Page 74 of Midnight Wedding

I know how those lips feel against mine and what it’s like to laugh in his arms. I know how his dick tastes in my mouth and what it’s like to moan his name as I come.

He’s stillhim. Even if he’s also deranged.

“You killed them,” I say.

He nods once. “I killed them,” he agrees.

“I don’t understand. Why do you have skeletons in your house? Why is there so much blood?”

He doesn’t move. His stare is disconcerting and terrifying. It’s taking all my self-control not to break down in tears right now.

What happened to the man from yesterday? Arsen’s still that guy. Only now I realize he’s been hiding something heinous from me all this time.

He did try to warn you, idiot.

But does that make it any better?

“You should have listened,” he says and steps toward the bed.

“Stop. Don’t come closer.”

“I told you not to go in there. Itold younot to.”

“You have a room full of corpses. Your housekeeper drugged me.”

His jaw works. “I’ve spoken to her about that already.”

“Didn’t really seem enough to me.”

“Lena, I asked you to do one thing. When you got those lock picks and learned how to use them, I didn’t punish you. I trusted you instead. And now look at us.”

“Mauddruggedme!”

“You were digging your nails into my neck,” he says with a snarl and yanks down his collar. Red scratches and welts cover his throat. “She thought she was helping.”

“Your housekeeper just walks around with a sedative?”

“Maud’s more than she seems. She worked as a poisoner for my father for a very long time before retiring to this position.”

My mouth drops open. “Poisoner? Are you fucking insane?”

It never even occurred to me thatpoisoncould be a career path. But then I also never thought keeping the skeletons of my murdered enemies was a good idea either, so here we are.

“She’s very good with compounds.”

“Great, so you trusted a woman that kills people for a living with freaking needles.”

Seems like a lot could have gone wrong and I’m maybe a little bit lucky I woke up.

“You never should’ve been in there to begin with,” he snarls, coming closer.

I flinch back. “Stop, Arsen. Please, don’t touch me.”

He hesitates. His face softens and he blinks a few times. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he says, sounding surprised. Like he can’t believe I might actually be afraid of him right now.

“Tell that to the blood you left in that creepy hallway.”

His hands squeeze into fists—and then slowly relax as he lets out a breath.

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