Shaun sighed happily, acknowledging to herself that she would never have enjoyed this sight if Jozef hadn’t brought her to Prague. She told herself it was okay to enjoy the simple pleasure of a stunning view as long as she never lost sight of her reality. She glanced to the side to find Jozef’s gaze on her face, his expression wistful, as though he felt the magic of the evening too. She couldn’t see what was going on in his brain, but she read admiration in his eyes. She couldn’t help but lift her lips in a smile.
You are a goddess, he signed, his hands flashing beneath the streetlight. Then he sank to his knee on the pavement. Shaun gasped as he reached into his pocket pulling out a jewelry box. Heart hammering, she shook her head in denial, wanting to beg him to put it away, to stop ruining the perfect moment they’d been sharing.
He didn’t put it away. He opened the lid to the box. A huge solitaire diamond in a white gold setting sparkled as it captured what little light filtered down from the overhead lamps. It was a silent, sinister reminder of Shaun’s place within a crime syndicate.
Jozef didn’t attempt to sign the question. He didn’t need to. There could only be one outcome in his mind; Shaun would become his wife.
Even as he took the ring from the box, dropping the velvet package to the street, Shaun shook her head in denial. “No.”
Jozef’s head came up swiftly and any warmth he’d been harbouring in his blue eyes froze to hard uncompromising chips. He stood, glaring down at her. Shaun tried to step away, tried to tug her hand from his grip, but his hold became painfully tight. If she continued to struggle, he could break her fingers. His gaze continued to capture hers as he shoved the ring onto her finger.
He looked past her and snapped his fingers. Shaun glanced over her shoulder as Havel strode from the shadows, announcing, “The car is on its way.”
Chapter Thirty-One
The drive back to the mansion was done in tense silence. Jozef stared broodingly out the window, his scarred visage flashing in the dim streetlights that they passed. Shaun didn’t know what to do with herself, so she sat as quietly as humanly possible, not wanting to draw attention. She didn’t know how to feel. Part of her was upset that she’d ruined their perfect night, even though she couldn’t possibly accept Jozef’s proposal.
The other part of her was angry at Jozef for pulling such a stunt. He had to have known what her answer would be. Didn’t he?
Maybe he didn’t. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, watching his frozen expression. He sat completely motionless as though lost in thought. Maybe he really did think Shaun would want to marry him. What in his experience had taught him otherwise? He was born and raised in a violent lifestyle with a cutthroat family. The violence and trauma of her abduction, when seen through his eyes, probably wasn’t as big a deal as it was to her. It was business as usual for the Koba enforcer.
What Jozef saw when he looked at Shaun was a woman he got along with, someone with an intelligent brain and a solid moral compass. A woman he was sexually attracted to, who was attracted to him as well. What seemed like an extraordinary set of circumstances to Shaun was Jozef’s every day. Well, she doubted he picked up a new fiancé every day, but the extremeness of the situation wouldn’t be too far out of his experience.
So, it was entirely possible Jozef would have expected a yes when he proposed.
He had no real understanding of Shaun, of her actions or reactions. She was too far out of his realm of experience. They were from two different worlds.
She was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice them turn into the long winding driveaway of the Koba estate until the vehicle came to a halt. She looked up, blinking in the gloom and glanced at Jozef who was already halfway out his door.
Shaun unbuckled her seatbelt and reached to open her door, but it was jerked from her hands. Jozef grabbed her arm and pulled her from the SUV, not waiting to see if she was clear before dragging her toward the house. His tight grip and the set of his shoulders told her he was angry.
“Jozef, stop it!” she gasped as she tripped on the pavement and nearly fell.
He paused only long enough to allow her to regain her footing before he pulled her into the house. Shaun blinked at the bright chandelier-lit interior of the foyer.
“Hey,” Saskia greeted them as they passed her in the hallway on their way to Jozef’s suite. She held a melting ice cream cone in her hand and her lips were smeared with chocolate. “How was your date night?”
Jozef ignored his cousin.
“Is everything okay?” Saskia asked, turning on the spot and watching with concern.
Shaun glanced over her shoulder but didn’t have time to answer.
Saskia’s concerned gaze followed the pair as they disappeared around a corner and entered Jozef’s wing of the house.
He pulled keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, shoving Shaun inside before following her. He closed the door with a bang and reached out to grab her, wrapping his fingers around her upper arm and swinging her around until she was shoved up against the hard wood.
They stared at each other for long seconds, then Jozef dipped his head, slanting his mouth over Shaun’s.
She pushed at his chest, but he was impossible to move.
He gripped her jaw, forcing her mouth open. The second his tongue was inside her mouth she slammed her teeth together. Jozef pulled back just in time.
“No, you do not get to kiss me without permission!” Shaun angrily wiped her mouth with her sleeve and glared at him.
He looked startled for a moment, as though only now realizing she hadn’t actually been participating in the kiss. Then his eyes narrowed, his expression hardening. He reached for her again, but Shaun slid sideways away from the door and backed away from him. He stalked her through the outer room until her back was up against the bedroom door. He stopped a few feet away and she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she realized he was only giving her space so he could communicate.
You don’t get to say no to me. I am law and order here. I take what I want.
“It this what you want?” she answered back, glaring at him. “You want an unwilling bride?”
Instead of answering the question he gripped her by the head and shoved her back against the door. Though he was taller than her at 6’3” she was tall enough that they were able to look each other in the eyes. He continued to hold her head, his fingers spanning her skull, but didn’t make any further moves. Shaun took the opportunity to attempt to reason with him.
“Is this the life you want? To get told who you have to marry based on one violent incident? This life of yours is dangerous. It’s brutal and it’ll eat away at you. What’s the life expectancy of a mobster? If I had to guess, you guys probably don’t die of natural causes.”
When he continued to silently stare at her, she pressed on, “You can’t possibly want to be forced to marry a woman you barely know. There’s still time to call this whole thing off.”
The words had barely left her mouth and he was kissing her again, his lips moving over hers, trying to coax a response. She shoved at him again, turning her face to the side.
“I said no.”
Jozef slammed his hand into the door over her head, shaking the thick wood with the force of his strike, then he dropped it to turn the knob, pushing her into the bedroom.