Option number two might actually be possible then.
Maybe it was finally time for me to fulfill the prophecy, an ancient text that I’d never truly considered trying to fulfill before, until now.
They were the very first words to be carved into ancient stone in fact, and it had been destroyed only a few years later by Kassandra’s ancestors out of desperation and fear. They ground it into dust to keep the knowledge from me, but it had already been too late. I’d already known. I’d forced the prophecy from the seer’s lips and made her carve the words into a tablet, right before I tore into her throat and drank deep of her power. She tasted glorious.
As I’d drunk from her, I’d seen what would happen when evil reigned victorious over good, when I ruled the world with one of their kind by my side, as my equal. I’d seen the entirety of humanity kneeling at our feet. I had seen the darkness win.
But I’d never seen her face. I’d never found out who was meant to sit next to me as ruler of all the world.
I’d given up hope long ago. The women of Kassandra’s legacy knew of the prophecy and had done everything in their power to make sure it never came to fruition. After enough time had passed, I figured it was just a warning bestowed on mankind from the gods of old, and I’d given up all hope of it coming to pass.
Staring at the woman before me, I began to realize that maybe it wasn’t just a warning. Maybe it was our destiny. We stood there in silence, my men still waiting behind her for an order to either take her back upstairs or escort her off the property. If asked, they’d even make her disappear, if that was what I wanted.
r /> That wouldn’t be necessary tonight. I rounded my desk once more and sat back down.
With a wave of my hand, I dismissed my men from the room. Nick would dispose of the gun, but not before researching its origins. As they exited the room, the door closed behind them and the nervous look on her face grew more pervasive. Once we were completely alone, I pressed the hidden button underneath the edge of my desk, locking the door instantly. She wasn’t going anywhere now.
We were deep underground, in the depths of what had once been my castle. I’d restored each and every wall, stone by stone and fortified them all. I’d created a safe house for myself, but a prison for her.
She wasn’t going to escape. I had her right where I wanted her, and now I was going to claim what was mine by rights to take.
I gazed hungrily upon her body and in that moment, I made a decision. I was going to fulfill the demands of the prophecy.
I was going to consume her.
I was going to master her body, then her mind, and finally, her soul.
And then, she would be mine. Forever.
Chapter Three
Kassandra
His men filed out the door behind me and then I heard the distinct click of a heavy lock sliding into place. If I had thought I was screwed before, now I was really fucked.
I watched as his ravenous eyes searched my body, and I was mortified to realize that my nipples were hard. In my dress, I felt exposed. I had chosen it as a way to keep Antonio’s attentions, but now as I stood before Markos, I felt like I was wearing nothing more than lingerie. I felt almost naked and for some strange fucking reason, I was aroused.
I crossed my arms over my chest, hiding my breasts, and glared at him. He smirked in my direction, obviously enjoying my discomfort.
He was relishing this. Cocky bastard.
He could have anything he wanted. Any woman he wanted. The kind of money he had brought its own kind of power. And its own evil.
I’d researched every single piece of information Interpol had collected. The men and women who had disappeared. Every single legitimate business he had filed taxes for. Those that it was only rumored that he had a connection to. It had all amounted to very little, but I had to know more. I knew, deep in my heart, that he was connected to very bad things.
No man became as rich as he did without getting his hands dirty.
I was going to find out what. Somehow. There had to be something.
“Kassandra,” he began, his tone one of confident assertiveness, breaking me out of my panicked thoughts and back to reality.
“Yes?”
“Strip. Take off your clothes and bare yourself to me,” he answered.
What the hell? He couldn’t be serious.
“No. You’re fucking crazy if you think I’m going to get naked for you,” I retorted, as I took a step back defensively.