Page 38 of Trapping His Darling

“You’re moving in with me at my penthouse.”

Crossing my arms, I frowned. “I don’t want to move.”

“Today is not a good day to try my patience,milyy.”

“We just met.”

“And I broke your door down already, and too easily, I might add.”

“Do you even love me, Viktor?”Please say yes, so I don’t have to poison you to protect my heart.

He stilled, looking thoughtful. “I don’t know if I believe in love at first sight. I do know that you’re mine. I know I want you. I know I want you to be the mother of my future heir. I know I’m obsessed with how you make me feel. I know I will not let you leave me. I know I will kill anyone who tries to take you from me.”

I smiled big, feeling better about where I stood in his heart. Even if he couldn’t say the words, he clearly felt how I felt. “So we’re until death do us part.”

He nodded then pulled out his phone and began typing out a text. “And we’re getting married tomorrow.”

“We’re going to what?” I exclaimed, taken aback by the sudden turn of events.

“You heard me,milyy.”Viktor sighed, as though my reaction was tiresome. “Don’t make me repeat myself. And you need to get dressed and pack. There is no time to delay.”

I understood him perfectly well, and I understood that our time together had been a primitive dance of power and desire, a delicate game I had to play to get us to the right place. But tomorrow? Marriedtomorrow?

“Y-you can’t,” I weakly protested. “You know you can’t. It’s not possible anyway.”

His gaze locked onto mine, demanding an explanation. “What do you mean by that?”

“You can’t just marry me. It doesn’t work like that.”

“I can, and I will,” Viktor declared, his words carrying a dark promise that sent shivers down my spine.

“But…” I felt my eyes well.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Viktor

I should have shot her.I should have ended this before I got attached.

To the outside world, I projected a laid-back and composed demeanor, but with Tiffany, all decorum went out the window. Now I was trapping her, tethering her to me for life, and turning my back on family traditions and duty.

I looked down at Tiffany, one moment so strong and defiant, the next, vulnerable, and about to cry for insisting on the marriage that she obviously wanted. Did she not herself sayuntil death do us part? Was I misreading her?

“You must marry her as soon as possible,”my mother’s voice echoed in my thoughts.“Do not delay in this. Do not let her tears sway you. There are more important elements in play.”

Losing my composure with Tiffany had become all too frequent, especially considering we’d been together for less than a day. I attempted to maintain an air of apathy in life, but her sweet nature, her voluptuous body, and her sharp wit, had a way of undoing me. Disarming me. And driving me utterly insane.

Rather than give in to the urge to rage at her, I took a breath, a moment to compose my turbulent emotions before responding.

“But what,milyy?Why are you about to cry?”

I was impressed with my own control. My instinct was to take it to violence, to force myself on her again and make it so she never again dared test me, question my orders, or delay following my instructions. But I reigned it in. I wasn’t my brother, after all. I knew how to suppress my impulses.

She pulled her blanket close and hid her face. “You’ll think I’m silly,” she sobbed.

I wanted again to explode with anger, but another deep breath allowed me to employ a more patient tactic. I instead crouched before her and tugged down the fabric. My father’s many admonishments of weakness echoed in my ears. He would have never put up with this. He hated tears, even though he had been the cause of many of them, especially for my mother. He instead would’ve been smacking Tiffany about, giving her a reason to cry, so to speak. But I didn’t want to be like him.

“Please talk to me,” I murmured. “I won’t think you’re silly.”

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