Page 40 of Arranged Obsession
If I let him.
All I need to do is agree to marry a monster. Agree to marry a killer, a sinner, a beast, a nightmare.
Everything I hate.
My captor and my ghost.
He stole me from Finn. And now I have a choice.
Agree to this marriage or walk away.
I could go back to Grace House. God, I miss it there so much.
Or I could take the risk with him and maybe do something bigger and better.
Imagine how much good I could do…
If I’m willing to give myself over to evil.
“Two conditions,” I say, voice shaking. I don’t even try to hide it.
“Name them.”
I hold up one finger. “You follow through with your promise. You give me whatever I need whenever I ask for it.”
“Done.”
I hold up a second finger. “We have our first dance as a married couple in front of all these people.”
His eyebrows raise in surprise. I suppress my vicious smile. That second condition is just petty and mean—because a first dance is exactly the sort of thing he’d hate.
And judging by the look on his face, I was dead right.
He struggles to control himself as his eyes graze down my body.
And with a sharp nod, he agrees.
“One dance,” he says. “And then you’re mine.”
The crowd murmursas I’m ushered onto the dance floor. Lucy sticks by my side, protective and concerned. “Are you sure about this?” she whispers, glancing at the faces all around us. Strangers watching a bizarre show. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”
“I already told Adriano I was going to do it.”
Her jaw ticks as she looks over her shoulder at where her husband stands near their table. “I’ll have a talk with him later.”
“Don’t.” I pat her hand lightly. “It’s okay.”
She has more to say, but the audience parts as Cormac comes striding through them, looking stiff and determined, like he’s marching to his own funeral.
I beam at him, struggling to maintain my composure as my heart races in my chest.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I now present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Finn—” The host clears his throat and laughs to cover the gaffe. “I’m sorry, I mean, Mr. and Mrs. Cormac Whelan’s first dance!”
My cheeks burn with awkwardness. The gathered people laugh politely, but I can feel their stares. And suddenly I realize this wassucha bad fucking idea.
Until Cormac steps in front of me and puts his hands on my hips.
God, I can smell him. My ghost, right here in my arms, in the flesh. Dark and Light. An evil hell prince. More beautiful than any man has a right to be. Sickening and terrifying, but impossible to deny.
