Page 46 of Wicked Angel

“Do I only confuse you because you don’t like letting someone else have control?” he asked after several beats.

I inhaled sharply. “Everyone has tried to control me my entire life,” I said. “I’m tired of it.”

“It’s different with me.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

I found myself sliding my gaze back to him. He was right. It was different with him. Aside from forcing me into this marriage, he hadn’t exactly attempted to control me in any other way but sexually.

I considered my words before I spoke them. “Yes,” I finally said. “It is.” His control was a different beast. It was enticing as much as it was frightening.

Gaven lifted his glass and downed the champagne in one go before grimacing and setting it on the table before us. “Computer science is an interesting subject,” he said, switching topics so fast it left my head reeling. I frowned at him and waited. He didn’t disappoint. “I like that,” he said.

“You … like it?”

He nodded before fixating me with his gaze once more. “I’ve never wanted a dumb bride, Angel. Intelligence turns me on, and I find you to be incredibly intelligent.”

My stomach coiled. “Even though I failed at running away?” I prompted. That hadn’t exactly been my finest moment.

He arched a brow but nodded. “Yes, even then. You followed your gut—even if it was wrong.”

I pressed my lips together. With a rapacious grin, he continued, “Don’t worry, Angel. No matter how far you ran, you would always be a Price. You wouldn’t have been able to escape this life even before me, but you’ll find soon enough that it’s exactly where you’re meant to be.”

It didn’t escape me that those were the exact words my father had said to me before the ceremony. What the hell did they know that I didn’t? Why were they so convinced that this was the life that I belonged in?

My head throbbed at the thought of trying to dissect his words and all the hidden meanings behind them. With the weight of the jeweled metal band on my finger, all I felt as I sat there next to him was confusion and … hope.

In the end, though, even if I didn’t want to admit it—they were both right about one thing. There was always a price to pay for the things we had. For me, it was remaining in this world.

Once a Price, always a Price.

20

ANGEL

The party wound down until the guests eventually filed out, one by one, leaving the mansion empty once more. The only people left were my father, Gaven, myself, and Jackie. The last of whom had gone to bed long before, and now, my father was following.

"Come," Gaven said, holding out a hand as we left the reception area. "You must be tired."

I was exhausted but, at the same time, keyed up. Tonight was a night like none before, and it was my wedding night. I was not so tired that I forgot what that meant. My virginity might be gone. The memory of his fist moving inside of me as he fucked my pussy and strummed my clit made my insides clench in anticipation for tonight. As he led me up the staircase to a bedroom, one that was not my childhood room, the fluttering of my anxiety crept back into my mind.

In one of the guest suites my father kept for friends, Gaven quietly shut the door and turned to me. In the dark, dimly lit room, his eyes scoured my body. I was flushed, as if I'd had too many glasses of champagne—champagne that I had certainly had my fair share of. I honestly could have gone for a whole new bottle at this moment too.

I had done it—I’d married Gaven Belmonte. I was now his wife. His property. I could only hope that, given time, he and I could learn to be something other than two souls fighting for dominance.

"You looked exquisite tonight." Gaven's low voice was gruff and electrifying.

I inhaled sharply. "Thank you.”

He took one step forward, and I jerked my gaze up to his. Another step and another and another until he stood right before me. With the backs of my legs pressed to the four-poster bed, I felt the heat of him against my front. Goosebumps rose along the bare skin of my shoulders and neck, and my eyelids lowered until I saw nothing and only felt the way Gaven's chest brushed against mine.

“So…” I swallowed roughly. “What does this mean now?” I asked.

He chuckled. A masculine hand lifted and drifted halfway down my arm before circling to my back. “What does it mean?” he repeated my question before shaking his head. Gaven's lips touched my neck, and I gasped, tilting my head automatically as his kiss moved to the thrumming pulse of my throat once more.

“It means you’re mine, Angel.”

“And you?” I prompted him, pressing for more. I was curious. “Does that mean you’re mine too?” It was a daring question.What mobster would ever allow himself to be claimed?

His fingers latched onto the first button and began to undo it. Less than halfway down, however, I could sense his mounting frustration. I found myself smiling. Maybe he was a tormentor, but I liked to give back a little torture of my own, even if it was only in small doses. “Yes,” he answered, and with a grunt, he gripped the sides of the back of my dress and ripped them clean apart. I gasped. “I’m yours, wife,” he continued. “I am not a man who needs outside entertainment. I can assure you that as soon as you have my heir, you will be allowed more freedom.”

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