Page 26 of The Rise of Saint (The Sins of Saint 1)

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.”

Like the fighter she’d been since I took her, she lifted her chin, her expression fiery and fearless. “One thing I’ve learned on the streets is there’s always a choice.”

I tightened my grip, clenching my teeth. “Not this time, Mila. Not with me.”

“Screw you.”

With a hard shove, I slammed her back against the wall. “Fine. You want a choice? Here’s one for you.” I forced her to look up at me as I brought my face inches from hers. “Marry me and be my wife until I have what I want. After that, I’ll let you go, and you can pretend like nothing ever happened.” My thumb traced across her chin, and her whole body shuddered. “But if you refuse to marry me, I’ll keep you a prisoner here for the rest of your goddamn life, whoring you out to rich, fat, fucking bastards until you’re old and broken, until no man wants to touch you anymore, and the only thing you’re good for is cleaning piss stains off my bathroom floors. How’s that for a choice?” By gritting my teeth and keeping my face inches from her, I made sure there was no doubt in her mind about how fucking serious I was.

I turned her face to the side, glancing down at the pulsing vein in her neck. “What will it be,Milana?Will you live under my roof as my wife, or will you be a prisoner here…as my slave?”

Her bottom lip trembled, but she still reeked of resistance, every contour of her face hardened with derision. It fucking turned me on to see her so damn determined to fight me. To hate me.

I dragged a thumb down her bottom lip, loving the way she quivered in my hold. “Decide.”

She continued to glare at me from the side. “I can just sign the shares over to you, and you can let me go. There’s no need for us to get married.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”

“Why not?”

I was losing my patience with this woman. “Decide, Mila.”

“No! Please—”

“Decide!” The word spat out of my mouth, and I jerked her face in my hand. She closed her eyes, and her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “Wife or whore? The choice is simple.”

I could see the tears well up in the corners of her eyes, yet her jaw was clenched, her gaze hard and filled with hate. There was no line I wouldn’t cross to get what I wanted, and I made sure that came across loud and clear as I glared at her.

“Okay,” she choked out, hardly audible.

I squeezed her jaw, forcing her chin up toward me. “I can’t hear you.”

“I said okay.”

“Okay what?”

Her eyes pinched closed. “I’ll marry you.” A blend of disdain and fear reverberated in her voice, and it was like heroin to my blood, inciting a strong current of euphoria that made me crave more. More of her fight. More of her strength. I wanted it all until there was nothing left.

“Good. Now that we agreed on that,” I smirked as victory sang in my blood, “you need to be taught a few lessons if you’re going to act the part of a perfect Russo wife.”

“What—”

The fabric of her shirt tore between my fingers before she had a chance to finish her sentence. A horrifying gasp slipped from her lips. “What are you—”

“You defied me by not cleaning up before you came walking in here demanding answers from me like you had the fucking right.” With every word, my anger grew stronger, and I grabbed her arms, stopping her from trying to cover herself up.

“Let go of me!” She fought against my hold. Her body twisted and thrashed as she struggled against me. “Stop!”

With a flick of her elbow, I lost my grip on her wrist, and she reached up, her arm coming down at me hard and fast, her fist aiming at my face. But she wasn’t fast enough, and I countered, grabbing her wrist again, this time twisting it behind her back as I swung her around, pulling her back against me. Her thrashing grew more panicked, stronger, her screams slamming against the roof as I wrapped an arm around her and dragged her toward my desk, forcing her down, chest-first on the mahogany wood.

Pinning both her arms behind her back, I held her wrists together as I bent over her, pressing my body hard against her.

“Let go of me!” She squirmed and wrestled, trying to break free. But all it did was make my dick harder than it already was, throbbing with a need to fuck submission into her.

“You feel that, Mila?” I flexed, thrusting my cock against her ass. “That’s all you’re going to get by fighting me. Your fight is doing nothing but tempt me.” I took both her wrists in one hand, leaning down, bringing my lips to the curve of her ear. “Now, think long and hard about that. Is that really what you want to do? Tempt a man like me?”

“It’s either that or make this easy for you, and I’m not particularly fond of the latter option.” She wriggled her wrists, but I merely tightened my fingers around them.

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