Page 65 of Queen of Misfortune (Shadows of Redemption)
His words linger between us as I try to understand them.
“The vow was to protect me, not… This—us—it was never about love or commitment. You said that yourself."
"Lucy…” He pauses, and he seems to weigh his words, or maybe it’s whether to say anything at all. “What we're in… it's real to me."
I scoff, an automatic attempt to protect myself.
He steps closer, and the yearning to be in his arms is almost more than I can bear. His gaze holds mine, unwavering, intense. "You have my name, Lucy. My ring encircles your finger. That means something."
My breath catches as his hands reach out, not with the force of command but with the gentleness of an offering. Fingers graze my jaw, then trail down my neck. The world narrows down to the electricity of his touch sparking against my skin.
"That makes you mine.” His fingers brush aside the strap of my nightgown. "Mine to protect. Mine to cherish." He pushes aside the other strap. The only things keeping my nightgown up are my breasts. The fabric rubs uncomfortably over my nipples.
But I can’t give in to this. “This marriage was by Niko’s order.”
He shakes his head. “No,Tesoro. It was my idea."
Surprise jolts through me. "But you… don’t want this.” My heart races, a frantic rhythm, and I’m precariously close to losing myself in him, to believing words I know will only leave me heartbroken when the marriage is annulled and I’m set free.
His gaze holds mine. "I wanted you." He pushes my nightgown down, and it pools around my bare feet. “Ever since I picked you up at the airport?—”
“You kidnapped me.”
He chuckles. “Potayto, potahto. The point is, I've only ever wanted you." The words are a whisper, but they land with force, shattering my protective wall. In that moment, I teeter on the edge, caught between the pull of a life I want to escape and the allure of feeling seen, feeling cherished.
My life, my future, is wrapped up in this moment and what I choose to do. Stay or go?
The moment seems to hang in eternity. Finally, Donovan steps back. He reaches down and lifts my nightgown up. “Already, I’ve broken my vow.”
I clutch the fabric around my breasts.
He kisses my forehead. “I’m going to shower.”
I nod, feeling like I’m in a netherworld. Not quite part of this world. It’s only when he steps in the shower and I feel the coolair from his absence that I come back into my body. I think of my sister and how she boldly grabbed hold of love. Could I do that too?
I let my nightgown drop again and step out of it. I take my panties off, and inhaling a breath, I step into the shower.
Donovan’s back is to me, and it’s covered in bruises. I brush my hand down it.
He turns, surprise lighting his dark eyes.
“A good wife would nurse her husband,” I say in answer to his expression.
He smiles. “You’re a good nurse.” He takes my hand, lifting it to his lips. It’s a sweet gesture from a man the size of Everest and who makes a living killing people.
I take the soap and lather it, then gently rub it over his shoulders and chest. Between us, his erection grows. When I see it, I look up at him.
He gives me a sheepish smile. “My dick just wants to make sure you don’t forget to wash him.”
Before I have a chance to touch him, Donovan takes the soap from me and pulls me into a mind-blowing, toe-curling kiss. If his arm weren’t banded around me, I’d sink into a puddle of mush.
“Let me make you feel good,” he whispers against my lips. “Like a good husband would.”
It’s hard to say no to Donovan’s touch, so I don’t. His hands roam my body, and each spot he touches lights up with a million electric sparks. He kneads my breasts and then bends over, sucking a nipple into his mouth.
“Oh!” I gasp, and my hands hold his head, not wanting him to stop. Each tug of my nipple sends a shockwave down to my center.
“Lucy.” His voice is rough as he straightens. He turns me so my back is to him. His arms come around me, fondling mybreasts again, pinching my nipples as his lips brush along my neck. I feel like my body is humming, like every nerve ending is firing, pulsing.