I’ve waited seven long years for this. At the same time, I’ve fought for seven years to keep this from happening. I wasn’t strong enough. I lost the first round. But I won’t lose again. I can’t.

“Can I trust you to bring her back here safely?” Matteo asks.

I feel my anger boiling already, and I haven’t even left yet. I just have to focus on what the end of this year is going to bring. I’m going to finally have what is mine. What I was destined to have. I won’t have to fight anymore.

“Yes,” I snap, not able to keep the anger out of my voice.

Matteo laughs. “This is going to be fun, isn’t it?”

I glare at him.

“Do you think this is a joke, Matteo?” our father, Enrico Carini, says.

“No, I think it’s funny though. I want this just as badly as Arlo does. Just because I don’t mope with the same intensity that he does, it doesn’t mean that I’m not taking this seriously.”

Our father nods. “Good.”

* * *

Miami.

I was on a plane for ten hours to get to her. And, of all the wonderful places in the US where she could be—New York, LA, Seattle, Rockport—she had to choose the hottest damn place in the country in the summertime.

I started sweating profusely the second I got off the plane in my dark suit. And I haven’t stopped since.

If she wanted to get married on a beach, she should have gone to Italy or Greece; both are beautiful this time of year. Not Miami.

I should have gone and gotten her when she was hiding in Boston. It’s not my favorite US city, but at least it isn’t as hot as Miami.

I walk over to the front desk in the hotel where Nina is staying. It’s adequate but not nice enough for a wedding.

“Excuse me, where is the Young and West wedding taking place today?” I ask the young woman standing behind the desk.

She stares at me for far longer than she should. I’m used to women devouring me with their eyes. I’m used to the awkwardness that follows. But I don’t have time to deal with this woman today.

“The wedding?” I ask again, demanding her to answer me.

She swallows hard, trying to push down her embarrassment. “Um…let me see here. Um...are you one of the guests?”

My patience immediately vanishes. “Yes,” I hiss.

The woman tries to force a smile on her face. “It’s out on the terrace at one thirty P.M.”

I frown. “Not on the beach?”

She looks at her computer screen again. “Uh…nope, it says the terrace.”

I turn and walk away from the woman without a thank-you. I hate people who are incompetent at their jobs. No, I hate all people. I hate being in crowds. I hate dealing with people’s stupid problems. I just want to be left alone.

I glance at my watch. It’s one twenty. I head in the direction of the terrace, planning on just slipping into the crowd of wedding well-wishers and guests. But, as I approach the terrace, there is no one on site.

I get to the door that leads outside where a hotel worker is standing.

“This is reserved for a private wedding. The terrace will be available again in about thirty minutes,” the friendly woman says.

I glance around her and see no guests or seats set up for guests. Just a simple arch with flowers on the green grass and the ocean far in the distance.

I nod and keep walking past. Nina isn’t getting married; she’s eloping. Like getting married at all is going to protect her.

I turn right and then start walking up the stairs to one of the guest rooms that seems to overlook the terrace. I knock on the first door, and a man comes out.

“Yes?” he asks.

“Sorry, wrong room,” I say, walking past him and to the next door.

I knock again.

No answer.

I try one more time, and then I pop the door open. These old hotel rooms are far too easy to break into. It’s one of the reasons I never stay at places like this.

I walk into the hotel room; it has suitcases and clothes thrown all over the floor.

I sigh. I picked the messiest room in the hotel, I’m sure. But I don’t care. I walk to the balcony, open the sliding door, and step outside.

When I glance down, I see two men standing under the arch. One is the officiant, and the other looks to be about eighteen, maybe twenty.

I try to think back to everything I know about Nina. She doesn’t have a brother or a cousin as far as I know. She has no family left.

I have no idea who this douchebag is.

I glance at the door leading out to the terrace, waiting for the groom to finally make his appearance so that I can see just what type of man Nina has picked to marry—not that she’s allowed to make such decisions for her life anymore.

Instead of the groom though, Eden walks out. She looks nice, as she always does, in a simple black dress. Not really appropriate clothing for a wedding. It looks like she is going to a funeral or business meeting instead of a wedding.

I turn my gaze back to the door just in time to see Nina walking through.

My heart stops. My chest aches. My whole body hardens at the sight of her.

She’s beautiful. I forgot how beautiful she truly is. Her hair is a little longer than it was seven years ago. Her skin is a little tanner, like she has recently been spending plenty of time on the beach. She has a bit of a glow around her body as she walks.

She looks better than I remember. And the lace dress she is wearing makes it even harder for me to stay up here instead of jumping off the balcony to claim her now.

I grab on to the railing of the balcony, forcing myself to stay here. To watch her marry another man. It will make it so much better to take her from him. She will fight harder to get back to him.

Nina stops when she reaches the arch. Eden softly kisses her on the cheek before she takes the flowers out of Nina’s hands.

Nina turns and holds on to the boy’s hands as she looks him in the eyes.

I laugh. A full-on belly laugh that is completely uncontrollable. She can’t be serious. She’s marrying a boy that looks like a teenager. I thought she was smarter than this.

She’s desperate. She must be if she is willing to elope with a man that has to be almost ten years younger than her.

The boy starts talking, and I assume they are saying their vows to each other. I can’t hear a damn thing from up here though.

The boy stops talking, and it seems it’s Nina’s turn. She opens her mouth and then stops. She glances up, and I know she sees me. Her entire gaze focuses on me. Her eyes turn to fire as she looks at me, and then she smiles. She knew I would be here. She was expecting me to be here. This is her trying to take control back.

She grins with her perfect red lips and then turns back to the boy. She says, “I do,” slowly and deliberately, making sure that I can read her lips and know exactly what she said. That, even though she knows I’m here, she is still willing to marry a boy she barely knows rather than be taken by me.

She’s going to fight. I know that. She’s not like the others who were much more willing to go along with our games as long as it meant getting to fuck some of the hottest and wealthiest men in the world. Nina is going to fight for her life.

My cock is rock hard as I think about her fighting me while I fuck her. Last time we were together was fantastic, but she didn’t fight. She enjoyed how dirty I fucked her. This time though, she is going to fight back, and I can’t fucking wait.

Nina glances back up at me again with a sly smile on her face before she lets the boy kiss her. She thinks it is going to make me mad to see her kissing someone else. Maybe it would piss me off a bit if she were kissing someone I actually saw as a threat. But I doubt it.

I wanted her to get married. I wanted her to move on with her life before I came for her. It’ll make it all the more enjoyable for me when I rip her from him.

Eden whoops and hollers when the officiant pronounces them husband and wife, and then her groom sweeps her off her feet and leads her down to the beach and into the ocean.

I shake my head, watching him. He’s such a kid. No woman wants to be dunked in the ocean after getting married. I’m sure plenty of girls might enjoy that. Nina might have even enjoyed that seven years ago. But she is all woman now, and I can see behind her eyes and fake smile that she doesn’t want a boy to play with. She wants a man to protect her.

Too bad she couldn’t find one in time.

I hear the door to the hotel room open as I walk back inside.

“Who are you?” a man asks as he stands next to who I assume is his girlfriend. He doesn’t bother to protect her at all from me. He just stands there, confused as to why I’m in his room.

I walk past them. “You should have your door lock looked at. Otherwise, anyone could get in here.”

* * *

I wait until dark to find her again.

I give her a few hours with her new husband to realize what a mistake she just made. And to think about me.

I wanted to give her time to obsess. To try to formulate a plan and realize that there is nothing she can do to prevent me from getting to her. That, by the end of the night, she is going to be mine, not his. And that she is going to be the one who chooses me over him. She will have no one to blame but herself.

I walk down to the main dance club near the hotel. I know that is where Nina and her boy toy went. I know they want to celebrate their newfound love. And that is the only place nearby where they could go.

It’s not a smart move. It makes it far too easy for me to find her, but she’s tired of running. I know that because it was easy to find her before, but now, even an idiot would be able to find her. She used to only pay with cash, she never used her real name, and she did nothing that tied her to her old life. This time, she used a credit card and her real name.

I walk into the dance club that is far too loud for my taste and filled with far too many people. I will never understand why people enjoy going to places like this. Is it the attention they get? The desperate need to forget about their pathetic lives? I don’t get it. I would rather stay at home and drink alone than be here.

I smirk. But then again, I don’t drink alone very often. There is always a woman in my bed to drink off of.

I immediately spot Nina and her boy in the middle of the dance floor. She is dancing wildly, like the night I saved her. She is acting just as foolish as she was that night.

I shake my head. She might be all grown up, but she still has a lot to learn.

I get a glass of scotch while I wait to make my move. They dance for a long time, clueless that I’m here. Finally, the boy leaves Nina alone to go get them more drinks. I down the rest of mine and then walk over to her.

I grab her waist and pull her to me.

“I wasn’t sure if you were ever going to come. But then again, it’s you, and you always did just have one move,” she hisses angrily into my ear before I spin her around and take her in my arms to dance with.

“And it seems you only have one move yourself, my beautiful Nina. Why dance if you knew this was where I would come for you?”

“It’s my wedding night. Why shouldn’t I dance?”

I move her in my arms to the beat of the music. Her body fitting perfectly.

“Because it’s stupid. Just like getting married was stupid. Just like running or standing your ground and fighting. You are not going to win, no matter what you do.”

She frowns. “I might not win, but I’m not going to make it easy for you to take me.”

I grin. “Good. I’m counting on it.”

“You should go. Heath is going to be back with my drink soon.”

I laugh. “His name is Heath, huh? I had him pegged for a Bobby or something. What are you doing with him, Nina?”

I hold her close to me, so I can get a clear answer out of her.

“I love him—”

“Bullshit.”

She doesn’t react. It isn’t the first time someone has told her their true thoughts about him. Where is her friend Eden? I glance around the club, but I don’t see her. She always seemed like the honest type.

I pull Nina closer to me so that her eyes are just inches away from me.

She doesn’t pull away like I expected. In fact, she hasn’t fought me the entire time I have been holding her in my arms. She said she would fight, but I’m not convinced yet. I need her to fight. Hard. Like her life depends on it.

“What are you doing with the boy?” I ask again.

Her eyes smile just a little, like she is hiding a secret I will never understand.

“I. Love. Him.”

“Bullshit.”

She cocks her head to the side. “You can believe what you want, but it’s the truth.”

“Your friend Eden doesn’t believe you either, does she?”

She frowns and pulls away a little. I’ve hit a nerve.

“It doesn’t matter what Eden thinks.”

“Where is Eden? She must be around here somewhere. She wouldn’t have left you alone, not tonight. Not after you saw me at your wedding.”

Her eyes widen, and I can feel the fear pulsating off her body.

“I didn’t see you at my wedding.”

“Stop lying, Nina. You looked me in the eye—twice. You were putting on a show for me at your wedding.”

“I…didn’t…” She looks down and then defiantly back up at me. “I didn’t know it was you at the time. I thought it was my imagination. But, of course, you were there on the balcony. Stalking me. Obsessing about me.”

I grin. “I’m not the only one obsessing, Nina. You’ve been obsessing about me from the second you saw me.”

She tries to rip her arms out of mine, but I hold her tightly, loving the feeling of her body pressed up against mine. Loving the feeling of her struggling in my arms.

“And it’s clear you’ve been obsessing about me for the last seven years.”

She struggles harder in my arms. “Let me go, you jerk. I have not been obsessing.”

I laugh. “Stop lying, Nina. I know you too well for you to lie to me.”

“You don’t know me at all. We fucked one time. You barely talked to me before that. And, even if you had, don’t you think I’ve changed in the seven years since?”

She hasn’t changed in seven years, but I have. I’ve turned into more of a monster than I ever thought possible. She is no longer safe, not even with me.

I let her go for just a second, playing with her, letting her think she has a chance against me. And then I grab her back, firmly pulling her into my arms.

“I know everything about you, Nina. I know you never finished your grad classes. I know you haven’t taken a job even remotely related to art history. I know you never stay in any one place for longer than six months. You’ve been to Texas, Maine, Vermont, Montana, Oregon, Nebraska, South Carolina, Mexico, Canada, Massachusetts, and now Florida. You had a cat for about a year before he died of cancer; that was bad luck since you got the cat to keep you company. And I know you have known Heath for only six days and that he’s at least ten years younger than you.”

“Eight years. He’s only eight years younger than me.”

I raise an eyebrow.

“But you’ve made your point. You have been following me for seven years.”

“I know more about you than you do. I’ve studied you, prepared for seven years for the moment when I could finally claim you as mine.”

“I will never be yours or any other man’s. I am not property. I’m a woman who is fully capable of taking care of herself.”

I cock my head to the side. “That might have been the truth. You were a very capable woman who had a whole future ahead of her at one point. But not anymore. You used to belong to yourself. Now, you belong to me and my family.”

“You’re an evil monster, you know that?”

My lips twitch a little and then curl up into a dark smile. “I’m much worse than you could ever imagine. But you have no one to blame but yourself.”

“No. I never asked for this. All I wanted was a good fuck. Not to be kidnapped forever and used as your plaything against my will.”

She tries to pull away, but she still doesn’t understand that she will never have that option again.

“You don’t get to pretend that I’m the bad guy and that you have no blame in any of this. I warned you multiple times to stay away. You started all of this, not me.”

Nina just stares at me. She knows I’m telling her the truth, and that’s why it’s so hard for her. Her obsession got her into trouble.

She glances over my shoulder. “Heath is coming back soon.”

“He can’t protect you.”

“What?”

“The boy can’t protect you. That’s why you married him, isn’t it? You were tired of running, tired of being alone. You thought, if you were married, then I would leave you alone. Or at least, if I came, you would have someone to protect you. Someone who would call the police when I kidnapped you. Someone who would never stop searching for you.”

She doesn’t say anything.

I grin. “You don’t fight me when I’m right. It’s how I know that I’ve figured out the truth.”

“The truth is that I love Heath, and he loves me. That’s it. We eloped because we love each other, and there was no reason not to get married.”

“He can’t save you. No one can.”

“You’re wrong.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Yeah? How am I wrong, Nina?”

“Because one person can save me.”

“And who is that?”

“Me.”