Page 59 of Dearly Betrayed

“You never could have guessed.” I sit up with some effort and shuffle back, out of his reach. He stares at me until I shift forward again and cradle his face in my arms, leaning down to kiss him. I taste myself on his lips. “How could you have known my own family would try to kill me?”

He grunts in response. What else can he say? Nobody saw it coming, nobody except for me and Rian.

“It’s my fault,” I tell him, even though it’s clear he doesn’t like it. “I knew there were problems in the clan. There were people that didn’t want to end the war and didn’t want me married to you. What better way to solve both problems than to hurt me? Killing me was the perfect plan. I should’ve seen it coming.”

“You are not responsible for protecting yourself.” He touches my cheek and crawls up onto the bed until I’m pinned down beneath him. He kisses my neck, my lips, probing, teasing, searching for something. I feel him stiffen against my thigh. “That’s my job now.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just didn’t know?—”

Didn’t know what? That the threat to my life was real? Or how I’d start to feel about him? I whimper as he licks my nipples, sucking them as my fingers grip his hair.

“You’re safe now,” he says. “It doesn’t matter anymore. You’re safe, and I swear nobody will ever get near you again.”

“What are you gonna do? Lock me up in this condo?”

“If I have to.”

“Be realistic.”

“There will be guards, my lovely wife.” He grabs my wrists and pins them above my head as he licks my nipples some more. I’m squirming, so wet and ready to burst. I freaking love the way that feels. “You’ll be taken care of, I promise.”

“Whatever you say,” I whisper, panting hard. “Just stop driving me crazy and give me what I want.”

“Which is what?”

“You know what, you just like hearing me say it.”

“I do,” he says, sounding so pleased with himself. “So say it.”

“Fuck me. Please, Jayson, fuck me.”

He positions himself, his tip against my aching entrance, and slowly presses inside. I gasp, pain hitting me first, pain which quickly resolves into a dull burn, then into pleasure as he fills me to the brim, kissing my breasts, my mouth, my neck.

“That’s right, my wife,” he whispers as we start to move together. This time, the pain is muted, almost distant, completely overshadowed by how damn good it feels to have him between my legs. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but marrying you wasn’t one of them. Saving your life was the best decision I’ve ever made. I’ll save you a thousand more times if that’s what it takes.”

We fall into rhythm. There’s no outside world, nobody trying to hurt us, no more war, no more family, no clan or mafia, only him and me in this bed, fucking each other, moaning and gasping and pleasing, letting go of everything holding us back. I bite his shoulder as he wrecks me, over and over, thrusting deep between my legs until I come for him, gasping his name, calling him my husband, loving that word for the first time,husband, husband, and he comes for me, sayingwife, wife, wife.

I’m a mess of sweat and joy as he wraps his big arms around me. I snuggle close, breathing him in, not wanting to think about anything but this bedroom.

“Can I ask you something?” I whisper.

“Go ahead. Anything.”

“Were you afraid? When you tackled that guy?”

“No, not at all. I didn’t think about it. I saw you were in trouble, and I reacted. I wasn’t going to fail twice.”

“Jayson.” I turn around and touch his face. “You didn’t fail your friend.”

“I did.” His expression is stoic, but I know how much this hurts him.

“You didn’t. He saved your life for the same reason you saved mine. Because he felt it was the right thing to do. You can’t take that away from him.”

His expression cracks. The agony is heartbreaking, knowing that his friend’s death still haunts him. I hug him tight, and he hugs me back, holding each other against the guilt that won’t ever give him peace.

But when I pull back, he’s smiling.

“Who would’ve guessed?” he asks, shaking his head. “When I kissed you at that ceremony, I was just trying to fuck with you. And now here I am, thinking about kissing you all the damn time.”

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