Page 20 of Stalking the Bride

“Never mind,” he says softly.

“No, Conrad. Tell me what you meant byso much more.”

With a deep breath, he raises his gaze to mine, and I feel my eyes widen with expectation. “Let’s not talk about it. Let’s just go to the pier and have a good time. Sound good?”

“I–” But before I can respond, he’s pulling me out the door and calling back to his men with a lie that he’s taking me back to the manor to meet with Fitch and that we’ll be back later. They don’t even question him. He wields absolute authority over them, as it seems he does in all aspects of his life. And as we stepout into the warm night air and he throws me over his back with ease, I feel my head starting to spin, as though I’m somehow being whirled into a new world. A dizzying realm where I may actually have the strength to hope for a better future, instead of the one laid out for me already, which has been bought and paid for.

7

CONRAD

I almost slipped back there.

Words came out of my mouth that shouldn’t have, and even more behind them. I nearly let Belle know that I am her stalker. And while I know it would have been an absolute catastrophe to do so, I actually wanted to tell her the truth. I wanted her to know that I’ve been watching her for weeks, breaking into her room at night, that I’ve stolen one of her pillowcases as a way of being closer to her.

Because then she would realize how truly depraved and insane I am, she would push me away, and I’d be out of her life and far away.

But that won’t happen now.

I saw reciprocity in her eyes back in the hotel room. My feelings for her are not one-sided. She adores my touch. She loved how I fucked her. And by God, I know she wants more and more from me. And I have so much more to give her.

She wants me to save her from Fitch, which has been my mission all along. But is she really prepared to meet the man I really am?

How could a sweet girl like her accept me once she knows the truth?

Even if I somehow manage to stop this wedding and make her mine, there’s no way our relationship can be built on a foundation of lies. She has to know what’s been going on. That I’m her stalker.

But when she learns the truth, will she leave me?

I’m on the verge of a heart attack as I park and we walk down to the pier. Belle is smiling, hanging off my arm, nearly skipping as she tells me all the fond memories she has about riding the Ferris wheel and driving bumper cars. But all I can think about are all the ways this could end in disaster.

She could expose me.

She could tell Fitch about me. Tell her parents.

She could call the police on me and destroy my career. My life. Or even worse, she could simply push me away and marry the monster she’s being sold off to. Choose him over me as the lesser of two evils and force me to live the rest of my life in complete solitude and despair as she posts photo after photo online of her with her “wonderful husband,” living their wonderful life together.

I could never handle that. Watching her life from a screen.

Walking with her now by my side is the closest thing I have to harmony, and without her, I would be lost. If I could somehow just stretch this moment forever. Freeze time so that Belle and I could be together without complication, without me having to confess my sins and seek penance for what I’ve done…

Her smile is intoxicating as I pay for our snow cones. Her beauty shines brighter than all the lights around us, which don’t even come close to her radiance. I wrap my arm around her shoulder as we walk to the Ferris wheel. I pay, and we slide into our passenger car. I pull her close and we watch the lights of the pier and the silver moonlight shimmering across the waves below.

What a magical moment.

This is what life is all about.

Belle lets out a calm breath and rests her head on my shoulder, nestling close as if she’s done it a thousand times. I watch her pink tongue go in and out as she licks the colored ice of her snow cone, my cock harder than steel as I inhale a lungful of her scent. I close my eyes, basking in the perfection of the moment. I want to just relax, be calm. But the beast within me is ready to arise.

We don’t have long before we reach the ground again, but I simply cannot stop myself. I toss my snow cone into the water, drawing a questioning look from Belle, then lick my finger and slide my hand into her pants. She gasps as I spread her warm, pink folds to find her pleasure pearl, then lets out a quiet moan as I apply pressure, moving in circles that cause her body to tense and tremble with delight.

“Conrad…” she whimpers, letting her mouth stay open, pressing her teeth gently against my chest muscle.

I’m powerless to resist her. I’ve lusted after Belle for so long, and now I have her. My thirst for her will never be slaked. My hunger never satiated.

“That’s it, angel. Come for Daddy.”

Her body tremors, and her teeth close down on my flesh, stinging me with just the hint of pain. I smile and move my finger faster, applying more pressure. She’s already soaking wet, and I can tell by the way she’s moaning into my muscle that she’s close.

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