Page 23 of One Savage Union

“Say it,” I command, my voice low and firm.

She shakes her head, her nails digging into my chest.

I trail my fingers down her spine, slow and deliberate. “You are mine now, Lucia. Whether you fight or not.”

Her body betrays her, arching slightly at my touch before she catches herself. I sense her hatred, but I also feel her confusion, her body at odds with her mind.

I pull back slightly to look into her eyes. “Say it, Lucia. Or I will put a call through to Leo and tell him exactly where you are.”

Her breath stops.

For the first time, genuine fear flickers across her features.

“You wouldn’t,” she whispers, her voice breaking slightly.

I smile, but it isn’t kind. “Try me.”

She knows I won’t let him have her. But she also knows I will make her believe I would. That’s all I need. Her fight isn’t worth her life, not when she’s smart enough to know better.

Her lips tremble, her fingers clenching into fists.

“I…” She swallows hard. Her pride is thick in her throat, choking her.

I press a hand against the small of her back, keeping her close. “Say it, Lucia.”

She exhales sharply, hatred burning in her gaze. “I do.”

The priest rushes through the rest of the rites, sensing the volatility in the air. And when it’s done, I tilt her chin up, claiming her gaze before I claim her mouth.

“There,” I murmur. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Then I take her mouth, firm, deliberate, mine.

Not a kiss. A claim. A warning. A promise.

Her lips tremble against mine, soft and defiant, but I don’t give her space to think, to breathe, to pull away. When she finally yields, I devour her like she’s already mine—because she is.

This isn’t tender. This is possession.

I kiss her like I own her body, her breath, her future.

And when she gasps, I swallow it whole—the sound, the surrender, the last bit of air she has left.

She’ll remember this.

She’ll rememberme.

Because from this moment on, there is no going back.

She is mine now.

And I will break her beautifully.

8

LUCIA

It only took five minutes to become Lucia Asare Romano.