I hate that. Hate that my body still wants him even though he forced this marriage.
But it does.
I strip out of the black dress and leave it folded on the counter. The pearls come off next. I stand in my underwear for a moment, then walk back into the bedroom.
Luca is by the window, tie loosened, shirt unbuttoned. He turns when he hears me, eyes sweeping over me once.
“Come here,” he says.
I cross the room. When I’m close enough, he touches my jaw, tilting my face up.
“You’re shaking,” he says.
“I’m fine.” I’ll never admit to him that I’m shaking from desire rather than fear.
“No, you’re not.” His thumb brushes my lower lip. “But you’ll do this anyway.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“You always have a choice.” The implication is clear, his words a reminder of the consequences should I refuse.
Then he kisses me.
His mouth slams down, hard and claiming, tongue forcing its way past my lips like he already owns every part of me. I tastecoffee and something sharper, metallic, the edge of the man who just bought my life. Rage surges through me along with my desire. I bite his lower lip, hard enough to draw blood. He growls low against my mouth but does not pull away. Instead, he deepens the kiss, punishing, swallowing the copper tang like it is nothing.
Weakly, I try to shove at his chest with both hands, but he barely budges. His fingers clamp around my wrists and yank them above my head, pinning them to the wall beside the bed. My back hits the plaster and I let out a gasp, breathier than I want it to be. He presses his body flush to mine, the thick length of his cock grinding against my stomach through his open pants.
“You think you can fight me?” His voice is low, dangerous, and amused. “You are my wife now. This body belongs to me. You will learn to take what I give.”
“Fuck you,” I spit.
He smiles against my mouth, slow and cruel. “Soon.”
He releases my wrists only to rip the bra straps down my shoulders. The lace tears. He shoves the cups below my breasts, exposing me. My nipples pebble instantly in the cool air. He palms one roughly, thumb scraping the peak until I hiss. My core is already dripping with want. Desperate to claim some level of control before I surrender to him completely, I grab his hair and yank his head back, forcing his eyes to mine.
“If you want this,” I say through clenched teeth, “you will not treat me like a thing you purchased.”
His eyes darken. “I purchased you. I own you. And I will fuck you exactly how I want.”
I shove him again, harder this time. He stumbles back one step. I follow, pushing him toward the bed until the backs of his knees hit the mattress. He sits, and I straddle him immediately, knees bracketing his hips, grinding down on the hard ridge of him still trapped in his pants. His hands clamp my waist, fingers digging in.
I lean in close, lips brushing his ear. “You want to consummate this marriage? Fine. But I decide how.”
He laughs, short and dark, amused. “Try.”
I reach between us, fumbling with his belt, yanking it open. The buckle clatters. I shove his pants and boxers down just enough to free him. His cock springs up, thick and heavy, veins standing out, the head already slick. I wrap my hand around him, squeezing hard. He groans, hips jerking up into my grip.
I stroke him roughly once, then line him up and sink down in one brutal motion. I take him to the hilt, gasping at the sudden burn of fullness. He’s bigger than I remembered, stretching me wide, pressing against every sensitive place inside.
His hands fly to my hips, gripping hard enough to leave marks. “Fuck. Tight.”
I rock forward, setting a punishing rhythm, riding him fast and angry. My nails rake down his chest, leaving red lines over old scars. He hisses but doesn’t stop me, just thrusts up to meet me, driving deeper, matching my fury.
“You think you can control this?” he growls, voice strained. “You will take every inch. You will come on my cock because I allow it. Get used to it, Anna. This is your life now.”
“Shut up.” I slam down harder, grinding my clit against his pelvis on every downstroke. Pleasure coils vicious and tight in my core. I hate how good it feels. Hate how wet I am, how slick the slide is, how my body clenches around him like it never wants to let go.
He surges up suddenly, flipping us in one brutal move. My back hits the mattress. He hooks my legs over his shoulders, folding me open, and drives back in so deep I cry out. The new angle lets him hit that spot inside me over and over. Stars burst behind my eyes.
