Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 39687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
It was the first time in all of her twenty-one years where her life had been controlled. Was what Marcus said the truth? Her life had never been her own?
She couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to even think about it.
Her life was her own.
She cried out as Marcus put a hand directly between her legs. Even though she was wearing jeans, she felt the heat of him through them, and she nearly went into a panic.
“You think this won’t belong to me?” he asked. “I’ll own every single inch of you.” He leaned in close. “And I look forward to breaking you in. You’ll be my wife, Laura, and all those times you saw me with another woman, I’ll make up for it, I promise.”
Before she knew what was happening, his lips were on hers.
She’d never been kissed by a man, and now, her first had been taken by a man she despised. For a few seconds she didn’t know what to do. His lips were hard, and as he slid his tongue across hers, she opened up on instinct, and he dived in, deepening the kiss.
Closing her eyes, she couldn’t believe she was kissing him back. She kept her hands at her sides, trying not to interact with him.
Marcus broke the kiss, not that she had any say in it whatsoever.
“See, now I know how to shut you up.”
“Get off me.”
Her face was on fire, and as he chuckled, he didn’t let her go.
“Was that your first kiss, Laura?” he asked.
The way he said her name, it set her teeth on edge. She wanted to attack him for getting too close to her. Instead, she kept her hands at her sides and glared at him.
“Of course it was. You see, Laura, you seem to think you’ve got a say in what happens to you. All along, you never had any say. We decide what your future is.”
“I won’t marry you.”
“You think you’re going to stop this? You’re wrong.”
“Why?” she asked.
He tilted his head to the side.
“Clearly, we’re marrying because you get something out of it—what?”
Marcus smiled. He put his hands either side of her head, closing her in, trapping her. At least they were no longer wrapped around her neck. Small mercies.
“Do you really think I’d tell you our plans, Laura?”
“You could have any other woman. You’re stuck with me.”
Marcus chuckled. “You’re so naïve. If you think I’m going to have a wife and no one else, you’re mistaken. No woman will ever have control over me. You’re a means to an end. Now, when we go back in there, you will stand at my side, not say a word, and look somewhat happy, got it?”
“No.”
“You’ve got a dog out back, Lucas, you call him.”
“So?” She frowned at him.
“How much does Lucas mean to you?”
“Why?”
“If you don’t do as I say, I will go out there and slit your dog’s throat. I’ll make you watch him suffer while I do it, and you’ll know it’s because you couldn’t do one simple thing for me.”
“I hate you.”
“Believe me, the feeling is mutual.” He held her arm tightly. “Shall we?”
With tears in her eyes, she followed Marcus back into the room, hating every single man in sight. One day, they would all pay, and when they did, she’d be watching them. Her father, he didn’t even look at her.
He’d lied to her.
Now she was nothing more than a pawn in Marcus’s life.
He made a big mistake threatening her and her dog. She would make sure he lived to regret it.
****
In order to assure himself of Laura’s cooperation, Marcus agreed to spend the night until his father Antonio could find a suitable replacement guard.
He poured himself a large glass of whiskey and took a seat in William’s office. Laura’s father had made quite a life for himself, but then with a fortune being passed down through the sons of the Davis line, he would have. This was the same fortune The Boss wanted back. Originally the Davises’ wealth had been attached to the mafia, going back nearly a lifetime ago, at least according to The Boss. Only, two generations ago, a deal had been made which took the Davis fortune and all of their connections, and removed them from the mafia line.
Each Will said the same. The inheritance would pass down from son to son, keeping it a Davis. Only in the event of a daughter, and only a daughter, would the inheritance be handed over to her husband. Rather archaic, but even if Laura’s mother was to have had a son, his soon-to-be-wife, wouldn’t have seen a cent of the money. The Will was locked tight for all loopholes, so The Boss had to get creative.
After Laura’s birth, he made sure her mother had an accident on the operating table, which took away her ability to have children. As per the Will, Davis would have forfeited his inheritance if he divorced, and so, within a matter of days, the wealth would be back where it rightfully belonged.