through the brightly lit downtown Prague. When Shaun shivered, Jozef dragged her into the nearest store, a leather boutique, and purchased a jacket for her. She was stunned when in the space of five minutes he bought her a $500 jacket so she would be warm as they continued meandering through Prague.
They walked through Old Town, toward the famous Charles Bridge. Shaun was awed by the beautiful architecture as they took the path onto the bridge. About halfway across, Jozef stopped. Shaun looked at him curiously. He nodded toward the direction they’d come from and she dutifully looked. The buildings lining the street next to the river glowed a warm yellow from the streetlights. The river itself shone in the inky darkness, shifting and sparkling, giving the impression of life as it flowed lazily through the downtown core.
Shaun sighed happily, acknowledging to herself that she would never have enjoyed this sight if Jozef hadn’t brought her to Prague. She told herself it was okay to enjoy the simple pleasure of a stunning view as long as she never lost sight of her reality. She glanced to the side to find Jozef’s gaze on her face, his expression wistful, as though he felt the magic of the evening too. She couldn’t see what was going on in his brain, but she read admiration in his eyes. She couldn’t help but lift her lips in a smile.
You are a goddess, he signed, his hands flashing beneath the streetlight. Then he sank to his knee on the pavement. Shaun gasped as he reached into his pocket pulling out a jewelry box. Heart hammering, she shook her head in denial, wanting to beg him to put it away, to stop ruining the perfect moment they’d been sharing.
He didn’t put it away. He opened the lid to the box. A huge solitaire diamond in a white gold setting sparkled as it captured what little light filtered down from the overhead lamps. It was a silent, sinister reminder of Shaun’s place within a crime syndicate.
Jozef didn’t attempt to sign the question. He didn’t need to. There could only be one outcome in his mind; Shaun would become his wife.
Even as he took the ring from the box, dropping the velvet package to the street, Shaun shook her head in denial. “No.”
Jozef’s head came up swiftly and any warmth he’d been harbouring in his blue eyes froze to hard uncompromising chips. He stood, glaring down at her. Shaun tried to step away, tried to tug her hand from his grip, but his hold became painfully tight. If she continued to struggle, he could break her fingers. His gaze continued to capture hers as he shoved the ring onto her finger.
He looked past her and snapped his fingers. Shaun glanced over her shoulder as Havel strode from the shadows, announcing, “The car is on its way.”
Chapter Thirty-One
The drive back to the mansion was done in tense silence. Jozef stared broodingly out the window, his scarred visage flashing in the dim streetlights that they passed. Shaun didn’t know what to do with herself, so she sat as quietly as humanly possible, not wanting to draw attention. She didn’t know how to feel. Part of her was upset that she’d ruined their perfect night, even though she couldn’t possibly accept Jozef’s proposal.
The other part of her was angry at Jozef for pulling such a stunt. He had to have known what her answer would be. Didn’t he?
Maybe he didn’t. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, watching his frozen expression. He sat completely motionless as though lost in thought. Maybe he really did think Shaun would want to marry him. What in his experience had taught him otherwise? He was born and raised in a violent lifestyle with a cutthroat family. The violence and trauma of her abduction, when seen through his eyes, probably wasn’t as big a deal as it was to her. It was business as usual for the Koba enforcer.
What Jozef saw when he looked at Shaun was a woman he got along with, someone with an intelligent brain and a solid moral compass. A woman he was sexually attracted to, who was attracted to him as well. What seemed like an extraordinary set of circumstances to Shaun was Jozef’s every day. Well, she doubted he picked up a new fiancé every day, but the extremeness of the situation wouldn’t be too far out of his experience.
So, it was entirely possible Jozef would