“Of course.” I can almost hear the joy in his voice. Markus doesn’t show emotion often, but I imagine he smiles while delivering my messages.
“Let me know if there are any problems,” I tell him and hang up.
Logging back into the security app, I find Elena sitting on the edge of the bed cross-legged. She’s just sitting there, doing nothing, looking completely unaffected by the fact that she is all alone.
It angers and interests me all at once.
She doesn’t seem to be bothered by the silence of the room, and I wonder why that is? She should be going insane, beating on the door, begging for me to let her out.
I knew her father kept her on lockdown in his house, but maybe it was more than that. Had her father locked her up in her bedroom, kept her a prisoner like she is here? Clearly, she’s conditioned, which is putting a real damper on my plan.
Checking the time, I realize it’s almost lunch. Pushing up from my chair, I walk to the kitchen where Martha–one of the older maids–is just putting everything on a tray.
“I’ll take it to her today,” I tell her. Her mouth opens to say something, but she quickly changes her mind, closes her mouth, and simply nods instead.
Carrying the tray of food, I walk through the house and up to the bedrooms. I catch myself being eager to get to her, and that thought has me slowing down. I can’t have her get to me like that. No one controls me.
I unlock the door while balancing the food with my free hand. When I step inside, Elena jumps up from the bed. Her eyes go wide as she takes me in; clearly, she didn’t expect me to deliver her lunch.
She doesn’t say anything as I carry the tray to her, placing it on the bed beside her.
“Please don’t tell me you were expecting someone else?” I say.
“I just thought the maid brought me my lunch. I didn’t know you were here.”
“You sound disappointed.”
“Just surprised.” She shrugs. Without looking up at me, she takes the sandwich from the plate and starts nibbling on it. As I stand there towering over her, I’m burdened with the need to understand her.
“You seem accustomed to being alone.”
“Because I am,” she simply states. “I would appreciate being able to go out for walks and explore the grounds when I want to.”
“Like I said–”
“Yes, I know.” She glances up at me, her thick lashes fan against her cheeks. “Listen, obey, behave, then freedom. In that order.”
I’m not sure if I’m mad or impressed that she dared to interrupt me. I don’t even remember the last time someone did that without dying immediately after.
“Did your father not teach you any manners?”
Her cheeks turn crimson. “I’m sorry.”
Her apology is genuine, and I’m not sure what to make of it. Hell, I don’t know what to make of any of this. She’s nothing like I expected her to be, and I need to get out of this room and away from her. She draws me in, and I won’t be made a fool of, least of all by her.
“I’ll be back to get you for dinner.”
Her lips part, and it looks like she’s going to say something, but her gaze darts away, and words never come out. I wonder if she is going to ask me to stay. To talk. Is my plan working so quickly? Is she already starved for my attention?
Not giving her time to figure it out, I leave the room without another word. I close and lock the door behind me before I stare at the door for a second longer than I should. My plan is unfolding nicely, even though not quite as I had planned, she is starting to depend on me, nevertheless. So why am I not happy about it?
My afternoon workload goes just as painfully slow as the morning. Lucca and I discuss a couple shipments of drugs that have gone missing. It’s going to cost us big and is a mistake that one of my men will pay for. I have this feeling that someone is trying to stiff me. Concentrating is nearly impossible, knowing Elena is right within reaching distance. Having her here is starting to drive me insane, and I wonder if I can wait until next week to fuck her.
I stop working early and have Martha set the table on the terrace. Elena has been behaving very well, I might as well give her a little reward. I pour myself a glass of whiskey and stare out the huge window that overlooks the lawn. The whiskey calms me, making me warm all over and is just what I need before going to see my bride. Finishing the glass, I leave the office and walk down the hall.
Reaching the bedroom door, I smile smugly while already knowing she listened to me and is waiting like a dog ready to see its owner at the end of the day.
When I unlock and open the door, I find her exactly where I knew she would be—my obedient, soon to be wife. Her green eyes meet mine earnestly, and she stands up and walks over to me. Just like last night, I take her hand in mine, hating the way it fucking feels, and drag her through the house.
I don’t want her to get familiar with her surroundings, and I don’t want her to see any of the guards or maids unless necessary. Right now, she is my captive, not a guest, and not yet a member of the Moretti family. She will see what I want her to see when I want her to see it.
Her short legs can barely keep up with my steps, and I briefly entertain the idea of picking her up. Mostly because I want to scare her, and partially because I want to touch her. Every time I’m in her presence, I have to stop myself from taking from her, from dipping my fingers into her panties and touching what’s mine.
Taking her virginity now or next month doesn’t matter much to me, but I’m sticking to my plan. It will help, making her trust me.
That’s not to say I won’t taste or touch her. I didn’t pay ten million dollars, so I could stare at her, and I’m as far from a saint as could possibly be. She’s lucky, very lucky, someone far less innocent would’ve been on her back the first night.
“Where are we going?” Elena asks when we bypass the dining room and enter the French doors off the kitchen.
There’s an intake of breath, and I pause just outside the door, looking down and admiring Elena’s beauty in the setting sun. I know for a fact that I will thoroughly enjoy fucking her and planting my seed inside her. That’s the second-best part of my plan; the first is seeing her father’s face when he realizes his daughter actually wants me, maybe even loves me.
Looking out onto the terrace, the outside lights are dimmed, and the table is set for the two of us.
The area is spacious, huge with a brick walkout and small fountain in the center. There’s a spot to cook outdoors, and if you walk a little further down, there is a pool. When I bought this mansion, it was because of this space, but since living here, I’ve used it maybe once or twice, and that’s it.
“This… it’s beautiful,” Elena whispers.
“It really is. This view and this space are the main reasons I bought the house to begin with.” I’m not sure why I just told her that but brush it off and usher her to a spot at the table. I take a seat beside her and start uncovering all the dishes.
Elena hands me her plate, and I fill it before filling my own. She takes dainty bites and small sips of her water. I’m famished, so I eat my plate of food and then a second helping.
“Where do you go during the day?” she asks completely out of the blue.