His large palm pressed against my lower back, forcing my submission. And yet, pleasure coiled tight within me, needy and wanton.
“The more you fight me, the more desperate the beast inside me becomes to claim you, to hear you say you’re ours, and only ours. Now tell me, who do you belong to, Cadence?”
“Anything I feel for you is a result of the twisted loyalties you forced upon me when you gave me that cursed ring!”
His laugh was a dark rumble that reverberated through my bones. “So stubborn.” He tsked. “Tell yourself whatever you need to, Temptress. I’m sure your lies soothe the ache you feel between your thighs every time you look at me.”
Fucking bastard!
I didn’t have time to protest, however.
When he entered me, it was without warning or gentleness. The stretch was exquisite agony, my body simultaneously resisting and yielding to his invasion. I couldn’t stop the cry that tore from my throat, raw and primal.
“You think you can deny what’s between us?” His voice was like gravel, his weight against my spine. “You think you can run from this?”
Ryker’s calloused palm landed hard on the exposed flesh of my ass, and I forced myself to stifle my cry, refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing what he did to me.
“Still fighting?” he asked, his voice a dangerous caress against my ear as he draped his body over mine once more. The weight of him pinned me to the ground, his firm chest pressed against my back. “Let’s see how long that lasts.”
I felt him, all of him, hard and insistent against the curve of my ass. His hands gripped my hips with bruising force, pulling me up and holding me in place as if I might still try to escape.
Perhaps I would if my body weren’t betraying me so completely.
His hand found my breast, squeezing it roughly until I gasped. The pleasure was all-consuming, intense, and suffocating, as though he’d buried his fangs in my flesh.
My hips rocked against him, needing more as I met each of his thrusts.
“Look at you. So eager for the man you claim to hate. Just be honest with yourself, Temptress. You love it when I use you like you’re my whore.”
“Fuck you,” I said on a gasp, the words lacking any real venom.
His laughter was razor-sharp. “Happy to oblige, wife.”
His movements became wild as he invaded my body. His fingers twisted into the loose strands of my hair, tugging roughly, the pain mixing with the pleasure. The head of his cock pressed against something deep inside of me, and I whimpered as white spots filled my vision.
“So needy,” he mocked, clicking his tongue.
And through it all, the lust and heat clouding my mind, a single word sang out, begging me to listen.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
“I hate you,” I said, attempting to dispel the intrusive thoughts.
“Hate me all you want,” he murmured, one hand sliding up my spine to seize the back of my neck. “Your hatred feeds me just as sweetly as your desire.”
I closed my eyes, trying to shut him out, to retreat into some part of myself he couldn’t reach. But his grip tightened, forcing my head down until my cheek pressed against the dirt. He angled my face to the side, and I could feel his gaze on me.
“Look at me,” he said, slowing his pace to torturous, shallow thrusts that made me want to rip him to shreds. “Open your eyes and look at me while I fuck you.”
When I refused, he pulled out. The sudden emptiness was worse than any punishment. My body clenched around nothing, desperate and hollow.
“Ryker.” The plea escaped before I could stop it.
His voice sounded like sweet poison in my ear. “You deny me, deny our bond, yet you still expect me to give you what you want. That’s not how this works, Cadence. Not anymore.”
His fingers found the bundle of nerves between my thighs, and he drew slow, lazy circles around my nub. A low keening noise erupted from me. His strokes quickened as he sent me careening toward the edge. Just as I was about to hit the peak, he stopped, withdrawing his hand.
“No.” The single word was a ragged sob.
