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Zeno smirked, opened the doors, and gently pushed me inside. I stumbled but caught myself before I fell. Pivoting around, I glared at him, but the words died in my throat.
With a touch of defeat, Zeno jerked off his blazer and bowtie, throwing them to the ground. Jealousy remained an undertone in the taut lines of his silhouette as he undid his shirt buttons with a fierce urgency that left me speechless.
“This isn’t a dungeon.” I spun around to avoid looking at him, my heart drumming.
The room was the size of a penthouse, masculine with a touch of burgundy and black. Gold accents decorated the furniture. A silk baldachin flirted over the four-poster, Californian king-sized bed resting in the middle of the room like a cynosure. The chamber was illuminated with a lit fireplace, two thrones resting on a dais, and numerous candles that heightened the sensuality of the moment. This was a place to lay your weapons to rest and give in to your prurient curiosity.
Zeno slid up behind me, his arms banding around my waist and tugging my back to his muscular front. “You look so stunning tonight,” he whispered in my ear, his breath fanning the soft tendrils framing my face. “An angel delivered straight from heaven, right into my arms.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” I teased with the same words I’d spoken to him weeks ago.
His nose skated over the curve where my shoulder met my neck and he inhaled my fragrance. “Only you, Darla.”
Belongingness travelled underneath my skin, every vital organ coated in its essence as Zeno’s rough hands mapped my body fervently.
“Have you stayed faithful to me?” I asked when his fingers began to undo my dress. I arched as he skimmed his knuckles down my spine and pushed the lush fabric down my body like he was unwrapping a precious gift.
“Like a goddamn monk,” he bit out, kicking aside my dress when I stepped out of it. He spun me by the waist. I landed in his arms with a quiet gasp. He clutched the nape of my neck and squeezed my right breast over my strapless white bra. “But you, Principal Hill, are not a woman of your word.”
I swallowed my riposte when I figured out this was about Shaun and the little display at the reception. Zeno and I had an agreement, yes, but he shouldn’t care who I fucked before we got together. This was an arranged marriage with limited strings.
Yet he cared, despite himself, and it softened my heart.
I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, but every word he spoke in my defense, every gift he gave me, I suddenly saw in a new light.
“Tell me why you defended me…at the engagement party.” Zeno cursed and pressed his forehead down to mine. “Don’t lie, please.”
Eyes were the windows to the soul and Zeno closed his so I wouldn’t see what lay beneath his surface. “I always disliked your mother, but I began to hate her when I saw the way she tore you down in front of others. She addresses you with disrespect and treats you like you’re a monkey for her amusement. So I put her in her place and I would fucking do it again.”
His honesty was a balm to the gaping hole in my heart.
I pressed my palm to his jaw and he visibly shivered like my touch was a remedy.
“Did you fuck him, Darla?” he finally asked.
“No. Shaun is one of my best friends. We’ve kissed a decade ago, but that’s it. I’m still a virgin and you’re the only one I want,” I whispered. “Only you, Zeno.”
His thumb wiped over my bottom lip, ruining my lipstick. He liked seeing me unkempt. Imperfect. “You were just toying with me then?”
“J’aime quandtu es jaloux.”
I love when you’re jealous becauseit proves that you might care for me beyond thecold terms of our marriage contract.
The flames of our inferno drew high as Zeno’s fingers braided into my chignon and tugged, causing a sweet pain in my scalp. “You got one over me,bella. Don’t ever do it again.” He slapped my ass and I gasped. “Consider this your final warning.”
Zeno yanked the pins out of my hair and I clutched the crooks of his elbows to steady myself when his powerful thigh inserted between the split of mine. I moved against it, silently telling him that I was ready. He unclipped my bra and ripped off my thong with no finesse, leaving me in nothing but my heels, stockings, diamonds, and crown.
His hand grasped my throat once more like a boa, constricting my air, leaving no room for the utterance of an orison. “If I see you smiling and laughing with a man in a manner other than platonic…” His nose skimmed my cheek. “It’ll be three bullets into his skull. You’ll soon find out I rarely dole out empty threats, baby.” Two blunt fingers plunged into my wet pussy from behind with no remorse. I mewled in half pleasure, half pain. He brought those fingers to my mouth and pushed them in. I licked voraciously as a new game began. We were deviating from husband and wife. King and queen. Now our roles were master and pet. “I dare you to disobey me, Darla.”
My breaths were his for the taking.
My heartbeats his to string.
My soul his to own.
Zeno’s darkness poured over me and I relished every drop like a greedy odalisque. I felt liberated under my husband’s shadow, all fears flocking away, knowing that he would take care of me in a way I never knew I needed.
“Do they really call you the punisher?” I murmured when Zeno withdrew his fingers from my mouth.
