“She said yes,” I tell the priest.
“I need to hear it,” he stammers.
“No, you fucking don’t,” Declan warns.
The priest meets her pleading eyes. She begs him to intervene. He won’t.
Declan walks to us and seizes her hand as I release it. She claws at him, nails raking air. He forces her fingers straight. I fish the ring from Kaden’s palm, slide the cool band over her knuckle. The metal bites cold into her skin, too tight, like it will never come off. I hold my own ring between my lips and push it onto my finger.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
She screams again, raw and broken.
“Autumn,” Declan warns. She doesn’t care.
Her body bucks against mine, a live wire of fury and fear. I tighten my hold until her ribs creak, until the only air she gets is the heat of my palm. The chapel smells of incense and burnt candles. I drag my nose along her throat, inhaling the pulse hammering there.
“You’re mine now, wife,” I growl against her skin. “Fight all you want. It only makes the leash tighter.”
She bites my hand hard enough to draw blood. I hiss, but the pain shoots straight to my cock. I press her harder into me, letting her feel exactly what her rage does to me.
The priest mutters a final prayer, voice cracking. Kaden steps forward, ready to haul her out if she bolts. She won’t. Not with my arms caging her like iron bars.
I release her mouth just enough for her to gasp. “Say it,” I order, low and lethal. “Say you’re mine.”
“Fuck you,” she spits, voice hoarse.
I smile, dark and slow. “Already planning on it, trouble. Tonight. Tomorrow. Every night until you forget your own name.”
Her eyes flash, hate and something hotter flickering beneath. Good. Let it burn.
I scoop her up, one arm under her knees, the other around her back. She kicks, heels scraping my thighs, but I stride down the aisle like I’m carrying a prize. The doors swing open to the night air, cool and biting. She shivers against me.
“Put me down,” she snarls.
“No.” I nip her earlobe. “You walk when I say. You breathe when I allow it. You come when I’m buried inside you.”
She stills, breath hitching. I feel her thighs clench involuntarily against my arm.
The car waits, engine purring. Kaden opens the door. I slide her inside, follow, and slam it shut.
I pin her to the leather seat, mouth crashing over hers. She bites my lip; I taste copper and her. My hand slides up her thigh, under the dress, finding heat and damp lace.
“Still fighting?” I murmur against her mouth. “Or finally ready to beg?”
She arches into my touch despite herself. “Never.”
I chuckle, dark and filthy. “We’ll see.”
The car pulls away from the chapel, tyres crunching gravel.
“This is not real.” She slides as far from me as she can, and I smirk, letting her have her space.
“It’s very real.” I shrug.
“No. I didn’t sign anything. It’s not legal.” She has a victorious look on her pretty face.
“Autumn.” I shake my head with a smirk. My tone drops. I reach for her thigh, and she tries to shove me away, but I clamp my hand hard,watching the redness bloom around my fingers on her soft skin. I pull her in, and she slides against me, the skirt of her dress drawing back.
