“Regardless, you don’t get to decide that. And I’m not a bargaining chip.”
“I know,” I say, matching her softer tone. “And you never have been.”
Her gaze drops to my mouth for a beat—just long enough for me to notice—and something shifts in me.
Without touching her, I lower my head enough to crowd her space, careful not to push the boundary too far. Even while trapped between me and the sofa, she doesn’t try to escape.
Elena’s breaths become shallow, and there’s no mistaking how quickly her chest rises and falls. She swallows, seemingly battling between maintaining her resolve and crumbling. “You’re close to crossing a line.”
Holding her gaze, I take in the inner conflict moving through her, recognizing that lust she’s been trying to mask, only because it looks exactly like mine.
“I crossed it the moment I signed those papers.”
We’re breathing the same air now, and as tempting as it would be to close that space, I force myself not to. I need her to come to me. I need to know she wants this just as badly as I do.
With a spark of heat flickering between us, Elena does exactly that.
Cutting what little distance remains, her lips find mine. It isn’t remotely as careful or gentle as I’ve been imagining, but I don’t stop it. I can’t.
Instead, my hands fall to her hips as I pull her in, lips melding deeply with hers while freeing the tension and denial we’ve been pushing away for long enough. The moment she melts into me and parts her lips, any trace of control vanishes from my system.
Her fingers slide into my hair as she takes what she wants, and the satisfied sound that escapes her goes straight through me, stirring that need I can’t shake.
So long as I feel her lips and taste her mouth, everything else disappears. Even if the Grimaldis have made their first move since everything went down, and even if her family is surely trying to root me out, I don’t care right now.
She fits against me like she was always meant to be there, and that isn’t something I’m willing to ignore.
Chapter 14 - Elena
Wyatt’s grip on my hips tightens as he guides himself back, dropping onto the sofa before pulling me with him. Without breaking the kiss, I’m in his lap, straddling him like I can’t stand the thought of being apart.
I shouldn’t be doing this, I know that. But I can’t help it.
The way his lips feel is far too addicting, and I can’t get enough while the heat of his palms against my hips only further spreads the haze in my mind.
No part of me should be allowing this after everything. I’m supposed to hate him for forcing this situation on me instead of just letting me go, but instead, I’m chasing his lips with a kind of desperation I’ve never felt before.
I’ve known enough men like Wyatt thanks to my brothers and the company they keep, but none of them have set my nerves on fire like him. None has ever made me feel like I’m going crazy like this.
He had no right to act so possessively over me, especially with our marriage being based on nothing at all. Yet, something about that gleam in his eyes that screamed he isn’t willing to let anyone come between us affected me in a way it had no business to.
As much as I want to be in control of myself and my vices, I can’t bring myself to stop. I’ve been wanting this for far longer than I’ve been willing to admit.
Wyatt’s hands leave searing heat in their wake as he feels every inch of me, urging me as close as I can possibly get. His tongue swipes across my bottom lip, and it’s enough for me to part them.
The moment we meet halfway, he groans into the kiss, deepening it like his survival depends on this. The sound makes me more pliant as another wave of need passes through me, heading straight for my core.
Even if it’s the last thing I should be doing, I follow that burning instinct and roll my hips forward.
Wyatt grunts, grip on me tightening as he rasps against my mouth, “Christ, Elena…”
The sound of my name on his lips like that, gruff and breathless, only encourages me more.
I catch his lips again and shift on his lap, feeling the immediate way his body reacts beneath me. It stirs that lust I’ve been trying to keep at bay, but now, I know I can’t ignore it.
Testing my luck, I do it again, only for Wyatt to hold me still. He breaks the kiss, gaze meeting mine with a scalding look.
“Nuh-uh…we’re not doing that,” he murmurs, hands lowering as he keeps me in place. “You’re not making a mess of me yet.”
