She kept quiet the whole way and only squeaked in surprise when he unceremoniously dropped her on his bed and, good god, he had to take a deep breath to stop the groan that threatened to escape when he looked how good she looked in his bed. His dick twitched involuntarily as he tried to imagine her with lesser clothes.
"Out everyone," the staff who were working on his bedroom scurried out at his cold voice.
She was now sitting up and looking at him with moist eyes narrowed, mortification clear on her face.
He took a deep breath and neared her, keeping his hands on either side of her on the bed, supporting his height as he stooped to her height, near enough to hear her shaky breaths.
"Sineka," he started in a softer tone, as she turned her face away from him, "I did forget about you when I got out of Impel Down."
Her lips thinned at his admittance, but she did not look his way, choosing instead to fiddle with her fingers.
"But I am not going to apologize. Things had been too busy. There was that Mariford incident, and then I had to travel all the way here with just Daz to start over my business. I had been too busy to think about things that did not gain me anything. But I will admit it was wrong of me to not see that you are escorted safely here. I should have gone to take you or send someone I trust and for that I am sorry."
He tried to be as sincere as possible. When Daz said she was alone on a public ship, he had been angry. She was a woman and a comely one at that. Anything could've happened to her and none would've been the wiser. He was too wrong to trust her father with this.
She reluctantly nodded. Her lips forming a pout now, he smirked.
"But it was also wrong of you to start a fight where everyone can see. You should know better than that. They work for me, and they should respect me. You disrespected me while my staff was present."
He paused.
"I am sorry," she whispered lightly. But he knew she meant it.
"But I still don't want to sleep with you," she continued, turning her eyes to him.
"It is not negotiable," she frowned, "but I will try to give you as much space as you need and I won't do anything you don't like."
She reluctantly nodded.
Then something occurred to him. He rose to his full height, looking at her inquisitively.
"Tell me something, Sineka," he demanded, making her look at him. "If no one was even with you, why didn't you run away?"
"And go where?" she scoffed. "I have never even set foot outside my house before. Coming here alone was scary enough. I almost cried sometimes."
His lips pursed, understanding her as he went to light his cigar.
"A known devil is better than an unknown angel?" he prompted.
She shrugged, her eyes wandering around the room as if finally seeing it. "Not really. I didn't know the devil too. I just hoped you would rather be neglectful than abusive, so that I can quietly live out my life in one corner of the house or something. I mean you did forget about me once, it gave me some hope to hold onto."
He smirked at her weak jab.
Crocodile understood this about her. He could never imagine Duskblade being a good father. He looked like the abusive type. He had already heard rumours about him killing his first wife to marry another rich one. It was understandable that she wanted someone who would rather forget about her than abuse her, like she had witnessed her father do, most likely.
Maybe he hit her too. The idea left a bad taste in his mouth. Sineka was the type to have a loose mouth. It wouldn't be past her to anger him daily with insults (most likely well-deserved) and then be on the wrong end of his wrath.
"My father never hit me, if that's what you're thinking," she answered the unspoken, "He was bad with his wives, I have seen him with both, but he never dared to hit any of his children. Too scared that it would scare and we would become 'damaged goods'."
"I can't imagine you getting off the hook too easily, though," he mused, sitting beside her with a grunt.
"He had other methods," she vaguely mentioned, then shrugged. "Not that it matters now."
It did not.
"You do not have to worry about those things here," he firmly assured her. "I am not an abusive man or a neglectful man even if the past says otherwise. When I married you, I did that for a real marriage."
She slowly nodded.
"That means you are mine," he continued, taking a long drag from the cigar, "and I care for what is mine. But I also expect discipline and will use a heavy hand if needed…"
He grabbed her chin with two fingers, bringing their lips close enough to feel her shaky breath.
"But I assure you, it will be nothing you won't find pleasurable," his voice became deeper even more, and he felt a thrill when he felt her shiver.
Holding her for a little longer, searching for any signs of displeasure or discomfort, he inched away satisfied when he felt nothing. He almost chuckled when he noticed her blush.
They quietly sat in comfortable silence until he heard her release a tired breath.
"Why don't you go on and take a bath and change into more weather-appropriate clothes," he eyed her clothes.
Though dressed minimally, even her high-necked top looked thicker than it should for the climate of this island. There was no way she was comfortable with that.
She fiddled with her hands. "Well, there's one thing," she hesitated, "Um, the moment you called, my dad had me pack my things and kicked me out. So, no one told me that this was a tropical island and I have nothing to wear here."
He took another drag of his cigar and went inside his walk-in closet. Coming back out, he handed her one of his thin shirts.
"Why don't you change your top to this now, and we can go shopping?"
Her wide eyes told him this was not what she had expected.