I glance down at my hand, shimmering with the shiny new ring he got me. Roarke didn’t have to do more than show up at the courthouse, but he insisted on taking me to a jewelry store a family friend owned to get me a diamond ring. Hell, he didn’t bat an eye when he signed the marriage license this afternoon or when his sister insisted that we all go out to celebrate the marriage. Now, he’s gotten us a room at one of the most expensive hotels in New York, one that offers the perfect view of Central Park.
Still, a part of me is nervous that I selfishly pushed the man into something he didn’t want. I wait until we’re in the privacy of the elevator before turning to him.
“You don’t regret it, do you?”
He turns to me, those ocean blue eyes sending my heart racing. “It’s a little too late to ask that, don’t you think?”
My heart drops to my feet. So, he does regret it after all. I mean, it’s not like I gave him much of a choice before I ambushed him with my question. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He grasps my chin and pulls my gaze back to his. “I’ve never done anything I didn’t want to.”
“But marriage is a big decision.”
“It is,” he agrees, stroking my chin gently with his thumb. I feel a flutter in my stomach from a move so simple, but it’s enough to fire up the heat in my body. “But it’s a decision I walked into with both my eyes wide open.”
He moves closer, backing me against the wall, his eyes flashing with heat. “Elena, we might not have gotten married for traditional reasons but I want you to know that as long as you are my wife, I will treat you as such.”
“Is that why you brought me here?”
“You deserve the perfect wedding night,” he rasps, leaning closer until his lips are a hair’s breadth from mine. His nose bumps mine, his breath a whisper on my skin, soft and tantalizing. “With the best view when we consummate our marriage.”
I flush at his words and the promise of what’s about to happen. “I…I never thought I’d ever get married,” I say, fingering his jacket lapels. “And I’m sorry you got roped into this, but I’m not sorry that it’s you.” I can’t imagine anyone taking his place or feeling anything for anyone else remotely close to what I feel for Roarke. “I’m happy that it’s you and not just because of Yuri but because…”I love you.
I’m in love with him, I realize as I stare into his eyes. A feeling I swore was impossible to feel, and now, I can’t help myself. I’m saved from having to bare my heart out when theelevator jerks to a stop, and I pull my eyes from his and toward the indicator to find that we’ve arrived at our floor.
“Elena?” There are questions in his eyes that I’m afraid he’ll voice. And there’s something else that tells me that perhaps I am not alone in this feeling. Affection and something else that sends my heart clenching with need in my chest.
“I…uh. I…” I pull my eyes from his and toward the opening door, sliding past the large man before he can stop me. “I’ve heard this hotel has the best view of Central Park. It must look magical in the fall.”
Roarke chuckles and follows me down the hall to our room. He takes out the key card and unlocks the door. “You won’t be seeing much of the view tonight, Elena.”
I gulp. “W-what?”
He grabs my hand and pulls me into the room. His mouth is on mine before the door can close, kissing me before I can get a clear look at the room. I immediately melt against him. His mouth devours mine, groaning with every slick slide of lips, his hands circling my waist and pulling me flush against him as I get lost in the taste of him.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever met, Elena,” he rasps, breaking the kiss to slide his lips along my jaw. “Intelligent, caring, and so damn sexy. Is it a wonder that a man like me would jump at the first opportunity to tie himself to you?”
My heart clenches with affection at his words. “You’re a catch yourself, Roarke O’Shea,” I whisper, running a hand around his neck and fingering the hair on his nape. “Smart and sexy. How could a girl not want to carry your last name or feel the weight of your body against hers?”
“Christ, baby, you can’t say things like that and expect a man to behave.”
I shiver when he runs his nose down my throat and to the curve of my shoulder, inhaling deeply and making my nipples peak painfully. “You smell like heaven, Elena,” he groans, slicking his hand up my hips to my ass, squeezing and pulling me flush against him. “Fuck,” he growls, pumping his hips with mine and rubbing his erection against my core until we’re both panting.
I moan when he dips his head to suck a nipple through my dress, tugging hard at the aching peak before pushing back to meet my eyes. “I want to be inside of you so bad, baby.”
My thighs tremble, shaking with need for the man I just tied the rest of my life to. “I want that too,” I whimper, rubbing against him for relief. Instead, it only fans the heat between my legs. I push against the hard ridge tenting his pants, crying at the delicious feeling that floods me.
“Oh God… Roarke!” I can barely hold myself back as I ride his cock over his pants, unwilling to break apart and tear our clothes off. I can’t stop. My clit pulses sensitively, aching with need for relief. “Roarke.”
His mouth slams back on mine, his breath hot against my lips as he kisses me with feral need. He boosts me up, and I gasp when my back hits the wall. I’m shaking when he positions his cock between my thighs, holding me in place as he presses his hardness between my legs, our clothes rustling between us as he rocks into me. I cry out as my panties rub over my clit, the friction driving me to madness as I lose control over my own body.
“You’re so fucking sexy rubbing against me,” he growls, but I don’t have it in me to be mortified by my wanton behavior.Instead, I drop my face into his neck, licking and sucking at his skin, seeking to feel more of him as the fire heat flooding my body threatens to explode.
“Roarke, so close,” I whimper into his skin, moving my hips to meet his hardness as a delicious little spark slowly becomes a full forest fire. I feel it deep in my belly, slowly lighting as he rocks into me, moving faster and bumping harder into me…
“Oh God!”
My back bows and my lips part with a scream as the fire bursts, spreading fast and wild through me, eating up everything in its path. He holds me close as he rocks into me, his chest rubbing against my sensitive nipples and fanning the fire, making me sob and thrash against him.
