Page 55 of Stolen Vows

Molten desire liquifies inside my chest at the request, despite my reservations. It’s impossible to ignore the feral desperation in his voice or the way his eyes glaze over the longer he looks at me.

“We can’t do this,” I breathe, holding on to the vestiges of my resistance. “Someone elsepaidfor my time. After you fucked with me getting the orchid, it’s only fair that I return the favor. So let me fulfill my auction duties.”

“And if I don’t?” His brows arch. “If I keep you locked in this tower until you’ve lost the will to spite me? What then?”

My nostrils flare. “They’llfineme for not appearing before the winner.”

“Let them. I have enough money to cover it.”

When he crashes his lips to mine, my mouth is partially open, ready to deliver a fiery retort. Instead, I catch him on my teeth, and he jerks my head forward to fuse our faces together properly. He shoves his tongue in, sweeping deep enough to lave over my molars, and I can’t stop the tiny groan that rumbles in my chest at his utter abandon.

His hand leaves my chin to cup the back of my head. The padding of his glove is a nice shift from the unforgiving wall behind me, yet at odds with the brutality of his kiss. It sucks the protest out of me, like a vacuum leaving no crumbs behind.

Plastering himself to the length of my body, he wedges a meaty thigh between my legs. His knee angles up, and I lose my breath for a brief moment when he makes contact with my clit. My palms find his chest, my fingers gripping his lapels as he moves against me, his rough nature making me dizzy.

One hand falls to my hip. Slowly, Leo bunches the lace fabric in his fist, keeping his eyes on mine, as if challenging me to put an end to this.

Right now, every card is in his repertoire. Just like when I was forced to marry him in the first place. Any feelings or sensations were overshadowed by that fact, and it’s never fully felt like I’ve gotten a say in our interactions.

My desire was overshadowed byduty, but it was still there.

It’s official, whether you kiss me or not. Might as well pretend you had some say in the matter.

His words from that night echo like church bells in the back of my mind, and I blink up at him several times, trying to see through the haze of anger, lust, and resentment. Staring back at me is the beautiful, brutal man I’ve spent the last seven years thinking about—and something feels different.

The rejection from before feels eons away, as if it happened to someone in another universe. The Leo pressing against me now wouldn’t dare repeat that mistake, and that undoes something profound within me.

I grew up priding myself on my intelligence and not caring when people weren’t interested in me because I wasn’t as exciting as my sisters. In a world where free thought and quiet tenacity were interpreted poorly, I thought disinterest was a good thing.

It kept me safe for a while.

I never realized how much it would hurt to find someone who seemed curious, even intrigued, and then to have that ripped away by indifference.

So, again, just like I did seven years ago when we stood in a similar state of limbo, I wrangle my arms out from his hold and reach for the hem of my dress. It’s barely enough to constitute an actual outfit anyway, and I would be embarrassed about everyone who saw me in it tonight if not for the way their heated stares spurred me on.

I watch the tendons in his neck shift beneath his skin as I start dragging the skirt up. His knee is still wedged against my pussy, providing effortless friction where my pulse skyrockets with each exposed inch of skin.

My throat constricts when the fabric rises past my hips, then my belly button. Leo’s eyes seem to darken as more and more of my body is displayed.

“Where did you even get this outfit?” he breathes, enraptured. “The one you wore last night was devastating, but this is… You look…”

“My roommate packed it. In case of…emergency, I guess.”

“Remind me to ask what she planned for you to be doing at this auction when we meet.”

Heat flares across my cheeks when the edge of the fabric reveals the undersides of my breasts. They feel heavy as his gaze dips just long enough for a single inhale, and then they’re bare.I’mbare as I rip the dress off the rest of the way, impatience and adrenaline barreling through me like a rocket.

I drop the dress to the floor, standing before him in just my nude thong and heels.

Discomfort twists in my gut, but it’s not the bad kind.

It’s the kind that pushes you to do bad things. Things you’ll undoubtedly regret in the morning.

But right now, I don’t care.

“This is what you want?” I ask, dropping my voice to an octave I’ve never heard come out of me before. I move my hips, writhing slowly against his knee, and my body jolts with the hypnotic sensation the movement creates. “Our wedding night done right?”

I don’t fully expect him to answer, but after a moment, he nods.

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