“I’ll make it good for you,” he said in what she was sure he thought was a reassuring tone. “I want you to enjoy our time together. I never intended to hurt you.”

“You have a funny way of showing it,” she said bitterly, looking down at her fingers, which were twisted in her lap.

“The pain will be only temporary, Yasmin. You must trust me.” His voice was very sure and once more she wondered how he could delude himself to such an extent. “In time, you’ll see that my only desire is to make you happy.”

She locked eyes with him, “The only way l can be happy is if you let me go.”

His fist clenched so hard around the stem of his Champagne glass it snapped in two. The top half of the glass fell onto his plate and shattered. His gaze flicked down and he said in an emotionless voice, “Look what you made me do.”

Those six words were more chilling than anything else he’d said to her. It was the tone. The lack of emotion, the accusation, the disgust. It had her tensing in her seat, gripping the chair until her knuckles ached.

Volkan stood, tossing his napkin on the table. He closed the distance between them. “If nothing will please you except the one thing I refuse to give, then there’s no longer a reason for me to have a care for your feelings.”

“What are you going to do?” she asked desperately, flinching in her seat.

Volkan took hold of her arms and dragged her from the chair.

“I’m going to do what I’ve wanted to from the first moment I saw you.” He pulled her against his chest and kissed her hard, his large hand at the back of her head, controlling her. She tried to fight him off, but he ignored her struggles, deepening the kiss until her breath was gone and the world swam around her.

She smashed her fists into his shoulders, trying her hardest to get him to lift his head. Ignoring her protests, he thrust his tongue into her mouth, choking her. The lights beyond his shoulder dimmed and she went limp in his arms, the fight sapped from her.

She was seconds from passing out from lack of oxygen when he lifted his head. His eyes were blazing with desire and vengeance as he looked down at her. “This is only the beginning.”

Tears leaked from her eyes, wetting her cheeks. “Please don’t hurt me, Volkan.”

“Why should I take your feelings into consideration when you don’t care about mine,” he said, ruthlessly twisting his hand in her hair until she cried out and reached back to grip his wrist.

“I’m sorry,” she said pleadingly. “I’ll do better.”