Page 7 of Velvet Chains

“You just pulled me away and I couldn't even say goodbye!” She replied in an angry tone.

“Goodbye? Goodbye to who? Your friend? Or the groom?” I asked, my words reminding me just how close they were before I found them. It looked as if, had I been even one second slower, he would have kissed her.

“That's none of your business.” She responded and once again tried to break free.

“Where are you going? We're not done yet.” I said in a low voice, as I looked into her eyes. Within them I could see a struggle that I wasn't sure even she was aware of. She didn't respond, but the way her body trembled, folding into my arms even further, told me everything I needed to know.

I could feel the eyes of my men on us and since I wasn't the type to put on a show, I decided that it was time for us to go in. Besides the tension that was growing between us, I wasn't sure that I wanted to leave her alone.

I had spent the day watching her. Even when I went off to make a call, I had kept an eye on her. I quickly realized that I was right to do so. She wanted to escape, and with how fast she moved through the crowd and toward the exit, she obviously had an escape plan in mind.

I was genuinely interested to see what her escape plan was, so I watched her and decided I would only stop her if she was about to get out of my reach. I almost felt bad seeing how much effort she put into her attempt. The one thing she didn't know was that I had men stationed at the exits. They would have stopped her if she came out of that venue alone.

However, the entertainment I got from watching her was cut short when the groom had accosted her. The man, a soft-looking weak little thing, had staggered up to her and had had the guts to grab her. If that wasn't bad enough, she hadn’t pushed him away.

Just thinking about it made me irrationally angry. And I already knew why I was angry. I wanted her, and until I decided otherwise, I owned her. I had wanted to break that man's arm when he touched her.

I tried to push aside those feelings as we walked. But I felt a fire within me, and after a while, I didn't want to fight it anymore.

Although the window of her room was barred and it was a long way down, I knew better than to underestimate a captive’s longing for freedom. So I decided that a change would have to be made to her sleeping arrangements. Or at least, that is what I told myself when I made the decision.

She walked beside me, but her footsteps began to slow when she realized I wasn't taking her to the room she had stayed in last night.

“Where are you taking me?” She asked, and I ignored her as we continued to walk. Our progress slowed when she decided to protest by digging her heels in and refusing to move.

I started dragging her, but it was inconvenient to keep doing it. So I turned to her and issued an ultimatum.

“Move, or I'll carry you.” I finally said, my voice so low it came out as a growl.

“You wouldn't.” Her eyes widened in shock as she spoke. I didn't deign that question with an answer. I just let the seriousness on my face speak for me instead.

When she realized that I wasn't joking, she stopped being stubborn and started walking again.

“There, isn't that better?” I teased her as we walked. She said nothing in response, her stubbornness making me chuckle. We walked forward in silence, with her falling in step beside me.

I noticed Isabelle's eyes looking around every time we passed something that looked ornate or antique. I could tell that she was intrigued by it.

I hadn't renovated much of it when it became mine, so a lot of the decor was stately and a bit old. I finally stopped when we reached a large wooden door that was so thick it would take a chainsaw more than five minutes to get through. And that was just the wood. The second layer of the door was made of metal.

The metal was thick, reinforced steel. I wanted to get titanium but I opted out of it at the last minute. It was my house, not an impenetrable panic room.

It felt like overkill when I was ordering the customizations, but I had been in my line of work long enough to know that one or two minutes could be the difference between life and death. So, in all my homes and bases, I made sure to provide for emergencies, and it came in handy. It was how we lost minimal personnel when Don Antonio made his move.

“What's this?” Isabelle’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

“It's where you're going to sleep tonight.” I responded simply.

“What was wrong with the old room? I liked it.” She looked at the door before her like it was the entrance to a torture chamber.

“Why do you think that your pick of the rooms here is up to you?” I felt amused and stunned at the same time. During the two days that I had interacted with her, I had felt like laughing more than I had for the past five months.

“I… I…” She stuttered, her face turning red in the process. Something about our situation must have intuited her that I bore no malice toward her, although I was clearly holding her against her will. It was why she had grown bolder.

“Get in, then you can complete that sentence.” I said as I pulled her into the room and shut the door behind me.

Locking and opening the door not only needed a pair of keys that were always on me, but also a thumbprint scan. This way, it was the one room I knew for a fact that she couldn't escape from. I turned around to see her watching me in shock.

“Get comfortable, you're staying here with me. It's the only way I can keep you safe and out of trouble.” I said in a flat tone. I knew she would not like what I had said, but I didn't care. I was right, as the moment she heard my words, I could see her face getting redder and redder until she blew.

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