Page 99 of The Reluctant Wife

He preferred I focus on the marketing and PR for the country, while Viktor was involved in economic policy and developmental plans. He’d have involved Brandon too, except my middle brother kept his distance from the family.

I tried to fight it, and Viktor, too, tried to change my father’s mind, but he was unshakeable.

I haven’t been married even a day, and my husband has made a difference. He picked up on how much it bothers me to be cut out of the plans being made for the future of my beloved Verenza, and he wants to fix it. I lean in and kiss him soundly.

I must take him by surprise, for he goes still, then he plants his big palm on the back of my neck and, holding me in place, hedeepens the kiss. Deep and drugging, it shoots heat through my veins.

My thighs wobble, and my toes tingle. Electricity courses through my veins, and I feel like I’ve stuck my fingers into a socket. We break apart, panting, and I gasp. "Wow."

"Indeed." He squeezes the back of my neck. "What was that for?"

"For—" I try to put the emotions I'm feeling into words. "For being in my corner. For knowing what I want better than I do. For respecting me and not taking me for granted. For recognizing what it means to me to be on that planning team, and being ready to fight for me, when not even my own family has done so. For"—I lift my gown and straddle his lap—"apologizing to me. For putting your ego aside and being willing to meet me halfway."

"What are you doing?" He frowns.

"What does it look like?" I place my hand on the tent at his crotch. "Whoa, someone’s ready."

"A constant state around you." He smirks, then groans when I squeeze the rigid column I can feel through his pants. I begin to massage him, and he blows out a breath. "We’re at our wedding reception, and there are three hundred VVIP guests out there. But I, know something, they don’t.”

I manage to string my thoughts together into a response. “Oh?”

“I know that their haughty Duchess is an exhibitionist. And that she derives great pleasure from praise kink, especially when it’s spiked with the occasional degradation.”

To hear myself described in such great detail makes me feel like I have his focus. That I am his center of attention. That he cares about me enough to know exactly how to elevate my desire.

His eyes gleam. “I know that if I touch you between your legs, you’ll be wet, and that your pink swollen clit yearns for my ministrations.”

I squeeze my thighs to stop moisture from seeping out. But I can’t stop the gasp that escapes me.

"All I know is that you’re my husband, and I want you." I toss my head. "Everyone else all go fuck themselves."

"What will your people say when they realize their sweet princess swears like a trooper?"

"That I’m human? Like them?"

He laughs. "I fucking love your spirit, you know that?"

"Can I say that I love your dick?" I flutter my eyelashes at him.

"You can do better." He jerks his chin. "Get up."

"Huh?" I take in the unyielding set of his jaw and realize he’s serious. I rise to my feet.

He slides his legs apart, then he shrugs off his jacket, folds it, then drops it on the ground between his legs.

"On your knees."

Hearing him say those words in that hard, gravelly voice turns my pussy into a melting mess. My knees tremble, and I sink down onto the soft material of his jacket. "Thank you," I murmur.

"I’ll never let anything hurt you, baby." He searches my eyes. "Except me. And that's only if you ask me to."

"Oh, god." I squeeze my thighs together. "Why do I find that so hot?"

I don’t realize I’ve spoken that aloud, until he closes his fingers around the nape of my neck. His fingers are so long and so thick, they meet his thumb in the front. I feel shackled by him, shackled to him. I feel vulnerable and exposed, kneeling here in my very fancy, one-hundred-thousand-dollar reception dress. I feel…perfect.

And when he leans in, kisses my forehead, and whispers, "You like it because you’re submissive, baby. Because you like to be told what to do when it comes to sex. BecauseIknow what you like, better thanyoudo, when it comes to sex."

My entire body lights up like I’m a human Christmas tree. A shiver squeezes up my spine, and I sense him smile. He leans back and eyes me lazily. "With your people, you may be the Duchess of Verenza, but when you’re with me, you’re my fucktoy. You feel me?"

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