THE KINGPIN'S BRIDE

O-o-O-o-O

The storm came the next morning.

Sera woke with a hollow ache in her chest, a deep, gnawing frustration that curled in her stomach like a sickness. The memory of his touch, his words, his dominance from last night clung to her like an unwanted second skin.

She hated that her body had responded to him.

She hated that part of her hadn't wanted to fight.

So when she entered the kitchen, finding Alek at the counter, sipping his morning espresso like he owned the world and everything in it, the rage in her snapped like a live wire.

"You don't get to control me," she seethed, her hands slamming onto the marble island.

Alek barely looked up, his expression infuriatingly calm. "Good morning to you too, printsessa."

She wanted to scream.

"Don't do that," she snapped. "Don't act like everything is normal. It's not. It never will be."

Alek finally set his cup down, his dark eyes settling on hers. "Why?"

Sera clenched her jaw. "Because I don't want this. I don't want you."

A flicker of something passed through his gaze—something dark, something wounded, something quickly masked.

"Liar," he murmured.

She hated the way the word sent a shiver through her, hated the way it felt like he was pulling apart her defenses, seeing straight through her.

So she did what she did best.

She lashed out.

"You can pretend all you want, but I will never be your wife in anything but name," she hissed. "I will never love you. I will never—"

Alek moved fast.

One second, he was across the kitchen. The next, he was in front of her, crowding her space, pressing her back against the counter, his hands flat on either side of her.

Her breath hitched.

"Say it again," he murmured, low, dangerous.

Sera's pulse pounded.

"I don't want you," she spat, but the words felt thinner this time, weaker.

Alek smirked, his lips dangerously close to hers. "Then why are you shaking, printsessa?"

O-o-O-o-O

She shoved at his chest, fighting the heat curling low in her stomach.

"You are insufferable."

Alek chuckled. "I prefer relentless."

Sera clenched her jaw. "You think you can charm me into submission?"

Alek tilted his head, his smirk deepening. "No, printsessa. I think you're already halfway there."

O-o-O-o-O

She needed to get away.

She needed space.

Without another word, she stormed past him, grabbing her coat and slamming the front door behind her.

She had no idea where she was going—only that if she stayed in that house with him a second longer, she might lose her mind completely.

O-o-O-o-O

Alek watched her go, exhaling slowly.

His hands curled into tight fists at his sides.

She was fighting him every step of the way.