Page 44 of Fiercely Protective

Rogue’s touch instantly gentled. “No one is going to hurt you, Angel. I will make sure of it, but I can’t keep you safe ifyou don’t trust me. Give me his name. I will find him eventually regardless. Your refusal only slows me down a bit. If you continue to be stubborn, I will handcuff you to the bed and keep you locked away until I find him myself. That is not a threat, Bri.”

I glanced over at the metal on my wrist and then over to the bed. I couldn’t stand the thought of being restrained again.

“Do you promise not to kill him?”

His eyes narrowed. “Why are you so hell bent on protecting a man that put you in the hospital, that tried to rape you?”

My eyes shot up. “I’m not trying to protect him! I just want to forget. I don’t want to relive it again.”

A tear rolled down my cheek, and I furiously wiped it away, ashamed to show the man before me any weakness.

When his arms tightened around me, I welcomed the warmth and steadiness he offered. He kissed the top of my head. “I will make you forget him, love. He will not be able to get close to you, but to keep you safe, I need you to tell me his name.”

I sniffled and took a deep breath, determined not to let another tear fall. I was stronger than that. “Tony. Tony Galante.” Rogue released me and typed something into his phone. Probably sending Tony’s name to his friend Blaze. “Now that I told you, will you take off the handcuffs?”

He lifted my wrist and released the metal before placing a kiss on my skin. “I’m glad you told me.” He dangled the cuffs in front of my face. “I prefer to use these for pleasure, not punishment.”

“What are you going to do now?” I took a step back and wrapped my arms across my body.

“Whatever I need to do.”

He stepped forward, the hard lines of his face even more pronounced as he moved into the light. “I have something for you.”

He walked out of the room, but I didn’t follow. When he came back inside, he held out his hand and I saw he was holding a jewelry gift box. He opened it and sitting on the black velvet glistening in the light was a stunning diamond necklace, matching earrings, and bracelet. My fingers itched to touch the stones. I had never seen anything so lovely in my life, and I knew it had to cost more than I made in a year, probably three.

My arm started to reach for it, but I pulled my hand back. “I shouldn’t take things like this from you.”

I saw his eyes narrow even more. “Why shouldn’t you? You are my wife, Bri, and as my wife, I intend to give you gifts quite often. Now, turn around.”

I did as he asked and shivered as he placed the diamonds around my neck, his fingers whispering over my flesh. “I think we should talk about that as well.”

“What?”

He leaned closer, his lips near my ear. “The fact that you are my wife?”

He grabbed my wrist and fastened the bracelet around it.

I held it up and admired the perfection of the stones. For just a few seconds I was caught up in the moment, but the eventsof the morning came back in a rush. “Yes, everything happened so fast, I wasn’t prepared for any of it. I don’t know what to think. There is a rush of emotions I have felt and none of them made me feel any better about this.”

He took my hand and placed the diamond teardrop earrings in my palm for me to place in my ears. “You are rambling, love. What do you want to know? You are my wife; it is legal and binding. Tonight, I will present you as such to the elite society circles that I move about in, and any enemies I might have, or you have, will know that you belong to me now and that you will be protected by me and everyone within my organization. I’m not sure what else there is to know.”

I blew out a slow breath, trying not to react to his nearness or the smell of his cologne. “Yes, I suppose I should thank you for that anyway. You did say that I would not be safe unless I was tied to you, but when all the danger has passed, what then? Do we go about our lives and pretend this never happened? Get an annulment or a divorce?”

He stepped closer and I backed away until I hit the wall. “I know it’s only been a few days, but do you think you could forget, Angel? That you could go back to your old life without a thought for me and the way I make you feel.”

He kept coming closer until his body was flush against mine. He was taller, and I had to crane my neck to look up at him. His coffee-colored eyes peered into mine. “Because if that is the case…,” He leaned down closer, his lips a breath away from the skin of my neck. “I will remedy that tonight.”

His hands came up to grasp my hips as he pulled me into him. His erection was evident and despite myself, I couldn’t helpbut feel aroused to know that I could make this man desire me so fervently.

Suddenly, he spun me around, I placed my hands against the wall and gasped as his fingers traced a path along my spine. His fingers toyed with the zipper as if he was trying to decide if he should zip it the rest of the way or tear it free from my body.

I blinked a few times, trying to make my brain focus on anything other than the man behind me. “I tried to zip it myself.”

He moved my hair to the side and once again let his fingers trace over my skin. “I would much rather be helping you out of the dress than in it, but when I do relieve you of this dress, I want to take my time and if we are to make an appearance at the gala we should hurry.”

I turned around, still unnerved by his close proximity. “I would rather stay here.” I saw something flash in his eyes, and I knew he had misinterpreted what I meant. “Not for the reason that you are thinking. I mean, I won’t fit in. Last week I was working as a hotel clerk. You can’t drape me in expensive jewelry and designer dresses and make me into something I’m not. Wouldn’t you rather go alone or with someone else?”

He grabbed my hand and started pulling me behind him as he walked toward the elevator. “No, Angel. There is no one else I would rather take than you.”

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