I knew part of my hesitation to allow her to go to work was the fact that I hadn’t dressed her, that I hadn’t given my input on the mask she wore that day. In time, she’d understand.
My dominance wasn’t limited to our bedroom.
I’d own her everywhere.
I took her by the wrist, tugging her closer to me as my intentions became crystal clear in that moment of clarity. Irina and I both knew she was mine, but the rest of the world didn’t yet.
“Alright, Butterfly. You want to go back to work?” I asked, watching as she tilted her head to the side. She saw the trap, knew she’d walked right into a snare that I would never let her escape. “You can go back in a couple of days, but there will be conditions.”
She heaved a sigh of relief, the woman who lived to compromise rising to the surface. Negotiations were her strong suit, and she undoubtedly believed she could maneuver her way into a better deal.
But there was no negotiating with my terms.
“Calix and another guard of my choosing will accompany you everywhere you go outside of this house,” I said, making her purse her lips. Even she couldn’t deny the need for security of some kind, and she’d gotten used to being around her cousin. The second man was a wildcard she hadn’t predicted, but only the beginning of my terms.
“Okay,” she agreed, even though I could tell she wanted to fight me on even that.
“You will be home by five o’clock at night without fail. No exceptions. I will determine what you wear every day, and your entire itinerary of meetings will be approved by me ahead of time,” I said, nearly laughing at the rage that crossed her features. If I hadn’t meant every word, I might have given into the urge.
“You have got to be kidding me,” she scoffed. She stepped back, raising her hands between us as if they could protect her from the kind of man she’d accepted as hers.
But now that she had, there was no turning back. This was her future.
To be mine, until death do us part.
“I’m not some kind of doll that you can play dress up with,” she snarled.
“No, you’re not,” I said, taking another step toward her and intruding on her space. It was more than I had wanted to push her, more than I should have considering the look of caution that crossed her face. “Which brings me to my last term. The next time you leave this house, you will do so with my ring on your finger and my name attached to yours. The next time you leave this house, Irina Ryan will no longer exist.”
Her eyes widened, her mouth dropping open. “What are you—”
“You’re going to be my wife,” I told her, reaching forward to cup her face. She allowed the touch, a million thoughts crossing her eyes as she lifted that stunned gaze up to mine.
“And if I say no?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper. Rage raised within me, threatening to boil over at the mere thought that she might not agree to be my wife.
That she might not want me in that way.
“Then I guess you won’t leave this house,” I said, putting space between us as I stepped back. Her body followed me, leaning forward as if it needed more of my touch. “It's your choice, Butterfly,” I added, reminding myself that I couldn’t just carry her to the altar and force her to say the words.
Having a father for a judge meant she’d get an annulment with just one phone call.
She had to agree to marry me.
“That was quite possibly the least romantic proposal I’ve ever seen,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “You really couldn’t do any better than that?”
“What?” I asked, shock crossing my face.
“Generally speaking, you should tell the woman you want to marry that you love her before you tell her she’s going to be your fucking wife, you asshat,” she said, laughter bubbling up her throat. “I told you I loved you over a month ago. What’s the hold up?”
“You want me to tell you I love you?” I asked, a smile tipping my lips up despite my best intention to keep a straight face.
“Of course I want you to tell me you love me! Are you dense?”
“I thought you already knew how I feel about you,” I said, stepping toward her. Her hands raised to touch my chest, resting against the fabric of my shirt in that way that made me crave them on my skin. It was such a juxtaposition to the man I’d been before Irina.
“I do. That doesn’t mean I don’t need the words, Scar,” she said, looking up at me through her lashes. She seemed almost hesitant to admit it, as if needing that validation was a weakness she didn’t want to confess.
I hated that I’d missed it, that I’d neglected something she needed from me when I wanted to be her everything.
I took her hand in mine, shifting it until it rested directly over my heart. “It only beats for you,” I said, leaning down to murmur the words against her lips. “I don’t know if that’s love. I don’t know that love is a strong enough word for what I feel for you. All I do know is if you were ever gone from this world, it would stop beating altogether.”
She hummed against my mouth, leaning closer as if she craved the kiss hovering between us as much as I did.
“I never wanted this,” I admitted. “I was perfectly content in my misery, feeling like a monster. Then came you, fitting all your jagged edges against mine and reminding me what it was to be whole. So yes, Butterfly. I love you more than life itself.”
She stared up at me, reaching up to touch the side of my neck as tears stung her eyes. “And I love you more than death,” she whispered, the ragged sound of a sob catching in her throat making my heart skip a beat.
I dropped my lips to hers, taking her mouth in the way I wanted to take her body.
Slowly. Devastatingly. Until we were one person, fitted together where all the sharp edges once existed.
“I need a ring and a priest,” I said, pulling back from her mouth regretfully.
“Now?” she asked, turning to look back at the bedroom as if to tell me I’d lost my damn mind if I thought I would be able to leave her.
“The next time I’m inside you, I’ll be fucking my wife,” I said, kissing her briefly one last time. I moved toward the door to our suite, turning back to give her a broad grin as I stepped through.
Madison waited on the other side; some girl talk would comfort as well as distract Irina while I found the perfect ring for a woman who deserved nothing but the best the world had to offer.
“Soon,” I said to her before I darted down the hallway, a man on a mission.
63
IRINA
Holy shit.
“Where’s he racing off to?” Madison asked, stepping into the living room. She held her volunteer application for Fresh Start clutched tightly in her grasp. I’d promised to take her with me to the office, introduce her to the kids, and help her get settled in through the initial awkwardness of being the new person in an unfamiliar place.
“To get a wedding ring it would seem,” I said, chuckling in disbelief.
That fucking man.
“Wait, what?” Madison asked, a broad smile consuming her face. There was something strained there though, some uncertainty as she played the happy and supportive friend.