Page 50 of The Enforcer's Possession
“I had nothing to do with Marco.”That much was true.“Giuseppe’s political maneuvering is his own.I just made sure that when you needed an alternative, I was a viable option.A more preferable one, for that matter.”
Her breathing had gone rapid, her chest rising and falling with each sharp inhale.“So, your goal was to make yourself the only choice.”
“Yes.”
The single word hung between us.No apology.No justification.Just acknowledgment of what I’d done.
“You’re a monster.”Her voice broke on the last word.“You’re no different than my father.Than Marco.You’re just better at hiding it.”
“I never claimed otherwise.”I leaned in closer, until I could smell her perfume mixed with rage and fear.“But I’m your monster now.The one you chose.The one who’ll protect you from all the others while keeping you exactly where you belong.”
“I don’t belong to anyone --”
“You belong to me.”The words came out low and absolute.“You’ve belonged to me for three years, Caterina.You just didn’t know it.Now you do.”
She stared at me, her green eyes bright with unshed tears and fury.“You violated my privacy, stalked me, manipulated…”
“No unworthy man ever touched what was mine.I made sure of that.You don’t want the specifics.And I refuse to share them.As you said, you already see me a monster.”My free hand rose to cup her jaw, forcing her gaze to stay on mine.“And you did choose me.Whatever your reasons, however desperate you were, you walked into that restaurant and asked for this marriage.So don’t play the innocent now.You wanted out of Giuseppe’s control badly enough to give yourself to me instead.”
“I didn’t know you were insane --”
“I’m not insane.I’m in love with you.”The words came out before I could stop them.Truth I hadn’t planned to reveal, hadn’t meant to acknowledge even to myself.“I have been since that night at Rossi’s party.Since I watched you laugh and move and exist in a world that suddenly made sense because you were in it.”
She went completely still.“What?”
“You heard me.”I released her jaw and stepped back, needing space to regain the control that confession had shattered.“I love you.I’ve loved you for years.That’s why I waited.Why I watched.Why I made sure you’d be mine when the time came.”
“That’s not love.”Her voice was barely a whisper.“That’s obsession.That’s --”
“It’s both.”I met her eyes without flinching.“And I’m done pretending otherwise.Done letting you think this arrangement is just business.It never was.Not for me.”
Her hand came up fast, aimed at my face with all the force her anger could provide.I caught her wrist three inches from my cheek, my reflexes faster than her rage.
“Let me go.”The words came out as a snarl.
“No.”I held her wrist firmly, not hard enough to hurt but unbreakable.“Not until you understand what this means.What we are.”
“We’re not anything --”
“We’re everything.”I pulled her closer, until her body pressed against mine.“And you can fight it all you want.You can rage and throw things and try to hit me.But it won’t change the truth.You’re mine, Caterina.You always were and always will be.”
She yanked her wrist free with a strength born of pure fury.“Fuck you.”
Then she grabbed the crystal lamp from the nightstand and threw it at my head.
I moved left and the crystal lamp sailed past my head by inches, exploding against the full-length mirror behind me.Glass shattered in a spray that caught the light like diamonds, and I heard Caterina’s sharp intake of breath -- shock at what she’d done, maybe, or disappointment that she’d missed.The mirror’s destruction spiderwebbed outward from the impact point, turning my reflection into a fractured monster.Appropriate.
“Feel better?”I asked, my voice level despite the adrenaline pumping through my system.
Her answer was to grab the next nearest object.I caught her wrist before she could throw it, my fingers closing around the delicate bones with controlled pressure.It tumbled from her grip and hit the oriental carpet with a muffled thud that didn’t break it.
“Let me go.”She yanked against my hold, her eyes wild with rage.“Let me fucking go --”
“No.”I pulled her closer, caught her other wrist when she swung at my face with her free hand.Now I had both her arms, both her wrists secured in my grip while she struggled like a trapped animal.“You want to fight me?Fine.But you’re not throwing my things around like a child having a tantrum.”
“Your things.”She laughed, the sound sharp and bitter.“Everything is yours.This penthouse.My clothes.My schedule.My life.My fucking privacy all these years --”
She twisted suddenly, using her whole body as leverage, and I had to shift my stance to maintain my grip.Her heel came down hard on my foot -- would have crushed bones if I hadn’t been wearing shoes with reinforced toes.As it was, I felt the impact but no real pain.
