Chapter 13 Bound To Him For One Year
Evelyn’s POV
Lorenzo’s fists tightened, his movements began near me. One after the other. The air around us thickened as he drew closer, and though my heart screamed at me to run, I stood my ground. My breathing was ragged, but steady. If this was how it would end, I was ready for it.
Before I could predict his next move, he was already there, towering over me. The melted candles filled the space with the scent of smoke and something darker… something unholy. His gaze flickered around me like it would take nothing for him to tear my chest open.
“Oh, my little human…..” His voice was low, threaded with mockery. The muscles in his throat shifted as he tilted his head, eyes narrowing. “Do I have to remind you that you still belong to me?”
I swallowed hard. “No, I don’t. I have my own life, and I refuse to be bound to you.”
He tilted his head, then laughed. Cruelly. Coldly.
“There’s no way out of this, Eve.”
His tone sliced through me. The darkness in his voice was enough to bend my heart into fear. My eyes went glassy, tears threatening to fall down.
“I hate you, Lorenzo,” I murmured. “I hate the way you breathe. I hate that fate forced us together after what you did to my family.”
I raised my chin, meeting his stare without flinching. “And trust me, if what they said is true, if I now possess the most valuable thing you own…..” I stepped closer, my chest brushing against his hard muscles. “Then I’d rather die than sacrifice my whole year to you.”
My voice lowered, almost a whisper. “I wish you nothing but death, Lorenzo.”
He didn’t flinch. Not a blink. I knew I could never scare him, but I wanted to provoke him, to make him lose control, to make him hate me enough to walk away.
But instead, his eyes deepened, an evil smile curling at his lips.
“You see this..…” He pressed a finger against my chest. “Your fire, your defiance, the way you challenge me….. That’s what I saw in you the night I came to your hospital.”
He leaned closer, his breath hot on my face. “And I’ll tell you this, Eve….there’s no way in the world that I’m letting you go. Not when you hold something precious to me.”
A sharp wail of disappointment tore through me. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. I was meant to break him, not ignite more of his twisted fascination.
“Oh, how tragic,” I said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “The great devil, once feared by all, now reduced to a weakling who depends on a woman for his strength… for an entire year.”
A growl rumbled from deep in his chest, vibrating through the air.
In an instant, his hand clamped around my wrist, strong and unyielding. A gasp tore from me as pain shot through my skin.
“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed, struggling against his grip.
But he didn’t answer. Instead, he dragged me toward Emiliana, his movements furious, controlled only by rage.
“We’ll be back next year,” he said flatly, not sparing me a glance.
“What?!” I shook my head violently. “No! There will be no next year! I didn’t agree to any of this!”
My words barely left my mouth and before I realized it, we were already outside the temple, my body being pulled through the forest like I was nothing but a rag doll.
“Lorenzo! Let me go!” I slapped his hand, but he didn’t stop until we reached the edge of the woods. Then, with one forceful push, he released me. I stumbled back and hit the ground.
“You should count yourself lucky that you’re still alive,” he said, stepping closer. His tone was low, almost calm, but deadly. “If it had been anyone else…..” He leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I would have killed them.”
My pulse quickened, fear clawing its way up my throat.
“No one….no fucking human, has ever talked back to me the way you do,” he said, his voice thick with fury.
“And yet, I keep sparing you. Maybe you’re mistaking my patience for mercy.”
His red eyes darkened, glowing like molten fire. I stumbled back, but he followed, slow, measured. The heat of his body consumed the air between us.
“I promise you this, Eve,” he said, his voice a venomous whisper. “If you push me again, I will forget that I was supposed to protect you…. and I’ll send you straight to hell.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. He meant every word.
Slowly, I got to my feet, brushing the dirt from my clothes, head lowered. “I won’t fight you…. not this time.”
He studied me in silence, searching my face for lies. After a long pause, he turned away.
“Let’s go.”
I did not argue. I simply walked behind him until we were out of the road. I still don’t understand why he insisted that Gedion shouldn’t wait, now we have to work a mile before we could even find any means for transportation.
I followed behind him, quiet. The walk was long, the city too busy. People passed us. Laughing, living free.
And for the first time, I envied them. Because I was trapped. Trapped with a devil with no possible way of escaping.
Lorenzo was not talking, he seemed more disturbed than to focus on what was going on around him. And then we bursted out of a lonely street. The road was narrow, with houses pressed close on both sides, their walls almost touching the edge of the pavement.
Suddenly, the air thickened, heavy, charged. My instincts screamed danger.
“Lorenzo…” I whispered. “Something’s wrong.”
He didn’t hear me or maybe he didn’t care. His eyes were fixed on the ground, his thoughts buried too deep.
Then I saw them.
Two men. Broad-shouldered. Waiting at the other end of the street, blades glinting in the dim light.
“Lorenzo…..” I nudged him harder.
He looked up, and I saw his face drain of color. “Fuck,” he breathed.
“You know them?”
No answer. His jaw tightened. His eyes scanned the men like a predator assessing another.
The men raised their blades, stepping forward. Slowly. Confidently.
“Do something,” I whispered.
Lorenzo’s arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me close. “Do exactly as I say.”
I nodded.
“Turn back,” he ordered.
We began to move, steps quick and careful, but as soon as we neared the end of the street, more men emerged, blocking the exit.
My heart stopped.
“There are more?” I whispered.
“Stay close,” he said. “Nothing will happen.”
"Nothing will happen?"
We were surrounded by armed killers, and he could say was 'nothing will happen' I stared at him, wondering if he’d finally gone insane.
The leader stepped forward, his chest scarred, his grin wide and cold. “Lorenzo Scolfield…...!” he shouted from far. “You look weaker than I imagined.”
“I advice you all step back!" Lorenzo barked at them.
The man laughed. “And what if we don’t?”
The men continued moving closer, their steps synchronized, eyes gleaming with hunger.
“I said move back!” Lorenzo’s hand lifted, threatening fire.
They didn’t stop. Their pace only quickened.
I froze.
This was it. The end?
“Daisy…..” I whispered, a tear threatening to fall.
“Evelyn,” Lorenzo murmured, voice urgent. “We need to teleport.”
“Then do it!”
He shook his head. “I can’t. You have to.”
“What? How?”
He grabbed my hand, placing it on his pants. “Touch my cock!”
My head refused to function. “What?!"
“This is the only way!” he snapped. “If you don’t, they’ll kill us both!”
My throat went dry. I couldn’t. I shouldn’t. But when I looked up, the men were almost upon us. Their eyes were dead. Their blades ready.
“Evelyn, now!” Lorenzo roared.
Before reason could stop me, my hand moved. My palm pressed against his chest, feeling the rapid thud of his heartbeat. My fingers trembled as they reached for his belt.
The men froze, confusion flashing across their faces.
If this was the price of survival….. then I’d pay it. For Daisy.
Lorenzo’s head followed my hands watching me with a desire that he didn’t have the right to display.
Slowly, I found him. Bigger than the first time.
A tremor ran through me. Not from fear. Not entirely.
It was a feeling I couldn’t name, something I desperately didn’t want, yet couldn’t deny. My body betrayed me. Even in the heart of danger, with enemies closing in, I found a twisted sense of calm in the way I held him…. and worse, I wasn’t ready to let go.
Lorenzo’s eyes met mine, dark and hungry. “Don’t get carried away, sweetheart,” he whispered, his voice dripping with heat.
“What the fuck are you two doing?!” the leader shouted.
A low gasp pressed on my throat, my mind coming back to my body.
“Get them!”
“Eve!” Lorenzo barked. “get the damn thing starting.”
Without a second thought, I clutched his hard length, a strange energy gathering beneath my palm. Just a light stroke.
And then…..
The world vanished.
Light folded in on itself, everything dissolving in a single heartbeat.
Next, we were somewhere else entirely.