Chapter 7

ELION

That dress was a distraction.

No. A problem.

And there was only one solution to problems—taking them out. I had planned the entire of tonight to go smoothly, introduce Rea to my members of the Elite Group, let the paparazzi takes some couple of pictures for the tabloids, and answer all questions cunningly

I had not accounted for the other things that happened tonight, and I'm not talking about Molly.

“So these rules...” Loretta begins, shifting slightly so the leather crinkles

I pull my eyes away from the road and steal a glance at her. My grip on the steering wheel tightened as a powerful urge gripped me

The urge to stop the car abruptly and rip something apart with my bare hands. Her? The dress? I didn't know which

The fine lines of her throat are disrupted by a hard swallow “You said they were rules"

In the dim light of my Aston Martin, the green of her eyes was darker, I caught a tiny bright fleck shimmering in them

“Yes," I grunted out, “You are in my prison now Rea. You live under my roof, you abide by my rules"

I managed to tear my gaze away from her face and back to the road. We were almost at the penthouse and that was good. I needed to be away from her as soon as possible

Loretta in that dammed dress was messing with my dammed mind. My jaw locked tight and my irritation built, not at her, but myself

I was wound tight for noticing all these little things about her when I shouldn't

“Rule one." I began, slowly and deliberately. "You will not ask me for space in public. You will be with me at every occasion that requires me showing you off, and you will stay by my side throughout it"

Her inhale was sharp “I am not a property you can fold into your pocket.”

“Are you forgetting you signed a contract, to keep up with this farce and be my wife?"

Loretta opened her mouth to argue, but I took a sharp bend around the block, making her yelp

“Such a reckless driver” she muttered under her breath

I pretended not to hear what she said, not because I tolerated the comment, but because I didn't have time to process my body's reaction to that small, throaty sound that left her red lips

“Rule two" I shot, in an attempt to get my head thinking straight again “You will not ask questions about my business. Not my meetings, not my calls, not the people I see. You are nothing more than a contract to me”

The colour drained from her face and I saw the effects my words had on her. Her chin wobbled, but she sat upright, willing herself not to be affected

It fùcking pissed me off

When I proposed the marriage contract, I thought I'd see George dragging a screaming girl into my office and forcing her to sign it. Heck, I even had a plan B, C, D, E, and F in case Loretta refused

But the person that I met days ago was a woman who was willing to accept her fate and fight it head-on. I wanted her reaction, her pain her suffering. I wanted her tears

And so I may have gone a little overboard with my rule

“Rule three, You report and seek permission from me. Wherever you go, whatever you do, you have to keep me informed. I don't want you leaving the penthouse without my permission, in return, you have access to the entire grounds except my room of course. Is that clear?”

A best passed. Two. There

Common Rea. Let me see you break

A resigned sigh left her lips “ I really am your prisoner now”

Not a question but an acknowledgement

The leather on the steering wheel crinkled underneath my grip “Get used to it”

Something moved in her eyes, something so fast I'm not quite sure what it was “I have a few rules of my own too”

I wanted to burst into a fit of laughter, and that itself was alarming. I. Do. Not. Laugh

“You don't make the rules baby. I do” I muttered darkly

“Rule one” she started on, as if I hadn't just told her who was in charge here “If we are going to keep up with this facade and pretend like we're a normal couple, then there are certain things we need to know about each other”

My teeth ground together, and even though technically she wasn't the one who made the rules, I found myself answering “Read the latest gossip blog. You'll find everything you need to know about me”

“No” she refused stubbornly “You and I are going to have dinner every night” She turned slightly so she was facing me, and then mocked my words from earlier “Like a couple in love”

A snort found its way past my lips. “The nerve of you to think I'd leave work early just to see your face”

My words hurt her. I saw it in the way her breath turned shallow but she remained composed

Fuck me sideways. This girl has thick skin. More importantly, why was I desperate to get underneath her dress...I mean skin tonight. I had a lifetime to ruin Loretta

She was mine. Irrevocably, unquestionably, fully.

“No not see my face. D-i-n-n-e-r dinner” she stressed as if she were talking to a child “You and me sharing a meal and having a conversation”

My jaw ticked once, I stared her down, and she held my gaze. “Not happening” I spat out “I would rather set my company on fire than share a meal with you”

Loretta muttered a prayer and rubbed her temples with those slender, manicured fingers “Elion—”

The gates of my penthouse opened and I sped in to the driveway “In case you're forgetting something very important let me remind you” I killed the cars engine, undid my seat belt and slid closer to her so she would feel the venom in my words, but that may have been the wrong decision, because by so doing, I inhaled a breathful of her floral scent

Sweet. Soft. Soothing.

Mouthwatering.

I hated it. Hated that I was now hyper aware of her perfume, the very tones of it ingrained in my mind

“This” I gestured between us “Is purely for retribution. You do not have one dammed say. You do not make the rules, and the only time I get to see you is on my own terms, asides that, I don't want you existing within a three-mile radius around me. Got it?” I finished with the snap of a finger

The green of her eyes was brighter, outshining the brown. She pursed her lips in a frown “One shared meal a day Elion, or you can stuff your rules up your uptight ass” she shot back, “And I pray to God it punctures a vital organ” With that, Loretta dashed out of the car

Leaving me seething with hot rage and a little bit of amusement