Vincenzo
Suna sat in the car with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. She looked lost and disappointed and seeing her that way was a tough pill to swallow. I could almost hear Antonio’s taunting in my head. She wanted to run away from me and the engagement. She wanted to be free and leave me behind. It stung a little, to be honest. The attraction that had roared to life in my chest now ached with pain at the knowledge it had been one-sided.
“How did you know? Was it Yumi?” Suna asked without turning her head.
“When you trust the wrong people, your plans are doomed to fail,” I told her curtly.
“Right, and who’s the right person to trust in this case? If you weren’t pretending you want to marry me, we could have worked together to get that stupid contract dissolved,” Suna muttered. I bit down a chuckle, but she must have heard it because she glared at me. “It’s so funny when you’re the one winning, isn’t it?”
“I’m not sure that having to follow and catch my fiancée mid-flight can be described as winning. I’m happy to have found you in time,” I said, resting my hand along the back of the leather seat.
Suna jerked away when my fingers brushed her hair.“Right, so you can get your deal done.”
Annoyance snapped in me at her refusal to acknowledge the heat between us.“Suna, tesora, if I wanted to get the most important deal done, I’d have us stop at city hall and marry, then take you home, and consummate this marriage within the next few hours. That is the deal I’m most interested in at present.”
She frowned at me, tipping her head to the side. I understood why she was confused. Genuine feelings in an arranged union were rare, yet there was no denying how I felt toward Suna. Within a few days, my possessive heart had become fixed on her. I viewed her as mine, and the thought of her running away to be with another pissed me off.
“You’re telling me you’re more interested in marrying me than the supply and distribution deal you’re starting with my father and Jae?” she asked in disbelief.
I inclined my head, and she scoffed, rolling her eyes dramatically. “Whatever. I see I can add liar to the list of annoying things about you.” She fell quiet for a moment. “Are you going to tell my father I tried to run?”
Her question was casual, but her hands were clenched in tight fists on her lap. She was more scared of her father than me, something I decided to take as a compliment.
I didn’t want this woman to fear me. I wanted her to burn for me. “That depends on you.” I crossed my legs at the ankle, trying not to think about the blood rushing between my legs. Fuck knew why I was getting turned on right now, considering I could barely make out Suna’s body beneath the baggy, gender-neutral clothes she wore. It was her. Something about her did it for me. It didn’t matter what she wore.
“In what way?”
“If you plan on playing house until the wedding and being a good girl for me, there’s no reason to tell. If you plan on being a brat, I’ll tell Minho how rebellious his eldest daughter is.”
“Maybe I want you to. Maybe he’ll swap me out for the more biddable Hana, and we’ll both win,” she suggested.
Annoyance flooded me again. She wasn’t making this easy, and the constant reminders of how she’d love to escape her situation rankled. “That would be… unacceptable. I might not have chosen you before I met you, but now I have… I’ll accept no substitutes.”
Her eyes widened, and her breathing picked up. Oh, my girl liked to be flattered. Well, there was plenty more where that came from, considering that merely being in her presence inspired all kinds of romantic-sounding bullshit I’d never have dreamed up in a million years.
“Wow, you’re a sick fuck. Has anyone ever told you that?”
Her words caught me off guard and tore a reluctant laugh from my chest. It seemed Suna was about as comfortable with romance as I was. “A few dead men might have, I’m sure.” I was curious about where she was going with it.
“You’d rather marry a woman who doesn’t like you and imprison her in a life she doesn’t want… is that what gets you off?” Suna’s cheeks were pink, and she was getting worked up.
I couldn’t figure out what had riled her so much. “Only if it’s you.”
My words made her freeze.
I leaned in nearer to her, inhaling the sweet scent of her skin and hair, lotions and perfume, and some heady combination that screamed her name in my chest. “Imprisoning you in my home, in my bed, with my ring on your finger, and my baby in your belly is what gets me off.”
Her mouth dropped open, and she looked utterly scandalized by my words. She was sweet as sin and as innocent-looking as a blushing virgin. Could she be one? It seemed utterly impossible.
“Why me?” she asked after a long moment.
I cupped my hand to her cheek, rubbing my thumb over her lips. Her head bent like a reed in the wind against my dominant touch. Her yearning was clear as day, written all over her face and body, and only a mystery to the woman herself. This chemistry was rare, unique, a one-off. Like lightning never hitting the same place twice, this connection between Suna and I could never happen again with another.
“You know why,” I said slowly, sliding my hand from her cheek around her nape.
Today, she had her long tail of hair tied conveniently into a plait. I took it mid-way down and wrapped it around my fist like I’d imagined. I used it to tilt her head back. She watched me all the while, her eyes blown wide with lust, her lips darkening with arousal. Did she have any idea of the involuntary, primitive response her body had to my touch? No, she didn’t. I could tell from her confusion. She was so innocent. Even the wetness between her legs, which I was more than sure would be there, would be a surprise to her.
I leaned toward her, and her eyes darted to my lips as she wet her own, seemingly unaware of her allure. Her small, pink tongue darted out, and I nearly growled at the sight. I wanted to see that little peek of pink wrapped around other body parts, but for today, I’d settle with this.