Page 29 of Twisted Devotion

“Why are you helping me?” I finally ask, my voice low.

She doesn’t look up. She takes a deep breath, and the surprise fades from her face. She’s handling her emotions surprisingly well today. “I don’t want to become the widow whose husband bled to death the morning after their wedding.”

I can’t tell if that was a joke or not. Her voice sounds as blank as the expression she’s wearing.

I don’t say anything else. I let her finish her work.

Finally, she pulls the shirt halfway up, and I lift my hand slightly. With great effort, she carefully slides it over my head, leaving me bare-chested.

“And we’re…”

Aria gasps when she sees my chest, her hand flying to her mouth. Her wide eyes aren’t just on the torn stitches or the blood trickling down. They roam over me, tracing every scar, every tattoo.

I stand still, my chest rising and falling, watching her gaze travel across my skin. It feels like she’s touching me with her eyes, making me feel strange. Her fingers twitch at her sides, and before I can say anything, she reaches out and touches me.

I don’t think she even realizes what she’s doing because of how dazed she looks.

Her fingers skim over the ink on my chest, the sharp black lines of the wolf tattoo that stretches over my left pec. Then lower, to the jagged scar running along my ribs. It’s faint, faded with time, but her fingers linger there, tracing the raised edges.

The feeling of her hand on me is almost unbearable. But I don’t want to stop her yet. I don’t want to break this trance-like state she seems to have gone into. Her hand is small and soft, nothing like what I’m used to.

Her other hand brushes against my stomach, right next to the wound, and then she traces the lines of my packs. Her fingers go lower and lower till they brush against the top of my pants. My stomach contracts and my cock twitches.

Then she sees the bulge in my pants, and I see the exact moment she realizes what she’s doing.

She snatches her hands back and jumps away.

It doesn’t matter. The damage has already been done.

I reach for her and pull her back. I grab the nape of her neck with one hand and lean down. My lips meet hers, waiting or daring her to pull away.

But she doesn’t.

With the other hand, I take hers and place it against the bulge in my pants. Her breath catches, and she tries to pull her hand back. I hold it firmly in place and press it harder against me. The softest sound escapes her lips—a moan that makes my blood rush.

I almost lose control, but I must stay strong because I’m about to make a point.

“As my wife, you must first learn that all actions have consequences.” I run my fingers through her hair, gripping tightly and pulling. She yelps in pain, but her eyes are dark with something I can’t quite read.

“And I’ll show you a glimpse of those consequences right now,Bambina,” I say before I kiss her.

Keeping her hand on my cock, I run my tongue between her lips and ravage her mouth with the force of my kiss. Her lips part, and I take the invitation, deepening the kiss. Her lips taste sweet this morning, too. The way they form a perfect seal with mine makes it difficult to break from them.

Then, before I lose myself entirely and miss the point I’m trying to make, I pull back.

She looks angry but undeniably turned on. “The next time you try to tease me, it’ll be my cock, not my tongue, sliding into those pretty lips of yours.”

She turns tomato red. “I wasn’t trying to-”

“I’ll be away all day,” I say, already walking towards the bathroom with my blood-stained shirt in my hand. “I have an important meeting to attend.”

My body is still buzzing, and I need an ice bath to cool the monster raging in my pants.

Her expression shifts, and she blinks as if she suddenly remembered something. “Maybe I should come with you,” she says. Her tone is light, almost sweet. “It could be… helpful.”

The words bring my reality crashing down, and I feel my cock almost completely deflate. I take a step back, narrowing my eyes. Of course. Of course, she wants to come. Marco’s little spy, trying to worm her way into my business.

I smirk, though the expression feels hollow. “Since you seem so eager to spend time with me, there’s a diner where we’ll need to make our first appearance. It’ll be a good place to play your accessory role.”

---