Page 19 of The Forbidden Husband

Every motion was a blur, every step a great effort.

Before I knew it, we were walking into the luxurious penthouse suite together, and the attendant was turning and leaving the room.

For the first time, I was alone in a room with Enzo Rissi.

My husband.

I didn’t know what to expect, but he didn’t even look my way before entering the bathroom and leaving me alone in our room behind a closed door.

I took a moment to examine the room.

The burnt orange of the closed curtains matched the rug’s swirling designs. The small sitting room had other burnt orange accents, but the bed was white. The pillows looked heavenly, and under different circumstances, I may have sunken into them and allowed myself to sleep through the night.

Instead, I was going to have sex with Enzo Rissi.

How did anyone know if they were ready to lose their virginity? It had been something that wasn’t worth risking. I had never even had a serious boyfriend. It was another aspect of my life that my father controlled.

Did I have anything in my life that wasn’t controlled by him?

I brushed off that thought as the handle to the bathroom door clicked.

Enzo only spent a few moments alone in the bathroom, and when he came out, steam billowed behind him like a trail of ghosts that undoubtedly haunted him. My eyes locked on the muscled chest beneath a fine dusting of hair. Long designs of tattoos stretched across his chest and down his arms. A patchwork of different phrases and images with no clearsimilarities. It looked like he constantly went to the tattoo parlor without a larger image in mind. His mind appeared to jump from one idea to the next before ever considering weaving them together.

And below the patchwork of art and sculpted muscle… a towel.

Onlya towel.

It felt different standing before Enzo Rissi in a towel rather than his staple suit or dress shirt.

He approached with the same hard look in his eyes. Business. Nothing more, nothing less. He didn’t offer even an ounce of compassion as he walked closer.

“Turn,” he said.

I stared at him, almost not fully comprehending what he said.

“Turn around, Aria. You still have your dress on.”

I didn’t allow my mind to linger on what he was about to do. What we were about to do. I mindlessly turned around. A gentle caress of breath misted the back of my neck, and goosebumps arose down my spine and upper arms.

I felt his fingers gently start to unbutton the row of tiny buttons, and I felt like I could finally take a deep breath.

“There,” he said as he moved in closer and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me against his warm, still-damp chest. The masculine scent of his expensive soap cocooned me in a nest of lust that softened the realization of what was to come.

Still, I stiffened as he moved his lips to the side of my neck, a scorching sensation rising at the same time. My body reactedinvoluntarily, and the breath that left my lips came from a place that was more terrifying than the feeling itself. The heat that swelled in my belly as his strong hands gripped my hips was undeniable.

I closed my eyes, imagining myself somewhere else. If I let my body react, it might get me through this.

Ihadto get through this.

His lips moved down my neck, and I involuntarily tensed my body in anticipation for more.

His body moved away quickly, my eyes popped open and I turned around to face him with my head down, waiting for whatever was coming next. When nothing did, I lifted my head and found him standing a few inches away, watching me closely.

“Why did you stop?” I asked breathlessly.

His lips parted as he licked his bottom one and ran a hand through the damp hair that still dripped tiny specs of water down his back.

“I don’t fuck women who aren’t interested in it, Aria. Not even my wife.”

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