Page 8 of A Diamond for My Forbidden Bride

Anger was power. Anger was fuel. And I burned it without compunction.

‘Valentin,’ she said coldly. ‘I have my own security team. They’re all military trained and, if you don’t let me go right this second, they will end you.’

‘Call them. They can try to end me, but I’ve died before and, as you can see, it didn’t take.’

‘If you don’t—’

‘You’re not going anywhere except with me,’ I said. ‘So you might as well come willingly.’

‘I will never come willingly, not with you.’

I shrugged. ‘Then you will come unwillingly. The former will be easier for both of us; the latter will be inconvenient, but nothing more than that.’

Despite her icy expression, her breathing was fast and the pulse at the base of her throat was frantic. Again, though, she wasn’t afraid; I could see that clearly. No; what she was, was furious.

Ah, that brought back memories...

I pulled her in even closer. So close I could hear her breath catch. Her perfume was faint and subtle, sophisticated. That was new; she hadn’t worn perfume back when she was fifteen. Yet beneath that perfume I could smell something ineffably sweet, like honeysuckle. Her...

I remembered lying on warm sand beneath a star-studded sky, my own heart beating hard as I brushed my mouth over hers. Her lips had been soft, as velvety as rose petals, and she’d given the most delicious little sigh, as if she’d been waiting all her life for my kiss.

Now her eyes darkened as she stared up at me, like quartz filled with thunderclouds. Was she remembering that same moment? That same night? Did she remember that kiss as I did?

She looked delicate. As though she were made of spun glass.

A feeling tightened in my chest that wasn’t anger, for a change, yet I didn’t know what else it could be. And, though I wasn’t gentle any more, I said, ‘I won’t harm you, little star. But you will come with me. I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter.’

For a second I thought she might give in, melt against me the way she had when we’d been young, giving me her trust and her surrender.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she shook herself, giving me a look of the most complete disdain. ‘I think not.’

And the feeling inside me twisted again, turning into something else.

Anticipation.

That girl she’d once been hadn’t gone, it seemed. Under that diamond-hard veneer, little Olivia Wintergreen was still a wildcat.

Good. I liked a strong woman. And a strong woman who challenged me? Even better.

How had Constantine handled this new version of her? Had he tested that stubbornness? Had he broken through her diamond walls? Or did the pair of them freeze each other out?

Suddenly I was desperate to know, and know everything about their relationship. She would tell me. I’d make her. And then I’d make sure she never thought of him again.

Olivia opened her mouth, no doubt to tell me she’d scream again, but time was running out and I’d already lingered too long.

Before she could get a word out, I lifted her up and tossed her over my shoulder.

For a second she lay still, draped over me, her body warm as I turned in the direction of the front door. I thought I might get out without her creating a fuss.

Then she went stiff. ‘Valentin! What the hell are you doing? Put me down!’

I smiled. There she was, the wild Olivia I remembered. ‘What do you think?’ I put an arm around her thighs to keep her steady and to stop her from kicking, which she probably would. ‘I already told you that you were coming with me.’

‘Don’t you dare!’ A fist thumped hard against my back. ‘My security are armed!’

‘Not any more, little star,’ I said. ‘My team have already secured their weapons. But feel free to scream on your way out.’

---