Contract Marriage with the Dangerous Don

ANASTASIA POV

All I could hear was the relentless pounding of my heartbeat as I shoved the man against the wall. I didn't know what I was doing, and honestly, I didn't care. All that mattered was escaping the men outside who were hunting me.

Lucas's men had been chasing me relentlessly, and no one dared to help. One glance at the towering, bald thugs was enough to make everyone look away, pretending not to notice the chaos unfolding before them.

At some point, I considered finding a club bouncer for help, but there wasn't a single one in sight. Even if there were, I knew I wouldn't make it out without being caught. This—barging into the first room I could find—was the only option I had left.

"What. Do. You. Think. You. Are. Doing?"

The low, deep voice startled me, and I whipped my head away from the door to glance at the person before me. The sight of him stole the air from my lungs. My heart pounded furiously, and the unbearable ache inside me only intensified.

Cold, piercing gray eyes locked onto mine, freezing me in place. I sucked in a deep, shaky breath, unable to tear my gaze away from the man.

Standing just an inch before me was the most perfect face I had ever seen, as if it had been slowly sculpted by God himself. His dark hair, styled neatly to the back, complemented his fair skin, while his chiseled jawline framed his face, casting shadows that accentuated the sharpness of his features.

"I asked you a question. What do you think you are doing?" His voice was low as his hot breath brushed against my lips, sending a pleasurable shiver down my spine.

He was close—too close.

I blinked, my mouth opening and closing as I struggled to form words, but all that escaped were shallow breaths.

It seemed to irritate him further—the fact that I was staring at him, mesmerized by his beauty, only made his eyes grow colder.

"I-I..." I finally found my voice, my words spilling out, but before I could continue, he raised his hand, silencing me with a gesture.

I watched as he glanced at his watch before nodding his head, his expression unreadable. When his gaze returned to me, an evil smirk curled at the corners of his lips—a smirk that sent a chill down my spine, the kind you see on a killer just before they strike.

"I have eight minutes left," he said more to himself than to me. "So, you have about a minute to explain why you dared to barge into my room, push me against the wall, and gawk at me with those disgusting eyes."

I tilted my head slightly in confusion at his words. I heard him clearly, but processing them was a challenge, especially with my brain clouded by strange and sinful thoughts—thoughts about being completely ravished beneath this man.

What the hell was wrong with me?

"Stupid girl. Get the fuck off me right now!" He hissed in disdain, making me flinch, the harshness of his words snapping me back to reality.

"Please, I need your help. I'm being chased–"

"And?" He replied with a bored eye roll. "What does that have to do with me?"

"W-what?" I blinked, taken aback by his cold response, but he just scoffed at me.

"If you're being chased, that still doesn't explain why you barged into my room," he said, tilting his head slightly, studying me with a look of disbelief. "What if I'm more dangerous than the people after you? Running from a pack of dogs right into a lion's den—pretty ironic, don't you think?"

"What?" I blurted out again, still confused, and he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Do you honestly have anything else to say other than that?" he asked, his tone dripping with annoyance. "Because frankly, I can't seem to understand you."

I quickly nodded in reply, desperate to explain myself, but before I could utter a word, the voices outside the door cut me off.

"Are you sure she went in this way? We need to check carefully; this section of the club is for the powerful, and we can't afford to make any mistakes," a gruff voice whispered.

"Yes, boss. I clearly saw her run in this direction. She must have entered one of the rooms to hide."

"Okay, let's check." Almost immediately after the voices stopped, a knock followed, and my heart dropped.

I froze, the blood draining from my face. I couldn't let them find me here.

I quickly turned to the stranger and shook my head in a desperate plea for him not to answer the door, but he merely watched me with a deadpan expression, as if whatever was happening had nothing to do with him.

"Is anyone there? We apologize for bothering you, but we want to check something. Can you open up?" The voice behind the door became more urgent, the knocking growing louder.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I batted my lashes at him, my voice breaking with desperation, hoping to appeal to some soft spot within him. But instead, his lips curled into a sneer at my expression. There wasn't even a hint of pity—just pure disdain.

"Stop that," he said sharply, and I quickly obeyed.

"Please, don't open the door. I beg you. Please help me just this once, and I will be indebted to you for life," I pleaded, my voice cracking as I sniffed back my tears.

Immediately after those words left my mouth, I regretted them. It felt as though I had just made a deal with the devil himself.

His eyes glistened, and the corner of his lips curled into a slow, knowing smirk as he studied me. I couldn't tell what was going on behind that cold, calculating stare, but something deep inside told me I needed to take those words back—urgently.

Before I could do so, however, he nodded in agreement, catching me off guard. This man hadn't even blinked when I told him I was being chased, but the moment I mentioned the debt, he agreed without hesitation.

Did I… just fuck up?

"Okay, I will help you," he said with a casual nod, his voice dangerously calm. Then, he leaned in closer to my ear, his breath hot against my sensitive skin. My face flushed instantly, and goosebumps prickled across my body.

"For a price, of course. Are you willing to do what I ask? Willing to risk it all if I help you? Because if you are, I can easily take care of those bastards behind that door."

I gasped as his arms snaked around my waist, pulling me flush against him.

"What do you say? Think carefully before you answer, because one thing about me is that once you strike a deal with me, I always take what is mine in the end."