Page 23 of Odin

“Next time, call out. I could have put a knife through your eye before you even knew it.” There wasn't any heat behind that statement. They had done their jobs today, and I wouldn't fault them. Fixing the rest of this mess was up to me as her husband.

He was unfazed by my threat, even though both guards were well aware I could end them in a heartbeat.

“She’s in the bedroom. Hasn’t moved, sir.” Garrison's face said it all: my wife's guards were loyal to her. They would still report to me, but she'd charmed them in the short time we'd been married. They cared that she'd been the victim.

I didn’t say a word, and they received my message loud and clear. It was time for them to retire to the other room, as planned. They made their way to the door and let me know tocall if we needed anything. I never drove with a suit coat on, but I'd been too concerned to remove it before coming here. I laid it on the chair and stripped down to my dress shirt and pants. Preparing myself, I opened the door.

My eyes found the curve in the bed. She was curled up on the right side with the blanket pulled over her head. I walked over and sat behind her, my back leaning against the headboard. She didn't move. I placed my hand on her back, and she still didn't acknowledge me.

"Baby," I said to her back, making sure she could feel my hand.

There was no response. No movement.

"Baby," I tried again, but I could hear the bite in my tone. I was getting irritated at being ignored.

"Go away," came from under the blanket. I tucked the blanket underneath her, picking it all up as one package and dropping it in between my legs. I wasn't going anywhere, and she wasn't ignoring me.

“Mrs. De Luca is available.” It came from underneath the blanket.

"I don’t want her. I only want you." It seemed like my wife had gotten it from all sides today. Words could be as damaging as actions.

“That’s bullshit. Don’t lie to me. Just get out of here and go to her or anyone else.” I heard her clearly through the blanket.

“You can throw as much as you like at me,” I told her shape. “I can take it, and I know you’re coming from a place of pain. However, baby, you’re mine.”

She uncovered her face and turned to look at me. I could see her gearing up to fight. Her eyes were bright and opened a little wider than normal. I hadn't seen this before, and while the fiery embers in her eyes were hot, I didn't want them pointed at me. “That’s horseshit. If I was yours, you’d want to be with me. Justgo.” She made a move to get off the bed, but the blanket trapped her in between my legs.

I was confused. Of all the things that had happened today, my wife only cared that I hadn't touched her sexually? I didn't understand her logic. I was respecting her, waiting for her to give any sign she wanted more. This was the shit she was going to throw at me?Two can play, at that, sweetheart. Game. Motherfucking. On

I pounced, flipping her backwards so that she lay on the bed with the blanket underneath her. I was on the hunt, and my wife hadn't realized what type of predator she'd released. She'd given me permission, and I wasn't questioning her like a fucking pussy. I leaned over her, my closed fists on either side of her head. My legs bracketed hers. I'd had enough.

“I arranged this marriage so that I could have you. No one else. Not Mrs. De Luca. Not Katalina. No one else but you. If you tell me again to go to someone else, I will. I’ll drag you with me and do it right in front of your face.” She didn't need to know I would never do it. The threat was enough for now.

She looked straight up at me, the fire in her eyes burning a hole in my soul. "I don't believe you. You don't want me. I am not even sure you want to be married." She lifted her upper body so that we were even closer.

“Which part of today are you really mad at?” I lowered my body, so we were that much closer. The distance drastically shortening.

“They probably showed you the message on the wall. It's true. I wasn’t a virgin before our wedding, and I can’t fix that.”

“It doesn’t matter, baby. It doesn't matter."

“Yes, it does! I am not whole,” she screamed in frustration. “I am broken. If you didn’t touch me before this, you’re never going to now.” Laying back on the bed, she turned her head so that she was facing the wall.

I clasped her jaw and turned her to face me. Lowering my body again, I made sure she didn't have a choice but to look at me. "Baby, I already knew."

Disbelief settled in her eyes, dimming the fire. "How? I didn't tell you."

"Yeah, you did. I didn't tell you I heard the entire conversation at the wedding."

“You’ve known this entire time?” she asked, still in disbelief.

"Yeah." I tried to shrug, not sure if it really worked. "I don't act like it's a big deal because it's not for me. Don't get me wrong, Serena. I will have revenge in your name."

She reached up and grabbed the back of my neck, pulling me down to her level. She met me in the middle and kissed me with everything she had. I didn’t know who was devouring who. We weren’t battling for dominance, but the dam had officially broken. I drank from my wife’s mouth as much as she gave me. There was no way I was going to take this slow, like I had planned for our first time. I was mad at her all over again.

I bit her bottom lip. It only made her kiss me harder. Her tongue was not shy about exploring my mouth. Her hand was still at the back of my neck, the other trying to grab at me through my shirt. Maybe I should have stopped. Maybe I should have slowed down, talked to her about what had happened. Nope, none of that was happening. I balanced myself on one arm, opened the fly of my pants, and gave myself a few tugs as I devoured her mouth. I wish I could have said it was difficult, but I had plenty of experience in quickies.

Flipping up the skirt of her dress, I took a moment to look down. Red lace panties.Serena knew me too well. Yanking them down, I went back to her mouth, hesitating to enter her. I didn’t want to cause her any pain, and I hadn’t really prepared her for this. There was no going back. I'd do more damage if I stopped.My wife wasn’t sure I wanted her, and I needed her like I needed my next breath.

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