Page 117 of Unforgiving Queen

Lowering my voice and lacing the words with seduction, I said, “You’re mine, cinnamon girl. Get it through your head, because I’m never letting you go again.”

Anger warred on her face before she whispered, “I’m not yours anymore. Get thatthroughyourhead,bitter prince.”

Leaning closer, my lips brushed over her flushed cheek. “Never.”

She yanked herself away, then whirled around, leaving me staring after her again. Something warned me to follow as my eyes landed on the other two gifts she hadn’t bothered to open. One for every birthday I missed, each with another kanji pendant to add to her necklace.

Reina was determined not to give in, but at least she kept her bracelet on. I’d take that as a good sign. The sooner I put a ring on her finger, the sooner she’d be all mine.

Tomorrow, I reminded myself. We’d wake up in Venice and elope there. I had the Church of Saint Mary of Miracles lined up. The very same church that every Romero man had married in before. Did I give a shit about it? Fuck no, but I thought it’d be a nice touch for Reina’s sake.

Pushing off the table, I felt something was amiss. I’d learned a long time ago to trust my gut.

So I went searching for her.

I couldn’t stand keeping my distance, not anymore. With each minute that passed, my paranoia mounted. Until a reflection of gold caught my eyes.

She was by the tender.

“Stop,” I shouted, my feet already racing toward her.

Her eyes darted my way, the blue reflecting the sea. She ran to the railing and jumped before I could reach her.

The world stood still, an endless second as I screamed for my men. Running to the edge, I saw her breach the surface. Then she was kicking and swimming in the direction of the shoreline. No way would she make it.

Not before she died of hypothermia. I couldn’t believe she would rather die than stay with me.

Well, wish denied. She would live the rest of her life healthy and happy. With me and only me.

Without a second thought, I jumped in after her. My body hit the water, the coldness snatching the breath out of me. The waves were rough, but I started swimming after her. I kicked my legs hard, closing the distance between us. Her surfing years made her a strong swimmer, but nothing was adequate preparation for the arctic temperatures seizing one’s muscles.

She paused, looking behind her. Our eyes caught as a wave hit her. She thrashed, a choked breath escaping her. Another wave slammed into her and her head went under.

I grabbed her forearm and pulled her to me.

“No,” she screamed, trying to break free as I swam back toward the yacht with my grip firmly around her.

“Stop it, Reina,” I ordered. “Or we’ll both drown.”

She froze for a moment, then her body went limp. With her secured, I swam over to the orange buoy and slid it over her, then signaled the men to lift us up.

It took several minutes for us to both be lifted back onto the deck.

“Blankets,” I barked. It took thirty seconds for the captain to hand me the blankets and I rushed to wrap her in them. “Do you need help taking your wet clothes off?” She shook her head, her teeth clattering and her fingers shivering so badly she couldn’t grip the hem of her sweater. I took her hands and curled her fingers around the blanket. “Hold this.” She did without question. “Captain, do you have a knife on you?”

He handed it to me without question and I cut her shirt open, then did the same with her pants, noting the pink panties and bra underneath her clothes.

“Next time you do something so reckless, I’m going to put you across my knee,” I barked, adrenaline still pumping through my veins. The thought of her drowning was enough to bring me to my knees.

She rolled her eyes.Rolled her fucking eyes. “You jumped too.”

“You could have drowned,” I pointed out needlessly.

Judging by her expression and annoyance sparkling in her eyes, she wasn’t the least bit concerned.

We both opened our mouths at the same time, likely to continue our bickering, when the captain’s voice interrupted. “I would have let you both drown.”

Then he whirled around and left us.