Page 81 of Wretched Heart
My husband guides us through the scattering of mourners as we make our way across the orangery and back into the main house. I’m trailing behind, and Hunter’s only response to my mutters of complaint is to tighten his grip onmy hand. He pulls us into the drawing room, and the moment I step inside, he whips me around so my back is pressed against the closing door.
The room is empty except for the furniture Hugo agreed to leave, and another stack of packing crates. I take it all in just before Hunter’s face looms in front of mine. His eyes are ablaze.
“You guess not?” he says, repeating my words to Theo. “What the fuck does that mean?”
I’m slightly breathless, and my husband is a lot angry. I’m not scared of him. If anything, I’m a little turned on by his jealousy. “It means he was a potential suitor, but Hugo didn’t deem him a good enough match.”
“But you did?”
I huff. “Considering there were some on the list who were twice my age and had several failed marriages under their belts, Theo was certainly worth my consideration. Why? Do you have a problem with me having had other options before you stole me from the chapel?”
Resting his hands against the door on either side of my head, he cages me in. “Yes, I have a fucking problem,” he grinds out. “The asshole was asking you if you’d marry him while you were standing right next to your fucking husband. Maybe it wasn’t clear to him, but it should have been clear to you that you belong to me. You. Are. Mine.”
I glare back at him. It’s fun pretending our relationship is real, but there comes a point when we have to remind ourselves that normal rules don’t apply. I’ll be tossed back on the market soon enough. “I’m only yoursfor now.”
Hunter’s jaw feathers. “Whether it’s for now or forever is irrelevant. The important part of that sentence is that you’re mine at this precise moment,” he says. “Do I make myself clear?”
I swallow hard. He’s making me feel all kinds of emotions again. “Perfectly.”
Hunter tilts his head and uses his nose to trail a line along my jaw. “I don’t think you do understand, little bird,” he whispers. “So, I’m going to have to remind you.”
I hum in pleasure at the feel of his warm breath on my neck. “And how do you intend to do that, husband?”
Hunter drops his hands to take hold of the hem of my shift dress. He tugs it up until it’s bunching around my waist. “I’m going to make you come on my tongue to make sure I’ve ruined you for any other man. Do you have a problem with that?”
My lower belly clenches and I manage a quick shake of the head before Hunter hooks his fingers around the elastic of my panties. He pulls them down as he kneels in front of me, and when I kick them free of my ankles, he taps my knees to widen my stance. Slowly, he trails both hands up my legs, stroking and pummeling my thighs until he reaches the apex. His fingers part me and he smiles.
“You’re dripping for me, Maddie,” he says with approval.
“I a– ah!” I cry out as he presses his mouth to my pussy and laves me with his tongue.
He flicks my clit so my body jerks with each long swipe and I tilt my hips to give him a better angle. The tip of his tongue torments me, and I thread my fingers through his hair, scraping nails against his scalp as I pull him closer.
“Such a greedy pussy,” he murmurs against my sensitive skin.
“Please, Hunter. Suck me.”
I bite down on my lip and tense, suddenly aware that I’m in one of the rooms where Hugo regularly lectured andhumiliated me. Never before have I felt able to make demands or reveal my needs. Not until now.
“What kind of husband would I be if I didn’t see to your needs?” says Hunter. It’s unnerving how easily he can read my mind sometimes. “And while I’m sucking, what else would you like me to do, wife?”
His words alone can sate me, and I groan. “I want your fingers inside me.”
Long fingers explore my center, and I hear the most wicked noises as Hunter drags them to where my juices are dripping from me. My legs tremble with anticipation, and when he plunges his fingers inside me, I lift up onto the balls of my feet with a gasp.
Hunter’s mouth seals over my clit, and he tilts his head to look up at me. My jaw falls open and a cry escapes as he sucks hard. My inner muscles clench and spasm, and delicious coils of pleasure expand and contract around my core. My eyes roll back in my head, and when I find my focus again, Hunter’s still watching me.
“This is the punishment you deserve,” he says as his thrusting fingers curl.
When he hits the spot that’s going to be my undoing, I cry out. “Make me come on your tongue. Now, Hunter!”
“All we have is now, little bird,” he mutters with a hint of sorrow I almost miss.
When he seals his lips back around my clit, my hips buck. My fingers thread through his hair as I grind against his mouth.
The heat pooling in my belly is heavy with growing need. Flutters transform into ripples. Ripples turn into waves and the biggest wave, the one I crest, becomes a flood as it crashes through my body.
“Hunter! You bastard! You’re… You’re fucking ruining me,” I call out in a hoarse cry that I try and fail to contain while we’re so close to our guests.
