Page 48 of Kidnapped Forced Mate

“The lady over there wanted me to give you this,” he says, sliding over a fresh glass of whiskey.

My lips curl into a smirk, but the amusement doesn't touch the rest of my being. For the sake of appearances, I pull the glass closer and follow the bartender's pointed finger.

It leads to a woman who wiggles her fingers at me from across the bar. She's my usual type, with dark hair curled to immaculately frame her face. Her eyes sparkle serenely with amber as she watches me take a small sip of the drink.

I've only played the part she was expecting, like every other woman who sent me a drink in a bar. If it was one of those nights I went out in pursuit of a one-night-entanglement, I would have lapped up the attention and sauntered with lavish charms. But tonight, there's not a bone in my body that has the urge to head over.

Unless…

I cannot dismiss the idea that perhaps I can forget about Olivia altogether if I did something as heinous as pursuing the dark-haired woman. Instead of wallowing in my sorrows and grief, I could forget her between the sheets shared with someone else tonight.

I have nothing to lose now that I've lost the desire for life when I lost the woman I love. I chug down the rest of the gifted drink, squaring my shoulders as I prepare to approach the woman.

When I turn toward her, my vision becomes hazy. Groaning, I know my blurred vision isn't a product of my inebriated state. I've felt this way before, back when I tried to forget about Olivia while she explored Aurora Island all by herself. My blurred vision led to hallucinating and seeing the pale face of the redhead like a siren haunting my every move.

Suddenly, I'm no longer reluctant to pursue the woman. Instead, I eagerly strolled down the bar, my heart pounding with anticipation.

Maybe, by a stroke of luck, I might see Olivia again. Even if it's not really her, I'll see her face again, and hear her voice as if it's her lips that speak the words. For a fleeting moment, I'll fill in the space that remains pining for her, kissing foreign lips and imagining they belong to the woman I love.

I stay still for a moment, allowing the effects of my hallucinatory vision to fully take the reins so that I might see Olivia's face again. But the blurred vision turns out to be nothing more than the effects of the spiked liquor I consumed, and the woman ogling me doesn't morph into the face I hoped I'd see. Even when I blink to fully surrender to whatever my mind brings to the fore of my eyes, all I see is the tanned face of the woman at the bar.

Not the pale skin painted with rosy blushed cheeks and perfectly blended pink lips I was hoping for. Muttering a string of incohesive curses under my breath, I storm out of the bar without sparing another glance at the woman.

As soon as I’m outside, I take a deep breath of crisp night air, filling my lungs to reel back the lump forming in my throat. I’d been trying to avoid this by avoiding my turn in the human mating process. Falling in love was inevitable, as I witnessed my older brothers falling mindlessly in love with their human mates. I knew what would happen once I opened my heart to it, and here I am now, nursing the greatest wound I’ve ever faced.

Heartbreak.

It’s taken the freedom I enjoyed before I met her, giving me only a taste of the freedom I would have had with her if I wasn’t foolish enough to think I could escape it. Here I am now, somewhere in the mortal world, lost to the earthly qualms of heartbreak. I lift my head, wanting to find an alley dark enough to shift into dragon form and escape this prison, when I spot a familiar face giggling behind a clear window across the street.

It’s Olivia lightheartedly giggling as she sits with a dark-haired man at a table. Fury builds up inside my chest, hot flames licking at my hands and curling them into fists.

Is this the reason she demanded to come back to the mortal world? I think with rage filling my gut. All because of another man?

Did I mean nothing to her at all, except a casual pass-time to fill her days on the island?

Chapter 20 - Olivia

“Signorina…” Luca drawls as he lifts my hand to his lips at the breakfast table.

It’s been a few days since my arrival at Luca’s compound, and he’s shown me around the villa. I’ve seen everything there is to see, except whatever is behind the doors of the supposed toolshed.

I know that’s where he keeps his arms – right under his nose but in a place so inconspicuous, it would appear to be an ordinary toolshed. Except, the security around it is doubled, every corner being watched by surveillance cameras and locked with a high-tech padlock that needs Luca’s fingerprint to unlock it.

“... I am glad you are feeling better,” he says as he gently replaces my hand on the table. He stares at me with wonder, his dark eyes glossing, and I know exactly where his mind is drifting.

It’s to that one place we haven’t explored yet – the place I’ve been avidly avoiding. It’s only reserved to his imagination for now, but I know he expects more from me.

Nonchalantly lifting my coffee mug to my lips, I feign ignorance by staring out of the kitchen window. I just need more time.

“You are feeling better, yes?”

I turn back with a smile on my lips. “Yes, of course, Luca.”

“Wonderful,” he smiles back. “Then we will pick up where we left off.”

“Luca, I–” I quickly begin, wanting to avoid this at any cost, especially when he lifts my hand again.

He shakes his head to cut me off, squeezing my hand gently. “We will visit Las Vegas again. Have dinner in that restaurant, and return to the hotel we were meant to stay at that night.”

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