“Good,” I say before dropping my hand. “Let’s get on with it.”
* * *
Kat
“Let’s get on with it.”
I scoff as I replay those words over and over in my head. Fucking poetic, I think not. Fucking romantic, not in any way, shape or form. I am so over today. My wedding day. The first official day of hell.
I should be with a man that I love, but that asshole fucked me over and left me to the wolves. Nate Knowles being the wolf––and now my husband. The asshole being Clark.
I bring the glass of champagne to my lips and knock it back, placing the empty glass down on the table and picking up another one.
“Take it steady, my love,” Nate says, his lips by my ear, his hand covering mine that rests on the table, curled into a fist. “Wouldn’t want you to ruin your appetite by getting pissed.”
I drain the glass and place it down on the table before turning to look at Nate. “Wouldn’t want me embarrassing you, more like,” I counter, my tone not hiding how irritated I am.
“I expected the bite to come a little later than this, Kat, but I have to say, an hour after our wedding is impressive.”
“Don’t act so surprised, Nate. You’re not stupid and you know that I didn’t want this,” I grit out through clenched teeth.
“You had a choice.”
“Yeah, a totally shit one where I could either marry you or die,” I seethe, keeping my voice low, because as much as I hate him, I would hate for people to pity me more.
“Forgotten that potty mouth of yours?” Nate remarks.
“Not at all. I’m an adult, a thirty-two-year-old woman who can say what she damn well likes.”
“Not anymore,” he says and grips me with his steely gaze. “My wife will be respected, not looked at like a piece of filth because she can’t keep her mouth in check.”
“You want me to keep my mouth in check?” I say as I move closer to him, my lips brushing over his as I speak. “Never going to happen, husband. Maybe you should have thought about that before you forced me to marry you.” I get up before he can reply and push my chair back before walking away from the table and out of the ridiculously extravagant mansion that we are having this fake-as-fuck meal in.
I march down the steps and across the grounds, kicking my heels off as I step foot onto the gardens that wrap around the whole place. I need some air and I need a moment. I stop when I am out of sight, hiding my body behind a bush and closing my eyes for a second to stop the frustrated tears from escaping.
You know those guys that you want to choke but fuck at the same time? Yeah, that’s how I feel about Nate, because as much as I hate him, I want him, and I despise myself for it.
My head is a clusterfuck of emotions, and it’s about to get a whole lot more clouded as I feel hands being placed on the tops of my arms from behind me. I know it’s him before he even speaks.
“What’s wrong, wife?” he whispers, his lips right by my ear, his breath whispering over my skin. I fight the delicious shiver that wants to race through me because I can’t let myself be completely his. He trapped me into whatever this life is that I am about to begin, and for that, I will always hate him.
“Just needed some air,” I manage to choke out.
“You know, this doesn’t have to be hard, Kat,” he says, and I break away from him, putting a few steps between us and turning around to face him, hands on my hips. He puts his hands in the pockets of his trousers, and fuck me, I have never seen such a dominant, glorious sight in all my life. Damn my pussy for tingling at his mere presence.
“Don’t come out here and try to sweet talk me, Nate. You made this happen, and I had no choice but to come along for the ride. The question I can’t seem to answer though is why… Why on earth would you want to do this to me?” I rush out and instantly regret saying anything as he stalks towards me, his eyes igniting with a fire that I don’t want to respond to, but my damn body seems to love.
He stops just in front of me, eradicating the distance that I put between us mere seconds ago.
“I already told you. I want to own you––”
“Yeah, yeah, own me, control me, and make me need you. I get it. You want to screw with my brain for failing to pay a fucking debt––” My words are cut off as his hand comes to my throat, his fingers wrapping around as he gently squeezes.
“I told you to watch your mouth,” he warns, but all that does is send heat racing to my excited pussy.
I can feel tears clogging my throat, but it’s not because I’m scared, far from it. It’s because I know that I could easily fall for this guy, even though I know all he wants to do is break me down and make me weak.
“Despite what you might think, Kat,” he begins, loosening his hold on my throat a little, letting his fingers massage my skin. “I haven’t done this to make your life hell.”
