Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Matteo didn’t move, his jaw clenched tight. “I came to check on Serafina. To make sure she’s being treated well.”
“And what did you find?” Adrian asked, his eyes gleaming with cruel possessiveness. “Is my wife satisfied with her treatment?”
The double meaning wasn’t lost on any of us. I felt heat rise to my cheeks, a mixture of embarrassment and anger.
“Adrian, please,” I said, my voice firmer than I felt.
“Oh.” His chest rumbled with a chuckle. “She does beg very prettily.”
Goddamn it. Goddamn him.
I turned to Matteo, forcing a polite smile on my face. “I think you should go. Thank you for your visit and concern.”
He watched me for a second before finally nodding. “Serafina, if you need anything…”
“I have everything I need,” I replied, the lie tasting bitter on my tongue.
Matteo’s fists clenched and then unclenched before he nodded again, though he didn’t look convinced or satisfied with my response. Without staring his brother another glance, he turned and walked out of the kitchen without another word. The front door closed with a soft click, leaving me alone with Adrian.
The silence that followed was deafening.
I inhaled, my chest expanding with a deep breath. I guessed I had to be the bigger person.
I broke the silence first, hoping to be civil. “You’ve misunderstood what you had seen.”
Adrian took a step closer, the island separating us. “Explain to me what I saw then.”
I opened my mouth but he cut me off, tsking and shaking his head, his shoulders shaking with humorless mirth. “I saw my brother, in my house, with my wife, making moves that cross a very clear line.”
I bit down on my lips, frustrated that he was right and infuriated that he wouldn’t let me explain.
“Go ahead, Serafina. Lie to my face,” he taunted.
“This is ridiculous.” I threw my hands in the air. “Nothing happened.”
“Nothing happened,” Adrian echoed, his voice dangerously low. “And yet I find you with your hand on my brother’s heart.” He walked around the island, coming closer and I remained rooted in my spot.
I wasn’t scared of him.
He couldn’t hurt me more than he already has.
“What were you feeling, Serafina? Did you feel it beating? Did you wonder what it would be like if things had been different?”
The cruelty in his words struck me like a physical blow. I lifted my chin, squaring my shoulders, refusing to show how much his words hurt.
“You’re being childish,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. “If you want to have this conversation, let’s have it like adults.”
He stalked closer.
My lungs squeezed.
Adrian’s eyes narrowed, dark with predatory intent. “Adults,” he repeated. “Yes, let’s be adults. Let’s discuss how my brother can’t seem to accept that you’re mine now. Let’s talk about how he keeps finding excuses to be near you, to touch you, to remind you of what could have been.”
The possessiveness in his voice made my skin crawl, even as something primal and unwanted stirred in my belly.
“That’s not true,” I whispered.
But we both knew it was a lie.
“You speak such beautiful lies, wife.”
“I’m not a possession to be fought over,” I said, my voice rising. “I’m a person, with thoughts and feelings of my own.”
“Fine. Tell me then. What are you feeling right now?” Adrian’s gaze was challenging. “What do you want? What do you truly wish for?”
The question hung in the air between us, loaded with meaning I wasn’t ready to confront.
Adrian took another step forward, closing in on me. He was so close.
My stomach dipped, stirring a familiar feeling. My spine tingled.
“Tell me,” he rasped, voice deeper, a little rougher.
“I want—”
Adrian lurched forward, his one arm shooting around my waist while his other hand wrapped behind my nape, tugging me closer with a brutal force.
His lips slammed over mine, swallowing my words and my gasp of shock.
I inhaled, my lips parting beneath his assault, surrendering to him. Adrian took the invitation, dipping his tongue into my mouth with savage hunger. Tasting me. Swallowing my whimpers as if they were the sweetest nectar he had been craving.
My eyes fluttered closed as he claimed me with his mouth, his lips, his tongue, a deep groan rumbling from his chest.
For one treacherous moment, there was only his mouth on mine, his body pressing against me, all of his hard muscles against my softness. My body betrayed me again, responding to his kiss with a heat that frightened me.
Adrian kissed me like a starving man. Like I was the very air he needed to breathe.
Then suddenly, he wrenched away from me.
Horror etched across his features. His eyes widened with shock, his face paling visibly. For the first time since I’d known him, Adrian looked truly shocked. Truly worried. Truly frightened.
“You taste like...” he gasped, his hand flying to his throat. “Strawberries.”
Strawberries, yes.
My favorite fruit.
His sweet poison.
My lips curved into a slow, deliberate smirk as Adrian’s face turned crimson.