Page 120 of Sweet Animosity

My chest constricted.

The judge turned to me.

As he did so, Var’s grip on the back of my neck tightened slightly.

A warning.

“Do you, Vivian Grace Peyton, take Varlaam Romanovich Rubashkin to be your spouse and to live together as partners, to treat them with love and respect, and to build a marriage that grows stronger and more loving as time passes?”

My throat closed.

A bead of sweat dripped between my shoulder blades, where the corset strings bit into my skin.

My lips were stiff as I tried to form the words.

But I couldn’t do it.

I couldn’t.

I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I don’t. I can’t. I’m sorry.”

I tried to back away, but Var’s grip prevented me. He shifted his hand to my lower back, pressing me into the heat of his body. His other hand cupped my jaw as he stared intently at me. “Judge, continue.”

My brow furrowed. “I said no.”

Var bared his teeth as he growled at the judge, “I said continue.”

The judge cleared his throat. “Okay… well, um… I guess I’ll take that as a yes.”

I tried to turn my head to confront the judge, but Var’s grip prevented it. “I said no! No!”

The judge’s beady eyes moved over the men in the room.

Serg took one menacing step forward.

The judge cleared his throat again. “Are there rings?”

Var kept his gaze on me. “Skip that part.”

The only sound to be heard in the tense room was the judge nervously flipping through pages. “Then, by the virtue of the authority vested in me by the State of Illinois, I now pronounce you married. You may… you may kiss your bride.”

My fingers dug into the lapels of his tuxedo. “Don’t you dare?—”

Var’s mouth slammed down on mine in a punishing kiss of possession.

A cheer went up in the room from the other men.

There was a pop of champagne.

Still Var kissed me, as if he were refusing to relent until I’d completely submitted.

Finally, I broke away. My fingertips lifted to my bruised lips.

Var captured my hand and raised it to his lips. “Tomorrow, I’ll take you to Tiffany’s and you can pick out whatever ring you want for this pretty finger. I want the world to know you are now mine.”

Serg handed me a glass of champagne, then lifted his own in a toast. “Happy you can no longer legally be compelled to testify against your husband day!”

This was madness.

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