Page 14
“Whiskey for breakfast? How charming. So my new husband is a brute and a drunk.” I slather butter on a piece of bread with delicate precision, reminding him how well I can wield a knife.
His dark eyes spark with amusement as he regards me. “One does not normally wake up in excruciating pain after getting brutally stabbed by his betrothed on their wedding night. Perhaps you’ll allow me some grace.” Sarcasm drips from his tongue like winter molasses.
My pulse ticks and little beads of sweat form between my breasts. “Grace is for honorable men, not beasts who have no manners in the bedroom. Or at all, for that matter.”
As he licks a dollop of raspberry jam from the corner of his mouth, my breath hitches. He smirks. “Your wet cunt didn’t seem to mind last night.”
I gasp. How fucking dare he? No man has ever spoken this way to me. Not even Finnric could be this vulgar. “Didn’t your mother teach you the proper way to speak to a lady?”
His eyes darken, and if looks could kill, I’d certainly be dead. I suck in a deep breath as he rises from the table and comes around to face me. The back of my neck prickles as he grabs either side of my chair and boxes me in. “If you ever speak of my mother again, I will give you a proper reason to stab me.”
I lean back and glare up at him. “Your very existence is reason enough.”
He stares at my lips, his breath hot on my face. “You’re the most insufferable woman I have ever met.”
“And you’re a hellion who’s apparently never been house-trained,” I rasp.
Every inch of me tingles as he brushes the tip of his nose against my earlobe. “You going to help me with that, beloved?”
My cheeks flush at his indecency. “You are beyond help, Lord Bellamy.”
He wraps his hand around my throat. “Do not call me that… It’s just Bell.”
This elicits a gasp as I’m confused by the arousal it provokes in me. On instinct, I slip my butter knife between his thighs and press it against his crotch. “Let me go this instant.”
He chuckles and tightens his grip. “And what are you going to do with that, sweetheart? Butter me to death? Mmm, that could be fun. How about you put some jam on there too and then lick it clean like a good fucking wife.”
I feel the blush in my cheeks deepening and spreading to my chest. The audacity of this man. “Not in your wildest dreams would I ever put my mouth down there.”
With his free hand, he presses a spot on my wrist that removes all of my functions. My hand goes limp, and the knife clatters to the floor. He yanks my hand over his cock. My heart races as I feel him pulse. He’s as hard as a rock.
“You will choke on me one of these days, beloved. And it won’t be because I have to make you.” He releases my throat and tilts my chin up to look me in the eyes. “You will come to me of your own volition, your mouth salivating for a taste.”
I shove him away. “Never.”
He laughs and retakes his seat across from me. “Never is just a dream, wild one. But it holds no weight.” He takes a sip of his whiskey, wincing slightly at the sting of it. “Not when it comes to you and me.”
The arrogance of this man is astounding. I stand to take my leave. “Look, I swore an oath, but I never promised I would enjoy it. You can defile me all you want; I will not indulge your every carnal fantasy.”
Bell leans back, a smug look on his face. “The lies you tell yourself will not keep your cunt from soaking my cock. It will not change the fact that when darkness falls, I will come for you. And you will open for me like a trembling flower. Because now that you’ve had me between your legs… now that you know what it feels like to be fucked by me… you cannot imagine going to sleep without it.”
I want to scream, but I bite my tongue. He is getting off on provoking me. And I do not wish to bring this man any pleasure. I smooth my heated hands over my black satin skirt. “I will take my leave now. My mother is expecting me at Graves Estate. We must discuss the funeral arrangements.” It doesn’t even seem real. Hearing the words aloud, spoken with my own tongue, feels like I’m out of body.
Bell’s frown returns. “I’ll escort you.”
Why does this man live to piss me off? “No, I will go alone. It’s my family’s business,” I huff out.
He leaps from the table to come around again. I flinch as he backs me against the table. “Arkana, I’m your husband. Your family business is mine. And I will not let you enter a house full of Nocturnus initiates without me. Because if one of them tries to stick their fingers inside your cunt again, I’m going to break every single one of them.”
“Are you jealous?” I laugh.
He pinches the spot just below my hips, causing me to wince slightly. “Don’t flatter yourself, beloved. This is a matter of etiquette. It’s disrespectful to touch another man’s property without permission.”
Is his ownership of me that severe? It does me no good to argue with him though. I glare up at him. “You are the insufferable one… Fine, but keep quiet. My mother and uncle can be… spiteful.”
His devious smirk returns. “You won’t even notice I’m there.”
I sigh and wiggle out from his grasp. “Somehow, I doubt that.”
