Page 151 of Sinful Pleasure

“Would I want what?”

“Marry him.”

“No, I want nothing to do with your family.”

“But you’re still his fiancée on paper.”

“No, I’m not. The contract was made between your father and a man who has nothing to do with me,” I fired back, feeling my blood boil. “My father is alive, and the last thing he’ll want is for me to be handed over tosomeone in the King family.”

Maddox took a step toward me, looming over me like a haunting shadow I couldn’t escape—and couldn’t look away from.

“But you’ve already been in the hands of someone in the King family,” he reminded me, as he took another slow, agonizing step closer. I didn’t move back, even though everything inside me screamed to do so.

“More than once, to be specific.”

I took a deep breath, the air in my lungs cut short by his proximity.

“It was a mistake.”

My whole body trembled. My legs wouldn’t move, not when my full attention was focused on the way Maddox stared down at me, his eyes burning with an intensity that made it feel like he was desperate to reach out for me.

He stopped when his shoes brushed against mine.

“It didn’t sound like a mistake to me when you were screaming my name,” He muttered, tilting his head to the side. I clenched my fists, my face burning under his heated stare.

“As far as I can remember, you enjoyed it a lot.”

“I don’t remember a single thing.’’ I lied shamelessly. “The other men who fucked me erased the memory of you from my mind.”

It was a big, fat lie, pathetic even.I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve kissed enough men in these past few months to know none of them kiss like Maddox.

They can’t set my body on fire with just one touch. They can’t drive me crazy with just their scent. They don’t have the warmth of his lips or his body.And I’m ashamed to admit that I never crossed the line beyond kissing with them.

I just couldn’t let them in, as if something was stopping me. Maddox King, the man I despise, was inked into my brain, no matter how hard I tried to erase him. That’s exactly why I preferred to take care of myself and not waste my time with other men.

They just weren’t him.

Maddox’s eyes darkened, like death itself, and in an instant, his hand wrapped around my throat, squeezing so hard it stole the air from my lungs, making me choke as he pressed me against the nearby wall.

“Say it again,” he growled in a low voice, giving me a moment to catch my breath only to take it away again, tightening his grip on my throat.

“Come on, princess. I fucking dare you. Say it again.”

I wanted to, just to rub it in his face.

But his grip was tight enough to cut off my words, leaving me gasping for air. He leaned closer, his minty hot breath spilling over my lips—so damn close to mine, yet so far.

“You think you can play with the big wolves now, huh? Just because your daddy said so?” he snarled against my lips, tightening his grip until I nearly saw stars.

I was choking, yet the campfire in my belly turned into a raging bonfire at my core. Just another proof of how sick and twisted I am around this man.

His grip on my throat loosened, forcing me to gasp for air, but his body still pressed me hard against the wall.

“But your daddy is wrong, princess. And if you don’t watch that little mouth of yours, the wolves will eat you alive.”

“Fuck you,” I spat, still coughing and struggling to breathe.

His wicked laugh hit me in the face.

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