I mean for it to be a chaste kiss, but the monster inside me takes over. I pour my hunger into her, letting her know just how much I want her.
Everything else fades into the background.
I make a silent vow in this moment.
I'll watch over this woman for the rest of my life. Even if she chooses to walk away after our contract ends, I'll always be thereto guard her, even if it's from a distance. She'll always have my heart, even if she refuses it.
I feel her crumpling underneath me, gasping for air as I claim her as mine.
When I pull away, she's dazed. Her lips look bruised from the kiss. Her eyes are weighted, containing a lust that I know all too well.
Mine.
Mine, mine, mine. The word echoes in my head, drowning out everything else.
27
GRACE
Just when I think I have a handle on the situation, my world changes.
Ever since I met Dante, I've been hit with one curveball after another. I don't know what to make of any of it.
I touch my lips. They're still swollen from the way he kissed me at the altar. It was no ordinary kiss. I felt it all the way down to my soul.
It awakened something inside me that I've been trying to keep suppressed.
Affection. I have so much affection for this man.
And it scares me to death.
"You haven't said a word since the ceremony." Dante glances at me from the driver's seat.
"Can you blame her? You basically ambushed her with the whole wedding thing,” Enzo says from the back seat.
"I wasn't speaking to you," Dante says, clenching his jaw.
Judging by the look Dante gives his friend in the rearview mirror, they've had this conversation already.
“It did take me by surprise," I say. "I wasn't expecting it."
“Finally, a normal reaction,” Enzo says.
"Can you listen to a podcast or something?" Dante says, shooting Enzo a withering look.
"I could, but this is way more entertaining," his friend replies.
Dante glances at me, but he doesn't say anything.
I clear my throat. "You've always encouraged me to be honest. Can I be honest now?"
He nods.
It feels uncomfortable to say this out loud, but it needs to be said.
“I know I signed a contract, but I still want you to consider my feelings. I still expect to be treated with respect. And the way you approached the wedding today felt disrespectful. You didn’t even stop to think how your actions would impact me.” My voice breaks at the end, and I hate it.
To my surprise, Dante stops the car at the side of the road. He stares at the steering wheel for a full minute while he processes everything I just said.
