Page 52 of Ruthless Oath

“You’ve just done everything else?”

I sorted the cute leggings he’d picked out in every color, trying to seem unassuming while my heart raced. “I wouldn’t say that.”

“What would you say?” He leaned against the oak door and crossed his arms over his muscular chest. “I’m dying to know how a woman who looks and acts like you do has managed to stay intact.”

“By staying away from men like you.” I ran my hand along the silky black dress I couldn’t wait to wear. “When I turned eighteen, I thought I knew everything—”

“Why am I not surprised?”

“One of my father’s guards had been flirting with me for months before my birthday, and when I turned eighteen, he made his move.” I laughed at the cliche. “I was too young to realize he was a player who only wanted me because of who I was.”

“Your father allowed this?”

Marchello’s entire being still radiated sexual authority, but from the quirk of his eyebrows, I had said enough to pique his curiosity. Enough to slow him down…for now.

“He didn’t know.” I gazed out the large window by the bed, taking in the vibrant fall foliage. “I had a pool party for my birthday that year, and the guard was hanging around pretending to do his job, but he was only using it as an excuse to get close to me.”

I had always been drawn to the sexy bad boy with the dirty-talking mouth and the tattoos, but that guard was nothing compared to the sticky situation I had gotten myself into now.

“I thought I was being an adult, and I wanted to be more daring, so I invited him to my room that night.” I tucked my hair behind my ear, not looking into Marchello’s eyes for fear that he might be disgusted. “We kissed, and he did a lot of touching, but it wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be.”

“What happened?”

“The next few nights, he kept showing up. I should have told him to go, but I didn’t. It was the summer before college, and I didn’t want to go inexperienced.” I shrugged. “It wasn’t my best decision.”

“Is this guard still employed with your father?”

“No,” I said. “After a few nights, he started getting aggressive, and I knew it was only a matter of time before he wanted to have sex, so I asked him to not come back the next night.”

“Did he listen?”

“He threatened to tell my dad I was a whore, so I beat him to it. I told my father he had been coming to my room and I couldn’t get him to leave me alone.”

“You did the right thing,” Marchello said.

“I never saw him again.”

“Good for your father,” he said. “If he thinks like me, that guard is no longer breathing.”

“I didn’t want my dad to kill him. I just wanted him to stop coming to my room.”

“He should have listened to you when you said you didn’t want him in your bed. If he would have listened, he would still be…employed.”

“You mean alive?”

“Your father did what he had to do.”

“Well, it scared me enough to go off to college and never get myself into a serious relationship. I threw myself into school and worked hard. That’s how I managed to stay a virgin.”

“That’s going to change really soon.” He ran his tongue along the seam of his lips. “I’m not afraid of your father.”

He stayed by the door, but he could advance on me at any moment, and there would be nowhere for me to run.Do I even want to run?

“You had your chance earlier.” I held up a purple sweater, admiring the way the thin silver threads sewn through it sparkled in the light. “You threw it away. I’m not interested in getting intimate with you.”

I walked a dangerous line, but his feral side intrigued me. I liked pushing his buttons because it gave me a thrill I had been searching for my whole life.

“You’re bold,” he said. “But I’m not sure if you’re calculated or stupid.”

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