My Love Forgive by Anna Antonia

would never do this to a lady.”
    “I never promised to be a gentle man.”
    “But you want a lady.”
    “I want you .”
    “Do you do this with every girl?”
    Damian cupped my cheek again. His arresting eyes brightened with passion. “No. Just you. Only you, Risa. Always you.”

17
     
    A masochistic thrill shot through me before being chased away by a bolt of confusion marred by self-disgust.
    “Why did you do this then, Damian?”
    “Because we’re not finished and I won’t let you go until then.”
    “I didn’t know you ever cared that much,” I spit out sarcastically.
    “Well, you’re wrong. I do care. I care very much, Risa.” A tragic frown made itself known. “So I’m not about to let you destroy what we have.”
    He couldn’t have possibly said that to me.
    I exploded with cornered desperation. Shoving him with all my might, I hissed and spit, “It’s all about control, isn’t it? You can’t stand that I ended it first. You have to be the one to throw the girls out. No one else has that right, is that it? Well you know what, Damian? Fuck you!”
    He clapped his large hand over my bitter mouth. “Stop it. That is not why you’re chained to this bed.”
    I twisted my face away, not wanting to take even one bit of comfort from his touch. “Then why?”
    Damian’s expression smoothed out, signifying that he withdrew deep within himself. He regarded me with something akin to clinical compassion. “I could just brush your question aside but it wouldn’t do much for our long-term benefit.”
    His brow rippled again with discomfort.
    “I have to tell you the truth. I should’ve told you from the beginning but I assumed you wouldn’t have believed me.”
    I kept my frustrated words to myself. Even now, especially now, I hungered for the connection of trust between us. And so I waited, stretched on the rack of Damian’s confidences.
    “What is it?”
    He looked back at me. Entranced, I watched as his beautiful dual-colored gaze darkened with indecision.
    “I love you.”
    I hung there, heart expanding with joy until it shriveled beneath my disbelief. “That’s not true.”
    “Why? Because I dragged you in here and did this?” Damian leaned closer until we were nose to nose. “That’s exactly why I did it. I love you, Risa.”
    How the hell is this love? Did he plan this all along? But if so, why?
    Damian had to be lying to me, keeping his real motives secret. What was the point? Was it to keep me quiet, to keep me from going to the police? Fear soured in my gut.
    Just who the hell is this man that I’ve fallen in love with?
    Apparently he was someone very dangerous to have not only planned this, but gone through with it. Was it really just me or were there other girls locked in other rooms in this house?
    Cold terror prickled all along my spine. Our negotiations just took a turn for the worse. I licked my dry lips. “If you let me go now I won’t tell anyone what happened tonight. I promise. No one has to know.”
    Damian clenched his jaw and I flinched. His gaze shuttered, locking any and all feelings away from my consumption. “And you’ve just proved why I have to do it this way.” He sighed and pushed off the bed. “I’m not going to kill you, Risa. You don’t have to negotiate with me.”
    “Because you won’t listen to me?”
    “If that’s how you see it.”
    I eyed his towering form. Between the time when Damian had rendered me unconscious and the time I’d woken up in opulent luxury, he’d changed into a black sweater and slacks to match his black heart.
    And he’s still the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. Crazy but beautiful.
    Wanton lust slid inside. I still wanted Damian. In other tamer circumstances, I would’ve laid back and arranged my curvy body to its best advantage, using the chain to entice him to manacle the other leg. Self-disgust made me look away from my twisted temptation.
    “And you won’t let me go.”
    “No. Not