Page 24 of Bartered Innocence

I sit up straighter, tossing my hair over my shoulder as I jerk my chin. If there’s one thing I’m not going to stand for, it's Rian raising a hand to me. My father loves my mother deeply and worships her like a queen. While I have no illusion this will ever be a marriage of love, I won’t be abused in my own home.

“If—”

“They have the attitude fucked out of them,” he growls.

He presses the heel of his palm into his hard cock again.

My breath catches, the words I was ready to throw at him dying on my lips. Heat unfurls in my belly and settles between my legs.

His taunting chuckle is low, barely audible outside the two of us. “You’d like that though, wouldn’t you?”

I lift my eyes to his, glaring and tightening my jaw so I don’t comment. He’s looking for a response, waiting for me to slip up so he can take more from me. His foot drops softly onto the floor, and his tattooed hand skims just above my knee, trailing up my thigh. My breathing shallows, and I grasp the edges of my chair. He watches me with a raised brow, demanding I tell him to stop as his fingertips press against my panties.

“Open.” His demand is whispered but strong, and my body shakes with fear. Or anticipation? I’m not sure what I’m feeling as I glance toward the kitchen where my mother disappeared into and part my legs. My eyes flutter as he moves forward in his seat, pressing his fingers harder against me until he finds my clit with a grin. Our gazes don’t stray from another as he works my swollen bud with slow circles and heat spreads throughout me, flushing my face.

“Mineto touch whenever I want, isn’t that right?” The huskiness in his voice tells me he’s just as affected, and if we were anywhere but my parent’s dining room, his cock would be out. My panties are slick with my wetness, sticking to my pussy as he rubs harder when I don’t answer him. The dull ache in my fingernails as I scrape the bottom of the chair is nothing compared to the tension in my belly as pleasure coils tightly.

“Rian,” I whisper, unable to get out anything else.

“Shh, Isabelle. I got you, love. Let go.”

I bite on my bottom lip, silencing any noise as I tumble over the cliff of my release. He doesn’t let up as my body shakes with my orgasm, thick and pulsing waves of bliss until I push his wrist away from me and gulp in air as discreetly as I can.

Rian’s mouth lifts on one side as he leans back in his chair and brings his fingers to his nose, inhaling sharply. “Do you cook every night?”

My eyebrows furrow at the unexpected question, and I fan my flushed face, hoping he won’t notice the blush. “Depends on if I’m working or not.”

“I’d like a homemade meal from you at least once a week. It doesn’t matter what day, but we’ll sit down with my men and have afamilydinner,” he says.

I lick my drying lips, my mouth parting in faint surprise at the declaration. My breathing starts to calm, and I’m able to focus more on what he’s asking of me.

“Okay,” I agree weakly because I’m actually not opposed to the idea. When Ricky started spending more time with Luca during the week and I was always at work, our family dinners lessened and I missed them, truth be told. “But I do want to continue my work at the restaurant.”

His jaw tightens. “We’ll see.”

My eyes narrow. “I agreed to this marriage to save my family and everything they’ve built. It will be for nothing if I’m unable to continue to work toward that legacy.”

He is annoyed, but sighs and nods. “We’ll discuss it when the time comes. We will share one room, so start getting comfortable with the idea of being in my bed every night.”

My head jerks back. “Every night? Surely you won’t want it every single night?”

Rian’s eyes twinkle with amusement. “I meant to sleep. But…I assure you there won’t be a day you won’t be begging for my cock.”

I level him with a glare. “Arrogance isn’t attractive.”

“Arrogance is for the weak who lack the means to back it up. I’m confident in everything I say.”

Straightening my shoulders, I look back to my father’s study, annoyed with his presence. “Are we done? I’d like to spend my last night of freedom with a little less…of you.”

Rian grabs me by the chin, pulling me forward until our mouths are a heartbeat apart. “Don’t try anything tonight, Isabelle. I’ll have men watching.”

I sneer at him. “See you in the morning,husband.”

Chapter9

Isabelle

My hands gripthe lacy material draped over the white silk wrapped tight around my body. Rian had given my mother less than a month to throw together a wedding fit for royalty. And I guess that’s what he is, in the grand scheme of things. Irish-American mafia royalty. Ricky told me that Rian has pretty much become the forefront of the Irish since his father disappeared from the public eye last year. He said Rian and the brotherhood had emerged as more prominent figures, instead of lingering in the shadows like they usually did. Then my brother kept rambling about Luca’s concern with the Brotherhood becoming more public and what it means for everyone.

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