CHAPTER EIGHT— NEGOTIATION

I think I fell asleep sometime during the car ride to his house. I wasn't sure how long. My eyes fluttered open when warm hands gently shook me and then I heard that familiar voice call my name. With a groan, I slowly came to and then jolted up when I remembered the past event. Luca at my house. Georgina's betrayal. Father and Mother letting Luca hold me hostage.

“Where are we?” I asked, losing the ability to admire the mansion that stood in the middle of this massive beautiful compound. This is too much of an upgrade from my family's house and even I thought our house was one of the biggest houses. This however, didn't do it much justice.

“My home. Which will he your home in less than three days,” Luca said it as a matter of fact and the way he said it so casually, I almost would have missed what his words meant.

I frowned. “Three days?”

He nodded. “Our wedding has been moved to three days’ time. After the stunt you almost pulled, I'm not willing to take anymore risks with you, Ariadne.”

My eyes widened at the reality of that. I was getting married in three days time. Signing all my freedom to this stranger, this kiss thief. My parents were okay with it, and they'd practically given me to him. Me, their little daughter who was barely ripe for marriage. Yes, I knew in our world, girls at the age of eighteen were considered ripe for marriage but I'd never exactly wanted to live that reality.

Luca must have heard the wheels turning in my head because he cocked his head, regarding me. “I do hope though that you know you have yourself to blame. I was willing to give you enough time to come to terms with this… arrangement, but you left me no choice.”

I rolled my eyes at him, even if all I wanted to do was cry and beg. “Oh, please. You can stop acting like a matyr. We both know you didn't have me in mind when you're thought of that.” My voice became low, mocking even when I asked: “Why, Luca? So eager to take my virtue before another man does that you decide to tie the knot earlier than agreed? Do my parents even know about how sick and depraved you are?”

His eyes ticked in anger, and his jaw locked from barely restrained anger. Good. I wanted him the feel how I felt with all these set-up. He was a monster, and I needed to let him know of that, rather than the saint he thought himself to be.

Luca turned his glare from me to the driver who was quiet and if not that I was seeing him, I wouldn't even notice him in the car with us. “Leave us. Now!” Luca commanded and every fight I had in me left my body.

Would he hit me? Rape me right here? I mean, I was his already so he could do as he pleased.

“Yes, Sir.”

The driver opened the door and left shutting it and giving us privacy. I started to fumble with the car lock and just when I opened the door, strong hands grabbed my hand and pulled it back before shutting the door again. I shrieked when he unexpectedly pulled me into his lap.

“Now where do you think you're going, honey?” He growled in my ear, eliciting a whimper from me. “You know, for a girl who has a sharp mouth, you are a pretty much a coward.”

“Let me go!” I started squirming on top of him, only coming to a halt when I felt his hard bulge in-between my legs. “You depraved —” I cut myself short in anger and without thinking, I pulled my hand back, my palm collided with his cheek.

He paused. I paused. We both paused and time seemed to stand still. I hadn't meant to slap him. At least not that hard. Something told me I'd just unlocked the beast in him and it was time I learned the consequences.

“I didn't… I wasn't…” his face was unreadable which made me feel uneasy. I would have preferred the angry, deadly look in his eyes. At least that way I'd know what to except. Not this. “I'm sorry.” I finally brought myself to say.

He pulled me away from him with barely restrained anger while I sat back on autopilot, gauging his movements. Slowly, he opened his side of the door and got out. My heart was beating fast — too fast and I mentally cursed myself. Where was he going now? I looked at the back of the window, but didn't catch sight of him. As if on cue, my side of the door opened and I let out a scream, scrambling to his side of the car.

“No… please.” I tried kicking at him, but he was faster and grabbed my legs, pulling me to him with force. “Let me go, Luca! Let. Me. Go.” I hit his back again and again as he carried me over his shoulder. “You can't do this!”

He ignored me and kept walking into the house and with every step he took, I could feel myself getting claustrophobic. I started fighting again — clawing and hitting and screaming. There were no staff, nobody who was in sight to rescue and for a moment I wondered if he even had any. Knowing what kind of beast he was, I wouldn't be surprised.

He carried me upstairs and then walked through the hallway with dozens of closed doors. Stopping in front of one, he opened it and carried me in, before unceremoniously throwing me on the bed. I bounced twice, and then started scrambling to my feet to run. He caught me, his knee in-between my legs, and his strong, big hands holding my wrists down the bed. I squirmed, fighting for control.

“Stop struggling already.” His voice was calm. Too calm for the way he was making me feel. “The faster you stop fighting, the better it is for your fate.”

“Never!” I spit out. “I'll keep fighting until I take my last breath.”

He nodded slowly, his eyes never giving away what he felt. “Suit yourself then.”

“Why are you even doing this to me?” I yelled. “There are countless girls you could have gone for. Girls who would die just to have you and you pick me?”

“I didn't pick you, remember?” He reminds me. “My nephew Santiago was your betrothed, but the douche had other plans. And since I'm always the one who fixes things in this family, it was only to be expected that I would swoop in and save the day.”

“Well, you could have found a way to fix your life without disrupting mine, don't you think?” I gritted.

He shook his head. “Ever heard the saying that one man's food could be another's poison? There was nothing I could do that would make both families happy. Or in this case make my family and you happy. Your parents seem to be ecstatic about trh fact that their daughter is marrying a Russo.”

I had nothing to say to that because it was true.

Luca stared intently at me as if trying to unravel a secret he didn't know yet. “Why did you try to run, Ariadne?”

I rolled my eyes at him, his grip on my wrists long forgotten. “I think the question should be why didn't I do it sooner?”

“I would have asked who helped you in this failed attempt, but I already have my suspicions.” I scoffed at that. “Infact, I'm so sure that I intend having a little chat with little Matt. That's his name, isn't it?”

My heart stopped and then started racing. “Don't you dare hurt him, Luca.”

His lips curled up in a devilish smile. “So, it is him.”

“He knows nothing.” I told him. “Don't hurt him. Please.”

“Hmm.” Luca lowered himself, his groin making contact with mine. He brought his nose to my hair and sniffed, letting out an appreciative moan. “Roses. I like it.”

I huffed out a breath of frustration. Now he wasn't listening. I wasn't even bothered about the fact that he was now dry humping me, or that his moan sent shivers all over my body and I could feel myself getting wet. All that mattered was that he listened to me and left Matt and his grandmother alone. Sure, his grandmother was my accomplice, but Matt had no part in this.

“Luca…” his name came out as a moan when he nibbled my ear. “Don't hurt Matt, please.”

He looked at me with an indescribable look. “And what are you willing to give me in return for sparing your lover's life?”

I gaped at him in surprise. He knew? That Matt was my ex boyfriend? “How did you…”

He shook his head with a humorless laugh. “You wound me, honey. I know a lot of things. I just choose not to say it.” Oh. “Now, about our negotiation. What do I get in return for sparing your lover's life?”

“I haven't threatened to kill you in your sleep, have I?” I asked and then let out a defeated sigh when he raised a brow in disbelief at me. “Fine. What do you want in return?”

This was sick. One minute, I was clawing and fighting him on the way here, the next we had our private parts pressed against each other and now I was making a negotiation with him.

He stared down at me for one… two… five seconds and then he said, “I would like to watch you come undone. With my tongue.”