Page 51 of Something Borrowed

“You’ll have to do better than that.” I smirk.

She shoves both of her hands hard against my chest and tries to push me, but I don’t budge an inch.

“Ugh.” She huffs, stomping her foot. “You’re so annoying.”

“And you’re so little.” I tease her making the situation worse.

She tries to push me again but this time I grab her wrists and lift her onto the kitchen counter. She squeals when I push her legs apart and stand with my hips between them, grabbing her ass and pulling her right up against me.

“I didn’t see you complaining on our wedding night.” I whisper against her ear and she digs her nails into my back.

“This is cheating.” She says breathlessly.

I sigh, my body yearning for her and wanting to share that with her, not all of this heated tension. I hate the fact that we’ve been doing nothing but fight since she got here.

I lean back to look into her eyes.

“Verity, don’t resist me.” Those eyes of hers sending shivers down my spine and haunting thoughts through my body.

“Then let me go.” She whispers in response. The complete opposite of what I want to hear.

A low growl rumbles from my chest and my jaw muscles feather in agitation.

“I willneverlet you go. When will you accept that?” I snarl.

She pushes me away again and I step back, utterly exhausted by the looping conversations.

“Why did you have tomarryme, Rufino? What was the point of it?” she moans. “You could have just kidnapped me without all the rings and commitment and things.”

She’s still wearing it. Despite all of her protests - sheisstill wearing it.

I reach up and take her hand, looking at how beautiful the ring looks against her skin.

Bound to me.

How can she not understand? I’ve tried to explain it before but she wasn’t listening. She’s like that when she’s angry. I don’t think she hears a work I say to her. But I’ll keep telling her repeatedly until she hears me.

“Because now that we aremarriedno one can take you from me. No one would dare. You are my wife and I decide what happens to you. Without my permission your father can never send you to Europe.”

“Youdecide? What - like youownme?” She says in anger.

I move close to her again, my face inches from hers. “Correct. I do own you, Verity Vece.”

“No oneowns me.” She shouts.

She kicks away from the kitchen counter and storms out. I hear her marching up the stairs and it sounds like she’s crying which crushes me.

For a moment I stand with my eyes closed and my hands pressed against the counter, my head hanging low in defeat.

Dammit.

This is not going how I planned for any of this to go down. I assumed she would be overjoyed to be living here with me. At least once she got over the fact that I put her in the trunk of my car.

But she’s fixated on the trap of marriage, as she keeps referring to it.

Trapped.

I understand her frustration. It’s not like I wanted to rush into marriage either. It’s so official, so final.But I want her.I want to be with her, and this was the best way I could achieve that.

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