Maybe he should have locked Faith in the dungeon, but locking her up and isolating her for Christmas was too cruel even for his sadistic nature. He had to believe this would work. Then they could go back to the fucked-up dynamic the holidays had been so rude as to interrupt.

Leo smoothed his suit for the fortieth time. He’d dress more casually for most of the family holiday, but he liked to look nice when people first arrived, particularly on Christmas Eve. Jeans and a T-shirt would have made him look less nefarious. If his intent was to come off squeaky clean and sell this engagement story, perhaps greeting his family looking like Michael Corleone wasn’t the best of plans.

He knocked on his captive’s door. “Faith?”

When she opened the door, he was pleased to find her wearing what he’d laid out. He’d raided her closet for something to make a good first impression on his mother, but he’d come up short, so he’d had something brought in. It was a green sweater dress with a scooped neck. The dress came to just past the knees. It accentuated her figure without being too form-fitting. It was sexy, but classy and respectable. He’d given her a pair of brown boots to finish the look. A couple of small, gold chains adorned her otherwise bare neck.

Angelo was the real expert on fashion, but Leo had people, and his people assured him this was understated and stylish, that it would give the impression he wanted his family to have—of a girl who belonged here.

“Do I look all right?” She was so nervous, as if she thought he’d change his mind at the last minute before anybody got there.

“You look beautiful.” And she did. He wished he was more like his brother—more ruthless, less conscience. Seeing her like this, with that gorgeous red hair, made him want to enforce the roles between them. “Come here.” He wanted to devour her, prey upon her, possess her, and in some deep recess of his mind he knew it was only a matter of time before she broke him and he took her like some savage beast.

He frowned when she hesitated. This sign of his displeasure was enough to move her swiftly into his arms. Somewhere in there she had to be a sub. Leo was tempted to test it, to test her. He could have pushed her harder, he could have taken her and dropped her into the darkness with him. Every day that passed, he regretted his decision to be noble and give her space.

“You’ll do fine,” he whispered as he held her close and stroked her hair. “Nervousness is okay. If this was real, you’d be nervous. I have a big family, and they can be intense. It’s a lot to take, even for a real fiancée.”

Faith stiffened further at that, and he rubbed her back. “Shhh. It’s okay. I’ll tell them you’re shy. This will work out. I’ll keep you safe.”