That deal on the boardwalk. Our agreement.
Next time, I will wait for an invitation. I’ll wait for you to beg me, princess, and then if you are very good, I will lay a single fingertip on you. Agreed?
A shiver runs through me, followed by a wave of crackling heat, because he’s doing it. He’s really doing it: Leo Palladino is keeping his word. He’s not here to kill me, not even to touch me until I ask him to, until Ibeg, and I…
I’ve never known power like that. I’ve never held that kind of sway.
It tugs somewhere deep in my belly. Makes me hot and achy.
I wet my bottom lip. Force myself to think straight, because I am more than a bundle of hormones, damn it. “What if I never want to marry you, Palladino? What then?”
Deep brown eyes glower at me, his citrus scent swirling in my nose once again. And there’s a note of warning in Leo’s voice, the leather crackling beneath him as he shifts his weight. “Then I will persuade you to change your mind, Mia. I am a very persistent man.”
Clearly.
I press my palms to my flushed cheeks. He’s here. He’s really here. And as my heart thumps rhythmically in my chest, as the train rocks and sways beneath us, as every nerve ending in my body crackles to life, part of me is… glad. Relieved.
Excited, even.
I’m a live wire in Leo Palladino’s presence, throwing off sparks, and I don’t know what to do about that. Don’t know my next move.
But god, I’mgiddy.His obsession with me is a drug.
A thrilling, dangerous drug.
I mean, what was I going to do? Find a waitressing job and rent someone’s shitty spare room? Struggle and scrimp andsuffer, when I could be doing this instead? Playing power games with the handsome kingpin?
“You could sleep on it,” Leo offers, his deep voice so reasonable. His smile is lopsided, a dimple digging into one cheek. “We’re on this train overnight anyway, and a few hours with me will change your mind. By tomorrow, you will be desperate to marry me, Mia. I swear it.Youwill chasemedown the aisle.”
I can’t help it. I snort at his brag, and Leo smiles wider. He leans closer, still not touching me but bathing me in his warmth, and god help me—I lean in too. Sway toward him in a haze before I catch myself, dragging myself back, my fists pressing into my thighs.
Leo watches me for a long moment, considering.
Such dark brown eyes. Such thick lashes.
God, if he weren’t trying to force me down the aisle… I’d lick him all over. I’d leap right into his arms.
But heisforcing me, he hunted me across the city like prey, and I can’t trust this man any more than anyone else in our twisted, cruel world.
Leo Palladino could turn on me at any moment. For any reason. Just like my family.
It’s only a matter of time.
Leo
This game was supposed to end when I caught her, but my fiance did not get that memo. Every moment, every second, the gears are turning in her head, her sharp eyes flickering around the compartment. Searching for weapons; eyeing me for signs of weakness. Planning an escape attempt.
Anotherattempt, because over the last few hours, we’ve had four already. The other passengers stare even worse each time I march her back down the corridor, my hand hovering an inch above her shoulder.
“Mia,” I groan when she inches closer to the door for the fifth time. I’m sitting on the bench opposite her, elbows braced on my knees. It’s been a long day. “For fuck’s sake. If I didn’t know better, I’d think youlikefeeling me chase you.”
She stops moving and stares out of the train window, expression serene. Hands folded in her lap and her cheeks pink.
Oh. Isee.
“Princess,” I murmur, relishing the way she shivers. Perking up. “I’m right, aren’t I? Tell me I’m right. Admit you like being my prey.”
“Go to hell,” she says sweetly, still peering out at the evening sky. It’s deep navy, scattered with stars, paling to lavender nearer the horizon. Beautiful, but nothing compared to her.