Chapter 70

ALEXANDER

I watched her, arms crossed, stubborn as ever, refusing to step back inside the bedroom.

Instead, her eyes drifted to the cityscape—distant lights flickering like tiny, fading stars swallowed by the night.

Every now and then, her gaze flickered down to the bracelet clasped tight around her wrist, like she was trying to will it loose with sheer will alone.

For a moment, our eyes met. She tried to look away, but I could see the storm beneath that brittle calm.

Leaning casually against the balcony railing, one leg crossed over the other, I kept my posture relaxed—but my eyes never left her.

She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, a fragile shield I knew wouldn’t hold for long.

“What?” she muttered, voice brittle.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Planning to chain me up next? Maybe slap a lock on my ankle while you’re at it?”

A slow smirk tugged at my lips, dark and barely there.

“No, nothing dramatic like that, wife,” I said, low and deliberate.

“I’m just trying to decide which part of you I want to ruin first.”

She let out a bitter laugh—cold, sharp, like shattered glass.

“Which part do you want to ruin first?” she echoed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“You’re a little late for that, don’t you think?”

She took a step forward, her voice laced with venom

“You’ve already ruined my life, my freedom, my choices… Hell, what’s left? My sleep? My sanity?”

Her eyes burned into mine.

“So go ahead. Pick a part. What’s left to destroy?”

And damn if it didn’t make something in me tighten—dark, possessive, and far too hungry for a girl who still had fire left in her.

For a second, I almost smiled.

Almost.

My jaw ticked.

“You’re still breathing, aren’t you?” I said flatly, voice low and clipped.

“Then I haven’t even started.”

“You’re still standing,” I muttered, voice low and edged with something darker.

“Still fighting me at every turn…”

I took a slow step closer, eyes locked on hers.

“Which only means one thing—I haven’t ruined you nearly enough.”

And God help me, I didn’t know if I wanted to break her more… or make her mine so completely she’d forget who she was before me.

Fuck.

What the hell was wrong with me?

These thoughts—this need—

I needed a goddamn doctor.

Or an exorcist.

Maybe both.

“You’re sick.”

“Maybe,” I smirked, unapologetic, because I had been called worse.

“But in my world, ‘sick’ means you’re dangerous—untouchable."

He closed the distance, voice dropping to a deadly whisper.

“So before you spit those words, remember exactly where you are—

In my house. Wearing my name like a brand. Breathing the air I own.

And I decide what happens to anything that moves in my world... including you.”

“I’m only wearing your name because you blackmailed me, remember? It wasn’t some romantic wedding by the ocean where we exchanged vows or gave each other rings... No fairy tale, no promises made with love—just cold threats and even colder deals. So don’t act like this is some kind of happily ever after.”

Her eyes flashed with defiance, daring me to argue.

My gaze drifted to her bare hand, the one without a ring, and that smirk I couldn’t quite hold back curled wider.

A ring...

Hmm.

“Don’t worry,” I murmured, snapping my eyes back to hers, voice dropping to a husky promise.

“I’ll get you a ring soon. Something… worthy.”

Why the fuck did I say that?

That wasn’t like me—promising something soft, something sentimental.

My reputation wasn’t built on sweet words or empty gestures. I was the kind of man who took what he wanted, no explanations needed.

I’m the kind of man who takes what he wants, no questions, no apologies. And damn it, that includes her.

But maybe that was the fucking point—

To make sure she understood there was no escape.

No soft edges. No fairytales.

The ring wouldn’t be about love.

It’d be a brand.

A warning.

A chain she couldn’t see, but would damn well feel every time she looked at her hand.

Not just possession—

Power. Control.

My mark on her. For the world to see.

Yeah. I’ll go with that.

“I don’t want a ring,” she snapped, words rushing out like a challenge.

I raised a brow, a slow grin tugging at my mouth.

“No?” I said, voice low, edged with a threat wrapped in velvet.

“That’s cute, princesa.”

I took a step closer, letting the weight of my presence settle like smoke around her.

“You’ll wear it anyway. Just like the name. Just like the bracelet. Not because you want to—but because I said so.”

I leaned in, voice dipping to something dangerous.

“And when people see it, they’ll know exactly who you belong to.”

Her arms crossed tighter across her chest, that fiery defiance flaring like a last line of defence. But I saw through it.

“You can buy whatever you want,” she said, voice hard, sharp like broken glass.

“But it won’t mean anything. Not to me.”

I took a step closer.

Then another.

Slow, deliberate.

“Oh, it will,” I said, voice low, rough like gravel and smoke.

My hand lifted, the back of my knuckle brushing along her jaw—not soft, not cruel—just a warning wrapped in silk.

“Because when you look at it, you won’t see some shiny fucking accessory.”

I leaned in closer, my breath brushing her cheek.

“You’ll see the man who owns you. Who doesn’t give a damn whether you like it or not?”

Her breath caught, and for a split second, she froze.

Then, slowly—angrily—she turned her face away from me, jaw clenched tight.

Good.

Let her run from my eyes. It wouldn’t change a damn thing.

She was already mine. Whether she admitted it or not.

.....

The breeze stirred gently at first—innocent, almost playful—until it turned cruel, sweeping beneath the hem of her tight, white dress.

My eyes stilled, completely arrested by the flash of bare thigh revealed as the wind tugged mercilessly at the hem of her tight, white dress.

Just a glimpse.

Just enough to make my blood heat and my restraint falter

Smooth.

Toned.

Golden.

It hit me like a shot of adrenaline straight to the chest—sharp, hot, and impossible to ignore.

That sliver of exposed skin—smooth, tanned, maddeningly perfect—felt like a goddamn invitation I hadn’t earned but fully intended to take.

I reached out, my hand lifting under the guise of fixing her dress—at least, that’s what I told myself.

The truth was, I just needed to touch her.

To feel if those legs were as soft, as lethal, as they looked.

My fingers grazed the edge of the fabric, slow… deliberate… aching to slip lower, to feel heat and silk and sin.

But her hands flew to my shoulders, stopping me mid-motion—a warning..

Her glare could’ve scorched the skin off my bones.

“Don’t,” she hissed, her voice like velvet laced with venom, low and dangerous.

Fuck!

She was furious.

Beautiful.

And absolutely fucking irresistible.

She wrestled with the wind, hands gripping the hem of her dress like it had personally betrayed her.

The fabric twisted and fluttered, baring golden skin again... I was fast becoming addicted to.

“Why fight it? That dress is coming off sooner or later. Maybe I should save you the trouble... rip it off myself.”

Her nostrils flared, sharp and quick, like a wild animal ready to strike.

“Keep dreaming, Alexander. When this dress comes off, it’ll be behind locked doors... in the privacy of the bathroom.”

“Dreaming?” I breathed out, voice dripping with promise.

“No, sweetheart. That’s a prelude... to a very real, very mine reality. And trust me, it’s going to be far better than anything you’ve dared to imagine.”

Her glare sharpened, fierce and hungry—like she wanted to scratch me, or tear me apart, or maybe pull me closer and never let go.

“You’re impossible.”

I closed the distance in a heartbeat, the heat between us almost unbearable. My voice dropped lower, thick with possessiveness and desire.

“No, baby... I’m inevitable. The one you’ll never forget. The one who’ll break you down—slowly, ruthlessly—until all you can do is crave me.”

Her lips parted slightly, and for the briefest moment, her eyes flicked to my mouth.

She hated me.

She wanted me.

She didn’t know which one would win.

But I intended to find out.

“Why don’t you just leave me alone?” she snapped, every word laced with venom.

“Don’t you have some whore to screw or a soul to torment? Or are you just playing prison guard today?”

"Whore? I may be an uncaring bastard most of the time… hell, all the time.

But come on—going to another woman on our wedding night? That wouldn’t be very gentlemanly of me, would it?

Besides, why settle for less when I’ve got a sexy wife like you—fiery, fierce, and wickedly beautiful. That mouth of yours? I can’t wait to shut it in all the best ways.

I’ve got a long list of things planned for you—slow, ruthless, and utterly consuming.

Positions that’ll leave you gasping, begging, writhing beneath me until you’re completely undone.

Think you can push me away? Just wait.

I’m going to make you crave me harder than you ever imagined possible.

Her eyes went wide, jaw practically dropping like she wasn’t sure whether to be shocked, amused, or utterly scandalised.

“You’re delusional,” she spat, voice barely above a whisper, heat flickering like wildfire across her cheeks.

“I won’t let you near me… unless, of course, you plan to force yourself on me—like you forced this marriage.”

A slow grin tugged at my mouth as I met her glare, savouring the storm in her eyes.

“Force myself on you? No, Alina. I don’t need to force a thing.”

My fingers swept a stray lock of hair from her face, then traced the sharp line of her jaw—slow, deliberate, charged with heat.

“I don’t force women. They beg me to fuck them.”

I lowered my voice, dark and certain.

“—They beg because they want it. And you will want it too..You’ll crave it—Because when I’m finished with you, every inch of you will belong to me—willingly. Even that fiery mouth of yours that thinks it can stand against me.”

“No. That will never happen. I’ll never be yours… you’re a bad man, the worst kind. I will never belong to you,” she muttered, backing further against the railing.

Fuck. So damn defiant.

The urge to take her here and now was nearly unbearable. I wanted her to crave me, to burn for me.

“It’s true—I’m a very bad man. But don’t tempt me,” I murmured, my eyes flickering down to her lips, slow and deliberate.

“The bad things I want to do to you... They’re darker, deeper. Soft sheets tangled around us, skin burning against skin. I want to hear you scream my name, clutch my hair so tight it hurts, beg me—over and over—until you’re completely undone.”

She swallowed hard, a flicker of heat rushing to her cheeks—a blush blooming just beneath her skin.

Yet she stood tall, eyes steady, pretending the words didn’t crack her cool facade.

"No...never..."

I planted one hand on the railing behind her, boxing her in without even touching her.

“We’re married now, sweetheart. That gives me the right to every inch of you—mind, body, and soul.”

I watched her carefully, the way her breath hitched, the flicker of heat in her eyes.

There was no escape, no going back.

I meant every fucking word—

But fuck no,

I didn’t.

I had to remind myself—she was just a means to an end. A beautiful, infuriating pawn in a game I’d already won.

Her inheritance, her name, her power—it was all mine now.

If I got to fuck her senseless in the process?

Well, that would just be a bonus.

A messy, addictive, mouthwatering bonus.