Page 51 of The Councilor

I was melting.

My thoughts were mush, although I sensed some of them were very naughty.

He wasted no time tossing me onto the bed. I stared down at Mr. Bear, realizing he’d never been there when I’d been with a man. As if that had been very often. He was going to need to sit this one out. I rolled over, placing him on the nightstand further away. I was barely able to do that when the rough and tumble man grabbed me by the ankles, yanking me to the side of thebed. As he’d done before, he tugged off one tennis shoe then the other, tossing them behind him in a bit of a flair mode.

I was in a playful mood, pushing one of my feet into his chest. He was too fast for me, grabbing and cocking his head, giving me a playful yet stern look.

“Be very careful, princess. You will never be in charge.” He didn’t give me any time to react, reaching for the fastener on my jeans.

I wiggled for the heck of it. Tormenting him was great fun. I’d never known anyone who’d indulged so little in the simpler things in life. However, he was an anomaly. I had to remind myself of that.

This time he easily maneuvered the tight material over my hips, dragging my jeans to my ankles. I thought at first, he was going to leave me that way, shackled completely differently. I could tell he was contemplating it and I kicked him again, although it was a rather clumsy action.

He acted as if he’d been pitched backward, his back hitting the closet door.

The bastard. He knew exactly how I’d react.

“Are you okay?”

The deception continued when he acted like he was forced to slide down to the floor.

“Aleksander.”

He lunged toward me so fast I was caught off guard, screaming involuntarily. He took that time to rip off the jeans, my panties next, even managing to yank the shirt over my head. That left me in my bra and nothing else. I don’t know why a self-consciousfeeling washed over me. I’d never hated my body, although I should, given what my father used to say. Sure, I had curves, lots of them, but men liked that. Right?

“You need to go to Weight Watchers or something. You won’t be able to attract a decent suitor the way you look.”

My father had no idea how much his comment had hurt me. Granted, he’d been intoxicated at the time, which was rare for him, but I cried myself to sleep that night. Even now, it was tough to look at myself in a mirror without criticizing every inch.

“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

Tears immediately rushed to my eyes. Aleksander had no idea what his words did for me at that moment.

Noticing my tears, he leaned over, running a single finger through the salty bead. “Someone hurt you, destroyed your self-confidence.” His voice was low, comforting.

I hated feeling weak. I’d worked so hard to regroup, to pretend I was a gorgeous woman. I knew I was smiling but no words seemed good enough. The look of carnal lust returned to his eyes and I almost forgot about all the nasty things my father had said.

Almost.

There was no stopping my fiancé as he crawled onto the bed, reaching behind me to unfasten my bra. It was strangely a romantic gesture, but I was still shaking all over.

He was good at everything, removing it easily, taking a step back seconds later.

When I lifted my head, I was shocked at the way he was peering at me. He was even dragging his tongue across his bottom lip in appreciation.

“Vy absolyutno krasivy. Ideal’nyy. Vse moye.”

“What did you say?” God. I sounded like I was eighteen.

“I said,” he growled as he moved closer, “that you are absolutely beautiful. Perfect. All mine. I have no issue reminding you of both often.”

I had no doubt he would.

The way my bottom lip was quivering was disturbing yet a rush of sensations tore through me, the feeling almost like bottle rockets.

He crawled onto the bed again, only this time straddling my closed legs. As soon as he cupped my breasts, he pinched my nipples. Hard.

“Oh. Oh. Oh!” Another series of stars floated in front of my eyes. The pain was glorious, the hunger for him increasing dramatically. He twisted my already aching buds several times as he forced me into an arc.

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