Marrying the Mob Prince

INDIE

Why did Knox want to father my babies?

Much later, I lay on the king-sized bed, too agitated to close my eyes. I’d spent the whole day wrestling with the megaton bomb Knox had dropped early this morning. Did he have baby fever, or was it just sexual frustration?

What will our children look like?

The echo of his rumbling baritone conjured pleasant images. No doubt we’d make beautiful brown-haired kids, but how could that man be a father? He couldn’t show me affection, let alone a baby. Or would his icy exterior shatter once he gazed into the eyes of his newborn?

The door opened.

I held in a breath as Knox’s tall frame glided into the room. He closed the door, his movements swift but noiseless as he shed his clothes. My heart fluttered as I took in his massive shoulders, his mouthwatering six pack, the shadows dimpling his lower back.

“Still awake?”

“You gave me a lot to think about.”

“Yeah? Warming up to the idea?”

I shook my head.

He made a noise of dissent as he stripped to his silk boxers. Then he slipped into bed, the mattress dipping with his weight. He lay on his side, his body heat burning the sheets. He rolled over. So serene. He was gorgeous, a Greek god at repose.

What I wouldn’t give to be that unflappable.

“Have you found out anything new?”

“No.” His lips barely moved. “That’s the third time you’ve asked that.”

“Someone attacked me in my home last night. I’ll be jumpy for a while.”

Since Knox filled me in on his suspicions, it’d been an agonizing day of pacing his apartment, waiting for the police to arrest me, and locking myself in his giant bathroom for crying jags. I didn’t eat. I called in sick to work.

“Who would do this to me?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“You’re asking the impossible of me.”

Golden light flared as Knox switched on a lamp. The softness highlighted his indifference with icy radiance. He pushed himself up on his elbows and assessed me. “Trust the decision you made when you called me.”

“I’m not questioning you,” I muttered, growing hot from his intimate stare. “I’m used to doing things on my own. I don’t sit tight and wait. It feels like giving up.”

“Think of me as a project manager hiding your victim.”

An image of my attacker’s lifeless body slammed into my mind. My pulse raced. My thoughts whirled out of control. I blinked but didn’t see anything. The world was a confusing blur of colors and shapes.

Warmth bumped my thigh as Knox moved closer. He swept stray tendrils from my face, his fingers sliding to my neck as he caressed me. His thumb pressed in, relieving the tension knotting my muscles.

My cheeks heated as I drank in his rugged beauty.

“You’re safe,” he murmured, his promise reverberating through me. “Unlike the slumlord who owns your apartment building, I take security very seriously. There are armed guards in the lobby, ex-military men. You can’t reach my house without a room key, and I’m the only one on this floor.”

“This was a mistake,” I croaked, lifting my head to meet his troubled gaze. “I should’ve done the right thing and called the police.”

A hot tear rolled down my face as I lay back, aching. Knox inhaled a steadying breath. He fingered my cheek, and the shock of his gentle touch tingled my skin.

“Close your eyes and rest. You have an hour before you have to get up.”

“But it’s five in the morning.”

“Well aware.” Knox grabbed a paper from his nightstand. “Here. I made you a schedule.”

I took the sheet.

Indie’s Schedule

6:00-8:00am: Wake up, Exercise, and Eat Breakfast

8:30am-5:00pm: Work

5:00-7:00pm: Dinner and SocializingOriginal content from NôvelDrama.Org.

8:00-10:00pm: Leisure Activity

10:00pm: Bed

He’d laminated it.

Wow.

I held it in my hands, gaping at the bold print outlining my new life. I had no words for this blatant abuse of boundaries. Knox viewed me as a helpless animal. He controlled everything from when I’d have breakfast to when I’d go to sleep.

Gradually, I found my voice.

“Why do I have to wake up at six?”

“I’m an extremely busy man. I have phone calls with clients in Singapore. Shareholder meetings. Networking galas. I’m running a company. I’m in the middle of several construction projects, and I need you to be on the same schedule.”

“Knox,” I reasoned, the paper trembling in my grip, “I get that, but you can’t dictate when I socialize. I mean, you’re treating me like property.”

He yawned, glancing at the clock. His head hit the pillow.

Was he ignoring me?

I grabbed his shoulder and gave it a shake. “When one person in a relationship holds all the power, it’s doomed to fail.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not interested in the kind of relationships you’re used to. What I require from you is much deeper.”

“What do you want me to be, your pet?” I burst out, my arms smacking the comforter. “Are you going to teach me tricks? I’m surprised you haven’t scheduled my bowel movements, too.”

“Don’t be crass.”

“Why? Does it bother you when I remind you that I’m a human being?”

“Your defiance does not amuse me.”

Laughter floated up my throat, but his wild sapphire eyes hardened.

“Yeah, well, this schedule is a joke. If you knew me at all, you’d realize there’s no chance in hell I’m exercising that early.”

Knox considered me, a storm brewing in his expression. “Then I’ll throw you out on your ass, and you can take your chances with the people hunting you.”

My chest tightened.

“You’d do that to me?” I inwardly winced. The pain in my voice was loud enough for an emotionally stunted man like Knox to hear.

Derision and sympathy swam in his gaze. “You will follow my schedule and be happy about it. Everyone needs structure. It’s the only way you’ll stay sane after what happened. You have a tendency to overthink. You can get into all kinds of trouble when that happens.”

“You’re a heartless jerk, Knox.” Swallowing my bitterness, I rolled away from him. The mattress bounced as Knox shifted his weight, and suddenly, his arm glided under the sheets. His hand anchored on my naked hip. A sickening warmth invaded my stomach, battling with my nausea. And a moment later, his breathing labored.

I’ll throw you out.

That stabbed my flesh like knives made of ice.

He was cruel. And cold. So much so that it hurt to lay in his embrace, knowing that he’d never share my feelings. He would never understand that I masked my turmoil with defiance.

I had to face that harsh reality.

I was stuck with an emotionless man. I had to stop asking myself how I’d make it through the day without him.

How the hell would I survive him?

And why did I want him so badly?