“Come here,” I say, my voice harsh.
Elena obeys. She gets up and slowly walks toward me until she’s standing between my spread legs. She’s got that infuriating defiant look on her face, and I almost failed to notice the way her hands tremble slightly.
I pull on her hand, and she falls to her knees on my hard marble floor, her face precariously close to my dick. Her mere proximity has me rock hard.
“You were willing to do this for John at Vaughn’s, weren’t you? Had I not entered the room when I did, would you have dropped to your knees for him?” I raise my hand to her face, my thumb tracing over her lip. “Would you have opened your pretty little mouth for him?”
Her eyes flash with disgust at the scenario I’m confronting her with. The real thing would be far worse—she has no idea how much worse. “Men from your father’s circle frequent Vaughn’s. Do you know how many men that you know you’d have to fuck? Do you understand that they’d humiliate you? Any anger that they might have toward your father, they’d take out on you.”
Fear melts away her previously confident expression and she looks away. She and I both know that men in our circle don’t get where we are without getting our hands dirty. It’s clear she hasn’t actually considered anything beyond her mother.
She doesn’t even realize that she walked right into a trap. Vaughn told me someone called to say that Matthew Rousseau’s sister was going to drop by. He was going to allow her to offer her body to avenge me for all the shit Matthew has put me through, and Elena has no idea. She has no idea how bad things would have gotten for her.
She looks up at me, frustration bringing tears to her eyes. “What is it you’re offering me, Alexander?” she asks. “You want me to suck you off? I will. If it helps save my mother’s life, there’s nothing I won’t do. If our roles were reversed and it was your mother’s life on the line, can you honestly tell me you wouldn’t go to hell and back to save her?”
She places her hand over the hand I’m palming my erection with and squeezes. She’s looking up at me through her lashes, her expression a jumbled mess of desire, desperation, and shaky confidence.
I push her hand away and re-adjust myself before taking my time zipping up my trousers and fastening my belt. I run a hand through my hair and look out the window. How do things escalate every single time I’m alone with her? When I came up here with her, this wasn’t what I intended to do at all.
“Get up,” I snap, more angry at myself than I am at her.
She rises and sits down next to me. I lean back in my seat and stare at the ceiling, sighing.
“This isn’t going the way I intended it to, at all,” I say, sounding just as defeated as I feel. “I honestly barely recognize you, Elena.”
She looks away, but the way she draws herself up like a wounded animal tells me she’s hurt by my words. I sigh and stare out the window, at a loss for words. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were that night?” I ask eventually.
She struggles to hold my gaze and looks away in guilt. I wonder what she’d say if she found out that I’d been planning to go back to Inferno every weekend until I ran into her again.
“It was the way you looked at me,” she tells me. “I recognized you straight away, but I knew that as soon as you found out who I am, you’d change. You were flirting with me and you were being playful. I saw a side of you I’ve never seen before, and I selfishly wanted more of that. I wanted more of the Alexander who actually saw me as a woman, and not the awkward teen that followed him around everywhere. I wanted to be more than the little sister of the man you hate.”
I’m not sure what I was expecting her to say, but this isn’t really it. I thought she was playing games with me, or making a fool out of me for not recognizing her. I didn’t think she did it because she was actually interested in me. She’s right though, she is Matthew’s sister.
I grab her hand and entwine our fingers, staring at our joined hands silently before clearing my throat. I look at her and brush her hair behind her ear with my free hand. She looks startled, a small blush coloring her cheeks rosy.
“Like I said, I’ll give you the money, Elena. You might not have been part of our lives for the last few years, but that doesn’t mean my mother ever forgot about you. She was devastated when she was informed that only immediate family is allowed to see your mother, and then you and Lucian stopped being friends, and she lost you, too… I could tell by the warmth she portrayed just now when she hugged you. Seeing her with you was like seeing the woman she was when I was a child.”
I sigh, struggling with words for probably the first time in my life.
“You’re from a good family, Elena. You’re well connected and Ivy League educated—with a full scholarship, no less. I know you won’t accept charity, and had I been in your situation, I wouldn’t either. I wouldn’t trust anyone with my mother’s life, and I wouldn’t be able to live with not knowing when someone’s goodwill runs out.”
She nods, but she looks confused, and I can’t blame her.
“Elena, I want you to marry me.”
She stares at me in disbelief, her eyes wide.
“You… what?”
“Marry me, Elena.”
She blinks, her lips moving but unable to form a reply. I tighten my grip on her hand and smile at her gently.
“You’re aware that the heirs to our conglomerate must be married before taking their seat on the board?”
She nods, her cheeks reddening. She’s no doubt remembering the way our mothers used to joke about their children getting married. I always wondered who they imagined her getting married to, me or Lucian. I guess the decision is out of their hands now.
I clear my throat and look away. “My mother has been arranging dates with socialites and acquaintances. I don’t have time for this shit, and I’m not looking to get married. However, I don’t have a choice. I know my mother wants to try and change the rules for me, but my grandfather won’t let her. I worked too hard to lose everything now.”
Elena nods and bites down on her lip as she mulls my words over. “Why me?” she asks.
“You need a place to stay and money for your mother’s hospital costs. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to be a charity case and leech off whoever is willing to help you. I need a wife who won’t get in my way and won’t expect me to put any effort into making our marriage work. If I have to marry, I’d rather marry someone who owes me. Your family background is good enough, and you’re bound to inherit your mother’s shares, so you’ll be able to increase the Kennedy family’s wealth and influence. Besides, my mother has always loved you, so I know you’ll fit well into our family.”
Elena rises to her feet, and I follow. She starts to pace in my bedroom, and I walk up to her. She takes a step back for every step I take toward her, and before she realizes it, I’ve got her backed up against the wall.
“That… is that the truth?”
I nod.
“Is it the whole truth?”
I smile and cage her in, my forearms on either side of her head, our bodies almost flush.
“Clever girl,” I whisper. “No,” I tell her honestly. “The whole truth is that in addition to everything I just told you, I’m really looking forward to parading you around Matthew, to have him know I’m fucking his sister, that you’re mine.”
Elena laughs, the sound tinged with desperation. “You’re a fool if you think he’ll care,” she says, her eyes on mine. “But you’re even more of a fool if you think you can buy me like I’m yet another one of your countless assets. There’s nothing I won’t do for my mother, Alexander—but know that even if you own my body, you’ll never own me.”
I smile at her and brush her hair out of her face gently, giddiness filling me at the thought of the look on Matthew’s face. “Oh, he’ll care,” I whisper, “and you will belong to me. It’s not just your body that will be mine, Elena. It’s your every thought, your every dream. Your entire future is mine.”
I can see the tiny cogs in her brain turning, her eyes betraying her helplessness. She wants to fight me and deny my words, but she doesn’t have the power to. I see the way she’s holding herself back and I can’t help but smile. I wonder which words she’s swallowing down right now. What would she be yelling at me if I didn’t hold her mother’s life in my hands?
“What will this entail? Is it a paper marriage?” she asks, her tone resigned. Surprisingly, I don’t like seeing the fight leave her eyes. I don’t enjoy getting my way, watching her give in. That’s a first.
I shake my head. “Not exactly. Kennedys don’t divorce, ever. You’re well aware of that. It’ll be a legitimate marriage. I’ll give you access to all my funds, and I’ll support you the way is expected of me as your husband. I won’t ask much of you. All I ask is that you behave like a good daughter-in-law to my mother, and that you act like a doting wife whenever required in public.”
She nods slowly and looks up at me thoughtfully.
“What about in private?”
“I won’t interfere with your private life as long as you don’t interfere with mine.”
“Does that mean you intend to have… lovers?”
I tense. “No,” I snap. “Neither you nor I will have any lovers. Don’t even fucking dream of cheating, Elena. Don’t even fucking look at another man, you hear me?”
Her eyes widen in surprise and I hate the way she’s looking at me—as though she’s trying to read me. I relax slightly when she nods. I don’t know what I’ll do if I ever catch her straying, but I do know any man that touches her is going to be six foot under before he realizes what’s happening to him. I’ll be damned if I let her treat me the way Jennifer did—the way my father continuously treats my mother. “I won’t be made a fool of, Elena.”
Elena nods, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her eyes on mine. The way she looks at me… I fucking hate seeing the sympathy in her eyes. Elena stands to lose everything, yet it’s me she pities. All thanks to Jennifer. She made a national fucking laughingstock, to the point that a girl that’s lost everything feels bad for me.
“What about divorce? What if one of us falls in love with someone else?” she asks. The mere thought of her leaving me infuriates me, and she isn’t even mine yet.
I shake my head. “It’s not an option. I won’t ever sign the papers. If we were to divorce, my grandfather would disown me without a second thought. I won’t do it. If you agree to this, you’ll agree to a life without love. Think it over carefully.”
She nods and sits in silence. I’m oddly nervous as I watch her face for clues as to how she might be feeling.
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
I shake my head. “You do, Elena. If you asked my mother to foot your mother’s bills, she’d likely do it, no questions asked. Probably for as long as you want her to.”
She looks torn.
“Why don’t you take some time to think it over?”
Elena shakes her head. “No. I’d rather spend money that legally belongs to me as your wife than become a charity case and be at your family’s mercy. I need a place to stay, and I want to be 100% sure my mother receives the best care. If I rely on your mother, I’ll only be able to pay for her current level of care for the time being. If I marry you, I can get world renowned doctors to examine my mother, and I could move her into a private facility. So long as you guarantee you won’t ever restrict my access to her or limit the amount of money I get to spend on my mother’s care, I’ll marry you, Alexander. Use me as a pawn in whatever stupid rich-people-game you’re playing. I don’t care. If you help me save my mother’s life, I’ll be whatever you want me to be.”
I smile at her. “I promise, Elena. As my wife, money will always be the least of your worries.”
