Page 104 of Theirs to Tempt: The Marriage Claim

I take a considered drink.

Lorenzo settles back. “Your event is set.”

Which brings my attention back where it belongs. “And the guest list?”

“Contained. Discreet. Exactly as requested.”

Caleb nods. “And Voss?”

“He’ll be there.”

Warm satisfaction unfurls deep inside. Years of waiting. All for this moment.

The conversation shifts to security, access, and the final details of the exclusive game we’ve put together.

With the last sip of our drinks still in our glasses, Lorenzo proposes a toast. “To the future working out exactly the way you plan.”

We drink to that.

Lorenzo excuses himself, and Caleb says he has a situation to handle. “Go.” Suits me.

I need to make sure Sophie is okay.

The spa occupies a world that seems deliberately designed to irritate men like me. Everything is quiet. Slow. Softly lit. No one appears to be in a hurry to accomplish anything.

When I identify myself, the reception escorts me through a private corridor and out toward a secluded massage cabana surrounded by greenery, the sounds of the resort reduced to nothing more than distant water and wind moving through leaves.

I pause.

Sophie is lying face down on the massage table, a sheet draped low across the curve of her ass, her back bare and gleaming with oil. Her hair has been swept to one side, exposing the delicate line of her neck.

Her entire body is loose.

So soft.

Possession slams through me with enough force to tighten every muscle in my body.

Mine.

Ours.

Marriage has not made the word less dangerous. It has made it real.

The therapist notices me.

“I’ll take it from here for a moment.”

She steps away without protest.

Sophie’s eyelids flutter before she turns her head against the padded table. Her cheeks are flushed with warmth, her eyes heavy and unfocused.

“Lucian…”

The way she says my name—sleepy, surprised, welcoming—does terrible things to my restraint. My cock throbs, hard and heavy, demanding release. Demanding her.

I settle my palm against her lower back. Her skin is warm and slick beneath my hand.

She shivers.