AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But having seen your parents today, I don’t regret what I did. They adore you, Stefan. To not invite them to the wedding...”
His mouth tightened.
“To reject something so good and pure, this is not you.”
“I doubted your reasons for wanting to marry me. I made you sign a filthy contract. Have you still not learnt who I am now, Clio?
“The naive, romantic Stefan you remember is long dead. In its place, there’s only poison, Clio, poison that will destroy you. I’m warning you, bella...leave me alone.”
His jaw concrete, he growled a sound of such utter pain that her gut twisted.
“Do you realize what you’ve done by involving my parents in this? They think the sun rises with you now. What happens when this is all over? How will I face them with another failure in hand? How will I explain your absence in my life, bella?”
That he still thought in such rigid terms should have brought Clio down with a thud. That he didn’t even indulge the thought of some kind of future together, when it was a path she kept getting pulled into, should have stopped her.
“I don’t know how you will. We came together to ruin Jackson. Can your parents’ happiness not be the one good thing that comes out of this, Stefan? Does our marriage have to leave only destruction in its wake?”
Because that’s how it felt right now.
Stefan had already helped her gain her self-respect, her strength, back but he was also going to steal a part of her. The damage, it seemed, was already done.
How could she stay away from him when he was so gorgeous and kind and honorable? When her heart gave a little leap when she saw him every morning? When her throat ached at the way he shut his emotions off as if he couldn’t bear them?
She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his unforgiving form, hid her face in his shoulder. She felt as if she was standing on the precipice of a cliff, wanted to give in and jump so much that she was feverish from it.
He tensed instantly, his grip on her arms bruising, poised to push her away.
Slowly, Clio settled into his embrace, the hard contours and sharp angles of his body pressing and pushing her own soft curves, until they fit perfectly. Heat and hardness—his maleness made her feel so secure, and wanted.
His arms came around her finally, and her breath left her in a long whoosh. His hands moved and roamed over her back, as though he was testing their fit, too, and then came to rest around her waist. Left scorching heat on her bare flesh between her top and jeans.
Warm air from his exhale coated her skin. “Thank you for bringing them here. For bringing such wonderful smiles to their faces.”
Warmth exploded in her chest and she struggled to contain it. Nodding, Clio wrapped herself even tighter around him. “You have to let me in, Stefan. Just a tiny little bit.”
“Tiny little bit, bella? You’re like a stubborn virus.” His smile against her temple took the bite out of his words.
She had no name for what was happening. Only that, after years of unhappiness and misery, she had smiled so much these past few weeks, she was happy with herself.
She felt a sense of power over her own life, over her emotions she hadn’t felt in so long. She would tell him about the proof, but for these few minutes, she wanted it to be only about them.
“We have no expectations of each other, which means we won’t hurt each other either.” His heart thudded under her hands. Out of the mess she had made of her life, it seemed there was still one good thing. “We are safe from each other.”
He smiled, baring his teeth like a predator. “Are we, bella? Because every minute of every day, I feel like I’m on the edge. You smile at me, you tease me, you rile me, you challenge everything I think of you, of myself, of the world. And now, my dear wife, you’re meddling in my life. Safe is the last thing I am with you around.”
Bending that arrogant head, he breathed the words into her temple, her scalp prickling at the way his finger tugged her hair.
“And what I do want, so desperately crave from you,” his free hand moved up her midriff and rested in the valley between her breasts with his hot mouth buried in her neck, “you won’t grant me, bella.” Speech slurring, he licked the fluttering pulse. “It feels like I’ve waited my entire life to make love to you, Clio.”
Her spine melted, liquid fire licking along her nerves. She was sinking in desire and she clutched him with her arms, his body a welcoming cocoon.
“You’re seducing me with words, Bianco,” she managed huskily with the few brain cells that were still functioning.
