CHAPTER 53 - ARIANNA
CHAPTER
Arianna
I ’M TOO CLOSE. I see every hair on Red’s perfectly sculpted jaw. I also see the flush of his cheek where my hand struck.
I hope it hurts. I want him to hurt. I want his heart to bleed the same way he’s made my heart bleed. I...
Suddenly finding myself against the wall with his hand twisting my hair, I let out a gasp.
“You know nothing about my first fiancée. You know nothing about anything!” Red’s eyes are black with rage. “You accuse me of estranging you from your father when you’re too stupid to see that he sold you and, furthermore, doesn’t care about you?”
His body presses against mine. I need to push him away, but I can’t move. My nipples tighten against his hard chest. “That’s not true! My Papà, he’s...”
“You mean nothing! You’re a fucking commodity to your ‘Papà!” Red snarls, his lips an inch from mine. His other hand trails down my cheek, his fingers brushing across my bottom lip. “You think me a violent lunatic, yes? But I’m the violent lunatic you want...”
“I don’t want you !” I hiss, my lips burning from his touch. “How could I ever want you?”
A ghost of a smile plays on Red’s lips. I can’t take my eyes off them. But he’s talking shit. I’ll never want him - he’s a thug, a murderer, an animal, a...
“Ask me to stop and I will. I’m nothing but a gentleman...” he says a split second before his mouth takes mine .
I resist.
I do.
For the first couple of seconds with his mouth on mine, one hand on my face, the other still wrapped in my hair, I fight against his strength and the scorch of his lips. Then my hands are in his hair, pulling him closer. The thick curls are soft and coarse all at the same time.
Beautiful - just like him.
His tongue invades my mouth, and electric currents shoot through my body. As the outline of his hard length presses against me, wetness forms between my legs.
A whimper escapes my lips. I don’t question it, I’m too wrapped up in the avalanche of sensations flowing through my system, my need for this man overriding all logic.
At this moment, nothing else matters.
His one hand moves to my ass, pulling me tighter against him, leaving my hand splaying over the hard ridges of muscle through the cotton of his shirt. My only thought is undoing the buttons to feel his flesh against mine.
I pull his shirt from his trousers, my fingers fumbling to undo the buttons one by one. His lips are now on my neck, his stubble scratching the tender skin of my throat in the hottest way possible. He trails searingly hot kisses, which burn me into a molten mass.
His other hand skims down my side and around the front, his fingers on the button of my jeans...
I tug harder at his shirt. How many more buttons are there? The whooshing and ringing in my head grows louder as he unzips my jeans.
I undo the last button on Red’s shirt I’m running my fingers over the inked scorpion on his chest when he drops his hold of me and steps back. I blink in confusion as he gently removes my hand.
“I think I’ve made my point, princess,” he smirks, casually doing his buttons back up. “The lesson is: never say things you don’t mean.”
My feeling of loss is replaced with humiliation and then anger. Was that it? Another one of his games? Dear God, I walked straight into it.
My eyes narrow. I can protest all I like, but I can’t deny I didn’t reciprocate. Damn, damn and fuck it. What is this shit?
Red nonchalantly pulls the long hair I’ve tugged from his ponytail back into order. “We’ll go out for dinner tonight.” His eyes drift up and down my body with contempt. “Be ready at seven and wear something classy.”
Clawing back my dignity, I do up the button of my jeans, hating the flush of lust coloring my cheeks and that my hard nipples still pushing against the material of my top show Red exactly how much he heats me. “What makes you think I’ll go to dinner with a psychopathic murderer?”
Laughing, he tucks his shirt back in. “Because you’re my wife. Plus, you need reminding of the ground rules where my business is concerned.”
I can’t stop myself from eyeing the huge bulge in his trousers. “There’s no way I’ll...”
“You’ll do exactly what I say, Arianna.” Red’s eyes grow cold.
“You accuse me of wanting to control you, so I will and you’ll be grateful for it.
And, just for your information, if you ever decide you want to change the rules of our ‘personal arrangement’, you’ll have to convince me you’re worth it and fucking beg! ”