Because we're married now. I won't have you sleeping in there alone...not while you're legally mine."
I couldn't tell if her feelings of disbelief or confusion were more apparent, but either way, she looked briefly stunned before schooling her emotions.
"No way."
"No?" I asked with a hint of mock innocence while cocking a brow. "You think you have a choice in the matter?"
"That's the point," she snapped back, eyes gleaming with her barely contained anger. "I haven't had a choice since I got here."
"And whose fault is that?"
Her jaw clenched while she looked up at me, unable to hold her tongue any longer. "Yours because you can't look past the one thing I did, and now you're weaponizing it against me."
While she wasn't wrong, the way she stated it so plainly grated against my nerves, and it didn't take long for my irritation to match hers. I narrowed my eyes at her.
"You say it like you didn't do any harm...but we both know that's not true," I muttered, taking a step closer until she pressed her back against the wall, caging her in. "You deceived me and my family. You pretended to be someone you weren't to further your brother's plans. You brought all of this on yourself, whether you want to acknowledge it or not."
Despite looking uncomfortable about me bringing it up again, Daria's brows pinched together. "You don't know the half of what I went through...it wasn't that simple."
"Nor do I care...you were an accomplice in Rurik's plan, and since he's not here, you're the one paying for it."
She shouldn't have looked shocked by that notion, not when I made that plain enough before. But it still seemed to rattle her all the same.
When she didn't say anything, seemingly realizing our proximity as I leaned in a bit closer, I continued.
"For your brother's attempt to get to us, and your little charade, you have the pleasure of shouldering that responsibility. You're going to be stuck with me, reminded every time you look at me of exactly what you did," I murmured, speaking a bit softer while I tapped beneath her chin, making her look at me. "I suggest you get used to following my lead and listening to what I tell you."
Daria bristled at my words, looking prepared to spit something back at me, but her resolve faltered for half a second, and I caught the way her eyes flickered down to my lips.
"You may have taken my free will away, but I can still resist you. I can still make this difficult," she murmured, unable to raise her voice higher than that while she swallowed hard.
With a flare of irritation moving through me at her claim, I gripped her jaw tight enough to let her know I was serious. Tipping her head back until it pressed against the wall, my eyes roved over her features.
Despite myself, she looked stupidly gorgeous, which only made me angrier.
"Resist me, and you’ll find out very quickly why that isn't a wise idea," I returned, giving her jaw a faint squeeze for emphasis. "You'll regret it. And don't assume I'm bluffing."
Her chest rose and fell a touch harder while her pulse thrummed beneath my hand, and despite the angle I kept her head at, she still held my gaze. "You're a bastard."
Something about the situation sent a thrill down my spine. I was taunting and teasing her on purpose to further my strategy to make her suffer, and she was playing into it all too well.
Whether it was the knowledge that my presence was having an effect on her, or the fact that she wasn't completely cowering away from me, I couldn't deny how much pleasure I was gaining from it.
As much as I wanted to think it was only bothering her, I could feel the swell of heat forming within me. The desire to touch her more.
Pushing back the temptation to do more, I let the corners of my lips turn up faintly.
"Keep pushing, little wife...push and see what happens."
Before she could say anything, I wedged my thigh between her legs, making her eyes grow by a touch while her breath hitched.
That stubbornness faltered again for a moment while she pulled in a shaky breath, struggling to find the words to fire back at me.
I chuckled and tilted my head while letting my thumb graze her lower lip. My eyes tracked the movement, watching how the softness of her skin gave way to the pressure of my touch, only to bounce back with ease. Something about it pulled me in, making me forget about my antics for a beat.
Daria shivered and couldn't hide it regardless of her attempt to, forced to take in my touch while I kept her pinned against the wall.
Catching that soft glow of color in her cheeks made me zero in on her features even closer, becoming keenly aware of every quick breath and rapid beat of her heart. I applied the faintest hint of pressure against the apex of her legs, making a barely audible gasp escape her lips.
I had to swallow back the satisfied growl that threatened to leave the back of my throat. Even if I was trying to get to her, there was no mistaking how it was having the same effect on me.
Regardless of how tempting she was, especially with the knowledge that she was my wife freshly in my mind, I had to resist.
Giving in to her wasn't part of the plan, and I'd be damned if I let it get the better of me.
Just when she seemed to soften slightly, as if contemplating giving up resisting me, I did a once-over of her face, then let go and pulled back.
"Get in the bedroom. I won't take no for an answer," I muttered, centering myself again.
Daria blinked back at me, looking all kinds of disoriented, while she straightened up and regained her bearings.
After a moment, I narrowed my eyes at her again. "Or do you need me to carry you in again?"
At that, her irritation returned, and she began for the master bedroom with her arms crossed.
"Go to hell..."
It was all I needed to hear to know that our marriage was about to be nothing but paradise.