I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck. I’d never seen him play this role before and it threw me off balance.I didn’t know what his game was.
“Oh my, Serenity, who is this man? What did you do with our untamable stallion to make him so gentlemanly, my dear?”
I barely hid my scowl. “I’d like to know myself,” I muttered under my breath.
Konflict flicked an amused look my way before turning back to Maureen. “I need to join the others, talk business. Can I trust you to look after my wife while I’m gone?”
“Of course, with pleasure,” Maureen simpered, already taking my arm.
He turned his gaze on me, the one that never let me breathe, and my cold mask slipped forward. I needed space, needed to get away from him, but instead of leaving, he leaned in, his lips a breath from mine, eyes boring into me so deep it nearly stole the air from my lungs. For one wild second, I thought he was going to kiss me, in front of everyone, after a year of never touching me. My whole body locked up, torn between rebellion and surrender.
He didn’t kiss me. His mouth slowly brushed my cheek instead, a touch that sent electricity racing over my skin and left me shaking. Then he pressed another kiss to my bare shoulder—a gentle, almost reverent touch that knocked the wind out of me. His lips hovered at my ear, and his whisper grazed my skin.
“I won’t be long. I’ll come back to you, beautiful.”
Beautiful. He called me beautiful. My mind spun. What the hell was happening? Why now? Why this softness, after all the hell he’d put me through?
Maureen snapped me back to reality, and I realized I’d been staring at nothing so long that Halley Hollister had joined us without me noticing.
“So things are finally working out for you two,” Halley teased.
“That’s… that’s not what you think,” I tried to protest, struggling to pull myself back together.
Maureen shook her head, warmth in her eyes. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to explain. It’s clear things are better now. About time he let go of that old grudge and started making his wife happy. You’re so beautiful together.”
“And thank God he finally got rid of that bitch Eleana Sawyer. I heard his men set fire to the Sawyer estate after she disrespected you,” Halley chimed in.
My brow furrowed. I’d wondered where Eleana had disappeared to. I heard her family’s bid for the Big Six got shut down, even after she’d come to my office bragging, but I hadn’t known Konflict was behind the fire. Violence was always his answer to disrespect. Still, the thought that he might have done it for me seemed impossible, so I shoved it aside.
“I need a drink,” I muttered, stepping away before I choked on all their well-meaning assumptions.
At the bar, I downed a glass fast, ignoring the pulse in my throat as I scanned the room. Music pounded. People danced, laughter rising in waves, but my gaze found Konflict across the room, his eyes locked on me even as he pretended to listen to the other heads of family. Draven leaned in, murmuring something in his ear, but Konflict never looked away. That stare burned through me, heat flooding my veins, and I hated the way he could set me on fire with nothing but a look.
I slipped out to the balcony for air, needing space, needing to breathe again. The cool night breeze soothed my nerves. I closed my eyes, hand rising instinctively to the necklace he’d clasped around my throat. Memory slammed into me, the feel of his fingers on my skin as he’d fastened it, the gentleness, the way his presence burned into every inch of me. Desire clawed up my spine, wild and unwanted, the need to have his hands on me, his breath on my neck, his body pressed against mine.
“Fuck, this night needs to end before he drives me crazy.”
“I drive you crazy?” His rough voice cut through my thoughts,close behind me.
I jumped at his sudden presence and his hand resting on the small of my back, burning me alive.
“Shit! You scared me. What the hell are you doing here?” I spun to face him, breath tangled in my chest.
He gave me that devastating smile, tongue dragging over his lips, and suddenly I was all hormones and need, unable to think of anything but his mouth on my skin, his lips on my neck, his tongue on my pussy. I hated wanting him.
“Come dance with me,” he murmured, leaning in, his words brushing my ear.
“I’d rather die,” I snapped back. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He just watched me come undone, eyes locked on mine, not flinching, not even blinking. When there was nothing left of my anger, he closed the space between us, trapping me against the balcony wall. His hands slid to my waist and dragged me in tight against his body. The contact stole my words. His strength and heat pressed into me until all I could do was stand there, helpless against the way he made me feel.
“We can dance right here,” he breathed against my ear.
Then he moved with me. His body pressed into mine. His hands tightened on my waist until resistance drained out of me and I let myself follow his lead. My pulse hammered so loudly I could feel it in my throat as my breath caught. Nothing about it felt real. It was too good, too much. I’d waited all my life for him to hold me like this. The ache wasn’t new. I felt it every time Knox put his arms around me, every time I lied to myself about who I was really loving. In that moment, I saw the truth. I had always wanted this. I had always wanted Konflict to hold me as if I belonged to him. God help me, I was still in love with my husband, even knowing how this would all end. I tried to fight it, but the feeling refused to let me go.
“That’s enough,” I said, trying to break free.
“Hmmm. Why are you still playing hard to get? I know you want this,” he murmured against my ear, and those words just made me angrier.
