Taken by a Sinner (Sinners 1)

With every passing day, my protectiveness and possessiveness of her keep growing. I’m becoming obsessed with the woman and find myself constantly having to touch her.

She’s mine.

My mind and heart realized this the day of the wedding, and my soul is quickly becoming aware of the fact that Theresa is the reason for its existence.

I just need her to love me back, or I’m fucked.

Realizing I haven’t answered Andreas yet, I reply, “I can’t complain.”

“Yeah, I bet you can’t,” he jokes as he walks out of the office.

I use the privacy of the study to check a couple of messages I got.

“Here you are,” I hear Irene’s voice.

It instantly annoys the fuck out of me, and I turn my back to her to make a point that I don’t have time for her. “What do you want?”

Fake, incredulous laughter bubbles over her lips like cheap champagne. “Wow, is that how you talk to family?”

“I don’t consider you family.”

Irene’s not bad looking, but the snake slithering beneath her skin can be seen a mile away. It’s because of her kind I remained a bachelor for so long. Socialites.

“Ouch, now that just hurts my feelings,” she replies behind me. “Relax, I wanted to congratulate you.” I feel her move closer to me and lock my phone, so she won’t see any of my messages. “I really think you deserve better, though. A real queen by your side.”

My eyes narrow, and I glance at the woman as she stops next to me. When I remain quiet, Irene reaches out, trailing a finger down my bicep.

Grabbing hold of her wrist, it takes a lot to not lose my shit. My breathing slows down, my muscles tightening. “Leave,” I growl in her face, my tone low with warning. “Now.”

A malicious smile spreads over her face, and she leans into me. “I just thought someone should inform you, you didn’t exactly marry the best the Drakatos family has to offer.”

Christ, help me.

My fingers itch to snap her neck, my eyes burning with rage on her as I shove her hand away from me. “You better leave before I kill you,” I give her one last warning.

Irene tugs her bottom lip between her teeth, then hums, “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”

In one quick action, I remove my gun from behind my back and train it on her. “NOW!” I shout, my rage exploding from me.

Chapter 30

Tess

Nikolas has been gone a while, and with everyone getting ready for the speeches, I go look for him.

I hear soft murmuring from the study and peeking inside through the half-open door, shock shudders through me when I see Irene and Nikolas. Alone.

“Relax, I just wanted to congratulate you,” I hear Irene murmur, her voice husky with desire. She sidles up to Nikolas’ side, and when he doesn’t step away, my heart starts beating faster.

Seeing the person I fear most, the one responsible for years of agony, so close to the man I was starting to love, rips a hole through my heart.

“I really think you deserve better, though. A real queen by your side.”

It all becomes too much when she trails her finger seductively down his arm. Then her eyes flick to me, her smile growing with triumph.

Swinging around, I rush to the hallway, and only when I shut the restroom’s door behind me do I gasp for air.

My anxiety spikes, and digging in my clutch, I take out the Xanax bottle and quickly place a pill beneath my tongue. As I wait for the medication to take its effect, my mind’s bombarded with dark memories.

Irene shoving me down the stairs. I broke my arm, but it was blamed on me being clumsy. Everyone believed her, and I was too scared to set things straight.

Irene kicking me until I had three broken ribs. I told Mom I fell out of a tree, my fear for Irene a living, breathing thing after endless months of being slapped around by her.

After my dad died, we lived with Uncle Kostas, dad’s brother. Irene was forced to share a room with me, and her being ten years older than me meant she was a lot stronger. I was only eight. I didn’t know how to protect myself.

And she was cruel. Always so cruel.

Irene took every chance she could get to slap me around, kick me, shove me.

She was a nightmare.

Closing my eyes, I focus on my breaths, trying to shove the traumatic memories back down into the pit of despair I keep them locked in.

Irene’s just trying to hurt me. Again.

Breathe.

Nikolas won’t cheat on me.

Only when I feel some semblance of calm returning do I quickly check my makeup so I can go back to the party.

I take another deep breath as I open the door, but it stalls in my throat at the sight of Irene.