His grip tightened until she cried out in pain. He hauled her up onto her toes until she was face to face with him, his dark visage twisted in anger. She almost wished she’d watched her words more carefully, but she’d been taught to stand up for herself. She’d grown up in a family that encouraged everyone to speak their minds.

“You think drugging you is the only way I can make you comply?” he asked in a surprisingly calm voice, considering his murderous expression.

“What else is there?” she hissed, trying unsuccessfully to pull away from him.

“Your family.”

She froze, barely breathing as the word family echoed through her panicked brain. “What will you do to my family?”

“Nothing,” he said, pushing her back until her legs hit the bed, forcing her to sit. He stepped back, staring down at her. “I will do nothing to them if you quit fighting me. However, if you don’t, I will have to hurt them, Yasmin. I don’t want to do it because hurting them will also hurt you, but if you give me no choice, I’ll do what I have to.”

He was Satan.

That was the only plausible explanation. Volkan was the devil, she was Persephone, and he wanted her for his bride. Nothing was going to stop him.

“I’ll try to listen, but sometimes I get angry,” she finally said in a small voice. She looked up at him pleadingly. “I don’t want my family to get hurt because I lose my temper. Please don’t hurt them, Volkan.”

His face softened and he sank to the carpet on one knee, taking her hands in his. “I know you can be trouble, Yasmin. Your independent spirit is part of what I love so much about you. You say what you think and you live life in a way that makes you happy. I want that in my life.”

She stared back at him, seeing him more clearly through the haze of fear and anger that had guided her every action since he’d kidnapped her. Volkan wasn’t happy. Maybe he’d never been. Though she had responsibilities, she chose them. He’d seen her living a mostly carefree life, happy with her existence, even when things weren’t perfect, and he wanted to be part of that.

She didn’t agree with his methods, but she could understand the way he felt. “If you love my independence, then why do you want to crush it?”

He shook his head. “I don’t want to crush you, but I need you to do as I ask. For your own safety. We’ll find a way to make it work.”

“I don’t know how unless you let me go.”

He ignored her, instead saying, “I won’t hurt your family.”

A rush of gratitude went through her and she whispered, “Thanks.”