Chapter 11

He drew level with me, then began that unnerving circling, his hands folded at his back.

"I spoke with your father this afternoon," he told me. I already did not like where this was going. "Told him I'd found my mate in his daughter," he continued. "He was amenable, ecstatic even, to the news. And there lies the problem."

He came to a stop before me. I watched him, waiting.

"I am cursed," he stated the obvious, "and my reputation precedes me. Any father who truly loves his daughter wouldn't give her up to me."

My heart clenched at the implication of his words; I lowered my gaze.

My eyes widened when he touched my chin, lifting up my face. His whiskey grey eyes sucked me in, and his deceptively gentle voice lulled me into hypnosis. "You belong here with me. I could give you a home. Be mine a--"

I tore my face away from his hold. "No," I said resolutely. "I can't be your mate." For so many reasons.

"Your disagreement on the matter would