Page 14 of Heartless Vows

She scoffs and shakes her head.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re being a complete jerk. Isn’t this situation bad enough already?”

I growl, pinch her chin between my thumb and forefinger, and force her eyes to mine.

“Excuse me?” I challenge.

She swallows and defiantly fans her lashes against her cheeks for a few seconds before meeting my stare and speaking slowly, as though to an invalid.

“You. Are. Being. A. Jerk.”

I stare in shock long after her words register, but her expression doesn’t change.

I expected her to elaborate on why the situation was terrible, not to call me out with such unwavering boldness.

My hand moves without my permission, but I savor the pounding of her pulse as I wrap my fingers around her throat.

“Say that again,” I dare.

Her lower lip trembles, but she squares her shoulders and maintains eye contact as she responds.

“I’m a woman of my word, and I don’t like to repeat myself, so why don’t you make it easy on both of us and. Stop. Being. A. Jerk.”

No one in my adult life, except for possibly Fiero, has ever spoken to me with such snark. No one else would have survived the consequences.

But this tiny slip of a woman stands her ground and uses my own words against me.

I’m enamored. Hooked. Delighted.

Doomed.

I flick my gaze down to her lush lips before I lower my mouth a hairsbreadth away from hers.

“You want me to stop, but I haven’t even begun, have I,mia topolina?”

She closes her eyes and tries to turn her face away, but I tighten my grip on her throat and sneak my tongue along the bottom edge of her lower lip.

“Do you really want me to stop, Aurora?”

Her choppy breaths warm my lips, but her low, throatypleasedestroys my control.

“Just one taste. I just need one taste, then I’ll stop,” I lie before closing the distance between our lips.

I hum in delight at her softness and brush my closed mouth back and forth across hers before dipping my tongue between her lips. Her clenched teeth prevent me from exploring her depths, but I need more, so I flex my fingers around her throat and take advantage when she gasps.

The hot sweetness of her mouth overrides the rest of world and becomes my new favorite addiction, and when I stroke my tongue over hers, I groan from the force of my need.

She pushes at my sides and trembles, so close to giving in, but she maintains her defiance despite the hammering of her throat against my palm and the pebbling of her nipples against my chest. I pull back and feast my eyes on her flushed face and swollen lips.

“This is the opposite of not being a jerk,” she deadpans with her chin raised and her eyes closed.

Her tiny fingers dig into my sides. She trembles from head to toe.

I’m an idiot for wanting her, but I can’t pull away now. Not after I’ve had a taste.

Aurora Achilles may be the death of me, but I’ll protect her no matter what it takes.

No one will hurt her except for me, and when I do, she’ll beg for more.

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