CHAPTER FOUR - TAMED
807 Words
Leonardo’s eyes locked onto Scarlet's with admiration. Her face was a masterpiece of elegance, her features a perfect balance of femininity and fortitude. Not even her fiery attitude could stop him from liking her. Damn, she was beautiful—unlike anything he had ever had before. Something about her was magnetic, despite her anger. But he couldn’t sleep with her in this state. She wasn’t willing to consent.
Not that he had ever cared about a girl’s feelings in the past when purchasing them from Cassius, but something about Scarlet was different. He couldn’t bring himself to force his way in.
“I need you to relax. I was never going to take advantage of you. Just feel free and calm down,” he said gently.
His voice was like a gentle breeze on a summer day, carrying a sense of peace and tranquility that seemed to envelop her—but she wouldn’t let it get to her.
“Don’t tell me to calm down,” she said, her voice almost breaking.
“You can’t fight like this. Do you really think pulling a pen would have stopped me if I had planned to hurt you?” he said softly, his deep, rumbling voice soothing.
“Yes, I was planning to stab your neck with it. besides What do you expect me to do?”
“Then you miscalculated every step, right from the moment you were brought in for sale. You should be thanking me for bidding higher on your behalf.”
Suddenly, Scarlet became dumbfounded with guilt. He was right. She recalled how she had hoped he would buy her because he seemed more appealing and kind looking than the other men who had been looking at her lustfully. His countenance had been reassuring back then.
Leonardo then approached her, gently lowering her hand. He took the pen from her and placed it further away. It felt like magic watching herself let her guard down.
Something within her felt the aura of solitude as he came closer. And when he did—
He embraced her in his warmth.
“You can’t fight this battle alone. You need to relax and get some real sleep. You look so drained,” he whispered. His low, velvety timbre wrapped around her like a warm blanket, dispelling her anxiety with calm, measured words.
He couldn’t believe himself either. This sudden calmness, this tenderness—what was it about? He had always been dominant when purchasing girls from the VIP showroom. At first, they pleaded, but then he would go on in a way that made them crave for more of what he had to offer.
But this time, he couldn’t understand why he was so loose and accommodating toward Scarlet.
From the very first moment she had been dragged into the showroom for sale, his eyes had caught her. That was what pushed him to bid higher—until he found out that she was, indeed, Scarlet Blackwood.
She wasn’t crazy like the news had portrayed her to be.
And what the hell was she doing here, getting involved with Cassius? How come she didn’t know how she had ended up here? Something wasn’t right.
If only he could help her. But on the other hand, he couldn’t break the code of the showroom. It was a secret underworld for human trafficking, where girls were bought and sold.
He was just as guilty of illegal activities as the rest of them. The only difference was that he ran a drug cartel—an empire he had built for years under the front of an oil tycoon.
As he held her close, she felt herself relax, taking slow, deep breaths. She was exhausted from living like a rat, being fed less than what was needed.
She needed this. Something more than care.
She needed to sleep—without keeping her eyes open, without fearing what would come next.
“I need to sleep. Could you... please guide me through it?” she whispered, her eyes droopy with exhaustion. Something in her knew he could make her rest for sure. She believed him with every fiber of her being when he said he wouldn’t hurt her. And she couldn’t explain why—but it felt ecstatic.
Leonardo carried her to the bedside, gently laying her down and tucking her in.
He continued to admire her. He was convinced—he had finally found the one.
The woman who made his heart beat.
The woman who would bear his fruit.
She was fresh and untouched, beautiful and vivacious.
He breathed deeply, wondering what spell she had cast on him.
Let it be known—the most ferocious leader of a powerful cartel had found the woman who made his heart beat.
And this time, he wasn’t going to give her up easily.
- Writer
