Page 8 of Unlawful Lies

I need to stop this.

I need to send him far away because this type of man is dangerous to my health, and if I let him go too far today, it will jeopardize every plan in place. I’ll be of no use to him once he gets what he wants.

Edward sits beneath the arbor with me on his lap. The intoxicating scent of roses adds another level to my already overstimulated senses. He spreads my legs wider, my skirt riding high up my leg. He pushes the material north, his hand still threaded in my hair, using it to pull my head back further. He nips at my throat, and his growl is louder as he squeezes my inner thigh.

“I’ve wanted you for so long, Nicola. So damn long.”

I can’t speak. Pulling away, I catch a glimpse of his heated eyes before he runs his hands higher yet, skimming the lining of my panties.

Another inch, and he’ll have his hand on me, in me. I jump, which only brings me into closer contact with those thick fingers.

“Stop.” The whispered plea is half-hearted at best.

Edward chuckles, the dark sound like an electric volt through me.

“Why, little fox, when you feel so good? You’re hot, and I’m willing to bet you’re wet. For daddy’s enemy. Is this where you thought we’d be when you suggested a walk?”

Emotions boil inside of me, and I huff out a breath. The sound incites Edward’s laughter. Tell him to back up, now.

My mouth opens just as he slides his fingers across my core. His dark chuckle is lost in my mouth, his fingers gliding in clear demand. He frees his other hand from my hair and drags my shirt down, my breast popping free of my bra.

He curves his hips up against me. “You’re just going to let me do what I want with you, aren’t you? Do you feel how hard you make my cock?”

He slides his index finger home. The intrusion has me gasping, my throat clutching. Holy hell, he’s bold. He slides his finger deeper inside of me and curls it.

Half a second. That’s how close I am to throwing everything my family and I have worked for just to get it on with this horrible man I can’t seem to resist. My core aches, ready for him. Ready for whatever he plans to unleash on me.

Then someone pulls a trigger, and the sound of a gunshot rips through our moans.

Edward

Well, fuck. Just when things are starting to get good.

I’m ready to ignore the gunshot and keep ravaging her. Her nipples are pert, hard little buds underneath the thick fabric of her bra.

In the next half a heartbeat, I’ve got her shirt pulled down, her nipple just poking out of the top and rolling between my thumb and forefinger.

Christ.

She’s a taunt and a taste, and I know better. I fucking know better than to take advantage of a young woman, an innocent I barely know. So why can’t I control myself?

I pinch her nipple until she gasps and kiss her lips, our tongues tangling.

One gunshot is fine to ignore. Not a second. Especially not when it’s accompanied by voices lifted in mangled shouting.

“Eddie—” Her tone is a sultry moan. “I think we need?—”

“I know.”

I pry myself off of Nicola, helping her readjust her breast into her bra and her shirt and buttons over the lace. Her skirt as well. There’s not much to do about all that hair, though. It’s a deep red and brown cloud around her head. Her eyes are darker than midnight as she stares at me with her chest heaving.

Her chin is red and scraped from my stubble, her lips bruised and plump and pink.

A few more seconds, and I would have thrown away every ounce of convention I have and fucked her underneath her arbor. Whether it was her plan all along or not, I’m not willing to ask, and there isn’t time to play these word games anymore.

“Let’s just hope nobody’s dead,” Nicola mutters, sounding bitter and disappointed as hell.

“Come on.” I reach out and grab her hand, pulling her along behind me on our way out of the garden. Back toward the main house and the meeting I’d absolutely forgotten.

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