Page 9 of Protective Phlox

“I’ll get you a ring when we get back to California,” Nathan said. I was going to say something sarcastic but swallowed it down and just nodded instead.

The priest gestured for us to face one another and hold hands. My eyes were glued to his fingers and the tattoos that screamed who he was and the position he held. I was so lost in thought that I didn’t realize that Nathan was talking to me until he tipped my chin up, and my gaze locked with his. The onyx of his eyes was as mysterious and sexy as the first night I’d met him. Maybe my alcohol-soaked brain was onto something when I thought he was a vampire. He might not be sucking blood from me, but my life as I knew it was over.

He shocked me as he suddenly dropped his lips to mine, and every warning button, butterfly, and firework went off at the same time. I moaned into his mouth, unable to help myself, but he jerked away and left me reeling.

“Sign it, Savannah,” Nathan ordered, and I followed his arm all the way down to the marriage certificate. My heart pounded hard in my chest, my blood pressure spiking as I stared at the legal document with his name and the place for my new one. “Sign it.”

“I will. Just give me a second.”

“What is there to think about?”

I glared at him and shook my head. “You couldn’t even begin to understand.”

Snatching the pen, I signed my new name.

Savannah Mikhailov

The priest flipped the page, and we signed again and again, and with each one, another little piece of my soul was stripped away. By the time my name was scribbled across the last page, I wanted to tear the papers up into confetti and toss them in the air.

I’d been a strong, independent woman my whole life. Marrying Nathan meant a life of chains and servitude. Minding my mouth and my manners while turning a blind eye to debauchery that I couldn’t stomach. That was all before I would be forced to watch him with other women. I knew it, and yet it didn’t stop me from doing what I had to. When I chose to keep my son, I always knew that one day I might have to pay the price, and today, the piper came calling.

I quickly slammed walls around my heart and threw it out the window. Nathan could have my body, but I’d never let him crush the rest of me.

The priest signed off on the paperwork, and then we were left alone with only the sound of our breathing.

Nathan’s hand went to his belt, and my throat went dry. “Take your heels and pants off,” he said, and I folded my arms over my chest.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing now?”

“I’m going to fuck my wife, that’s what.”

“But….”

“No fucking buts,” he growled, and of course, the sound had to travel down my back to between my legs, just like no time had passed. “I’m consummating this marriage right now so that when we land in Cali, you don’t scamper off to your FBI friends and try to hide with my son. I told you I wouldn’t miss anything else. So, let’s just say I don’t exactly trust you at the moment. Now take your fucking pants off, or I’ll rip them from your body.”

I squared my shoulders and scowled at him with my head held high, but fuck, that was hot. I’d forgotten just how demanding he could be and how much I loved it, but I wasn’t giving him the satisfaction of knowing that.

“Do it then. I’m not lifting a finger to help you,” I said, and there was not a single moment of hesitation as Nathan grabbed the front of my blouse and tore it open, sending all of the buttons flying along with my dignity. I wanted him. My body ached for his touch, but hell would freeze over before I let him think that I would beg at his feet so easily.

Nathan’s heated gaze on my chest felt like I was being singed, but I didn’t flinch, not even when he pulled down the cups of my bra and dropped his lips to my breasts. He was rough as he sucked, nipped, and tweaked my nipples. Every tiny bite of pain stirred my desire, pushing it higher until I could feel that my panties were soaking wet, and still, I remained quiet. I fought off the urge to close my eyes and lean into his touch as his lips traveled up my chest to my neck, but as his teeth bit down on the sensitive skin, my body shuddered uncontrollably.

I was jerked toward him as he gripped the front of my pants and undid the belt, the two pieces falling apart, and my heart thundered in my chest.

“Undo my pants,” he commanded. I didn’t move.

Nathan growled in frustration. I knew he despised not being listened to, especially in the bedroom. Was I being petty? Maybe, but I would take whatever bit of power I could. God help me. The angrier he got, the more turned on I was. I wanted to stand naked in a walk-in freezer. I was so hot with a need that had been building inside of me for far too long.

“I said, undo my pants.”

“Do it yourself,” I bit back.

“You’re really starting to piss me off, wife,” he said, his eyes growing darker as he wrapped his hand around my throat. I lifted my chin to give him better access and dared him with my eyes to kill me if he wanted to.

“You better get used to it, husband. I don’t intend to be your doll who you take out and play with and then stuff back into the closet when done.”

He yanked me forward until our noses touched, his black eyes scorching and branding my soul as his forever. No matter what happened from this moment on, my heart would be his, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. It was a fruitless battle that I’d already lost.

“I don’t fucking know what that means, but you drive me crazy.”