CH334

CH333
Ryuu

The smug look was gone now, replaced by something more measured.
She straightened. “I came to talk. About us and that girl Ren.”
“There’s nothing to talk about on either front.”
Morgan’s expression shifted from faux innocence to scorn the moment her gaze drifted over my shoulder and landed on the door. I could hear Ren shuffling around in the kitchen.
“Is she in there?” She asked, her eyes narrowing. “Is that why you won’t---”
“I’m not letting you into my house because you weren’t invited and you never will be.” I glared at her, more irritated than before about how she’d interrupted. Especially knowing that Ren had been wearing nothing beneath my robe, her chest straining against the sleeve.
Her eyes narrowed. “How long have you been hiding other women in our penthouse? Our home? Our wedding---”
“This is my penthouse,” I said. “And what I do with my space is none of your business.”
Morgan scoffed, arms crossing over her designer jacket. “My father won’t see it that way. He’s already impatient, Ryuu. He wants news about the engagement. He wants movement. You can’t stall forever.”
She was posturing, but I could hear the real edge under her voice. Fear. She was losing ground and she knew it. The problem was she was losing ground she never had. I smirked and opened the door behind me. I felt Ren freeze in the hallway. She’d changed out of the robe into the pants she’d no doubt been discharged in. She’d found the time to cut her hair as well. She had the plastic bag from the hospital and the backpack that had been recovered from either Hotaru or Nara’s property clutched to her chest. She looked vulnerable and frightened.
I narrowed my eyes, noting that she’d put the hospital socks back on. Morgan growled.
“You---”
“What are you doing?” I asked, sliding my gaze over her. The tension in her shoulders, the haunted look in her eyes had crept back in. She bowed her head slightly.
“I… I should go. I have work and well... it’s not too late for that…” She tried for a smile. “Thank you. For rescuing me. I guess the Dragons aren’t all bad after all.”
I growled before she could take another step. She jumped back, startled or frightened, I wasn’t sure which, though the thought of the second churned my gut.
“You’re not going anywhere,” I said, voice firm but gentler than I expected. “You’re still healing. You’ll stay here until I say otherwise.”
“But---”
“Like hell---”
“Go change out of that and get ready for bed,” I said, setting my jaw.
“But--”
“Now, Ren,” I said. “I don’t think I have the patience to bet a game of chess on your safety.”
Her eyes softened, she tightened her grip on her bag and dropped her gaze. Then slowly nodded.
I turned back to Morgan and didn’t bother masking my irritation.
“You’re done, Morgan. Get out and don’t come back.”
Morgan opened her mouth, trying to slide inside. I snarled and grabbed her by her arm, stopping her and pushing her back before she’d managed to land even a single step inside my penthouse. I shut the door again, listening for Ren to actually be doing as I said. While I was partially looking forward to getting her out of those clothes in other ways, I did not have the patience or wherewithal to indulge in such a thing right now...
And she was not anywhere near ready for that.
“I won’t stand for this!” Morgan cried.
“Then fall,” I said, pulling her towards the elevator. Morgan’s heels clicked furiously against the marble floor as I dragged her toward the elevator. She yanked her arm free halfway down the hall, spinning to face me, eyes blazing with tears she didn’t bother hiding.
“You’re still avoiding it,” she spat. “Still dodging marriage like it’s beneath you. You promised my father, Ryuu!”
I turned on her so fast she took half a step back.
“I never promised you anything,” I snarled. “Your father signed papers. I’ve never once said I wanted to marry you.”
Her jaw clenched. “But you said you’d fulfill his wish.”
“I said I’d honor the deal,” I snapped. “That doesn’t mean I’ll play house with you.”
Morgan’s eyes burned. “Don’t think I’ll stand by and be some fake wife. If we’re getting married, it’ll be real. A real marriage,a nd you ---”
I laughed. Loud. Cold. Sharp. Genuinely amused beyond speaking. She looked like I’d slapped her in the face. I almost wished I was the type to hit a woman because Morgan had it fucking coming for this shit.
“Don’t mock me!” She yelled. “I’m going to be your wife.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “We’ll be married if you manage not to get yourself killed before then.”
Her eyes bulged.
“But let me tell you that you will never be my wife.” I glared at her. “You want to know what our marriage would be? You are in one building, preferably in your own city. Me in another. This one. My family house. Any other buildings I own in my city? I’ll lock down my city and force you and your whole family to either move or avoid me.” She gasped. “There won’t be photos for your father’s pride. I won't be going to his birthday or yours.” I sneered at her. “I won’t be paying for your closet full of jewelry or clothes or whims or tears. You’ll have a piece of paper declaring you’re married, but you will never have my name.”
She flinched.
“Our prenup would make sure you’d never get a cent of my family’s money, and if you try to force the issue, we’ll be divorced. Annulled.”
“You can’t--”
“Because there’s no way in hell I’d ever sleep with you, Morgan, and you know it. I’ve said it more than once and in more than one way.” Smoke billowed out of my nostrils. The fury in me continued to rise and scream like a battle raging in me, threatening to spill out and tear her apart. I felt my scales rippling beneath my skin. The claws of a tiger covered in fur rather than scales, the fangs of a predator cat itching my gums. Her eyes widened as she stumbled back and away from me.
“You can’t ---”
“And I’d still sleep with whoever I wanted, whenever I wanted. The woman on my arm, in photos, with me will never be you and every reporter will leave you as little more than a political footnote.”
Her eyes welled with tears. “You can’t do that to me.”
“And when it’s said and done, the second your father’s in the ground, I’ll activate that annulment clause so fucking fast, your head will spin and all that certificate will be is a memory.”
Her voice cracked. “You don’t mean that.”
“I mean every word,” I said. “You can’t force me to love you, Morgan. You never could, and the sooner you realize that, the better it will be for both of us.”
She blinked rapidly, chest heaving. “Why? Why not? Why can’t you just love me? Why won’t you just love me!”