Page 5 of Sinister Engagement

I looked back at her. “Yes, of course.” Jackie was a good six years older, and unlike me, she was experienced. She’d dated enough of our father’s men to be far more knowledgeable about the male species than I was.

Jackie pressed her lips to my ear. “Conquering a man is easy business, little sister,” she whispered. “Even if he’s ugly and old. All you need to do is spread your legs and keep your mouth shut. Don’t tell him about your daydreams, don't tell him about that little college you want to go to and how all you want to do is be 'normal.' Pretend to be interested in everything he says or does. Treat him like a king and don’t complain if he hurts you.”

My dreams … marriage. This just didn't feel real. I wasn't even old enough to drink yet. How the hell could I agree to an engagement? “W-what if I don’t … like it?” I asked.

A chuckle rumbled against my spine as Jackie laughed again. Her arms released me, and she pulled away before stepping around to my front. “You probably won’t, but it doesn’t matter. The sex is for him, not you. Just stay loyal long enough to give him a son and then you can play around with a man who knows how to please a woman."

All of her words collided in my mind and the image of some strange man with graying hair and a belly that trembled like jello crawled over me. I tried to keep my breathing even as the thought sent me into a mental tailspin, but it was no use as the fear quickly turned into a physical anxiety attack. Without another word, I whirled around and dashed down the hallway, heading straight for my father's office.

Jackie’s laugh followed me as I ran, hurrying toward his office as fast as my legs could carry me. The door to my father’s office came into view, and I didn’t think twice. I reached for the handle, turned, and stumbled into the room, coming to an abrupt halt as I realized he wasn’t alone.

“I-I’m so sorry,” I stuttered, heat rising to my cheeks. “I-I…” My eyes landed on the man looking over his shoulder from where he sat in front of my father’s desk and stayed there, unable to turn away.

He was a tall man, his shoulders broad. When he turned fully to face me, I felt my mouth go dry. Eyes as piercing and blue as the ocean, with a light stubble coating the lower half of his face—he appeared distinguished in a way that I was most certainly not. Though he wasn't quite as old as my father, he was older than me. Mid-thirties if I had to hazard a guess. There were fine lines around the edges of his eyes—crow’s feet—but the rest of him appeared big and brawny. Like he was a Viking who had somehow fit himself into the suit of a modern man.

None of that, however, was the reason my heart started to race. Instead, it was what lay beyond his eyes that made me pause. In his gaze, was an intense glimmer of heat. When he blinked slowly, cutting me off from that impenetrable gaze only to return a moment later, I realized that there was a steeliness to his attention. A careful amusement that was only surface deep. The man looked at me as if he had seen or done horrible things, pillaged villages and burned houses, and I—I was the thing he'd been searching for all along. It was heady.

“Evangeline.” My father stood from his chair and smiled at me, lifting his arm as he gestured for me to come closer. “Come here.”

“Who’s this, Father?” I jumped as Jackie’s voice sounded behind me. I hadn’t realized she’d followed me here.

When I didn’t move, Jackie stepped around me and strode farther into the room, her eyes on the man as he rose from his seat as well, the elegant cut of his suit jacket hanging open. “Oh, you’re a handsome one.” Her voice turned sultry as she approached, and I watched with a spark of something dark in my mind as she touched his arm and batted her lashes up at him. “Are you one of the new guards? Perhaps we should spend some time together later.”

“Enough, Jacquelina,” Father barked. “Gaven is not a guard.” He turned back to me, the cold expression he had flashed to my sister melting away. “Please, Evangeline, shut the door and come in. I’d like for you to meet my friend, Gaven Belmonte.”

With a hefty gulp, I shut the door behind me and then took one single step into the room. I didn’t trust myself to go farther, unsure of if I’d turn and run if I continued to move any more or if being too close to him would affect me more than it already had. Both seemed like possibilities. Jackie’s hand was still on the man’s arm—not that he seemed to notice. His eyes were zeroed in on me in a way that could only be described as predatory. My back straightened and I lifted my chin, meeting his gaze head on.

“Dad, I need to speak with you,” I said. "It's important."

"Yes," my father replied. "I have something I'd like to say as well, but first please say hello. You're being rude." His tone was gruff, slightly frustrated and confused—as if he couldn't understand my unease, my impoliteness. I had to admit, it wasn't like me.

“Hello, Evangeline,” Gaven said, stepping forward and closer to me, shrugging off Jackie’s arm despite her slight attempts to keep hold. A frown curled her lips, but I wasn’t paying attention to her because it took every ounce of will I had to keep from reacting to the depth of his voice. It wasn’t husky like I was used to hearing from my father’s men. It was smooth, a rich baritone that seemed to weave its way through me, nestling next to my erratically beating heart.

"Hello, Mr. Belmonte," I murmured, nodding his way, though I made sure not to move closer. "It's lovely to meet you. I apologize for intruding on your meeting."

"It's no problem at all," Gaven said, smiling my way. "In fact, we were just about to invite you to join us."

My eyes darted to my father, who stood behind his desk appearing quite pleased with himself. “Why?" I demanded.

“Well, my Angel...” My father rounded his desk until he stood between the man—Gaven—and me. Jackie moved back with a frown, her eyes darting between the three of us. “I was planning to talk to you this evening, but I expect there’s a reason you came in here so abruptly. I’m sure you’ve heard by now.”

“Yes.” I remembered the reason with sobering clarity. I turned to my father. "Is it true?" My eyes met his. "You're planning to have me get married?"

“Yes.” The answer came through loud and clear, but to my utter surprise, it didn't come from my father. My head pivoted as if twisting on an axis. With my full attention now on him, Gaven smiled gently and continued. "Your father has asked me to join the Price family and take you as my wife."

Another sliver of shock echoed through me, not because it was happening so quickly, but because I hadn’t expected the man before me to be the one I was being forced to marry. Before I could respond though, my father chose that moment to speak up once more. "It's my goal, Angel, to have Gaven become the next head of the family. It's time for me to step down and let the business go into younger, capable hands."

Gaven chuckled. "I'm not all that young, Raphael."

"You're far younger than I am," my father replied with no small amount of amusement. My head reeled, and I could feel the hope that had festered in my chest despite my worst fears dying a slow and painful death.

“What?” At first, I thought my horror and confusion had all come pouring out in that one word until I realized it wasn’t my voice at all.

Father shot Jackie a disapproving look but otherwise ignored the outburst, taking a step closer to me and reaching for my hands. “Please, my Angel,” he said in a low voice. “I simply want to be sure that you’re taken care of before I die.”

“You’re not going to die,” I huffed out. "Is this about what I told you? About the..." I cut a look to Gaven out of the corner of my eye, unsure if I should say anything about the university in front of him.

"No, this is not about that matter," my father said, catching on. "This is simply the best course of action for the family and for you."

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