“I’m saying that I understand why you want me to stay here with you,” I tell him. “I know it’s not to control me or use me. I know you just want to keep me away from the Greeks, from my brother, from all the bad guys out there.”
He still doesn’t say anything. His eyes are hooded and I can’t for the life of me tell what he’s thinking.
I may have an ulterior motive, but every word I’ve just said to him has been true. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
“I want to.”
I feel my pulse quicken as I take in his beautiful blue eyes. They’re darkening as we speak. His body oozes masculine power and I feel that now familiar budding of electricity between my legs. The plan in my head is feather-light, but growing more and more concrete by the second. And the best part of it is… I may not have to fake a thing.
I stand up, pulling at my restraints a little, but they don’t budge. “Then let me prove to you that you can trust me,” I whisper.
He cocks his head to the side, his eyes flitting over my body possessively. I see the glimmer of hunger there, and I know instinctively that this plan can work.
“How are you going to do that?” he asks with detached interest.
I bite my lower lip. Just enough to convey that I’m nervous but eager. Both are true.
“Tie me up, Kian,” I say softly, before letting my gaze flicker over the room we’re in. “Teach me how this works.”
His eyes widen. Infinitesimally, but enough that I notice. “We tried that before,” he growls.
I don’t hesitate. “Try it again.”
His face is swirling with unreadable emotion. Jaw clenched tight. Knuckles white under his skin. “You know what it means,” he says.
“Yes, I do. I’m ready.”
He looks me up and down. But it’s more like he’s sizing me up.
I refuse to break eye contact first. He needs to believe that I really want this. And in trying to convince him, I realize that maybe I’ve convinced myself in the process.
Excitement and nerves curve together in the pit of my stomach. And suddenly, I find myself eager. Have I just given myself an excuse to enter into unchartered territory with a man who’s supposed to be my enemy? Is my need to escape just a flimsy justification for the attraction and desire I feel for him?
I don’t have time to doubt myself, though. The window of opportunity is narrow.
Kian’s watching me intently. If my resolve slips even slightly, he’ll know. Even if he doesn’t see it, he’ll smell it on me. I’m sure of it.
“You’re ready?” Kian echoes dangerously, moving forward.
The way he approaches me is predatory. His body is graceful, but I know he can turn lethal at any second. He’s trying to intimidate me—and he’s succeeding.
“You’re sure you can handle this?”
“I…”
Give him the truth and he won’t be able to question your sincerity.
“Well, no, I’m not sure,” I admit. “But I still want to try.”
“Because you want me to trust you.”
“I want you to know I’m sorry for misjudging you. For assuming you were just like Drago or Rokiades or Logan.”
He stares down at me, leaning in slightly, so that his breath tickles my nose. “You might find that I’m just like them,” he warns, his voice deep and guttural.
I jut out my jaw and look at him with stubborn resolve. “I don’t think so,” I say carefully. “I don’t think so at all.”
I can see the faint fluttering of a smile, but it never fully materializes.
“Alright, kitten,” he whispers. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t call me that.”
He smirks. “I’m in charge here, remember?”
I frown right back at him. “We haven’t started yet.”
“On the contrary, Renata Lombardi,” he intones, “we started this a long fucking time ago.”