Page 73 of Dark as Knight

“I am not a monster or heartless, Stella, and you know that. What I did to you was cruel and wrong, but it gutted me every fucking day I looked at you. Why do you think I tried pushing you away? Why do you think I tried to drink you away?” I shake my head, her eyes staring at me like she’s waiting on pins and needles for what I’ll say next. “But I know,” I say, stepping toward her, “that no matter how much I drink or try to push you away, no matter how far you ran, I would never, ever stop searching for you because you’re mine.”

I grab her around the waist, her mouth falling open with a gasp when I pick her up and set her on my desk. I push her thighs aside with my own legs, coming to stand in front of her with my hand in her hair and my lips within a centimeter of hers.

“And we both know that’s exactly the man you fell in love with, isn’t it, Stella?” Her eyes glare into mine but the pink flush that’s creeping up her neck and her hard nipples pressing against her blouse give her away. Her lips are still parted, her breaths coming out in rapid puffs against my lips. “You might hate the fact that you love a cruel and sometimes heartless asshole, but you know I will never be that way to you again, ever. I will never lie to you. I will destroy every fucking person alive who tries to hurt you or take you from me.” I stare into her eyes like I’m staring into her soul. “Look at me. I never want to exist another day in this world without you by my side. You are my world, my everything. I am nothing without you.”

Her pupils dilate. “I haven’t forgiven you.”

“I know,” I say, my lips grazing hers.

“You have to earn my trust.”

“I will.” I pull back a trifle, tipping her head slightly back. “I will spend every single day of the rest of my life if that’s what it takes to earn your trust. Do you love me, Stella?”

“Yes,” she says softly.

“Good.” I lean forward, kissing her once, lingering long enough to give her a chance to push me away, but she doesn’t. “Now, can we move on to the good news?”

“Don’t you want to ask me if I want to stay married?” she questions me with a bratty little smirk.

“No,” I say confidently. “I already know you do.”

“That’s pretty presumptuous considering you’re the one who did all of the lying and whatnot.” She folds her arms over her chest.

I tighten my grip on the back of her neck as I lean in toward her again. Call it playing dirty but I know exactly how to push her buttons and keep her in line. I can give her a single look and have her squeezing her thighs together in seconds, completely forgetting what she was saying. “Do you want to have another argument right now or do you want me to tell you about your early anniversary present?” She snaps her mouth shut and I step back to my desk to remove the second docket of papers and hand them to her.

“What is this?”

“It was going to be your anniversary gift, but I thought you could use it a little earlier.”

Her eyes go from skeptical to huge in a matter of seconds when she realizes it’s the deed to Freddy’s. “How?”

I reach into the drawer again and pull out the keys. “Money.” I smile at her. “With your husband’s touch of—finesse.”

“Meaning?” She crooks an eyebrow at me. “Remember you said you’d never lie to me again.”

I nod, thinking through how best to put it. “I pulled his own pistol on him after I stole it from him. Threatened to drop it off at the police station if he didn’t leave town in the next forty-eight hours. I think that about covers it. Any other questions?”

“So you bought it? For me?”

She drops the papers onto my desk when I grab her behind the knees and tug her forward. “Actually, no more talking.” I cover my mouth with hers, sliding my tongue past her lips. “Unless you’re saying my name. And yes, I bought it for you,” I say, coming up for air between kisses. “It’s all yours.”

“Wait.” She pushes against me again.

“Jesus.” I shake my head. “Are you trying to kill me, Stella?”

“I just—I want to know what we are.”

“What we are?”

“Yeah, are we dating or…?”

“Baby, you better be joking right now—dating?” I reach down and unbuckle my belt. “I thought I made it perfectly clear earlier when I tore those divorce papers in half.” Zipper is next. I reach beneath her skirt, pushing her panties to the side. “We are not fucking dating.” I replace my finger with the tip of my cock as I continue to tease her. “We’re married and we’re going to stay married till the day”—I slide my head inside her, moaning at the warmth of her pussy—“we die.” I slide farther in.

“Tell me,” she says against my lips as I begin to move my hips, sliding in and out of her in long, slow strokes.

“I love you.” I say the words I know she wants to hear, the words she needs to hear. “More than anything.”

Her hands are in my hair, her thighs squeezing against me as she claws at my back. I rip her shirt open, buttons clattering across my desk as I bury my face in her tits. I pull the cups of her bra down, her breasts spilling over the top of them, bouncing with each thrust of my hips.

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