I would have been less surprised if he’d stabbed me. The single word was a request, and I got the feeling Luka didn’t make requests, not unless it was something extremely important. His strained tone was unsettling, and I allowed him to turn me to face the table, but I kept my focus on him.
“Please,” he whispered again, his face desperate.
It was the most emotion I’d seen from him, and it was heartbreaking. Did he realize he was more powerful than he’d ever been when he was like this? In spite of everything, I wanted to do whatever I could to take his worry away. The desire to please was absolute. I found myself back in my seat, staring at the plate once more.
His father’s voice was deep and booming. “How exactly are you handling it?”
“She’ll stay here.”
There was a pregnant pause. “Until when?”
“Until she changes how she feels about me.” Luka corrected himself quickly. “How she feels about the situation.”
It was achingly silent for a long moment.
Tori laughed softly. “Your plan is to make her fall in love with you?” Her grating laughter swelled until it was a cackle. “Jesus, Luka. You can’t be as smart as your father says you are, because that’s the dumbest fucking idea I’ve ever heard.”
“Be quiet,” Dimitrije snapped, and the laughter ceased instantly. “Although she has a point.”
“It’ll be fine,” Luka said. “Addison understands who’s in control, and I’m confident I can do this.”
The blasé tone dug under my skin like a splinter, and grew more uncomfortable with each breath, until the words spilled out. “I’m not a puppet you can manipulate.”
Luka’s head snapped my direction and his whole body seemed stressed. “I told you to keep your mouth shut.”
His father’s eyebrow lifted in the same arch all the Markovic men had. “This is under control?”
“Yes.” Luka’s tone was strict and harsh. It commanded me to obey. “It won’t be difficult. Addison’s halfway in love with me already.”
Fire erupted from deep inside me like a volcano. “The fuck I am! You raped me.”
My words pulled the trigger in the already tense room, detonating like a bomb. Dimitrije sneered at my profanity and his face had a violent cast, while Luka launched to his feet.
“I warned you,” he said. He fisted my hair and yanked upward so hard he pulled strands from my scalp. I cried out in pain as I scrambled to stand, only for Luka to slam me down on my stomach, face turned to the side on the flat surface of the dining table. The place settings jumped from the impact.
I stared at Mr. Markovic in shock, my cheek pressed against the polished, smooth wood. Luka grabbed the back of my skirt, flung it to my waist, and the air was cold on my thighs. He exposed my naked lower body for everyone to see, and my heart screeched to a stop.
Chapter
Thirteen
The room became a vacuum, lacking oxygen or sound.
Luka’s hand pressed firmly against my spine, pinning my hips to the edge of the table. I was saying something, but my level of panic had crossed into hysteria, and my brain would only operate on a lower level. Its focus was solely on getting up and decent again.
I slammed my palms on the wood and pushed up, but a sharp crack rang out, followed instantly by acute, stinging pain. The force knocked me into the table and my arms gave out. I flopped down in pure shock. Luka had slapped his hand so hard against my bare skin, I expected it to burst into flames. I locked my teeth and tried to breathe through the burn.
He’d spanked me right in front of his father.
Dimitrije watched the scene with surprise painting his expression. His gaze was on Luka, evaluating and curious.
“You want to behave like a child,” Luka said, his voice verging on a snarl, “I’ll treat you like one.”
His father’s mannerisms were no different than Luka’s. The subtle curl at the corner of Dimitrije’s mouth hinted he was pleased with his son’s actions.
The hand came down again. I heard the slap of skin against skin before the agony thundered up my body.
“Luka,” I cried. Angry, shocked tears sprung into my eyes. I could take the pain, but the humiliation was too much.
A hand latched on my shoulder, yanked me to my feet, and shoved me down. He flung me back into my seat so hard, the chair squealed in protest across the floor. I gripped the sides until my knuckles were white and ached, but I needed something to hold on to. I’d shatter into a million pieces if I didn’t. I sat dumbfounded, staring at Luka.
What had he just done?
“Are you sure,” Dimitrije said, his gaze lingering on Luka, “you want to go to all this trouble? If you’re looking for a girl to have fun with, it can be arranged.” His focus snaked over to me. “This one is messy.”