He was quiet for long moments, as if debating whether or not to spill the truth. “You’ll have to ask him that question,” he said, clearly wanting her dad to give her the cold, hard facts. “Just know this . . . Theodore Cole is not the man he’s portrayed himself to be to you. You have no idea who your father really is or what he’s capable of.”
She was beginning to believe that was true, but instead of acknowledging Maddux’s statement, she boldly tossed it right back in his face. “That’s what Gavin said about you. That you’re a dangerous, malicious man.”
“Did he now?” He arched a dark brow as he leisurely started walking back toward her, though his disposition was anything but casual. “He’s right, Bella. I’m vindictive, merciless. And fucking ruthless.”
The words were a low, mean snarl and she swallowed hard and held her ground as he neared, crowding into her personal space. Her breathing kicked up a notch, causing the upper swells of her breasts, pushed up by the corset stays in her dress, to quiver ever so slightly—her only outward sign of unease. She resisted the urge to step back, and considering he was essentially towering over her, she had to tip her head back to look up at his face, which was stunningly gorgeous, despite the animosity etching his features.
“Considering everything I am, are you afraid of me?” he asked, his tone harsh and provoking.
She’d already told him she wasn’t scared in his office, and that still held true despite his boorish behavior now. “No.”
A spiteful smile curled the corners of his mouth. “Maybe you should be.”
The light amber hue of his eyes had grown dark and turbulent, and still that didn’t change the fact that, while she might be a tad bit nervous about the unknown quantities of her confinement and everything it entailed, she wasn’t frightened, nor did she feel unsafe with him. Maybe that was too naïve and trusting of her, but this big, assertive, dominating man standing in front of her had already proven to be a contradiction and she wanted to trust the good she’d seen in him.
Twice he’d already defended her honor . . . the first time when they’d been dancing down at the ball and Gavin had roughly grabbed her arm, and again when Gavin had called her a whore and Maddux had nearly ripped his throat out for his disparaging comment. Arabella had to believe a man who didn’t hesitate to protect a woman, especially one connected to his greatest enemy, wasn’t looking to deliberately hurt her physically. After everything that had transpired downstairs in his office, he had his own walls up, and his anger was out in full force. He was lashing out, and she was currently taking the brunt of his resentment. He hated her for her father’s sins, but on a gut-deep level, she knew Maddux wasn’t a man to abuse any woman—despite his threat that she should fear him.
“What are you going to do to me?” she asked in a soft voice, more curious than worried.
His gaze fell to her lips, then traveled down to her chest, a flicker of hunger igniting in his eyes when they met hers again. “Anything. Everything. I told you I expect your total surrender, and I meant it.”
“Will you take me by force?” Yes, she’d just assured herself that he wasn’t a cruel man, but she wanted and needed to hear the truth from his own mouth.
His jaw clenched at her question, and his brows slashed angrily, as if she’d thoroughly insulted him. “I’ve never forced a woman to do anything she didn't want to, and I’m not a
bout to start with you. Anything that happens between us will be consensual and because it’s what you want and desire. But make no mistake, Bella, I will have you in my bed, and not just to sleep. I will have your sweet mouth wrapped around my cock and your body milking mine when I’m buried deep inside your pussy.”
Her lips parted and her entire face flushed red hot with shock. The dirty, filthy words should have offended her—it was what he probably intended—but instead they aroused her. Her tightening nipples scratched against the fabric of her gown, and the slick moisture she felt between her legs was in direct response to his explicit and vivid statement.
His gaze narrowed slightly. “Have you ever been kissed?” he asked abruptly, obviously mistaking her blush and speechless response for total innocence.
“Of course I have,” she replied indignantly.
He smirked at her snappy retort. “Have you ever been fucked?”
She should have expected that blunt, crude question, but he once again managed to steal her ability to form a quick comeback. That, and her face was once again turning bright pink with the fact that she had to admit, at age twenty-five, she still owned her V-card.
“Answer me,” he demanded impatiently.
“No,” she said with a shake of her head as her fingers anxiously twisted in the fabric that made up the skirt of her gown. “I’ve never been with a man that way.”
His nostrils flared ever so slightly with that realization, and there was no mistaking the possessive spark of heat that flared in his gaze, making her entire body hyperaware of the fact that he owned her and her virginity.
“Are you saving yourself for marriage?” he asked.
“No.” Remaining celibate for this long had never been a conscious choice, it was just the way things had worked out. “I just never got that far with any of the guys I’ve dated.” In fact, most of her relationships had been incredibly short-lived and she’d always wondered why, since those men always abruptly ended things without a reason or explanation.
“Not even Gavin.” It wasn’t a question, but rather a gloating statement of fact.
Despite the situation, she couldn’t stop the small smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Oh, he’s tried a few of the times we’ve gone out, but I’d rather eat a whole jar of jalapeño peppers than allow him to touch me like that.” She shuddered at the thought, then met his gaze more seriously. “I’d like to think my virginity should be worth something to help reduce my father’s debt.”
He shrugged, back to masking his true feelings in an indifferent façade. “A couple thousand, I suppose.”
She winced at his deliberately insensitive remark. Okay, that hurt, but what did she expect from a man who held such a deeply ingrained grudge against her father? Clearly, her virginity held no great value to him and she was nothing more than a warm female body to sate his baser desires.
“Well, I suppose a couple thousand dollars is a start toward that repayment,” she said, trying to make light of the situation.
He didn’t look amused. In fact, he suddenly looked very fierce and intense. “No, this is a start,” he growled low and deep in his throat.