Mated to the Alpha Don

Chapter 10

Evelina’s POV

As Gabriel’s words sunk in, I felt like the ground had slipped out from beneath me. Sleep in his room? With him? The idea sent a shiver down my spine, and I immediately began to protest, my mind racing for a way out of this situation.

“Sleep in your room?” I repeated incredulously. I swallowed hard, my discomfort growing with each passing second. “I... I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I managed to rasp out. As if he even cared what I thought.

His expression was unreadable, his eyes two pools of pitch black glinting with that hint of malice that seemed to render me powerless. His words from the club resounded in my brain.

I want you to obey.

If I have to teach you a lesson, so be it.

I can assure you…you’d like it. Eventually.

I try to ignore the heat in my belly igniting over that final sentence. I push away my pique’d curiosity over his words. This man was a cold-blooded killer. Of my own accord, my eyes go to my ring finger where my engagement ring still rests. He killed Robert. Am I seriously such a disgusting and vile creature, as to forget the fact that a man who loved me…treasured me…was dead because of him? I could not betray Robert’s memory.

“I want you where I can keep an eye on you.” Gabriel’s firm tone broke through my convoluted thoughts.

My heart raced at his words, a sense of dread settling over me like a suffocating blanket. “I... I don’t think that’s necessary,” I protested, though I knew my words held little weight.

Gabriel’s gaze bore into mine, his determination unwavering. “It’s not up for discussion,” he stated, his voice brooking no argument.

With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I realized that arguing further was futile. Gabriel’s intensity was overpowering, his dominance palpable in the air between us. As I looked into those dark, merciless eyes, a sense of resignation washed over me.

“Fine,” I relented, the word barely escaping my lips. The weight of defeat settled heavily on my shoulders and I followed him silently to his room. Each step felt like a march towards an unknown fate, one that I both feared and was inexplicably drawn to. All because of the man walking in front of me.

Inside the room, the atmosphere was heavy with tension. Gabriel stood by the door, his gaze never leaving my form as I hesitated near the threshold. He raised on eyebrow, clearly waiting to see if I needed to be punished.

I can assure you…you would like it. Eventually.

Would I? I walked into the room wordlessy and he pointed to the bathroom.

I closed the bathroom door behind me and I leaned against it,letting out a long exhale. Moving to freshen up, I allowed the cool water from the faucet to run down my face, soothing my racing heart and bringing me back to a calmer state. My eyes skimmed over the toiletries on display, taking in the vanilla scented feminine products. I blinked, wondering why they were here in the first place. Gabriel did not seem like the type of man to indulge in body butter that made him smell like vanilla and strawberries.

There was a knock on the door before the knob turned. Opening it, Gabriel handed me a shirt, his expression stoic.

“You can buy new clothes when we reach Spain tomorrow Evelina,” he reassured me. ”For now, you will have to borrow from Amaya and myself.”

I hesitated, aware that I was taller than Amaya, but kept my thoughts to myself. My mother was more on the petite side. But I had taken after my father with long legs and at 5’9”, I was taller than most women. As I stared down at his shirt being offered to me, I couldn’t help but wonder that my father’s height was not the only thing I’d inherited from him. I had apparently also inherited his penchant for darkness. Because wearing Gabriel’s shirt was not something I revolted against. Carefully I reached for it, our fingers barely grazing. Tingles erupted almost immediately between us and I quickly pulled my hand back, taking the shirt and closing the door behind me.

The material of Gabriel’s shirt was smooth against my skin, carrying a faint scent of his cologne that lingered in the fabric. As I slipped it on, the garment enveloped me in his scent, a heady mix of musk and leather that seemed to seep into my very being. The talisman I wore on my arm was supposed to block the matebond. So then why was I feeling this twisted sense of security merely from inhaling his scent? Momentarily, my thoughts went to the man he’d nearly killed. Then to the way he’d acted at the club. He was protective of me. But only because I was his mate. Only because I was a possession. He didn’t actually view me as a person. As a true partner and mate like Kyle viewed my mother. I’d wanted a mate so badly. And this is what I got. ‘Careful what you wish for, it just might come true’ had never made sense to me until Gabriel entered my life.

Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I emerged from the bathroom to find Gabriel standing over the bed with his back to me. He turned and I noticed his eyes sweeping over me with a calculating intensity. I was all too aware of the fact that I’d stripped myself of my clothes and his shirt now exposed my legs to his gaze. Cautiously, I remained hesitant under the doorframe, wondering if tonight he was going to try to force himself on me to solidify the mate bond. That’s why I was here. That was the entire point of him kidnapping me. I wouldn’t put it past him to go for it now. He’d feel the pain of a thousand suns burning his body if he tried. I tensed, ready to bring him to his knees if need be.

Without a word, he closed the distance between us, his presence looming over me like a threatening shadow.

I could feel the heat of his body as he reached out to touch my face, his touch both gentle and possessive. Every nerve in my body seemed to ignite under his caress sending conflicting sensations of fear and desire coursing through me. My skin burned where his fingertips grazed, leaving a trail of both comfort and danger in their wake. This man made me feel the most contradictory feelings. As Gabriel’s hand cupped my chin, tilting my face to meet his eyes, my skin prickled with goosebumps, rising like tiny mountains across my arms and neck.

Those dark eyes bore into mine intensely, searching for something within me that I couldn’t quite comprehend. The room seemed to shrink around us, the air thick with unspoken, unyielding tension. I was trapped in his gaze, unable to look away as he leaned in closer, his breath warm against my cheek.

A part of me screamed to push him away, to run as far as I could from this dangerous man who held me captive with just a look. But another part of me, a part that I struggled to suppress, yearned for his touch, for the unknown pleasures that lay beyond the boundaries of the fear simmering on the surface of my skin, a cover for the dark desire bubbling under me just waiting to take hold. I gulped back a whimper. I had to fight this burgeoning attraction.

Before I could comprehend what was going on, cool metal slammed over my wrist.

“Hey!” I exclaimed in surprise, realizing that a handcuff was now clamped on my right hand. ”What the fu-”

Gabriel pulled me unceremoniously over to the bed and attached the other end of the handcuff to the bedpost.

I thought he was going to kiss me, instead he’d just effectively handcuffed me to the bed.

“Good night Evelina,” he growled out, finality in his statement.

A/N: I am also part of a charity auction to help raise funds for a family in Gaza trying to find refuge in another country. inoccent human life is precious. Please consider joining us for the fundraiser in Marissa Gilbert's reading circle and also check out Ruby's Reading Room to see what I will be auctioning off.