Page 71 of Lord of Ruin

My mother and both sisters had told me that the problem with the Diamondis boys was that we’d never learned how to appreciate the simple things in life. Taking a walk on the beach. Sitting down to watch a movie with popcorn. Eating pizza on a moonlit night. And even taking a relaxing bath.

Wouldn’t they be proud of this moment?

She didn’t see me at first, keeping her eyes closed. I was able to enjoy the scene in an entirely different way. As she lifted her leg, rubbing a hand down from her knee to her still painted toes, I was struck by the fact she could manage to shove aside her hatred and distrust of me for even one night.

Or was she playing me?

I’d seen the look in her eyes, as if she was going to ply me with acts of seduction. I’d been trained in what to look for by both my father and by Phoenix. However, it seemed all had faded into the shadows when my older brother had lost his shit over a single woman. Maybe the rest of the family, including our father, had changed ways.

The strange truth was that I’d never seen my father fawn over any of our girlfriends ever before. In fact, he’d been spot on about the gold-diggers and chicks who just wanted to have their pictures in the paper. My brothers and I had laughed at that but he’d proven himself one hundred percent of the time.

But the moment Whitney had walked into Phoenix’s life, after the initial phase of wondering who the fuck she was had worn off, Pops had fawned over her like she was the best thing in the world next to peanut butter. He’d purchased her fucking thirty-thousand-dollar wedding dress, insisting the two of them have the best of everything for their wedding. I had no idea how much money had been spent on that lavish affair, but it had appeased some beast inside the man.

Now my parents seemed happier than ever in their retirement. The damn pictures they’d sent while enjoying traveling through Europe had been as if they were teenagers again.

I made some sound from the thoughts running through my mind, and it caught Jenna’s attention, the slow turn of her head followed by a drag of her tongue across her bottom lip. Man, that gesture could turn me on like no other. I walked further into the room as she curled her arms over the edge of the tub.

“You’re dressed. Not acceptable,” she cooed.

“Mmm… Well, you didn’t prepare me for what you were doing.”

“Not my job. I thought you could read minds.”

She made me laugh more than I had in a long time. I placed the wine on the ledge near the bathtub, barely able to fit the two crystal stems given the number of candles she’d found and lit. I grinned before hunkering down beside her. “Of course I can read minds. Why do you think I’m so rich and powerful?”

“Rich, powerful, and very possessive. Then what am I thinking, tough guy?” Using just her pinky, she trailed it down the front of my neck to my shirt, pressing the tip between two still fastened buttons.

“Well, you’re thinking how surprised you are that you can’t continue to go through with your plan.”

“What plan is that?”

I leaned over, kissing her lips on purpose, whispering my thoughts in a dark, husky voice. “That you were going to seduce me, have me start to trust you, then find the perfect way of escaping. Only you obviously underestimated my prowess, my level of power, and the fact I do so enjoy tying down my possessions if they dare try and run away. And you, my darling girl, are mine to play with as I see fit.”

There was a catch in her breath, a slight whimper that only I could hear to allow me to know I was right. When I pulled back, there was also a hint of fear in her eyes. She wasn’t certain what I would do. “I, um… Look. I appreciate you taking care of me, returning to the clinic when you were certain something was wrong, but I can’t just live like this. Shopping. Do you have any idea how much money was spent? I need to work, to earn my place in life. I need animals. I crave independence. I need to be me.”

“That is understood. You’ll have a life back but do not try and escape. I will find you.”

“You’re angry.”

“That you didn’t go with it or that you were prepared to ignore my rules?”

She opened her mouth to answer before a quick flush shifted up her cheeks.

“Relax, my enchanted one. I’m not angry with you. I anticipated what you might do. If you hadn’t thought about finding a way to escape, I would have believed you weren’t being truthful with me. As you’ve reminded me more than once, I did capture you and I’m keeping you against your will.”

She swallowed hard, darting her eyes back and forth. “You can’t blame a girl for trying. However, I did enjoy tonight more than I thought I would.”

“Mmm… And so did I. Why don’t you enjoy your bath then come join me?”

As she gave me a pouting look, she wrapped her fingers around my shirt. And I’ll be damned if the feisty girl didn’t manage to drag me into the water with ease fully dressed.

The little vixen.

CHAPTER 20

Stavros

The splash as water went all over the floor made her laugh.