Chapter 18 #2
"Because if it comes down to choosing between keeping you safe and sparing Gabriel—" He stops. Starts again. "I'll choose you. Every time."
"Then promise me you'll try." I'm begging now. I don't care. "Promise me you'll do everything you can to not kill him."
He studies me for a long moment.
Then: "Be a good girl, Seraphina. Stay safe. Do as I say. And I'll try."
It's not the promise I wanted.
But it's the best I'm going to get.
"Okay," I whisper.
It goes against everything I believe in—this transactional obedience, this performance of the perfect wife. But if playing his game keeps Gabe alive, I'll do it.
I'll be whatever he needs me to be.
Until I figure out how to be something else entirely.
"Okay." He squeezes my hand. "Security is being tightened. Starting today. More guards. Better protocols. And we're moving to the mansion."
"The mansion?" My voice is too high. "Your mother's house?"
"It's safer there. She has a whole squadron of guards, and the grounds are easier to cover."
"But I—I can't—" I can't breathe suddenly. The kitchen is too small. Too hot. Everything is closing in. I thought I had time to get used to this before I was thrown into the fray.
"Sera." Adrian moves toward me. "Breathe."
"I can't." My chest is tight. My vision is tunneling. "It's too much. All of this. It's only been four days and my entire life is—I can't—"
"Look at me." His hands frame my face. Forcing me to focus on him. "Breathe with me. In. Out."
I try. But my lungs won't work properly.
Four days.
Four days since I found out I was pregnant.
Four days since Adrian forced me to marry him.
Four days since my entire world fell apart.
"In," Adrian says again. Calm. Steady. "Out."
I follow his breathing. In. Out. In. Out.
Slowly. So slowly. My chest loosens.
"That's it," he murmurs. "Just breathe. I've got you."
"I'm not okay." Tears are sliding down my cheeks now. "Nothing is okay."
"I know."
"My brother is a criminal. People died yesterday. I'm pregnant and married to a man I barely know, and everything is falling apart and I—I can't—"
He kisses me.
It's not gentle. Not tentative.
It's desperate. Claiming. Like he's trying to ground me. Ground us both.
And I kiss him back just as desperately.
Because he's right. I'm trying to run away from what I'm feeling.
But maybe running isn't such a bad thing right now.
His hands slide into my hair. Angling my head. Deepening the kiss until I can't think about anything except the taste of him. The feel of him.
"Adrian," I gasp against his mouth.
"I'll take care of you," he says. "Let me."
That pulsing between my legs intensifies. It never went away.
I want him, and I want him to take me.
"Make me forget," I say.
He lifts me off the bar stool. I wrap my legs around his waist. He carries me to the couch. Sets me down gently.
Then he's kneeling in front of me.
"What are you—"
"I'm your husband." His hands slide up my thighs. "I'm taking care of you."
His words make me gush, and my breath picks up.
He hooks his fingers in the waistband of my yoga pants. Pulls them down slowly. Taking my underwear with them.
Then he spreads my legs.
I should feel exposed. Vulnerable.
Instead, I feel wanted.
"So beautiful," he murmurs. His breath ghosts across sensitive skin. "My wife."
Then his mouth is on me.
And I stop thinking entirely.
He's methodical. Patient. Taking his time like he has all day. Like nothing matters except this. Except making me feel good.
His tongue moves in slow circles around my clit. Building. Teasing.
My hands fist in his hair. "Adrian—"
"I know." He adds a finger. Then two. Curling them just right, finding that spongy spot right at the front. "I've got you."
The combination is devastating, but as I start to fall apart, he pulls away.
"Don't stop," I whine, trying to pull him back to me.
He chuckles darkly. "Patience, love."
His tongue is on me again, and I cry out as he licks me from ass to slit.
"Adrian!" My eyes fly open in shock as I feel his tongue against the rosette of my asshole. That small bundle of nerves fires off, and I feel him smile against me as he wiggles his appendage into my hole.
"Oh fuck," I cry out. My eyes are rolling in the back of my head. But once again, just as my muscles clench and I'm about to come, he pulls back.
I cry out, moments away from real tears.
"One day, I'm going to fuck your ass." He's looking up at me, silver eyes darker than normal. "Would you like that?"
My pussy visibly clenches at the idea, and Adrian's laugh is dark. "What a naughty girl, my wife."
"Adrian, please. I'll do anything."
"Shhh. I've got you."
He leans down again, but this time, he eats me out like a man possessed. His lips suck at my sensitive skin, and I scream as I explode around him.
I'm falling apart. Coming undone under his hands. His mouth.
I rock against his mouth, riding out my orgasm.
I expect Adrian to pull back, but he doesn't. He tongues my clit until I'm sobbing.
"Please," I gasp. "I need—"
"I know what you need." His voice is dark. Possessive. "Come for me, Seraphina. Let me taste it."
I shatter.
My second orgasm rips through me. So intense I worry I might black out. My whole body shaking with the force of it.
He doesn't stop. Just works me through it. Drawing it out. Making it last until I'm oversensitive, trembling, and begging him to stop.
Only then does he pull back.
He looks up at me. His lips are wet. His eyes are dark with want.
"Better?" he asks.
I can't speak. Can only nod.
He stands. Pulls me up with him. Holds me against his chest while I try to remember how to breathe.
We stay like that for a long moment. His arms around me. My face pressed against his chest. The steady thump of his heartbeat beneath my ear.
"Get dressed," he says finally. Soft. Almost tender. "We're leaving for the mansion in an hour."
He walks away before I can respond.
Leaving me standing there. Half-naked. Still trembling.
Realizing that what just happened changed something between us.
Something I'm not sure I'm ready for.
But it's too late now.
We've crossed a line. I let Adrian take care of me. I begged him for it.
And there's no going back.
The dynamic between us has changed, and I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.