“You shouldn’t be here,” I manage.
“Maybe not. But I am.” His hand slides up, fingers tracing the line of my collarbone, my shoulder, and down my arm. “You feel that? That’s real. Not a lie, not a deal, not a debt. Just us.”
I close my eyes because I can’t stand how he says it, and how convincing he sounds when I know he’s dangerous. I know loving him will break me.
And still, I whisper, “Ben…”
He presses his lips against the corner of my mouth, and I hold my breath. “Say it again.”
Don’t.
Sienna, don’t.
“Ben.”
He lets out a breath, like hearing his name from me does something he can’t admit, and I revel a bit in that power. “That’s better.”
He lingers there, our breaths tangling. The air between us hums like it’s alive. I can feel his warmth—too close, too steady—and his presence pulling every thought from my head until there’s nothing left but the sound of his heartbeat matching mine.
“Don’t,” I whisper again, but it’s weak. “Don’t make me?—”
“Feel?” he finishes softly. “That’s the problem, isn’t it? You’re afraid you do.”
His fingers find my chin and tip it up until I have no choice but to look at him.
“Ben,” I warn as he inches closer.
“What?” His voice is a low drawl that prickles my skin. “You think if you say my name enough times, I’ll disappear?”
I try to turn away, but his hand catches the back of my neck. “You always do this.”
“Do what?”
“Blur the line until I forget which one of us is worse.”
He almost smiles. “You think I don’t forget, too? You make it impossible to stay away.”
“You make it impossible to breathe.”
“Then maybe we stop pretending it’s something we can control.”
“I can.”
“Can you?” He lowers his mouth to the column of my throat and begins marking it with his lips. “If I kiss you right now, you’ll let me.” His hand drops between my legs, and he parts them easily, touching my wet pussy over my panties. “I knew it. Fuck…”
I inhale and hold, not knowing what to expect. Not prepared to deal with him tonight after he told me he wanted me to shut up and play doting wife.
“Touch me, princess,” he mumbles into the crook of my neck. “No one will know how much you want me. You can keep pretenses up outside this room.”
“I don’t want you,” I say with zero conviction. “And you don’t want me.”
“Don’t I?” The tip of his nose runs up my neck. “What makes you say that?”
Pressing my lips together in irritation that I have to say it, I reply, “You just want an heir. That’s all.”
Ben is silent for a moment before his tongue flicks out, and he tastes me like he can.
Because he can.
