Page 89 of Brutal Savage

His eyes fall to a brief close, and when he looks back at me, my heart swells. Because I can see it…the way he loves Brody. Really loves him. His anguish, it’s there too.

“So instead of finding some random woman, I chose you.”

“I’m so lucky.” Sarcasm drips from my tone.

He exhales a short breath of laughter. “I get it. This wasn’t how you envisioned your marriage. You probably wanted to fall in love and have a big wedding.” He stares contemplatively. “And I can give you that—a wedding, a dress, anything you want. But I will never love you. It’s my one stipulation. That this thing between us remain…friendly.” His eyes dance over my lips, and my skin rises with goose bumps.

“So you wanna fuck me. Get me preg?—”

“More than once.” A smirk flits across his face.

“Right. More than once,” I repeat with a roll of my eyes. “And not fall in love with me. So we’d be what? Friends with benefits?”

“I guess so.”

“How sweet.”

“I like you, Elara. Isn’t that enough?”

Pain throbs at the back of my throat, and I fight not to cry. I fight to keep it together because after Jerry, falling in love and marriage wasn’t in the cards.

And now to know that this man, who’s intending to spend the rest of his life with me, refuses to love me? It hurts.

I should be thankful. I don’t want his love. Or his affection. I don’t want anything from him. I just want my freedom.

But in the back of my mind, that little girl I once was, who saw a bright future, she wants to be loved. She wants a man who would lay down his life for her, who cares for her. Who wants to love her. And that’ll never be him.

“I have no plans on falling in love with you either, Tynan Quinn, so don’t you worry about it.”

Something crosses his eyes, something that resembles heartbreak. But that’s a ridiculous thought.

“We should go over the rules,” he continues.

“There are rules?”

“There are, Ms. Hill…” He smiles, catching himself. “I mean Mrs. Quinn.”

I hate how good that just sounded. “What are they? These rules.”

“For starters, Rogue will continue to follow you wherever you go. If your plans change, you have to let him know.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

He reaches into his pocket and retrieves a jewelry box. My eyes expand, wondering what’s inside. When he opens it, he reveals a thin gold tennis bracelet. Picking up my arm, he secures it around my wrist.

“You’re never to take it off.”

My brows knit. “Why?”

“It has a tracker.”

“What?” My brows shoot up.

“If you take it off, I will know. It’s waterproof, so you can wear it in the shower too.”

“You’re planning on tracking me?”

“You’re now the wife of the head of the Mob. Yes, I’m tracking you. My enemies are also yours now, and they won’t care that you’re a woman. So this is for your protection, Elara.” He tucks my chin in his palm. “If you disobey, I’ll have to put a tracker in you. It’s up to you which you’d prefer.”

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