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I closed my eyes, thinking it would be easier to say the words. “Fine. I will marry you, but under the condition I won’t be forced to birth your spawn.”

He choked before bursting into laughter. “My spawn. Well, since you put it that way, I think it’s best we do agree on that. I’m curious as to why you hate the thought so much. I doubt it’s all about me.”

“A good eighty percent. I also don’t believe that forcing children to live in this environment is the right thing to do. Did you see Bella’s face? She’s petrified. She can’t remember her mother because this horrible life claimed her as a weakness. She just lost her father and now her sister who only recently came back into her life after several years was almost killed. She’s fragile. She’s not capable of handling this.”

The statement hung in the air and I honestly wasn’t certain if he had any ounce of decency in him.

“I beg to differ. She is as strong as you are, my beautiful fiancée.”

I cringed hearing the term. “Please don’t call me that.”

“Well, that is what you are. I understand we’re both exhausted, but tomorrow we’ll need to make plans for our upcoming wedding.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m not ready for that.”

He closed the distance and another wave of heated suffocation was driven into me. It almost hurt looking at his breathtakingly gorgeous face. He was truly a perfect specimen and the dichotomy of his prowess and brutality was stimulating yet constantly threatening. “Since we were both attacked tonight, we don’t have the luxury of wasting any time. We need to send a message.” He gently brushed his knuckles across my cheek as an exclamation point on his statement.

“You were also attacked?”

“How sweet. I heard the concern in your voice. Yes, one of my warehouses, only the men involved were Turks, not the Moroccans who invaded your home.”

“You know they were Moroccans?”

“Yes. Two of them had Arabic symbols.”

I stared down at his hands and couldn’t help shivering. Eight fingers were tatted as I’d assumed. I still wasn’t ready to comprehend what the letters spelled. Maybe it was nothing more than gibberish. “Then we’ll discuss the final terms tomorrow. Now, where can I sleep?”

He lowered his head, his dark eyes more luminescent than I’d seen before. With his breathing labored, the heat coming from his exhalation sent vibrations straight to my core. He lifted his arm, curling his fingers and the thought of him touching me was both enticing and terrifying. The last thing I wanted was to fall under his spell.

He slowly lowered his arm. “I took the liberty of selecting a bedroom for you and had your things brought to the room. Incidentally, your brother and sister are on the second floor. Your room is up the stairs on the third floor, first door on theleft. If you don’t find that one suitable then I’m certain of the other ten or so bedrooms, you’ll find one more to your liking.”

“You don’t know how many bedrooms you have in your own home?”

The way his upper lip curled was maddening. He had a way of looking sexy without trying. “Let’s just say I’ve spent two nights in the castle and three days dealing with contractors and an interior designer. They were all strenuous ordeals.”

At least his answer allowed me to laugh. “That’s what happens when you’re a mile-high millionaire.”

He furrowed his brows and looked at me skeptically. “You have me at a loss.”

“Your head in the clouds.”

“Ah. Perhaps you’re right.”

His lips were dangerously close. Too close. Before I did something I’d regret, I backed away, cautiously watching him before turning around and heading for the large doorway. I stopped just inside, debating my question, but truly wanted to know. “Just so I’m aware. Where is your bedroom?”

“On the third floor as well, but I assure you I won’t be bothering you. I rarely sleep and when I do, it’s usually sitting up.”

I glanced over my shoulder. Damn. Even with blood on the collar of his shirt, he was sexy as hell. “What a pity.”

“Which part, Genevieve? That I rarely sleep or that I won’t break into your room?” A muscle pulled at his stubble-covered jaw. At that moment he exuded the power and aura of a calculated predator.

I didn’t answer him before walking out, but as I headed for the stairs, I realized it was a little of both.

CHAPTER 20

Genevieve

Hearing a noise, I turned around to find the door to the chosen bedroom being pitched open, Jago strolling inside. The look on his face was carnal, his eyes sweeping over me as if he was eyeing his first feast in days. He closed the door with a hard thud and shook his head. There was a sense he was waiting for me to say get out, daring me to demand he leave.