I cross my arms over my chest and moodily stare out the window of the moving car. The sun is setting and the view of the passing trees is making way to the sight of tall buildings. I don't know where we're going but I'm too proud to ask.

It's just the two of us at the back of the car and we're totally alone since the driver's tinted partition is up. There's another sleek black car in front of us and a black nondescript van behind us. I'm sure that's where his friend Mathieu and his other goons are in.

Surreptitiously, I sneak a glance at him from the corner of my eye and what I see annoys me even further.

He's sitting back in the seat beside me with his feet apart, balancing a slim laptop on one of his knees, looking totally relaxed.

After carrying me out of my home and depositing me into the back of the car like a neanderthal, he has no right to look that good- like a model in one of those European cologne ads. Not a crease on his suit or hair out of place. It's just not fair.

The car is in total silence except for the smooth purr of the engine. No music is on and no clicking sound of the keyboard. It looks as though he's going through a document on the laptop. Once in a while, I can feel the heat of his eyes settling on me.

I pull the skirt that has ridden up my legs down before I go back to staring out of the window.

"Would you like a drink?" he offers after a while.

When I continue to ignore him, he just reaches for a bottle of seltzer and opens it before he settles back in his seat to take a sip of it as though nothing is bothering him. Now I'm tempted to grab that bottle and pour the water all over his gorgeous head.

I hold my tongue and determine to ignore him for as long as I could even though it's hard to do so when I'm very aware of his close proximity. It's impossible to pretend that he doesn't exist when the air sizzles with electricity between us.

I don't know what cologne he's wearing but I'm surrounded by the smell of leather and a delicious blend of masculine scent of cypress, spice, and citrus. Underneath it all, there's also this indescribable scent that is uniquely his.

If pheromones have a smell, I'm very sure that this is it. I'm tempted to close my eyes and just breathe him in.

I jump when the song Mr. Bombastic by Shaggy tears loudly through the silence.

Sacha looks at me with a lift of an eyebrow and I fight the blush that threatens to spread all over my cheeks and neck. I don't blush, for goodness sake!

Inside my head, I'm cursing Nico for programming the song in my phone for himself as I fumble through my purse in search of the said phone.

"Hello, Nico?" I answer after I slide the green sign across the screen, accepting the call.

Sacha's eyes glitter dangerously while his jaw clenches as soon as I utter Nico's name.

"Where are you, sweetheart?" asks Nico. "How do I come and rescue you?"

I wish I could have a bit of privacy as my gaze locked with Sacha's. His eyes are narrowing and a muscle on his jaw ticks.

I'm pretty sure he can hear every word that Nico is saying. Nephilims have a super powerful hearing too...don't they?

"I'm still in the car, Nico. No, you don't have to do that..."

"Dani, listen," cuts in Nico urgently. "Text me his address when you get there and I'll come to get you. We'll just forego all this big wedding thing and elope. You and me in Vegas tonight or I can get us a quick marriage license..."

I miss the rest of what Nico is about to say when my phone slides out of my fingers and into Sacha's possession in one smooth tug of his hand.

"Mr. Alesi," he says into my phone. His voice is silky smooth and calm despite the storm in his eyes as he keeps them fixed on me.

I can hear Nico yelling at the other end of the line and I don't even have to make an effort to extend my hearing to know what he's saying. He's screaming about kidnapped fiance and something about our wedding and demanding that Sacha send me back to him.

After he's done yelling, Sacha says quietly, "No, I'm not sending her to you, Mr. Alesi. She's not marrying you. Not tonight. Not ever. So find yourself another bride." With that, he ends the call, power off the phone, and slips it inside his jacket pocket.

I stare at him in disbelieve. "You can't just take my phone away from me like that!"

"I can and I have," he says, dismissively before returning his attention back to his laptop. Unbelievable!

"Give me back my phone!" I demand but he ignores me. I have to tempt down an urge to stomp my feet or hit him with something. Instead, I wave my hand in front of him, interrupting his view of his laptop.

He lifts his stunning greenish-gold eyes back to me and his magnetism hits me full force, robbing me of my next breath, stealing a beat of my heart. "It doesn't feel very nice to be ignored now, does it?" he says.

I take a deep breath and clench my fists. Only he can make me feel this way with just a look. He makes me feel frazzled. My feelings and my body's reaction to him are erratic and out of my control.

"It doesn't feel nice to be bought and fought over as well," I return. "I'm not an object, I'm a person!"

"It seems to me that you have issues with your father," he replies. "He's the one who sold his daughters to the highest bidders. I wasn't there to bid on anyone, let alone on one of Astaroth's daughters. I don't buy my women."

Oh, I'm sure he has a pick of women. A lot of them would have jumped to be with him without any money involved.

"Then why did you? Why did you buy me? You shouldn't have bid on me. You should just have left me alone."

"Would you rather I let Pappalardo have you? Because he would have won the bid on you that night," he says. "I see tonight that he still has his heart set on you and he would have kept trying if I didn't take you away from there."

"Well, thank you very much for saving me from Pappalardo. But now that I'm safe, you can let me go. No harm, no foul. I'll be out of your hair and we'll never have to see each other again." My heart squeezes painfully at the thought of not seeing him again but I fight to keep my expression bland and my voice steady. I can only see the heartbreak in my future. It's better to end this now rather than later. "You can go ahead and marry your girlfriend as planned and I can marry Nico..."

In a flash, his warm hard body is pressed up against mine, pinning me to the leather seat behind me and his long fingers are gripping my chin, forcing me to look at him. His face is twisted into a furious scowl and his eyes gleam a strange golden glow. "Don't ever talk to me about marrying Alesi or anyone else," he grits out through clenched teeth.

My breath hitches and my heart is beating like a drum in my chest.

He's something wild and dangerous. Barely restrained. Fierce, and ferocious energy is swirling inside his body and I recognize it as something that could easily tear me apart like a flimsy piece of paper. I fear it and fascinated by it in equal measure.

Suddenly the fingers that are gripping my chin are caressing the side of my neck and my jaw. A buzz of electricity erupts from where he's touching me.

I'm conscious of his lips just a few inches from mine. His warm breath is fanning my mouth. His mesmerizing eyes seem dark and bottomless and hungry as they search my features then stay locked on my lips.

His thumb touches my lower lip and I swallow thickly.

"We've arrived sir," says his driver, opening the car door after a brief knock.

He doesn't immediately move. A cruel, cold, smile tugs at his lips before he leans in closer. The tip of his nose and his mouth touch my earlobe when he whispers, "I paid a large sum of money for you...and I intend to keep what I've paid for. You're not marrying anyone else for as long as you're mine." The next instant, he pulls back and he's out of the car.

"I'm sure it's just a pocket change for you," I mumble after I take a deep uneven breath and manage to find my voice.

As I'm being ushered to the elevator through an impressive lobby, I'm thinking of what this means for me.

If this had happened over a year ago, I'm sure I would have been over the moon. I would have happily followed him to the end of the earth. But now, I know the pain of not wanted by him very intimately. How long is he keeping me before he kicks me to the curb? How will I survive then? Self-perseverance is keeping my wall up for now but how long does it take for it to crumble?

I can't just run away. Astaroth is probably going to give me to Pappalardo before he kills me. Not to mention, Nephilims are great hunters. I'm resourceful but I'm not delusional. How far or how long I could escape their prince, Sacha Gauthier? The answer is, not very far and not very long. But how could I use this to my advantage?

I grit my teeth as I think of my phone. I can't even send reports to Astaroth as instructed. I can't call Nico or Juniper...not that they're waiting by the phone for me.

I'm not fooling myself into thinking that Nico is really concerned about me. He's only worried that his plan to get his obnoxious mother off his back is going to get derailed if we didn't get married. I'm pretty sure he's having a raging party at his pad right now. Perhaps he's already with a partner or two in his room that rivals the red room in 50 shades of Grey.

Essentially, I only have myself and no one else.

****************************************

Hey ya, dear readers!

I hope you like this chapter. My next update is going to be on Tuesday evening (est). If you want to read three chapters ahead, go to Inkitt:

https://Inkitt.app.link/RA_NicoleRidd3y

Have a wonderful weekend and stay safe!

Much love,

Nicole♥