Exasperation instantly takes over my body as my hand curls around her neck in a tight grip.
She looks at me with a deadpan expression.
No fear. No hesitation.
“Slap me one more time and I will break your hand. I dare you,” I threaten in a cold voice that only my enemies get the chance to hear before their death. Good thing she’s my enemy as well.
She grins. “You know,” she begins. “I was bored the minute I got here but it seems like I’m about to have some fun.”
Suddenly, she twists my wrist away from her neck and bangs her forehead against mine, making me stagger back. I definitely feel her strength. Anybody would be deceived by her slim figure. It harbours tenacity.
She tucks a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, acting calm and relaxed.
Alright. I’ve had enough of this shit.
I grip her hair, throwing her on the floor as she falls on her arse. But she quickly gets up and rolls her shoulders before taking off her jacket. It is a surprise to see a full tattoo sleeve inked on her right arm. Detailed black roses with thorns that reach to her elbows and a skull with a crown covering the rest of her arm.
“Have a good look, Macsen, because this is what your future wife will always be the moment you say ‘I do.’ I don’t give a single fuck what you expect of me because I’m not one to let anyone walk all over me.”
Her fist comes flying towards me, but I block it with my palm. She doesn’t quit and knees me in the stomach, making me groan. Then she knees my jaw.
I kick her leg as hard as possible. She lets out a grunt before falling again.
I grip her face with a firm hold, making her stand up, and hold both her hands behind her back.
“You better have a good look because this will be your future if you don’t do as you're told.’’I pant against her face, looking at her with a sudden hungry desire. I brush my thumb against her plump lips. “You will behave like a fucking decent wife. Pull any of these stunts and I won’t hesitate to put you in your place.”
“Already dropping your expectations from ideal to decent, Macsen?” she mocks.
Letting my urge take over for a fleeting moment, I kiss her brutally, tasting her sweet cherry-flavoured lips before pulling back with a rough nibble on her lower lip.
She shows fear for once, making me grin with victory. But I shouldn’t have fallen for it.
She smashes her head against my nose. My grip on her loosens. She climbs on my back with her legs tightly wrapped around my middle as she rains hits on me. Her boots dig through my black shirt.
An unusual thing to match with a tight dress.
Her other hand gets engaged by being tightly wrapped around my neck, blocking my windpipe as I struggle to breathe through the pain.
Without a second thought, I walk back towards the glass table and fall back with her body landing on the glass and shattering it to pieces with a loud crash. The harsh impact leaves a mark on my body as both of us cough and grunt in pain.
But she gets back on her feet again, kicking me right in my cheek. I feel the cuts already forming with droplets of blood falling on the ground. Without mercy, I punch her in the gut. I grab her like a ragdoll and fling her across the room. Then I throw my jacket away and fold back the sleeves.
Fuck courtesy.
Her hair is tousled and blood drips from her nose. She touches it with her fingertip and looks back at me with murder written all over her face. Next thing I know, she charges at me and so do I. Both of us landing hit after hit, punch after punch on each other. Fighting and struggling like savage animals before she kicks me in the balls. The pain sends a jolt of electricity through my body, making it much worse.
Classic woman move.
The entire fight is filled with ferocity and hunger for power. And for some unknown reason, I am loving it.
Her fist collides with my cheek and it’s the last straw of my patience. I draw my gun out and aim it at her face, and as if anticipating my move, she draws her gun out from her thigh holster.
“Drop the gun, Davina, before I–”
BANG! BANG!
Before I can finish my words, she pulls the trigger with one bullet scratching my shoulder and the other my thigh. Then she uses the moment of my temporary shock to kick me in the stomach. I immediately fall on the ground, not being able to keep my balance. Holding onto my wounds, blood spurts out and devours the floor.
She moves closer, kneeling beside me. Taking her gun up to my face, she traces it along my jawline.
“Here are my rules, Macsen. You want to marry me, then you better treat me like a fucking queen. We both want this marriage just for one reason. Power. Our territories are the same, you get the percentage we discussed and not one bit more. Our businesses are still ours to handle. We will combine some of them and rule together.” The head of the gun moves up, reaching my temple. “And if you have any plans to deceive me and take over everything, then what happened here today will be just a preview of what I’m really capable of.”
With a dark smile, she leans forward and kisses my cheek before pulling back.
Sick bitch.
She stands up, holstering the gun, and combs her hair with her fingers.
“Oh, and never order me what to do and what not to do. Deal with what you are getting. Otherwise, there are more willing men in England.”
The door bursts open at that moment as both our families come to stand before us astonished at the brutal picture of violence in front of them.
They take in the broken glass as their eyes rake down my bloodied form with Davina standing like a victorious warrior.
“I like him,” she says with a smile to her uncle before getting her jacket and throwing it over her shoulder as she leaves the room.
My brother Theo rushes towards me and helps me take a seat in the nearby chair.
“That fucking bitch shot you. She should be dead–”
I raise my hand to stop him. “Not a single word about your future sister-in-law.”
His eyes widen with shock. “Are you serious? You are going to marry her?”
“Yes. Pass the message to William.”
Whether he believes it or not, Davina impressed me to no end. Perhaps she is behind everything that happens in the Firm after all. And perhaps our life together won’t be as boring as I initially thought.
CHAPTER THREE
Davina
If someone ever asked me what I hate doing the most, I'd answer making wedding preparations without a single doubt. Neither am I interested in floral arrangements nor do I give a damn about whether I walk down the aisle in a white dress with a long veil or not. And the fact that at the end of this aisle a man will be waiting, whom I haven’t even chosen myself, makes for a living hell. So like never before, I delegated the task of making decisions to my mother who was more than eager to help. And from what I’ve been told, Macsen’s younger sister, Lara, helped a lot as well.
So even though I have less than two hours to get myself ready, I’m sitting in my office, going through all the paperwork. This is the reason why I do all this in the first place; those documents stating the percentage of the deals I’d take for Macsen and give to him; even though the fighting ring still doesn’t sit well with me. I can hardly be happy sharing it with anyone, having worked my arse off to make it the place it is today.
William wouldn’t agree, though. He believes that marriage is more important than any business deal we make because it’ll help in the long run. He is a visionary while I’m a right-here-right-now kind of person, which is why sometimes it pays to listen to his advice.