Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 51

"I only have a rough location." Randal turned his head to look at her. "But if even I can't track him down, what makes you think you can?"

Willa stared blankly. "Why... why did you look into this? This isn't something you could dig up overnight."

"That's none of your concern."

"What are your terms?" Her voice was incredibly tight.

"Willa." His tone dropped, laced with a dangerous, seductive magnetism. "My condition has always been simple. It hasn't changed."

His thumb gently brushed against the soft skin of her cheek, finally resting on the small mole near the corner of her eye, pressing slightly.

Willa's brows knit together. "You already have Scarlett."

"That's not something you need to worry about." He spoke lightly, his tone dripping with vindictive satisfaction. "Besides... it's not like I'm going to marry you."

A sharp, suffocating ache bloomed in Willa's chest, and a violent tremble wracked her body.

Her voice turned freezing cold. "You want me to be your secret mistress?"

Randal looked away, avoiding her gaze. His expression was obscured in the shadows as he dropped a cruel, unyielding sentence. "You have no choice, Willa."

She really didn't.

If anyone else had made this demand, she would have surrendered all her dignity to clear her father's name.

But it had to be him.

If she agreed to this, what would those three years of true love amount to?

She refused to cheapen herself to that level.

Randal's grip on her jaw tightened dangerously, his laugh echoing with sorrow. "What makes you think you get to decide when we're over?"

"I never agreed to it!" He leaned in close, his gaze so vicious it bordered on madness. "And don't even think about having a happily-ever-after with him. I won't allow it."

He released her chin, letting his fingers trail down to her neck, lightly pressing against her throat. "If you reject me today, you'll regret it. Zack won't be able to protect you."

The subtle pressure against her throat made Willa tense up completely. She tilted her chin up, the stubborn defiance in her eyes crashing straight into Randal's bloodshot gaze.

"Does everything between us have to be this dirty?"

Randal stiffened. Most of the violent tension melted from his frame as he stared blankly at her.

Suddenly, he pulled her into his arms, burying his face in the crook of her neck with a sudden, desperate panic. "Don't even think about trying to get rid of me in this lifetime, Willa."

Willa let him hold her, her body as rigid as a board.