263
Seb
I throw back my head and laugh. “You’re crazy, if you think I’m going to agree to that.”
“You need me as much as I need your help.” She firms her lips.
I need you… and that’s what bothers me so much about you.
“Okay, fine. I accept the condition, but I have one of my own,” I retort.
Her forehead wrinkles. I guess she wasn’t expecting that. But if she thinks I’m not going to take advantage of this situation, she’s sorely mistaken.
“What is it?” she finally asks.
“An open marriage.”
“Eh?” She blinks rapidly. “What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it says. I’m free to see other women during the time we’re married.”
She gapes at me. “So, you’d ah, you’d-”
“Fuck other women,” I helpfully supply. “Clearly, if I’m not getting it at home, I’m going to have to go elsewhere.”
“No,” she snaps.
“Yes,” I insist. “You don’t expect me to deprive myself when you’ve determined our marriage will not meet my needs.”
She juts out her lower lip, then shuffles her feet. “Fine, but I get to be with other men, as well.”
“No fucking way.” I scowl. If anyone else dares to lay a hand on her I’ll… I’ll kill the bastard.
“If you can see other women, surely, I should be allowed to see other men.”
Anger thuds at my temples. I curl my fingers at my sides. “During the time that we are married, you will not see anyone else,” I growl.
She gapes. “So you can see other women, but I’m not allowed to see other men?”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t understand why we wouldn’t have the same rules for each of us.”
“You’re the one who doesn’t want sex to be a part of our marriage. Hence, sex is not important to you.”
She hesitates, then says, “That’s not what I- But that’s not fair.”
“It’s not; deal with it,” I drawl.
“Then you can’t see other women, either.” She folds her arms across her chest.
“Are you jealous?” I smirk.
“Of course not. I’m trying to level the odds here.”
“How about a compromise?”
She glances at me with suspicion.
My lips quirk, and I manage to wipe the smile off of my face. “During the time we are married, I won’t bring any of my women back home.”
“What the-?” She opens and shuts her mouth. “You were thinking of bringing them home?”
“On occasion.” I raise a shoulder. “I wouldn’t fuck them in our bed, of course. I’d keep a room in our house just for that, and you wouldn’t even know I was there. Well, unless one of them was particularly loud.” I bite back a laugh. I can tell she’s about to explode, but I continue, “In fact-”
“You will not bring anyone home with you. I have a child, or have you forgotten?” she says in a dangerously low voice.
“It’s the main reason I proposed to you; lends an air of authenticity to the proceedings, you know?”
“You’re a… You’re a horrible, horrible man. I don’t think I want to marry you, after all.”
I widen my stance. “I’ve pretended you have a choice, but we both know that you don’t.”
Color fills her cheeks; her chest rises and falls. Those blue eyes of hers grow stormy, and honestly, it’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Her skin is so creamy that her every emotion is reflected on her face.
“Why are you doing this?” she whispers. “Why are you making everything so difficult?”
“I’m doing you a favor, and you know it.” I tilt my head. “Without my help, you’re going to lose all rights to your child. You need this arrangement, Princess.”
“Aargh!” She closes her eyes. “You are a piece of work, you know that?”
“So I’ve been told. What’s it gonna be then, Frozen?”
“Stop calling me that.”
“You prefer Princess, I take it?”
“Call me by my name, will you?” She snaps her eyelids open and frowns at me.
“And you can call our arrangement by any name you want, but it’s the only way forward for you.”
“And for you.” She props her hands on her hips. “At least, admit that you need me to marry you, and that you have no one else who fits the bill on such short notice.”
“You’re a persistent little thing, aren’t you?”
She scowls at me.
“You do realize that I could have any woman in this city agree to this arrangement.”
“So, go ask them, then,” she scoffs.
“However, the chemistry between us makes this a much more believable proposition to the rest of my family. Besides,” I close the distance between us, “you’re not too hard on the eyes, either.”
Her features contort. She raises her hand to slap me, but I grab her wrist. I twist her hand behind her back and haul her close to me. She brings her other arm up, but I grab it and bend it behind her back, shackling both wrists together. She struggles, but she’s trapped. I bring my other hand up to grip the nape of her neck.
“Let go of me,” she hisses.
I pushed her earlier, wanting to see what it took to push her over the edge, wanting to feel her anger, see the crackle of those silver sparks in her eyes. She wriggles against me and I fit my hips to hers. She must feel my hardness against her thigh, for she stills. Color suffuses her cheeks; her gaze grows wary. She swallows, and her chest rises and falls.
“You sense it, too, don’t you, this connection between us?”
“All I sense is a man who thinks he can use his dominance to get his way in anything.”
“If I were using my dominance, you’d be bent over the back of your sofa, ass out, and me, balls deep in your pussy as I fuck your impudence out of you.”
Her breathing hitches; her gaze drops to my mouth then back up to my eyes.
“No church wedding.”
“Excuse me?” I frown.
“I am not marrying you in church. It will be a quick wedding at City Hall, without any of your family in attendance.”Content is © by NôvelDrama.Org.
“It will take a few days to make the arrangements,” I say slowly.
“That’s fine. I need time to organize things at the shop so I can take a half-day for the wedding.”
“You’ll take the entire day off.”
“No, my job is important to me.”
“The day off, and you’ll attend a wedding lunch with the rest of my family.”
She seems like she is about to hesitate, and I slide my fingers around her neck. My fingers almost meet in the front. “What do you say?” I squeeze gently, and her pupils dilate. Well, damn, she likes that, hmm? I press my thumb into the skin right where her pulse skitters. “Do we have a deal?”
She swallows. “You promise to make sure I get full custody of my daughter?”
“It’s my top priority,” I murmur.
She peers up into my eyes, and whatever she sees there must satisfy her.
“Fine,” she says in a low voice.
“I didn’t hear you,” I drawl.
Her gaze narrows. “Fine. I said fine. Okay? You jerkass, you asshole, you-”
I lower my lips to hers.
Mistake, mistake. All of my senses go on alert, but goddamn it, her nearness is driving me insane, and while technically, I’ve agreed to no sex in the marriage, we’re not yet married, so I’m allowed to kiss her, right?
Her muscles lock and tension pours off of her. She freezes in my arms as I brush my lips against hers once, twice. I want to taste her, to consume her. Instead, I nibble on her lower lip, then lick her mouth until, with a sigh, she parts her lips. I thrust my tongue inside her mouth, suck on her tongue, drag my tongue across her mouth, and drink from her. A moan bleeds from her mouth. I release her hands, then wrap her thick blonde hair around my hand and tug. Her head falls back, and I trail kisses down her chin, down the length of her creamy neck. I suck on the skin at the base of her throat and feel her body shudder. She brings her hands up to grip my shoulders and digs her fingers in. I trail tiny kisses as I retrace my path back to her mouth. I bite down on her lower lip and her entire body jolts. I close my lips over hers, thrust my tongue inside her mouth, and deepen the kiss as I grind my thickening arousal into the soft flesh between her legs. A groan trembles up her throat, and I swallow it down, tilt my head, slide my hand between the gaping folds of her robe to cup her breast and squeeze as I shove my thigh between both of hers. She grinds herself against me, and begins to ride my leg.
“That’s it,” I growl into her mouth, “get yourself off, Princess.” I release her breast, only to untie her bathrobe and shove it off of her. Then, I grip her ass and haul her even closer, until every part of her torso is plastered to mine. She throws her arms around me, pushes her body into mine as she rubs her soft center against the thickness of my cock that tents the crotch of my pants.
A trembling seizes her and her back arches. I know she’s close, that she is going to come, when a cry emerges from the baby monitor.