skydiverts
She shoved against his chest, panic and fury colliding inside her.
"I don't want to marry you!" she snapped, her voice sharp despite the tremor running through it. "Why do you keep ignoring the fact that your marriage is already fixed? You're about to become someone else's husband."
His expression darkened.
Before she could step away, his hand closed around her wrist, twisting it just enough to stop her from moving. Not enough to hurt, just enough to remind her how easily he could overpower her. Her breath hitched as she struggled against him, but he didn't loosen his grip.
"Do you really think I care about her," he growled, his voice low and dangerous, "when the only woman I intend to marry is standing right in front of me?"
Her heart stuttered.
He leaned closer, forcing her back until there was nowhere left to go.
"And don't forget what happened a week ago," he continued, his tone rough, edged with something dark and possessive. "You crossed a line the moment you stepped into my world."
She glared at him, though her pulse betrayed her, hammering wildly beneath her skin.
"You will marry me," he said, each word deliberate, immovable. "Even if I have to force that decision on you."
Her lips parted, but no words came.
"Fight all you want," he murmured, tightening his hold just slightly, "hate me, curse me, run from me if you can..." His gaze dropped to her mouth, burning. "But in the end, you'll be the only woman who becomes my wife."
Her breath caught.
Then he lowered his head.
She shut her eyes instantly, her lashes trembling, expecting something harsh, something cruel.
Instead, she felt it.
His lips brushed the corner of hers.
Soft.
Almost gentle.
But there was nothing tender about the shiver that tore through her.
Because beneath that softness was something far more dangerous, something dark, obsessive, and twisted enough to make her knees weaken.
A promise.
A warning.
And the terrifying certainty that he meant every single word.