Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Loving a villain is a choice.
What a funny concept.
For love is not a choice at all.
If it were…we wouldn’t have so many tragic stories.
After all…
Love is our greatest strength and biggest downfall.”
Diana
Diana
A whistling sound echoes in the magnificent garden.
Oh my God!
He’s actually shooting arrows my way, and I don’t understand the excitement gliding through my veins, awakening every instinct in my body, and sending a thrilling sensation through me. It promises something wicked.
I imagine myself as another Diana, the goodness and skillful huntress who fled from her feelings. Feelings that threatened everything she believed in, yet she wished for the hunter to catch and trap her.
So she wouldn’t have a choice in the matter and succumb to her deepest cravings without giving up her chastity vows.
What would she feel if she were in my shoes right now?
I close my eyes and pretend for a moment in time to live between the pages of my favorite myth.
And channel the emotions Artemis must have felt.
Thunder shakes the sky, and I jerk to the side when an arrow lands right next to me, reminding me of the danger awaiting me on this beautiful yet fateful night.
After all, a hunter arrived uninvited, slathering everyone on his way as he came for one thing, and one thing only.
To conquer and destroy.
At least until his eyes land on me and they fill with so much heat, it burns me from the inside out and awakens the forbidden emotions that might cost him his life.
However, he’s an enemy who has bad intentions in mind, and submitting to him would mean the death of me, and that’s something I can never allow.
Another arrow lands behind me, and I shake my head, exhaling heavily. Grabbing my own bow from my back, I aim my arrow his way, straight to his heart. He catches it right before it pierces his chest.
I gasp at his skills, the sense of trepidation filling me to the brink.
He hisses through his teeth, flipping the arrow and putting it on his own bow. “Diana.” His seductive and sinister tone glides over my skin, yet everything inside me screams to stay far away from him as he won’t rest until he shatters me into tiny little pieces.
Pieces that would belong to him and make me vulnerable to everyone else.
“Come here, darling.” He sends the stolen arrow flying my way, and I fist the skirt of my dress, racing into the garden as the harsh wind slaps my cheeks, my hair billowing backward, and my bare feet almost soundless against the wet-from-rain grass.
“This hunt will have only one winner.” An arrow lands to my right.
“And it won’t be you,” I shout over my shoulder, turning to the left as the pouring rain falls from the sky, blurring my vision. Still, I race through the garden, wishing to find an escape from the trap he has created.
“There is no way out. Not tonight, and not ever. Because you’re mine.”
Fists tighten on my dress as determination fills every cell in my body, pushing me to add more speed, but I cry out as an arrow catches the hem of my dress this time, halting my movements and holding me still. “Some things in life are inevitable, darling.”
How is his aim so accurate in the darkness? His abilities inspire nothing but awe. Too bad he’s using them against me, thus creating a division between us.
“Go to hell.” I pull hard on the fabric, tearing it to free myself, then resume my run. My lungs beg for oxygen, but there is no time to rest.
An intruder came to my haven, my home built with love and peace, and decided to destroy it in the most vicious way.
He broke the ancient laws and dared to touch something he could never have, and for that, there is always a price to pay.
Lightning grazes the sky, illuminating everything around us for a moment, only to cast us in darkness akin to the one he inflicted on us all when he brought everyone under his curse.
A man who seeks destruction, as it’s the only thing feeding his chaotic soul.
Yet my soul yearns for him, flourishing under his obsession and finding peace where there should be none.
“Diana!” he calls again, the energy shifting around me becoming more tense and dangerous, causing even the owls to cry out. The trees around me seem to sway under the harsh wind. I’m afraid they might fall at any moment, giving the hunter an advantage.
By the heavy thumping behind me, I know he’s close, intending to catch his prey and smear me in his blood.
Claiming what no one has ever dared to claim before him, earning himself an endless supply of glory that should never be his.
A powerful man who answers to no one, living by his own book, where gore and chaos rule, as all the riches in the world belong to him.
But what he truly wants is me, and it shouldn’t ignite my heart. Though it does.
My body is not for sale, and I won’t give it to him without a fight.
Several more arrows land by my feet, blocking my way, and judging by how skillfully he uses them, I know he’s trying to scare me. He’ll never hurt me.
Not yet, anyway.
After all, he’s known for torturing his prey before finally indulging in his dark cravings, in killing them, holding their flesh for everyone to see. And only then does he allow his hounds to feast on the remains.
The thought brings anger so strong, I can taste it on my tongue, and I let it consume every nerve ending in my body. Fueling me with fury and vengeance, wiping away any self-preservation or survival instinct.
Stopping right in the middle of the garden, I take my bow and arrow and swiftly spin around, only to come face-to-face with him. We both breathe heavily, staring at one another, with my arrow aimed right at his throat.
His mouth curves into a smile as his eyes glisten with desire and anticipation. He throws away his bow, opening his arms wide and stepping closer to me until the tip of my arrow meets the bare flesh of his neck. “Shoot, darling. I’ll enjoy the sight of my blood on you.”
“You’re a psychopath,” I whisper, my heart beating wildly as more thunder booms in the sky and rain soaks us from head to toe.
And just like that, the role-playing game is over, and we’re no longer acting.
No.
It’s my husband standing in front of me, showing me all his vices and awaiting judgment. Even though he has no intention of ever letting me go.
He takes another step, and the arrow digs deeper into his throat, drawing blood, and I know if I just apply a little more pressure, I could kill him.
That’s a vulnerability no one else would get to have sans me.
How far would he allow me to hurt him before his resolve snaps, and he takes what he wishes without any regard to my feelings?
And can a man who is capable of so many emotions even be called a psychopath? If I had the chance to kill all these men who helped Conrad, I would have done it in a heartbeat.
What does that say about me?
Flexing my fingers on the bow, I’m about to push further just to see how he’d react to it.
My gasp echoes in the night as he grabs my arrow, breaks it, and then turns me around, pressing my back to his chest. His hot breath fans my cheek when he whispers into my ear, “Caught you, darling. You should have never hesitated.”
He places his splayed palm on my stomach, gliding it up and down before fisting my dress as thunder continues to shake the night sky, covering up the moan that slips past my lips.
“Now the huntress has become the prey.” The deep possessiveness and satisfaction in his tone send goose bumps all over me as the familiar scorching heat, along with lust, sinks into my veins.
My whole body gravitates toward the hard muscles enveloping me.
His thick arm flexes around me as he leans forward, pushing the top of my dress down with his chin right before dragging his tongue from my exposed shoulder to my neck, lightly scraping it with his teeth and adding to the storm brewing in my veins.
“You’re mine,” he whispers into my ear as the rain intensifies, soaking us both. The material of my dress feels impossibly heavy against my flesh, while the fire consuming me threatens to wipe away all common sense.
Focus, Diana!
I struggle in his grip and demand, “Let go of me!” I should fight this further, even if I don’t understand the sudden need to challenge him.
Haven’t I already made up my mind that I don’t care about his past or how he decides to punish those who deserve it?
My moral compass is skewed right now, so I’ll try not to blame myself too much for it later on.
“You lied to me!” I try to peel his arm from my stomach, but it’s useless.
I know it currently seems like the most irrational thing to get mad about.
He asked me to trust him and give us a chance, yet all of this was built on a bed of lies.
He has to know it’s no way to start a marriage, and at least we have some common ground here. Neither of us has any idea how to navigate a relationship.
He rubs his stubble along the area between my shoulder and neck, and a chuckle rumbles in his throat.
“That’s why you’re mad?” I nudge him with my elbow, not appreciating his amusement on the matter.
He hisses through his teeth, pressing his hips tighter to mine, and I hold back the gasp threatening to escape at his hard-on digging into me. It awakens everything inside me.
“You could have tried to explain it to me. And Actaeon!” Let’s not forget he’s related to a whole cartel!
I’ve met Gael a handful of times over the years, and he was super charming with women, gushing all over him and wishing to be his next wife.
Sadly for them, he always ignored all their advances.
Rumor has it he’s been celibate for years, and according to hot gossip, his marriage was forced, and he never loved his wife.
“So many lies, and you expect me not to be mad?”