Page 13 of Broken Crown

With his forearm braced over my head, he caged me in. "Watch that pretty mouth of yours."

"Or you'll what? You'll have a horde of men with guns chase me through the city threatening to kill me? Sorry, my father already beat you to it."

Hysteria was taking hold as the weight of the day's events settled on my shoulders.

He pressed his body into mine. "No one…no one…is going to hurt you again, Sabrina. Not while there is breath in my body. Do you understand me?"

My vision blurred as I swiped at my tears. "Does that vow include you?"

He sucked in a harsh breath through his teeth, growling, "No."

His mouth claimed mine in a brutal, possessive kiss.

His hand encircled my throat to keep me still as his tongue swept inside.

This time I didn't dare to bite back.

What was worse, I didn't even want to…

For the barest of moments, I leaned into his kiss, into him.

The hard planes of his chest pressed against my softer curves, the heat of his body burning through the thin fabric of my torn dress.

My traitorous body responded, nipples hardening against the rough lace of my bra.

His thumb traced the rapid pulse at my throat, a reminder of how easily he could take what he wanted.

Then sanity returned.

Twisting my head to the side, I cried out, shoving at his chest. "I can't! I can't."

Before he could react, I ran down the hall into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

Locked it.

I backed away, staring at the doorknob.

Would he follow me?

If he did…what would he do when he found it locked?

CHAPTER 5

SABRINA

Iwas trapped.

The cold tile numbed my feet as I paced from one end of my marble cage to the other.

Like the rest of the Borgia Apartments, the bathroom was opulent. Almost oppressively so.

Keeping an eye on the closed door, I observed the imposing black marble columns surrounding the octagonal chamber. Everywhere I looked, Christian mixed with pagan, civilized mixed with primal.

The ceiling featured a celestial sky fresco with dotted outlines of constellations and pagan symbolism decorating the edges.

The massive tub, flanked by those cold marble columns, looked deep enough to fit six people, with a swan's neck spigot ready to fill it with steaming water. It was as if I were trapped in some pagan sacrificial temple later converted into a luxury bathroom.

A mirthless laugh escaped me as I caught my reflection in the mirror. I hardly recognized myself.